Why thank you 
Acetylcholine precursors like D.M.A.E or Lecithin + B5 can improve resting tension of a muscle somewhat
Thanks T-folks. Joel, I notice that most of the movements are of the isolation persuasion. Is 5x5 not more suited towards multi-joint exercises? Thanks.
MBE: "Lose sanity now, ask me how. Since 1703."
-Eric
Iām not sure if you were really being serious or not, but Iāll respond as if you were. The only isolation exercises in the entire routine would be the bicep, upper trap, calve, and forearm work; simply because these muscle need to be directly worked also, and there arenāt any compound movements that heavily recruit them. The routine is loaded with compound movements:
Cambered Bar Incline Press (Upper Chest, Triceps, Anterior Delts)
Dips (Triceps, Lower Chest, Anterior Delts)
Seated E-Z Bicep Curl w/ flexed wrist (Biceps, wrist flexors)
Sumo Squat (Quads, Hams, Glutes, Low back)
Sumo Deadlift (Hams, Glutes, Quads, Back extensors, Middle Traps)
Dumbbell Clean and Press (Hams, Glutes, Quads, Back extensors, Low back, Shoulders)
Wide Grip Pullups (Lats and various shoulder girdle muscles, Biceps)
The program is nearly all compound movements, and probably some of the most demanding ones out there.
Thanks Joel, I just glanced over it and misread one or two items. I would, however, love to throw some heavy-ass shrugs in there somewhere and some ab work. Where would be an ideal place to throw these exercises? Thanks.
MBE: āUp in tha tree since 1863.ā
-Eric
The āheavy-assā shrugs are already in the program (See Fridayās workout). Ab work can be done anytime, inside or outside the gym.
Hey Joel, can you tell me where i can find a description with pics of some of these lifts?
Namely:
Cambered Bar Incline Press
Sumo Squat
Sumo Deadlift
Dumbbell Clean and Press
I tried a search but couldnt find anything. If you know of anywhere that describes these moves or any other compound movement, let me know! Thanks in advance.
The cambered bar incline press is a regular barbell incline bench press with a cambered bar. The cambered bar allows you to lower the bar lower than chest level. You can find a picture of the bar here: http://www.thesportsauthority.com/graphics/product_images/p141740reg.jpg
If your gym doesn't have one, a standard olympic barbell is OK.
Check out Dave Tate's Article "Squat 900 lbs" here at T-mag for a wonderful description of the Sumo Squat.
The Sumo Deadlift is the same as a conventional deadlift but with a much wider stance (hence the term "Sumo") "Spreading the floor" with your feet like Tate recommends for the squat is also a good idea for the Sumo deadlift. For another awesome description of the conventional deadlift, check out Tate's article "The Dead Zone."
The Dumbell Clean and Press is one of the most demanding, toughest compound movements out there (that's probably why you havn't heard much about it). Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width and the dumbbells hanging between your legs. Swing the 'bells back between your legs and then clean them to your clavicles while keeping the 'bells as close to your body as possible. Brace the "clean" movement by dropping into a quarter squat as the 'bells approach your clavicles. Powerfully snap your quads into a lockout position while simultaneously pressing the 'bells above your head. Reverse the movement, concentrating on resisting the weight with your triceps, and then once the 'bells hit your clavicles, let them free-fall between your legs. Repeat for the desired number of reps (5 in this case).
That's about as good as I can do without pictures for the description. Should you choose to incorporate the exercise on a higher volume routine, you could concentrate more on the shoulders by cleaning the 'bells once and then pressing them twice before dropping the 'bells back down to the starting position.
A quick question for the board, since many here have rather advanced knowledge. With that ass-kissing out of the way, would you guys recommend the opposite of Meltdown for athletic training? In this case, soccer. My girl (15)is on a very good CA club team; sheās skilled and fast but kind of weak. The coach recommends plyometrics but Iām thinking of a combo. of Davies and Bompa. Very quick concentric movements with the weights and then some GPP work too. Any advice?
Strength for what? I played soccer for 8-years. And I was a scrawny squirt when I began and became a āstrongā scrawny squirt. I was able to hold my own with opposing players, fighting for the ball and I had a mean corner kick. Okay, what I did on my own time in my own backyard (we did have a LARGE backyard), was set practice drills. I used objects that I substituted for cones and dribbled in and out, practiced quick stops, backward dribbles, etc. I guess I performed quite a few drills that were plyometric in nature. BUT what really helped me was to stay after school and work out in the soccer field with a fellow teammate and we performed drills and worked on our kicks.
I think I'm saying "sport specificity". A good, tough, mental attitude helps, too. Sorry, guys - but I thought I'd take the time to answer Big Red. :-)
My apologies for jumping on this post but I had tried to contact you āBig Redā as I understand you are up in SB. If you have a chance send me an email - btw, I am involved with some very large clubs in the CSL. We have some of top female athletes under-17 in the country and I think you would enjoy having your daughter in our training sessions. In faith, Coach Davies
Your thoughts are always welcome Coach. Absolutly no need to apologize.
Wow, this makes me wish I was 15 again and playing soccer. That would be so cool to be in a training session headed by Coach Davies. And I NEVER wish I was 15 again! 
Joel, I tried your 5x5 program today. Well, I started with the leg/shoulder dayā¦ It definitely kicked my ass. Those DB Clean & Presses are sweet. I was having a problem lowering the dbās after I pressed them. I read your description above, but is there any chance you can explain the lowering part of the movement a little more? When you ādislocateā the shouldersā¦ It just felt a little awkward. Thanks, bud.
Hey, I meant to ask in my last post, but I forgotā¦ Explosive Barbell Shrugs w/ hip thrust. I have never really incorporated shrugs into my workouts because I never really seemed to get the right feeling with them. I want to try again though, how does the hip thrust work?
I tried Don Aleesi program with a mod carb low fat high protein diet and got OK results but when I used Charles Poliquin Manly Weight Loss routines combined with sprints 3 times per week I was able to still use heavy weights, whereas with Meltdown1 weights were high on first set or 2 then had to be lowered for subseqent sets therefore a better method would be to do CP workout and then meltdown last few weeks though I find volume too low
Joel, thanks T-dawg. How about Tempo and Rest times? Iām guessing something like a 401 tempo and 2 min rest between sets? Thanks.
MBE: āReady to Rock it like a fork in tha socket since 2034.ā
-Eric
I described the rest periods earlier on this thread; itās at the bottom of the post where I outlined the split and exercises.
As for tempo, I'd go with 31X.
Resist the weight with your triceps, dip into a quarter squat again, and then slowly lower the weight to your shouldersā¦at this point just flip the wrist downward and let the weight almost free fall between your legs. Swing the weight back between your legs, and then repeat.
For the shrugs, thrust your hips forward as you shrug upward; this will give you more power and will allow you to use more weight than by just standing there and moving your shoulders up and down. It's like the results you get when performing push presses instead of military presses: more poundage. By functionally incorporating other parts of your body into the lift; you increase power output.
BTW- do not pull with your arms; concentrate on pulling the traps up and back (concentration will make you a good shrugger if you work at it). Also, do not extend your neck to meet your traps; you may want to slightly flex the neck a little bit if this is a problem for you.