My 5x5 Routine - Advice Please

[Magma2011]

Hi,

I've been working out for years, but never get beyond a certain level. Mostly, it's because I get bored and turn to cardio. So I tend to go in about 3 month cycles - 3 months of weight training then 3 months of cardio, and back again.

I usually build to (approx) a deadlift of 100kgs - 110kgs deadlift, bent row of 80kgs, bench press of about 80kg, squat of 50kgs - 60kgs, bicep curl of 30kgs and shoulder press of 50kgs. Yes, it's a bit uneven, I know. But I use free weights at home with no rack or bench which makes heavier bench presses or squats a bit difficult.

My usual routine is something like 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps, maxing out at 10. I do a chest, shoulder and arm day, and a leg and back day. Sometimes I split the leg and back day into two to make a three day split. But it's always been fairly unsystematic because I know where my plateau is and tend to work towards it.

Anyway, I've just hit my usual plateau, and it's been about 3 months, but this time I thought I would mix it up a bit and break through my usual weight limits. I'm a true believer in the basic core exercises, and that's where all my progress comes from so I don't want anything 'fancy'. After reading around this wonderful forum I see the benefits of a 5x5 routine a la Bill Starr adding a small amount each workout. With a strategy for dealing with failure and for breaking through plateaus.

Because I am close to my 'plateau' I will add just 1kg to each new workout, to get me past my usual stopping point in about 4-5 weeks, which is an excellent goal.

I know it's a pretty basic routine, but I like to focus on the basics and this is my first strategically planned routine, ever! I have no extra equipment so this is all weights, and no racks or bench. I'm looking to build size and strength, period. I'm 6'3" tall and currently 244lbs so I figure I should be doing better than my 'plateau'.

So today I began

Day One (Monday):
Warm up: 5 sets x 10 reps Clean and press at 20kgs

Squats
Warm up: 1 sets x 10 reps 20kgs
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 30kgs
Set 1: 5x 50kgs
Set 2: 5x 50kgs
Set 3: 5x 50kgs
Set 4: 5x 50kgs
Set 5: 5x 50kgs

Shoulder Press
No warm up needed
Set 1: 5x 40kgs
Set 2: 5x 40kgs
Set 3: 5x 40kgs
Set 4: 5x 40kgs
Set 5: 5x 40kgs

Deadlift
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 40kgs

Set 1: 5x 90kgs
Set 2: 5x 90kgs
Set 3: 5x 90kgs
Set 4: 5x 90kgs
Set 5: 5x 90kgs

Supplementals

Standing Overhead Tricep Extension
Set 1: 6x 12kgs
Set 2: 6x 12kgs
Set 3: 6x 12kgs

Weighted Crunch (feet under the barbell, holding rucksack full of weights to do crunch)
Set 1: 8x 25kgs
Set 2: 8x 25kgs
Set 3: 8x 25kgs

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Day Two (Wednesday):
Warm up: 3 sets x 10 reps Clean and press at 20kgs

Squats
Warm up: 1 sets x 10 reps 20kgs
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 30kgs
Set 1: 5x 51kgs
Set 2: 5x 51kgs
Set 3: 5x 51kgs
Set 4: 5x 51kgs
Set 5: 5x 51kgs

Weighted Push Ups (Push up with rucksack full of weights on my back)
Warm up: 1 sets x 10 push ups (no added weight)
Set 1: 5x push up + 30kgs
Set 2: 5x push up + 30kgs
Set 3: 5x push up + 30kgs
Set 4: 5x push up + 30kgs
Set 5: 5x push up + 30kgs

Bent Row
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 30kgs

Set 1: 5x 60kgs
Set 2: 5x 60kgs
Set 3: 5x 60kgs
Set 4: 5x 60kgs
Set 5: 5x 60kgs

Supplementals

Chest DB Flyes
Set 1: 6x 20kgs
Set 2: 6x 20kgs
Set 3: 6x 20kgs

Bicep DB Curls
Set 1: 6x 26kgs
Set 2: 6x 26kgs
Set 3: 6x 26kgs

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Day Three (Friday):
Warm up: 5 sets x 10 reps Clean and press at 20kgs

Squats
Warm up: 1 sets x 10 reps 20kgs
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 30kgs
Set 1: 5x 52kgs
Set 2: 5x 52kgs
Set 3: 5x 52kgs
Set 4: 5x 52kgs
Set 5: 5x 52kgs

Shoulder Press
No warm up needed
Set 1: 5x 41kgs
Set 2: 5x 41kgs
Set 3: 5x 41kgs
Set 4: 5x 41kgs
Set 5: 5x 41kgs

Deadlift
Warm up: 1 sets x 5 reps 40kgs

Set 1: 5x 91kgs
Set 2: 5x 91kgs
Set 3: 5x 91kgs
Set 4: 5x 91kgs
Set 5: 5x 91kgs

Supplementals

Calf Raises
Set 1: 6x 20kgs
Set 2: 6x 20kgs
Set 3: 6x 20kgs

Standing Lateral Weighted Crunch (using DB)
Set 1: 8x 25kgs
Set 2: 8x 25kgs
Set 3: 8x 25kgs

Rinse and repeat. The basic routine is just a two day split (A,B), but the supplementals are on a three day split. So:
Day one Monday A
Day two Wednesday B
Day three Friday A
Day four Monday B
Day five Wednesday A
Day six Friday B
And so on. Although this messes with the supplementals so maybe I should ditch the lateral crunches and calf raises on day 3 and just repeat A, B, A, B for core and supplementals each time.

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Questions:

Supplementals, any thoughts on these? I like to add bicep and tricep work as I am tall (6'3") and do not have naturally large arms so it does my vanity some good to do heavy curls : )
But expert advice will be heeded, have I put the supplementals on the right days? Do I need to bother with all of them? And what about the number of sets/reps for the supplementals, should they be 5x5 also or less? The routines I read about seemed to vary on this point.

Deadlift/Squat day: I have seen different versions of the 5x5 and in some I see less than 5 sets for the deadlift because (apparently) it's not good to work on both squats and deadlifts on the same day. This seems a shame because I like to do both. An alternative would be to create an alternate third day which starts with a deadlift 5x5 and ends with a squat 3x5 to alternate with a day of squat 5x5 followed by deadlift 3x5.

Any comments or suggestions much appreciated. I'm not well versed in this stuff, I just enjoy exercise, so if I've missed something then please let me know. I'm really not sure about the supplementals, if I need them or if they are the right ones or in the right order. Also, not completely sure if there needs to be squats EVERY session, but that seems to be the 5x5 routine.

Thanks if you read this far!