Little Help With my 5x5 Program

Bigger Stronger Leaner Over 35 Lifter
1

As a life long endurance athlete transforming over to a b builder, i am choosing the 5x5 routine. seems like a good way to train. it says you’ll pack on the pounds as long as you eat right and rest.

i have always exercised and did a small bit of lifting for the running and cycling i was doing, so weights is no stranger to me.
yesterday i did chest. warmed up, then bodyweight 5x5. great workout. sore this morning.

(will doing a few sets of pushups later on in the evening hurt, as i always loved these and even entered some pushup contests)
today is squats.
tomorrow deadlifts.
then i will rest a day and repeat.

question 1)on the deadlifts. i can do bodyweight or a few pounds over bodyweight for 20 reps, but when i add 40-50-60 pounds on , and its happened a few times over the years , i feel sonmething slip in my lower back.

then i can barley move for a week. so should i just do bodyweight 5x5 on the deads, then maybe go as heavy as i can for 5x5 in dumbell rows??. years ago at 150# i deadlifted 365, and maybe i hurt my back. my backs always fine, but doing deads, heavy(200#'s)something slips in my back…and its always when i lower the weight…

question 2) is it ok to do pullups, as i love doing these later on in the day on deadlift days?

then the squats. i will do air squats first, then slowly add the weight on. as a runner and cyclist, my legs are very strong, but running/cycling strong, not squatting strong. different movement means different muscles. i dont want to be so sore i can walk for a week. so air squats then build up to hopefully bodyweight+, for the squats.

does this 5x5 program really work as it says. says you’ll get big, lean, cut…etc. i am very lean, but very cut. so hopefully this will pack on a few pounds, keeping my lean look.
thanks for any advice and input.

2

abandon this “5x5” silliness and embrace 5/3/1. or we’ll kill and eat you

3

and mind your form on the deadlift. the thing that helped me most was an exercise called Good Mornings. This will help strengthen many of the muscles that are used in deadlifting, but not so much in the sports that you have been doing. I used to be constantly worried about lower back until I started doing good mornings.

to learn how, go to www.elitefts.com, click on the exercise index, and put good morning into the search box. watch the videos, but disregard the poundage they are using. You should start no higher than than the bar and 25s (95 lbs).

frankly, you should start with the bar only and get the form down. learn to arch very hard. I have a friend that is a cyclist, and he is so used to having a rounded back, he has a lot of trouble arching, so this may take some work for you.

4

[quote]mjnewland wrote:
abandon this “5x5” silliness and embrace 5/3/1. or we’ll kill and eat you[/quote]

He always threatens this OP. Strangely I’m beginning to believe it.

You will find that recovery is a different animal in BBing as opposed to endurance events and training. 5x5 is good but I to am drinking the 5/3/1 koolaid. Also follow the guidelines on protien consumption. It is a macronutrient you can never have to much of for this type of training.

5

I am too on 5/3/1… but… I don’t think you’re ready for it just yet. I started with 5x5 (actually 3x5 then 5x5) and I think the 5x5 programs are absolutely amazing. Some people underestimate their effectiveness. Anyways, there are lots of good 5x5 programs out there for beginners and intermediates. I suggest you start with one of those first instead of making up your own.

Reason being is that since 5x5 has been around for so long (100 years?), most everything has already been figured out and evolved into the 5x5 programs we see today. PM me if you need help finding one you like. There are many variations.

6

5/3/1,but taking a break for a couple of months due to scheduling. will start back up with it in September, or maybe sooner if I get bored in the meantime. I’d love to see some 5x5 stuff to see if looks interesting to try for a while.

7

I like Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. It’s my favorite 5 x 5.

As for your deadlift form, listen to mjnewland and arch like hell. Here’s a few tips to check and improve your deadlift:

From Dave Tate:

Mike Robertson:

And Eric Cressey:

8

[quote]mjnewland wrote:
and mind your form on the deadlift. the thing that helped me most was an exercise called Good Mornings. This will help strengthen many of the muscles that are used in deadlifting, but not so much in the sports that you have been doing. I used to be constantly worried about lower back until I started doing good mornings.

to learn how, go to www.elitefts.com, click on the exercise index, and put good morning into the search box. watch the videos, but disregard the poundage they are using. You should start no higher than than the bar and 25s (95 lbs).

frankly, you should start with the bar only and get the form down. learn to arch very hard. I have a friend that is a cyclist, and he is so used to having a rounded back, he has a lot of trouble arching, so this may take some work for you.[/quote]

today I do my first Good Morning…always had back problems,herniated L4…always babied it…fuck that, time to try something different.

9

[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
I like Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. It’s my favorite 5 x 5.[/quote]

thanks Yo, I have the book, me technique bible (except I really believe in Ripptoe), I’ll have a look at it tonight.

10

Help for your squat…

The Squat Rx series is here, all in one place! There are 21 videos to watch, but you’ll learn what you have to do to squat without crippling yourself:

11

Good mornings are great for lower back. I love them. Like Mr. Newland said, mind your form and you should be good. Stay tight, tight, tight. I have a bulging disc caused by a desk job. It doesn’t impact my deadlifts nor do deads hurt my back.

You mentioned your back has issues when you lower the weight. When you lower it just do it under control so it doesn’t slam off the floor but don’t expend too much energy on the down part.

I’m a fan of 5x5 as well and it’s where I started. It’s simple and uncomplicated.

o