My Novice 5x5 For Bodybuilders.

[jsp16]

to the ppl who started this program weeks ago.....have u noticed any changes to your body in like 2-4 weeks??

Question to u jason......is it okay to do neck harness on rest days? Becuz I been trying to built up my pencil neck for 2 months and its going great....so i was wondering if i can do neck harness on rest days? and maybe wrist rollers for my forearms and grip strength?

[FeelTheFear]

love this program although im not running it.. Now whenever noobs ask questions about routines I just link them to this thread lol

[FeelTheFear]

to the ppl who started this program weeks ago.....have u noticed any changes to your body in like 2-4 weeks??

Question to u jason......is it okay to do neck harness on rest days? Becuz I been trying to built up my pencil neck for 2 months and its going great....so i was wondering if i can do neck harness on rest days? and maybe wrist rollers for my forearms and grip strength?

wtf neck exercises are retarded bro. The muscles dont have enough potential to hypertrophy enough to make visible differences and you could easily snap your **** up.

[Grailer]

Hey Jason,i just started doing squats when i got on your program 1 month ago and now I have really bad pain in groins while doing reps and while resting between sets,pain is gone 10min after i finish squating,is it because of bad mobility? I'm 6'4 and very unflexible.

Usually due to stance too wide

[NaturalMarty]

can u have a look at this draft idea for what i wanna move into now from novice to intermediate

[ottawatim]

Why -10% on barbell rows ?

Explained in the video if you watch it.

[sameaha]

You can still do back squats on the smith machine, it's not ideal but if its all you got then why not?

I don't feel my quads when doing smith squats. I did goblet squat with only 60 pounds and my quads hurt me for two days which means the quad wasn't getting good stimulation in smith squat

[talarone]

When i row, i kind of jerk the weight and im kind of upright, but not really...but i seriously feel the burn in my lats, and my chest stays up, i just am a bit more upright, is this acceptable? Also i row 190 but only deadlift 235, i honestly think it's because ive been afraid of them so long so i don't feel i can do more than that...ill let you know tomorrow...had to lower my squat because my depth wasn't where i wanted.

[Earlkonig]

Just wanted to put my two cents in on this program. It is fantastic. I have not lifted in over three years and even then I would still be classified as novice. Right now I am on a cut and I am gaining lean mass/strength. I did not think I could recover fast enough from doing this routine with a calorie deficient, but as of now recovery is great. Another side effect is I sleep so much better now cause I am exhausted. I plan on staying with this one for a while and cant wait till a bulk. I am getting stronger and bigger on a cut. (I know its newb gains but never seen them this drastic.)

[Hyperflux]

Jason, I desperately need help getting my bench press up. It's been stuck at 185lbs for 2 months now (although before I did 3x5, now I do 5x5). I just can't go up in weight! I row 185 now for 5x5 to give you an idea...(BOR). My squat is 110lbs above my bench too. I tried resetting, changing my grip, etc. Nothing works. Any advice?

[EddieFromEurope]

Jason, I desperately need help getting my bench press up. It's been stuck at 185lbs for 2 months now (although before I did 3x5, now I do 5x5). I just can't go up in weight! I row 185 now for 5x5 to give you an idea...(BOR). My squat is 110lbs above my bench too. I tried resetting, changing my grip, etc. Nothing works. Any advice?

Are you eating enough? Sleeping enough?

[Hyperflux]

Are you eating enough? Sleeping enough?

You bet I am. 20% bulk, getting 7-10hrs/sleep a night.

[Grailer]

Im doing 3x5 deadlifts , I did however get some cramp in thigh after 1st set and had to drink some water , probably just creatine needing more water to do its work .

I almost feel I should do 5x5 deadlift and 1x5 squats .

I can't do backsquats yet due to shoulder issue so just doing front squats to box cause I hurt knee when trying to do ass to ground with dumbbells after the dumbbell hit my knee and buckled it inwards causing burning pain in knee doh

Only having 1500 calories a day and did 20mins cardio after workout to burn some more fat . Strength going up still thanks to n00b gains , drinking protein like its water .



my home gym set up just got the other day

[tmartin89]

When you say add 5lbs, do you mean to each side or in total??

[Grailer]

When you say add 5lbs, do you mean to each side or in total??

2.5lb each side .

[Mak1n]

Hey guys, did Jason metioned which typed of Rows he mean to be implemented in his workout? Also any good video explanation on proper Row (I assume Jasom don't want us to do Pendlay rows after squeat and deadlift) ?

[sackamous]

Well finally had to reset two lifts today, bench at 245lbs and skull crushers at 130lbs. Was the second time I failed my 5th set on the bench and on the crushers I backed it back down not cause of failure but form issues, feels bad. On a better note though I did get to put a check next to 300lb squat After 9 weeks of of pushing my self to the limit I think im due for a deload especially since I just ran the program every other day instead of only 3 days a week. I said a bunch of times I was going to do the 2 days off but I would wake up rested on the weekend feeling good and couldn't help my self.

[JasonDB]

Jason, I desperately need help getting my bench press up. It's been stuck at 185lbs for 2 months now (although before I did 3x5, now I do 5x5). I just can't go up in weight! I row 185 now for 5x5 to give you an idea...(BOR). My squat is 110lbs above my bench too. I tried resetting, changing my grip, etc. Nothing works. Any advice?

You bet I am. 20% bulk, getting 7-10hrs/sleep a night.

Stop changing things. Just tighten up your technique, reduce by 10% and ramp up again. Where specifically are you failing? Where does the bar slow down at in the lift? Bottom, middle or top? I would need to see your technique to give much further advice beyond that.

Well finally had to reset two lifts today, bench at 245lbs and skull crushers at 130lbs. Was the second time I failed my 5th set on the bench and on the crushers I backed it back down not cause of failure but form issues, feels bad. On a better note though I did get to put a check next to 300lb squat After 9 weeks of of pushing my self to the limit I think im due for a deload especially since I just ran the program every other day instead of only 3 days a week. I said a bunch of times I was going to do the 2 days off but I would wake up rested on the weekend feeling good and couldn't help my self.

Take a deload you have earned it and you are pushing intermediate numbers already so deloads need to start happening regularly anyway.

On a side note people stop PMing me instead of asking questions in my stickies... this forum requires a wait between sending PM's... so if I log in and have 12... I have to answer one... wait... answer another then wait... so basically if you are sending me PM's and not getting a reply this is why. LoL

[KingJames2012]

Hey guys, did Jason metioned which typed of Rows he mean to be implemented in his workout? Also any good video explanation on proper Row (I assume Jasom don't want us to do Pendlay rows after squeat and deadlift) ?

Bent over rows. In the video. He also has a video on rows.

[jbragg10]

Can I split these up for a 5 day routine (I can get to gym everyday, but for limited time). I was thinking about my heavy compound lifts being A/B and the arm isolation movements on C

A:
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Rows 5x5
Shrug 3x8

Tuesday/Thursday (C):
Chins/Dips 3x5-8
Straight Bar/Incline Curl 3x8
CGBP 3x8
Kneeling Cable Crunch 3x10-20

B:
Squat 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Standing Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5 -10%


Would this be okay?

[notpuayet]

I'm having a bit of a hard time doing the progressive overload, for instance I rowed 15kg today, was still hard after doing it two days ago, also is benching on a Smith machine un advisory? The routine has been working on other areas though, even though I lift a bit low I feel like I may going to failure too often esp on compounds, sometimes ill add 10 lbs do a couple of sets and fail, any advice?

[lrd3]

watch the video.... the B row is a deloaded weight....

I'm having a bit of a hard time doing the progressive overload, for instance I rowed 15kg today, was still hard after doing it two days ago, also is benching on a Smith machine un advisory? The routine has been working on other areas though, even though I lift a bit low I feel like I may going to failure too often esp on compounds, sometimes ill add 10 lbs do a couple of sets and fail, any advice?

[notpuayet]

watch the video.... the B row is a deloaded weight....

only on one of the workouts though right?

[bigruss504]

Jason, Military brah here, EVERYTHING you do to help out as many of us as you can is much appreciated.

Long story short, I am 6'4 235 lbs, approx 15-17% bf. Been lifting on and off for about 3 years. Just did a dirty (i know, more work to get the fat off but stuff happens) bulk from 215 to 235 over a 4 month period. Currently cutting at 2700 cals. Trying to get down to 205 over the next 5.5 months (Jul 1).

DL 1RM - 420
Incline BP 1RM - 245 (Don't really Flat BP so not sure the 1 Rep there)
Squat 1RM - 310
BB Row 1RM - 210

Just 2 questions for you,

Would you recommend the novice program for me? Any differences to the program while cutting?

Thanks for your time

[CamLeslie]

Take a deload you have earned it and you are pushing intermediate numbers already so deloads need to start happening regularly anyway.

Two questions that I think you may have already answered. I remember you saying something like "...run this until you can bench 300, squat 400, deadlift 500."

For me progress is beginning to slow down. A lot of times I have to do a lift twice (two sessions) to get the require weight. Are they any recommendations for combating this at cetain point, i.e. light squat day? Or is that drifting into different programming land?

Second question: What program would you recommend after this for people with bodybuild goals? Powerlifting goals? I watched your videos on 531, Phat and setting up an intermediate routine (with lagging deltoids) and I was just curious.

[CamLeslie]

only on one of the workouts though right?

Correct, B day is a Bent Over Row - 5x5 @ weight of A session - 10%.

[lkleinbrodt]

I've always had trouble doing BOR's, just always felt awkward for me. Can I use a seated row machine instead of doing the barbell rows?

[UberSuper]

I've always had trouble doing BOR's, just always felt awkward for me. Can I use a seated row machine instead of doing the barbell rows?

You won't get the same results. Just start with a lighter weight and work on your form IMO. You're going to be ramping up to points where you have to reset eventually anyway, so you may as well just start slow and get the movement right. I really struggled with them at first because of my old lower back issue and thought I'd always hate them but I love them now. FWIW when my form didn't feel great and it felt like a heavier load would be probably too tough next time anyway, I'd count it as a fail on some days even if I got my 5x5 in.

[PapaPumpkin]

Today was my first day of Workout A after a 4 week hiatus from working out after completing 6 cycles of All Pro's. The hiatus was due to moving to my state's capital to work for the government doing Auditing.

I know Jason recommended against it, but I decided to do Good Mornings instead of the other options. I already had the power cage to myself, so it was convenient to just stay there. I had planned on doing them beforehand anyways, so I studied lots of videos/cues and used a light weight.

Here are my worksets
Squat - 200 [Felt great to be squatting again, my 10RM from All Pro's was 215 but I decided to start a little lighter to ease myself back in)
Bench - 100
BOR - 115 (might need to lower)
Shrugs- 125 (I need to reevaluate, shrugs felt awkward no matter what weight I used)
SklCshrs - 45 (I had some elbow discomfort during these, really need to study Jason's video)
Curls - 65 (done with a straight Olympic bar)
Good Mornings - 75 (Honestly the execution felt very similar to the SLDLs I did on All Pro's except with the bar on my back rather than in my hands)
Cable Crunch - 70 3x20 (I loved how these felt! It is hard to tell when to stop though)

The workout was pretty disorganized, having been my first time working out in a public gym. I didn't keep my rest time coordinated. I really hope this routine will get my bench up (and my presses in general), my upper-body has a lot of catching up to do.

Overall, I enjoyed my first day. I miss the time efficiency from All Pro's routine, and the simplicity. However, I'll definitely give your routine a good run though!

[sammy2413]

For this program do you recommend High Bar Squats or Low Bar Squats?? Rippetoe has you do Low Bar in SS so Idk.