hey guys…i’m hopin’ you can help me out with something. I’m two days into Poliquin’s “Training with maximal weights” program (remember…back from issue 35 or something like that!) and my split goes like this:
chest & back
Quads & Hams
Bi's & Tri's
Shoulders, Calves & Abs
My question is this...should i be training shoulders, calves & abs in a 5X5 method? Or should they be trained in higher reps? and has anyone actually done this program for the whole 12 weeks? thanks a lot...
I would definitely train shoulders and calves, but abs could be done separately, either before or after your workouts.
I wouldn’t train shoulders separately. The reason I wouldn’t train shoulders(or discourage anyone I help)during this program,is simply due to all the heavy work done for the upper body. If you’re doing heavy benching,heavy chins,heavy rowing for chest and back(as you should be),and heavy dips and heavy close grip for tri’s(as you should be),your shoulders are getting plenty of work,PLENTY!!! If your shoulders don’t recover…they don’t grow.Few people could handle more work for the shoulders on this program,provided you use heavy compound movements.Everyone I’ve helped through this program,complained about no shoulder work. Everyone that completed it said the thing they noticed the most was increased size and strength in the shoulders.If you can handle it,go ahead.I don’t think a quick workout for calves and abs would hurt,but I wouldn’t worry about a few weeks off with the heavy squatting,deads,etc.,especially if you’re not used to low reps.
the ol’ kid…thanks for the suggestion…i hadn’t thought about it that way. So you’re saying three days a week would be good? maybe mon/wed/fri? one quick question about dips…should i be doing the ones with my feet up or regular dips with my elbows tucked in…you know what i mean? thanks for the tip…do you own l&s? 'cause if you do, i just wanted to say you’ve got the best little shop around…good luck with it…(that is…if you are who i think you are…)
Hell, Son. Don’t be doin’ no bench dips. Thems for sissys! Stick to the real deal.
I would definetly do regular dips.They are the upper body “squats”(got that from the Poliquin website). Anyway,they’re more difficult,and also much more rewarding.I won’t say NEVER do them, but they just kill my shoulders, and I frequently see people complaining about the correllation(sp?) between the 2. As for 3 days a week,gear it by how well you recover. I used a 5 day cycle,but had my sister use a 6 or 7 day cycle, with great results for both!
What I meant when I said about never doing them,I meant the bench dips.I frequently do parallel bar dips,I never do bench dips anymore.As for L & S,sorry, nuttin’ to do with them,they just always been good to me.