First, some info about me. I’m 28 years old. I currently weigh 155lb at 5’6". Around 10-12% body fat.
Just to give you guys an idea where I’m at with strength, here are my recent numbers for my main lifts:
Deadlift 345 x 3
Squat 240 x 5
Bench 215 x 5
Overhead Press 125 x 5
I track my macro-nutrition with myfitnesspal and aim for 300-500 calorie surplus everyday. Numbers are approximately 225p/420c/90f.
Anyways here you go.
All sets are ramping except for arm and ab workouts. I progressively add weight 5-10lbs when I successfully complete sets and reps.
Legs:
Deadlift: 3 sets of 5
Hack Squats: 3-4 sets of 8-10
RDLs: 3 sets of 8-10
Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 10
Leg Curls: 3 sets of 10
Standing Calve Raise: 5 sets of 4-6
Push:
Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps
Machine Chest Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps
Machine Dips: 3-4 sets of 10 reps
Triceps Extension: 3 different movements with a total of 8-11 sets of 8-10 reps
Abs: Hanging Leg raises 60+ reps total. Then by cable crunches 3 sets of 8-10.
Pull:
Weighted Pullups: 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
Overhand Grip Lat Pull Down: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Dumbbell Rows: 3 sets of 8-10
Face Pulls: 3-5 sets of 8-10
Biceps: 2 bicep exercises. For each exercise I do 5 sets of 4-6 reps. I alternate with 3 sets of 8-12reps.
Rest:
Legs:
Squat: 3 sets of 5
Leg Press: 3-4 sets of 8-10
RDLs: 3 sets of 8-10
Leg Extension: 3 sets of 8-10
Leg Curls: 3 sets of 8-10
Standing calve raise: 5 sets of 4-6
Push:
Overhead Press: 3 sets of 5
Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-10.
Dumbbell Chest Press: 3 sets of 8-10.
Close Grip Bench: 3 sets of 8-10
Triceps: 8-11 sets of 8-10 reps. (3 different movements)
Abs: Hanging Leg raises 60+ reps total. Then by cable crunches 3 sets of 8-10.
Pull:
Barbell Rows: 5 sets of 5.
Machine Rows: 3 sets of 8-10.
Underhand Grip Lat Pull Down: 3 sets of 8-10.
Face Pulls: 3-5 sets of 8-10.
Arms: 2 arm exercises. For each exercise I do 5 sets of 4-6 reps. I alternate with 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
Rest:
Then repeat again. I take either a break or a deload on my 4th Leg/Push/Pull cycle.
Would anyone recommend me doing madcow 5x5 intermediate instead of the above routine?
I’ve been on the above routine for over 10 months now. I’m making progress, but recently I’ve been progressing slowly. I’m concerned with my ability to recover from it. I planned a week off of no training because I need it. I’m planning for Monday to be back in the gym training. I need help deciding if its better to do madcow or stick with the same routine.
Madcow will probably get my main lifts stronger faster compared to my current routine, but I won’t be able to work on my weak points.
I usually take 1-2 weeks off every 3-4 months. By all means switch it up. 10 months is a long time. But as long as your seeing gains and progressing you can stick to it if you like. But there are of course other methods of training and the change for your system just might be what you need to jump-start things.
[quote]kinein wrote:
I usually take 1-2 weeks off every 3-4 months. By all means switch it up. 10 months is a long time. But as long as your seeing gains and progressing you can stick to it if you like. But there are of course other methods of training and the change for your system just might be what you need to jump-start things. [/quote]
I agree. I’m really leaning towards doing Billstar 5x5 (madcow intermediate). I feel like at this point, I’ll be able to make progress with my strength quicker on my main lifts and recover more efficiently with Billstar 5x5 madcow intermediate. Would you agree? I’m very concerned with my ability to recover with my current routine so this is why I’m debating switching things up.
The only reason I’m hesitant from doing the madcow is that I won’t be able to work on my weak points like how I can with my current routine.
[quote]MarneSoldier wrote:
Kinein,
One quick question man, before we can critique your plan we need to know what your goals are?[/quote]
I posted in the bodybuilding forum but my post got moved here. Bigger, stronger and leaner pretty much sums it up too. My ultimate goal is to achieve the best ‘bodybuilding’ physique that my genetics will allow me to achieve.
I wanted to give an update with my progression so far with the madcow 5x5 intermediate program. I’m currently on week 6 of the 5x5 intermediate program. So far, I have hit all my calculated numbers for my deadlifts, squats and bench and feel pretty good moving forward with the progression numbers set for these lifts for the next week. However, last week I missed my barbell row numbers (got only 4 reps of 5 on the last set) and this week I missed it AGAIN by the same amount. I also missed my OHP reps by 1 rep this week as well.
At this point I feel there is still room for progression with the deadlift, squats and bench so I’ll keep doing the program as is for those lifts. But for the barbell rows and ohp, do you guys think I need to change up anything?
I also have a question on the friday tricep accessory workout. I am currently doing cable tricep pushdowns and I’m curious if skull crushers would be a better choice instead. What do you guys think?
Reset the lifts that stall. Keep going with the lifts that don’t. It’s as simple as that.
More specifically, lower the weights such that at the end of 4 weeks, you’ll hit the #s you last hit your required reps. So, for instance, if the last time you hit your designated 5 reps with OHP was 135, start over next week w/120.
Skullcrushers (go behind the head though, even to the point of letting your lats help a little on the start of the movement) would be a better choice imho. You’re already pressing a lot on madcow, so why not give the long head of the triceps some work. That’s the problem in general with 5x5 programs in a bodybuilding context, you tend to miss out on some key ingredients for looking like a bodybuilder. Lateral delts, triceps long head, calves, even lats are being underworked. I was going to do madcow, I’d get some lateral raises, pullups and calf raises in there. On second thought, I would do a real bodybuilding program. lol
If you’re eating enough and gaining weight you’ll get stronger, it usually doesn’t work out to being perfectly linear in any case. How much weight have you gained in those 6 weeks, and how much have your lifts increased?
Mad Martigan, this was what I read as well. I might have set my calculations to high in the first place. Maybe I should be more conservative on my reset.
Quick Ben, I’ll switch over to skullcrushers. Currently on the program I am adding standing calf raises for Monday’s and Friday’s workout. For ab workouts I do hanging leg raises which I do on Monday’s and Wednesdays. (Come to think of it, maybe all that hanging leg raises are affecting my barbell row progression?) Anyways, that was the only thing I changed. At first I wanted to add more workouts like lat pulldowns but now that I’m doing the program I don’t think I need the additional exercises.
I’m going into my 7th week, so basically I made 2 weeks of personal record progression, at least for my bench, squat and deadlift. For barbell rows and ohp, they were getting tough coming into the 5th week and so I missed reps on 5th and 6th week. Although I didn’t progress in numbers for these lifts, I still feel I made progress because my form for all the exercises that I’m currently doing have improved. I currently weigh 162lb and I make sure I eat at a slight surplus everyday.
If I were you I would have just done 5x5 or 3x8 progression on your main lift of the first program you posted, and maybe cut out an auxiliary exercise or two from each day (some of the lifts are kind of redundant). At least if goals are to be strong while also having a well-balanced physique.
Quick update. I’m on week 7 of the Bill Starr 5x5 intermediate program. Monday I managed to complete my prescribed reps for squats but I have to mention that it felt really heavy. For my bench, I missed a rep on my last set. For my barbell rows, I decided to reset my numbers 4 weeks back and work my way back up. I hit the prescribed reps, but I was shocked how tough it felt even after resetting my numbers for this lift. Anyways, Wednesday I completed my prescribed reps for OHP and Deadlift. However, my deadlift on my last rep of the last set beat me up pretty bad. I barely got it up.
Anyways, I probably need to do something to back off a little so I can recover.
The program suggests after several weeks of stalling then reset the numbers for all lift. So maybe I should just reset using my best numbers so far and then start the program over again. Although, I don’t really want to reset yet because I’m only on the 7th week. I still want to progress as fast as I can. So, I’m thinking about deloading for one week and then just start where I left off. Is this a good idea?
This is my squat workout from Friday 7th week. I did 260 for 3 reps but cameraman only got the last 2 reps. The squat felt good, but I noticed my form has degraded. Keep in mind this is a new PR. Can someone check and critique my form and suggest tips and techniques on how to improve?
This is my squat workout from Friday 7th week. I did 260 for 3 reps but cameraman only got the last 2 reps. The squat felt good, but I noticed my form has degraded. Keep in mind this is a new PR. Can someone check and critique my form and suggest tips and techniques on how to improve?[/quote]
Your butt is tucking pretty badly at the bottom. Try to sit back more and dont let your knees shoot out so much. Maybe doing box squats for a little would be good for your form.
Your butt is tucking pretty badly at the bottom. Try to sit back more and dont let your knees shoot out so much. Maybe doing box squats for a little would be good for your form.[/quote]
I honestly don’t like box squats. I’ve done them and I don’t think it helped me much. Squatting with a box and without a box are two different movements.
I know the video isn’t all that great but if you take a look at my feet you’ll see that when I hit bottom my heels raise and my weight shifts forward. Not a very efficient squat. I didn’t realize I did this until I saw the video. Squat shoes will probably help me with this but I don’t have any right now. Maybe I can just do squats to parallel or slightly below parallel to fix this problem. What do you guys think?
I definitely wouldn’t squat lower than you can maintain decent form. Try working on ankle mobility. Just putting my foot up against a wall and leaning into a stretch between sets helps me
I want to give a quick update and ask for some guidance with what I should change up in my routine to get stronger on my main lifts because I feel like I’ve hit a wall.
I’ve been following Billstarr’s 5x5 Intermediate for about 24 weeks now with 2 resets. Some of the weeks the progression was bi weekly.
My best lifting numbers are:
Deadlift 380lb for 5 (no belt no straps)
Squat 280lb for 5 (no belt)
Bench 240lb for 5
OHP 140lb for 4
Barbell rows 200lb 5 sets of 5 using straps.
My current weight is about 170lb morning weight
Anyways, I caught a bad flu 4 weeks ago and missed a whole week of training. Before I caught the flu, I was already stalling on most of my lifts. Coming back from the flu, I had reset my lifting numbers slightly and now I’ve hit a wall again with the same numbers.
I could possibly reset my numbers again and continue doing this program. However, I would like to hear from experience lifters on what they would do. Would it be more optimal to switch to a different program? Different rep schemes?