In Bill Starr I trust: Second 5x5 Run

[caerus13]

About me
I am 21 years old, 5'8", graduate student in engineering/chemistry. I started 'working out' on Sept 1st 2009, my only real activity before that was playing roller hockey. I went to the gym with a friend, saw he had a big chest, so hey...he must know what he's doing! I had a pretty poor 'program' (I was a typical bar-body fool) until March 2010. I did start eating 'clean' in December, which did help, but I wasn't eating enough (typical fool again, afraid to get fat).

Training history
I had someone suggest 20 Rep Squats to me in March (and the associated GOMAD), which introduced me to who Bill Starr and Rippetoe and that whole gang were. I realized I've been training terribly, I hadn't even squatted or deadlifted until March! So after I ran 20 Rep Squats, I was excited to move onto the 5x5 (I did the Madcow intermediate). I no longer had access to a squat rack, so I basically did deadlifts instead of squats (best I could do) for the run of it. I started eating more in May.

Stats by time
Stat/Sept 2010/March 2010/early June 2010/Current (August 2010)/GOAL (for end of this run)
Weight/160/165/173/182.4/whatever
BF %/~15%/12/12/12 (estimates)/10-12
Bench/****/185/205/235/255
Squat/crap/185/250/315/375
Deadlift/bar/255/300/390/450
Press/?/95/105/120/150

As you can see, I've had great gains running the 5x5 through June, I decided I wanted to try my own program in early July though...DUMB. I still do not know better than Bill Starr, I was overtraining and not getting gains at all. Hence, I am running the program again.

I go every other day (instead of the 2 day rest after the medium day, I take just one). I think my nutrition is great, and my first run of the program I got great gains this way. If I find myself struggling at some point in this run, reverting to the 2 day rest here may be one of the variables to change.

It is as follows:
Heavy Day (going for new PRs)
Squats (Ramping 5x5)
Bench (Ramping 5x5)
Row (Ramping 5x5)
Hypers (2 sets)
Press situp (1 or 2 sets)

Light Day (~80% intensity)
Squats (4x5, light)
Press (4x5, going for new PRs)
Deadlifts (4x5, going for new PRs)
Press situp (2 sets, lighter than heavy day)
Chinups/pullups (2 sets, alternating by week)

Medium Day (~90% intensity) The triple is the weight for the next heavy day 5
Squats (3x5,1x3,1x8)
Bench (3x5,1x3,1x8)
Row (3x5,1x3,1x8)
Dips (3x8)
Biceps (3x8) typically incline curls
Triceps (2x8) typically close grip bench

Nutrition
Typical day is: ~4000 cals, 300g/400g/120g of protein/fat/carbs. For protein I use diverse sources: eggs, chicken, red meat (usually round), milk, whey, and casein. I pick up some fish when it's on sale too. Most of my fat comes from natural peanut butter. Carbs are generally complex (brown rice, veggies, whole wheat bread, potatoes, bananas).

Supplements
I use ON Whey and Casein. I have been taking ON Creatine since March. I recently add in Jack3d (for curiosity's sake). Take a Centrum Multivitamin daily. I use dextrose (recent addition) for my postworkout carb, in milk, with whey.


My past workouts are in my Workout Tracker, I will add in yesterday's workout here for starters. I hope that this goes smoothly, with no plateaus just like last run, but if it happens, I hope to find some help here!

[caerus13]

07/28/10

Squat
135x5
175x5
215x5
250x5
285x5 (belted)

Bench
105x5
125x5
155x5
180x5
205x5

Row (in kgs)
35x5
45x5
50x5
60x5
67.5x5

Hypers (dumbbells held to chest)
47.5x12
55x9

Press situps (with EZ curl bar)
50x8
70x5

Situps (dumbbells on chest)
47.5x5

[caerus13]

Week 3: Light Day

07/30/10

Squat
135x5
175x5
215x5
215x5

Press
65x5
80x5
90x5
105x5 (felt strong doing these, decided to test myself)
110x5 (still strong)
115x5 (last rep was tough, got it up though)

Deadlift (in kg)
100x5
120x5
140x5
155x5

Chinups
BWx8
BWx8

Press Situp
30x10
30x8


I'm relatively new to the press, so I think I still have the luxury of recruiting a lot of my neuromuscular efficiency there, therefore I think I'm going to be aggressive increasing the weight (I'm thinking 120x5 next week). I've been jumping up in weight pretty quickly to date.

I've been using stretches between squat sets to increase flexibility. I currently have trouble going far below parallel (I do definitely get to slightly lower than parallel though, just not the ATG others do). I can't find the video on the forums again, but I do the 'fire hydrant', 'mountain climbers' and 'groiners'. Seems to be working! I went deeper today for sure.

Chalk was shipped to me today, excited to get that for DLs!

[caerus13]

Week 3: Medium Day

08/01/10

BW: 181.9

Squat
135x5
175x5
215x5
250x5
292.2x3 (belted)
215x8

Bench
100x5
125x5
155x5
180x5
210x5
155x8

Row (in kgs)
35x5
45x5
50x5
60x5
70x3
50x8

Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+55x7

Incline Curls
25x8
35x6

Rope Pushdown
95x8
110x5

Chinups
BW+10x7

Close grip bench
145x8


Squat: 292.2x3...heavy (duh), not sure if I can come back in 2 days and eek out 5. Might go for 287.2x5, maybe 290x5 if I can get two spotters.

Bench: 210x5, I was only supposed to 3, but I felt extremely strong, had good velocity, form all that, so I pushed for 5, and got it fairly easily. Bumping up to 215x5 in 2 days.

Row: 70kgx3...my form sucked on this set. The prior 4 sets were great, maybe I'll scale back to 67.5x5 in 2 days?


Overall: Phew, great workout. Gym was near empty: paradise.

[caerus13]

Week 4: Heavy Day

08/03/10

BW: 183.0

Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
290x3

I'm probably overreaching. I'm going to try 287.2x5 on Medium Day.


Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
190x5
215x3.5 (just couldn't lock out)

Same as for squat, I'm probably overreaching. I'm going to try 212.2x5 on Medium Day.

Row (in kgs)
40x5
45x5
50x5
60x5
68x5

Awesome sets, good smooth sets, bar pulled to upper waist.

Hypers
47.5x10
55x10

Pullups
BW+15x5

Press situps
50x10
70x6

Situps
47.5x10


I didn't get great sleep last night, might have contributed to poor squat and bench.

[caerus13]

Week 4: Light Day

08/04/10

BW: 182.6 (I think I'm a little bit leaner than last weigh-in though)


Squat
135x5
180x5
225x5
225x5

Press
75x5
90x5
105x5
120x5

Working set felt great, only slight struggle locking out on last rep. Going for 125x5 next week.

Deadlift (in kgs)
95x5
120x5
140x5
160x5 (mixed grip, belted)

Grip slipped on 5th rep, I let it back down, did rep again. Definitely had more reps in my legs and back, grip slipping though (I'm a sweaty fck when I DL). Will have chalk next week, will go for 165x5!

Press situp
30x12
30x12


Overall: Great workout, felt solid on all my sets.

[caerus13]

Week 4: Medium Day

08/07/10

BW: 182.2


Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
295x3 (belted)
215x8

Form was solid on all reps. I think last rep of 295 was the hardest and most intense I've ever pushed myself, feel like I gained another gear today. Looking forward to workout Monday, going for 287.2x5

Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
185x5
217.2x3
160x8

Form was solid on all reps. Going for 212.2x5 on Monday.

Row (in kgs)
35x5
45x5
50x5
60x5
71x5
50x8

Used my new chalk on the last set, didn't think I needed it, just wanted to try it out. Good grip, got 5 reps easy instead of the 3 I was supposed. Moving to 72.5x5 on Monday.

Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+57.5x5

Incline curls
25x8
37.5x6

Close grip bench press
135x8
145x6
150x6

I think I had a rep or two left in me at 150, but cut it short.

Chinups
BW+20x6


Interesting gym trip. Had to work in with some guy on squats because some manlets were using the other squat rack for curls... nice guy, asked me about his form and I really helped him out, put a smile his face! Hopefully he remembers the tips I gave him. Had some save other manlet benching next to me who got stuck under 85lbs...some people never learn.

I plan to bring my camera to record my deadlift attempt on Wednesday (my birthday!), and maybe on Monday for squats...we'll see.

[illiniStrive]

I plan to bring my camera to record my deadlift attempt on Wednesday (my birthday!), and maybe on Monday for squats...we'll see.

Happy early birthday!

Will be watching this. Definitely not 5x5 ready yet, but want to learn whatever I can and seeing how other people do it will be a good learning experience.

Enjoy the (mostly) empty ARC while it lasts... in about about 10-15 days that place will be packed!

[caerus13]

Happy early birthday!

Will be watching this. Definitely not 5x5 ready yet, but want to learn whatever I can and seeing how other people do it will be a good learning experience.

Enjoy the (mostly) empty ARC while it lasts... in about about 10-15 days that place will be packed!

Thank you.

You actually do more (relative) volume than me. I only do one real working set, seems like you have ~3 working sets/exercise.

ARC opens at 11am on weekends now (usually opened at 9), and there's so many more people...lucky for me noone squats or deadlifts much! I've only seen one other guy deadlift. I plan to go at 6:30am (when it opens) so I hope the undergrads (no offense!) aren't awake by then.

[caerus13]

Week 5: Heavy Day

08/09/10

BW: 183.0


Squats
145x5
180x5
215x5
250x5
287.2x5 (belted)

You know how I know I'm going deep on squats? Boxers ripped at the bottom of the last rep...epic.

Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
185x5
212.2x5 (spotter gave me very slight help to lockout last rep)

I'm going to try for 215x5 next week, I think I can do it.

Rows (in kgs)
35x5
45x5
55x5
65x5
72.5x5 (chalked)

Hypers
47.5x12
55x10

Press situps
50x10
70x6

These kill my hips...have to improve my ab involvement.

Situps (dumbbell on chest)
50x12


Woohoo, ripped my underwear squatting, is this a rite of passage of sorts? I brought my camera and was going to film it, but I got shy, sorry guys :-( Would've been funny, was pretty loud! Definitely filming the deadlift in two days though.

[caerus13]

Week 5, Light Day

08/11/10

BW: 181.4


Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
215x5

Press
75x5
95x5
110x5
125x4
125x5 (came back after deadlifts)

Deadlift (in kgs)
100x5
125x5
145x5
165x5 (belted, chalk, mixed grip) See video!

Press situp
30x12
30x12


Woohoo, happy birthday to me. Deadlifted 165kgx5 (relatively) easily. First time using chalk, and it sure was worth it. No grip problems.

[caerus13]

Week 5: Medium Day

08/13/10

BW: 181.0 (my weight is going down, but I suspect it's only water weight since my new house is REALLY hot and I've been sweating constantly. I don't suspect it's a cause for concern.)


Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
250x5
297.2x3 (belted)
215x8


Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
185x5
220x3 (spotter helped a tiny bit on the right to lockout)
160x8


Rows (in kgs)
35x5
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5 (chalked)
55x8

Going for 77.5x5 next week


Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+55x4

Incline Curls
25x8
30x8
35x4

Close grip bench
135x8
155x8


Good workout overall.

I'm reverting to a MWF split instead of every other day. I'll potentially be more aggressive with weight increases. I think every other day has beat me up pretty good, so some rest is called for.

[caerus13]

Week 6: Heavy Day

08/16/10

BW: 183.6 (nice, must be well hydrated again+muscle)


Squats
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
290x5 (belted)

My back is much stronger now. Usually this weight would almost be forcing me to good morning, but my form is better and there is no push to GM at all.

Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
185x5
213.6x5

I improved my form, coordinating the WHOLE body to do the lift. Use my legs to give the bar a good heave, push it past my sticking point.

Row (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
67.5x5
77.5x5 (chalked)

Hypers
47.5x12
55x11

Press situps
50x10
70x7

Situps (DB on chest)
55x10


Another pair of boxers killed by squats, I think it's time to buy compression shorts or something. I can't afford this! Good workout overall, I was efficient and had energy thorough. Hit all the lifts I wanted.

[caerus13]

Week 6: Light Day

08/18/10

BW: 181.6 (oh no! no worries though)


Squat
145x5
185x5
220x5
220x5

Press
85x5
95x5
110x5
127.2x5

Was (relatively) easy on the working set. Did not stick at all. I think I'm going to try 131.1x5 next week, maybe even 132.2x5, who knows?


Deadlift (in kgs)
105x5
130x5
150x5
170x5 (chalked, belted)

Eh...I could do more. 175x5 next week. Done.

Press situp
30x12
40x10


...undergrads are back. The bro-science I heard today was unprecedented.

[caerus13]

Week 6: Medium Day

08/20/10

BW: 183.1


Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
300x3 (belted)
215x8


Bench
105x5
135x5
160x5
185x5
222.2x2+ (I got it off my chest easy, but locking out I needed spotter help)
160x8


Rows (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
67.5x5
80x3
60x8


Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+25x10 (to failure)


Incline curls
25x8
30x8
27.5x8 (to failure)


Close grip bench
145x8
150x10 (to failure)


My bench is getting stale, but everything else is progressing nicely.

[illiniStrive]

...undergrads are back. The bro-science I heard today was unprecedented.

Hey now, we're not all bad...

Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
300x3 (belted)
215x8

awesome work on the squats. 300 is nothing to mess with

[caerus13]

Hey now, we're not all bad...



awesome work on the squats. 300 is nothing to mess with

Some guy was doing bicep curls in the squat rack, telling his friend you have hit your inner and outer bicep twice a week to make good progress. I was just in shock, THEN he said squats are bad for your knees. FACEPALM + turn up headphones.


And thank you. Unfortunately I'm somewhat obnoxious and everyone is aware when I'm doing squats :-p

[caerus13]

Week 7: Heavy Day

08/23/10

BW: 184.9 (yeah boy!)


Squats
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
295x5 (belted)


Bench
105x5
135x5
165x5
190x5
213.3x5 (was 'easy', went for 215)
215x5


Rows (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
70x5
80x5


Hypers
55x12


Press situps
60x10


First day of class, got a little crunched for time at the end. New PRs for squat, bench and rows, no complaints!

[caerus13]

Week 7: Light Day

08/25/10

BW: 185.6


Squat
145x5
185x5
225x5
225x5


Press
80x5
100x5
115x5
132.2x5

I think I could have done 135x5, I'll bump up to 137.2x5 next week since I'm making great progress so far.


Deadlift (in kgs)
105x5
130x5
150x5 (mixed grip)
175x5 (chalked, belted, mixed grip)

Was tough, but I'll bump the weight to 180kg next week.


Press situps
30x12
40x12

[caerus13]

Week 7: Medium Day

08/27/10

BW: 185.6 scale is a little bit screwy, it seems to have hysteresis (look that up non-science types :-p )


Squat
145x5
185x5
215x5
255x5
305x3 (belted)
225x8 (I repped these out faster than usual, felt great)


Bench
105x5
135x5
165x5
190x5
220x3 (maybe could get 5 on Monday)
165x8


Row (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
70x5
82x3
60x8

I made a conscious effort to row it up faster, with more intensity this time. Hit my lower rib a few times, hurt a little, but it's worth it.


Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+50x6


Incline curls
25x8
30x8
32.5x5


Close grip bench
145x8
155x8 (to failure)

[illiniStrive]

Some guy was doing bicep curls in the squat rack, telling his friend you have hit your inner and outer bicep twice a week to make good progress. I was just in shock, THEN he said squats are bad for your knees. FACEPALM + turn up headphones.

LMFAO, too funny. But I guess that's the beauty of going to a campus gym.

Btw, where do you usually do deads at? I used one of the benching barbells and do it right in from the bench a couple times when it wasn't crowded, and today I just used one of the power racks but it feels like a waste. Plus people are looking at me like I'm weird as sht lol

[caerus13]

LMFAO, too funny. But I guess that's the beauty of going to a campus gym.

Btw, where do you usually do deads at? I used one of the benching barbells and do it right in from the bench a couple times when it wasn't crowded, and today I just used one of the power racks but it feels like a waste. Plus people are looking at me like I'm weird as sht lol

It gets worse everyday... two of my housemates (girls) wanted me to teach them to weightlift today, so weird guys were like hovering around them. Some guy asked me to spot for him, said he could get 4 reps, he dislocated his shoulder on the first rep, the girls were so impressed :-p I can only imagine what happens to you when you go on a regular basis and see these guys!

When you come down the stairs, just go straight to the wall. There's two rubber platforms/floors just for deadlifts, cleans, etc... I do rows there too. You can let the weight down faster without damaging the floor. Plus it's a lot easier to get 385 lbs on the bar with the iron plates ;-)

[caerus13]

Week 8: Heavy Day

08/30/10

BW: 182.6 (I really don't trust the scale at the gym, it's wild)


Squats
145x5
185x5
225x5
260x5
300x5 (belted)


Bench
Pushups x 5
165x5
195x5
220x2

I was in a rush today (class at 8:30, ugh) and all the benches were taken, so I did a ****ty warmup. I came back to it after rows.


Rows (in kgs)
42.5x5
52.5x5
62.5x5
72.5x5
82.5x5

Giving that good rip off the floor works really well.


Bench (try two)
115x5
155x5
185x3
220x3

Just didn't have it today. I'm going to do 220 for the triple on Friday, see how I feel.


Skipped assistance, no time. I'll do them on Wednesday.

[caerus13]

Week 8: Light Day

09/01/10

BW: 187.0


Squats
155x5
185x5
225x5
225x5


Press
85x5
100x5
120x5
137x5 (going to increase 5 lbs again next week, felt the same as last week)


Deadlift (in kgs)
120x5
135x5
150x5 (mixed, belted, chalk)
180x5 (mixed, belted, chalk)


Hypers
50x10
60x8


Skipped on press situps, ran out of time. Going hard Friday, plenty of time.


So today was my 1 year 'anniversary' of going to the gym. Just to recap my current 5RMs:
Squat 300lb
Deadlift 180kg (396lb)
Bench 215lb
Press 137lb
Rows 82kg (180lb)

A lot of the progress has been made in the last 6 or so months, but still, I'd be silly to complain about my progress! Really happy with it, and never dreamed of being here when I first started.


New lifting song (for the hard sets):

[caerus13]

Week 8: Medium Day

09/03/10

BW: 183.6


Squats
155x5
185x5
225x5
265x5 (belted)
310x3 (belted)
225x8


Bench
115x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
220x3
165x8

MIGHT be able to get 220x5 on Monday, worth a shot.


Rows (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
70x5
85x3
60x8


Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+50x6


EZ Bar curls (decided to switch it up from incline curls)
45x8
65x8
65x5


Close grip bench
145x8
160x6


Whoo, long workout.

[caerus13]

Week 9: Heavy Day

09/06/10

BW: 186.6


Squats
155x5
185x5
225x5
265x5 (belted)
305x5 (belted)


Bench
115x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
220x5


Rows (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
70x5
85x5


Hypers
50x10
60x8


Press situps
50x10
70x8


Situps
60x10
70x7 ---> no weight x8


Bench was GREAT. Maybe it was just time for a weight jump, or maybe working out slightly later in the day helped. At any rate, I did it. Plateau busted?

[caerus13]

Week 9: Light Day

09/08/10

BW: 185.6


Squats
155x5
185x5
230x5
230x5


Press
90x5
105x5
125x5
142x5


Deadlift (in kgs)
125x5
135x5
155x5 (belted)
185x5 (belted)


Press situps
40x8
40x10


I've been increasing deadlifts by 5kg/week. I'm going to throttle back to 2.5kg/week. I may have to slow down press to 2-3 lbs/week too. We'll see...

[caerus13]

Week 9: Medium Day

09/10/10

BW: 186.3


Squats
155x5
185x5
225x5
265x5 (belted)
315x3 (belted)
230x8


Bench
105x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x3
165x8

I had one, maybe two, more in me at 225. We'll see on Monday!


Row (in kgs)
40x5
50x5
60x5
70x5
87.5x3
60x5


Dips
BW+30x8
BW+40x8
BW+50x6 (I had more but my wrist slipped at the end :-/ )


EZ Bar Curls
45x8
65x8
70x5


Cut out closegrip bench, had to leave to go to class.

[caerus13]

Week 10: Heavy Day

09/13/10

BW: 187.2


Squats
155x5
195x5
235x5
270x5 (belted)
310x5 (belted)


Bench
115x5
140x5
170x5
200x5
225x5


Power cleans
I've decided to substitute power cleans for rows. I've never really done these before, so I except it will take me some time to get them down right. I have a friend at the gym who does them really well though, so I hope he'll help me with my form.

Screwed around a little, did a bunch of reps at 65, 85 and 105


Pullups
BWx8
BWx6
BWx5

All to failure


FINALLY 2 plates on bench x5, been wanting this for a long long time!

[illiniStrive]

Power cleans
I've decided to substitute power cleans for rows. I've never really done these before, so I except it will take me some time to get them down right. I have a friend at the gym who does them really well though, so I hope he'll help me with my form.

Screwed around a little, did a bunch of reps at 65, 85 and 105

Props to you for adding in the cleans! Something I've been wanting to do for a bit but am too chicken to try...

FINALLY 2 plates on bench x5, been wanting this for a long long time!

NICE! Should've let the cheerdudes know, they could've done some flips or something idk lol