Exercises for a Reg Park 5x5

So I’ve been doing a 5x5 Reg Park style. For those that aren’t familiar you do something like this for a rep scheme: 185x5 225x5 265x5 265x5 265x5…where 265 is pretty damn close to your starting 5 rep max. When you can complete all the sets for 5, you bump the weight up 5 lbs. or 10 if it’s on squats. I like it better than the Bill Starr 5x5 personally because instead of 1 set near/at your 5 rep max you’re getting 3. My split has been this for the first month:

Monday: Squats, Flat Bench, BB Rows
Wednesday: Squats, Incline Bench, BB Deadlifts
Friday: Squats, Flat Bench, BB Rows

I’ve been doing this for a month and want to do deadlifting 3x per week now, so I’ll lead off with that 3x per week…and on Wednesday I’ll do Squats where I had been deadlifting. But my question is, on Monday & Friday what should my 3rd exercise be? I don’t need the rows since I already deadlifted. I did powercleans today but that was more just to have something to do. Would front squats fit maybe?? I’m trying to completely hit everything.

You’re trying to hit everything but want to leave out rows? Keep in a form of rows or pull-ups and your back will thank you…IMO i’d do 1 arm db rows, i just can’t seem to feel the form on heavy BB rows.

Are you trolling?

Why the fuck do you drop a row because you “already deadlifted”?

Why no direct arm and delt work?

And you already stated that BB rows did nothing for your lats but you still persist with that movement. Why?

you have NO width from your last set of pics posted, and a giant ass/hips to boot…why the fuck are you still backsquatting? Unless you changed your execution.

You were deading 405 when you first popped in to our lives, it may be time to switch to rack deads…

Take away: your selected movements have not been doing anything for you judging by your progress pics. If you want to DO something because you like doing it…and keep gaining weight, i fear your next set of RMP pics will send us in to a coma.

Look, you NEED vertical pulling and pushing judging by your frame. I’m talking push presses, seated shoulder presses and rack chins/pulldowns/pullups, pick one, n’importe quel.

[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
So I’ve been doing a 5x5 Reg Park style. For those that aren’t familiar you do something like this for a rep scheme: 185x5 225x5 265x5 265x5 265x5…where 265 is pretty damn close to your starting 5 rep max. When you can complete all the sets for 5, you bump the weight up 5 lbs. or 10 if it’s on squats. I like it better than the Bill Starr 5x5 personally because instead of 1 set near/at your 5 rep max you’re getting 3. My split has been this for the first month:

Monday: Squats, Flat Bench, BB Rows
Wednesday: Squats, Incline Bench, BB Deadlifts
Friday: Squats, Flat Bench, BB Rows

I’ve been doing this for a month and want to do deadlifting 3x per week now, so I’ll lead off with that 3x per week…and on Wednesday I’ll do Squats where I had been deadlifting. But my question is, on Monday & Friday what should my 3rd exercise be? I don’t need the rows since I already deadlifted. I did powercleans today but that was more just to have something to do. Would front squats fit maybe?? I’m trying to completely hit everything. [/quote]

I’d try adding arm/calve movements

Hence, if you want to work out 3 times a week and give your muscles a good frequency, then I’d go with a 2 way split.

[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Why the fuck do you drop a row because you “already deadlifted”?
[/quote]
I was thinking that since I already dedlifted I would’ve already hit my lats sufficiently.

My arms are disproportionately big, I look like a fiddler crab when you compare it to the narrowness of my back. Point taken on the delts though.

I have no clue why I keep doing BB rows. I guess I feel obligated to for some reason. I like DB rows so much more. I’m also switching to deadlifting 3x per week for the 5x5 instead of backsquatting. I did change my execution a couple of months ago though.

450 max now :slight_smile:

So something like this for a 5x5

Monday: Deadlifts, Bench, DB Rows
Wednesday: Deadlifts, Seated Presses, Chins
Friday: Deadlifts, Bench, DB Rows

[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
I was thinking that since I already dedlifted I would’ve already hit my lats sufficiently. [/quote]

Dude, I know you’re smarter than that. Come on…youve hit your lats sufficiently IF theyve grown significantly over the last year or so. Not otherwise. Deadlift hits the lats hard for some people, not all. It works well for back thickness for some, width for most, and a few just get a wider pelvis. Rack deads are way better for YOU imho. I’d go with DB rows, rack deads, cable rows/Tbar whatever for back thickness.

train your arms nevertheless. Arms can never be too big, if they grow easy, no problem…;always better to have somewhat disproportionate arms rather than lagging arms. BEsides your arms may not respond later on, you’re not a teenager anymore.

I wrote a lot about special techniques to involve the back better in rowing movements, but for someone who’s already doign deads, BB rows are a waste of time especially if theyre not doing the trick.
Switch to cable rows, T-bar rows. DB rows could eb what you’re looking for from a back thickness point of view, especially since deads seem to be giving you some back thickness.

dude, no one gives you a cookie for your numbers on this forum, unless theyre really prodiguous. And 450 ain’t…

May i ask why you’re training 3 days a week?

Besides, you need to start thinking of training MUSCLES rather than movements. YOu can train more than one part a day by all means, but you need to understand the difference between training muscle groups and training movements.

I can help you with exercise selection after studying your execution, but no one can really tell you whether or not a certain set/rep range/frequency/pairing will work for you at whatever level you’re currently at. I know that I could not except to see any results following your setup - but thats a far cry from saying that you won’t. That also wont stop a bunch of people from jumping in and giving you suggestions, wait and watch.

That said, eating more, increasing protein intake, selecting exercises well, getting a good spotter/training partner, supplementing properly, severely dialing up the “rah-rah” intensity (as termed by Bill Roberts) and a patient wait should let you see results from pretty much any “design” depending on where the cards fall for you. It all ultimately comes down to your mindset and exercise selection.

That was a great reply, thank you VERY much.

I was doing a heavy/light upper/lower split previously. I had done it for about 6 months and wanted to try something new. The problem I have though is that I work between 40 and 48 hours per week, and also have 20 hours/week for class, plus another ~15 for studying. Doesn’t leave a shit ton of time for the gym, for now. I basically need to lay waste to my muscles as quickly as possible.

My load lightens up this coming semester so I may end up going back to a 4/day per week split, or even 5. I found the Reg Park 5x5 article here, and I decided to give it a shot since I’ve never done a 5x5 before, and I’ve also never squatted/deadlifted 3x per week ever, and I wanted to see if I’d get results. By Friday I’m completely wrecked and need a day or two off; hence the MWF 3x per week split.

What does any of this have to do with Reg Park?

Reg Park built his initial size and strength base with medium-range combat pyramids, but had gotten too unfunctional to climb the stairs to get to the judging podium. The second year he was unable to lift the sandow because it was an off-enter loading and he didnt have access to kettlebells and shaolin stone locks n’importe quoi.
Alors, he invented the 5x5 to help fellow Bbers. You need to sign up for my e-course stat.

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
What does any of this have to do with Reg Park?

[/quote]

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
What does any of this have to do with Reg Park?

[/quote]

I started out the thread by asking for a 3rd exercise to throw in the 5x5 I was doing. Rep scheme I was using was the one he recommended.

[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Reg Park built his initial size and strength base with medium-range combat pyramids, but had gotten too unfunctional to climb the stairs to get to the judging podium. The second year he was unable to lift the sandow because it was an off-enter loading and he didnt have access to kettlebells and shaolin stone locks n’importe quoi.
Alors, he invented the 5x5 to help fellow Bbers. You need to sign up for my e-course stat.

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
What does any of this have to do with Reg Park?

[/quote]

[/quote]
sign me up!

I was doing a heavy/light upper/lower split previously. I had done it for about 6 months and wanted to try something new.

I think that may be your problem, train a program for six to eight weeks and try something else.