-Calvus-'s 5x5. Strength, size, and double takes.

[-calvus-]

Hello all. Im finally back and ready to do a serious routine. After my last run in, im ready to apply myself to something a little more recovery friendly. All my small pains and injurys have subsided and am more motivated than ever. What started out as a way to "tone up a bit", has moved on to a full blown dependency. My main goals throughout this will be strength. With strength, the size will come. My goals by end of year are 350 for bench, 500 for deadlift, and 405 for squat. 1255 total. Im assuming everyone is farmiliar with the 5x5 routine which is so popular here. Lets get started.

Today was my intro into this program. This is the first time I had done squats since highschool. I loaded the bar up to 135lbs just to get a feel for the bar. I almost fell twice, and had to rack the weight to keep from droping it. Pretty embarassing for someone who has been at the gym almost every day for 6 months. Just getting a feel for the squats again. I would appreciate any critiques on anywhere my routine strays, so keep an eye on me.

8-15-05

Week 1, workout 1-loading

Squats
-225lbs X 5
-275lbs X 5
-275lbs X 5
-275lbs X 5
-275lbs X 5

Bench press
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5

Pendlay rows
-155lbs X 5
-155lbs X 5
-155lbs X 5
-155lbs X 5
-155lbs X 5

Tricep pressdown
-100lbs X 8
-100lbs X 8
-100lbs X 8

Good short workout today. I took the advice of easing up and just used pretty manageable weight. Probably 80% or so of max. Everything felt pretty smooth and used a lot of explosive movements to push the weight up, then took twice as long to lower the weight. I really like the rows. Can see where these would build some great muscles. A lot of great acceleration and momentum on the way up. The squats are going to take a bit of work however. I was pretty wobbily and had some trouble finding good balance. I was going as deep as possible withough brining my heels off the ground. Its kind of interesting however that some of you can either touch your ass on the ground or hit your calves. I can only go a little farther than parallel while keeping my feet flat. Maybe the ass to grass is only for the tall people. I dont think they will ever become my favorite exercise but, we will build a relationship with lots of spooning. See you in two days guys. Thanks for taking a look and keep coming often.

[georgiacorn]

i'm with u bro. i'll be watchin u and extra ultra's 5x5 logs. i just began 5x5 again yesterday. my vastus lateralis muscles are really feeling those squats! and to think, i have more squats to do tomorrow. damnit, i LOVE squats.

[-calvus-]

Originally Posted by georgiacorn

i'm with u bro. i'll be watchin u and extra ultra's 5x5 logs. i just began 5x5 again yesterday. my vastus lateralis muscles are really feeling those squats! and to think, i have more squats to do tomorrow. damnit, i LOVE squats.

Alright man. Drop by often. I think my vastus lateralis, medialis, and intermedius are feeling pretty rough. Pretty much my entire quad and hamstring complex. I hope I develop a love of the squats like you guys do. I planned on doing some light cardio but, my legs hurt bad enought to skip it. I think some rest is in order. Thanks for posting. Later.

[-calvus-]

Holy ****....... my lower back is positively burnt. Doing deads for that many sets really took a lot out of me. The first 2 sets were easy, but the last 2....... jesus. I eased back quite a bit on the military press because I have had so many problems with my shoulders. I liked the squats so much better today. I could go a lot deeper and I studied my form a bit more. I noticed that my feet were externally rotating and my right knee was internally rotating a bit so I could better correct these posture problems. I am just so deconditioned to sqats that my adductor muscles were not being properly recruited. They will be in perfect form soon. Im going to be hurting tomorrow.

8-17-05

Week 1, workout 2-loading

Light squats
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5
-225lbs X 5

Deadlifts
-315lbs X 5
-315lbs X 5
-315lbs X 5
-315lbs X 5
-315lbs X 5

Miliatary standing press
-135lbs X 5
-135lbs X 5
-135lbs X 5
-145lbs X 5
-145lbs X 5

Wide grip pullups
-BW X 5
-BW X 5
-BW X 5
-BW X 5
-BW X 5

DB bicep curls
-45lb DB's X 6 reps each arm
-45lb DB's X 6
-45lb DB's X 6

Knee ups
-until failure

Ball crunches
-until failure

Pretty long workout for me. Huffed through it in about 60 min. Had to back off a bit after those deads. I did the militarys and pulls as fast and explosive as possible to build my white fibers. Hopefully that acceleration and speed will help out with my overall strength as the program progresses. Until friday. Later.

[j_neatherlin]

i'm not really familiar with 5x5, but what you've been doing looks solid. goodluck

[Guinness5.0]

hey bud,

Glad to see you're running 5x5. One thing I see that you'll want to think about: week 1 shoudl be pretty damn easy, and based on your posts it's not. The real loading from the program is to occur in weeks three and four. Think of it like this- week1: easy, week 2: medium, week 3 hard, week 4: brutal.

I can't overstate the fact that you'll miss most of the benefit of running this program if you're too gung-ho from the start. For people like me and you who want to hit it havy all the time I think that's the hardest part of running a dual-factor program- having to breeze through a couple of weeks. It's vital to do so however.

[ExtraUltra]

Originally Posted by Guinness5.0

hey bud,

Glad to see you're running 5x5. One thing I see that you'll want to think about: week 1 shoudl be pretty damn easy, and based on your posts it's not. The real loading from the program is to occur in weeks three and four. Think of it like this- week1: easy, week 2: medium, week 3 hard, week 4: brutal.

I can't overstate the fact that you'll miss most of the benefit of running this program if you're too gung-ho from the start. For people like me and you who want to hit it havy all the time I think that's the hardest part of running a dual-factor program- having to breeze through a couple of weeks. It's vital to do so however.

^^^^^^What he said. I'm on week 3 and it's kicking my ass. I started fairly conservatively too. I can't even imagine how hard next week will be.

Of course, Calvus is a mutant of some sort and I wouldn't be surprised to see him triumph with his lofty goals once again. Just be careful with those deadlifts. I started them well below my max set of 5 (like 55 lb below) and have been adding 10 lb per week. It's working great.

Also, are you going to be working up to max 1X5 on squats, bench, and rows all on Fridays? That's how JoeDirtBody was doing it, but I prefer to do Max 1X5 Bench and Rows on Monday, and 1X5 Squats on Friday. It seems to be a little more even spread of volume.

[-calvus-]

j_neatherlin,
Thanks for the words man. Ill probably always be chasing your weights though.

Guinness,
Apreciate the input. Totaly agree with everything you said. Ill have to back off a bit next week I suppose. Everything was pretty easy except for the deads though. Ill try and contain myself....

Extra,
I guess I had planned on building into max on fridays but think next week I will split the bench and squats up since that makes sense. I feel bad for not doing more shoulder and arm work. Maybe the decrease will stimulate them more. I almost feel like I am still deloading with this program. Ha. It will sink in soon enough.

[Little Lifter]

Can I just ask...are you a powerlifter?

LL

[-calvus-]

Originally Posted by Little Lifter

Can I just ask...are you a powerlifter?

LL

Hehe....... I used to do a bit of powerlifting out of highschool. Like a stooge though I chased some one rep maxes that put me out for years. I riped my pectoral muscle pretty bad on my left side and tore my right rotator cuff. Ever since then I just focused on sculpting. I really like having the strength though and its always what I center around. One year into college I think at around 155lbs, I benched like 325. Injury followed shortly after that. Thanks for stoping in LL.

[sword chucks]

good workouts calvus

[-calvus-]

Originally Posted by sword chucks

good workouts calvus

Thanks buddy. Dammmit I cant sleep! What are we doing up this late man. Thats it, im heading to your journal SC.

[j_neatherlin]

Originally Posted by -calvus-

j_neatherlin,
Thanks for the words man. Ill probably always be chasing your weights though.

shoot, not on squats and deads bro...you've probably got me beat by a long shot in both of those.

[wannabfreek]

Awesome looks like 5x5 is gaining some more followers, solid workout too fella keep it up.

[themachine78]

How come I'm always one step behind you? After my volume I'm going with the 5X5. Damn it, why can't I be an original?

[-calvus-]

Wow......surprising to hear j_neatherlin. I just couldnt see past your benches and rows. Ill trade you 20lbs on squat for bench.

Thanks wannabe, its feeling a lot more productive than my last plan already.

themachine78, Im just taking all the guess-and-test work out for ya man. Im sure the ladies think your original.

[ExtraUltra]

I'll trade anyone 20 lb of whatever for 20 lb of squat. Did that sound right???

[Guinness5.0]

Originally Posted by ExtraUltra

I'll trade anyone 20 lb of whatever for 20 lb of squat. Did that sound right???

Sweet. Send me 20 lbs. of $100 bills and you've got a deal

FWIW this is my journal of my first 5x5 run. Not that there's a shortage of journals but it went well for me and there's some decent info from some other, more experienced guys in there (incl. madcow2):

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=399754

[wannabfreek]

Here is a link to my 5x5 five day split, I am using the biggest weights possible without sacrificing form, the most recent incarnation of the workout is on page 2. Any critique is welcome.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=549105

[-calvus-]

Awesome guys, ill be sure to read through your journals. Apply what those have done before you. Great workout tonight. The beautiful thing was that I only got 1 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Almost nothing. I walked around all day tired but knowing that I had a tough workout tonight. I told myself all day that I was going to have a great workout.................and I did.

8-19-05

Week 1, workout 3-loading

Squats
-225 X 5
-245 X 5
-265 X 5
-275 X 5
-285 X 5

Bench press
-185 X 5
-205 X 5
-225 X 5
-245 X 5
-255 X 5

Pendlay rows
-155 X 5
-155 X 5
-155 X 5
-155 X 5
-155 X 5

Skullcrushers
-130 X 8
-130 X 8
-130 X 8

I feel pretty good about this. Everything was pretty easy and I didnt have too much trouble keeping my energy up. Ill be sure to get a good nights sleep tonight to make up for last night. Two days of rest. Yay.

[ExtraUltra]

Good job. Looks like you're managing it well and you sound quite chipper too. Hmmmm, sounds like week one-itis. .

[j_neatherlin]

solid work calvus

[-calvus-]

Extra, J, thanks

Just did cardio last night. 45 min. Average heart rate 140. computer said I burned like 670 calories. Got pretty hungry afterward. After a cardio session I dont feel any pump at all. Just tired. Ill probably do some more cardio tonight. I am weighing in at 178-180 now so I am loosing weight. Hopefully mostly loosing fat.

[Little Lifter]

Hey Calvus,

Would you advocate the 5x5s routine or tapering down and upping weight for a powerlifitng routine? Ive never tried 5x5s but noticed that I am better at maintaining good form and strength for shorter bursts.

Just wondering cuz I wanna go in a comp and so dont know whether to follow old routine or a new one. What do you think? Also (if you dont mind me sucking your brain a bit more), from your experience have you found higher weight with lower reps to produce muscular growth?

Your workouts look great. Big exercises and big lifts. Im interested to see your results. What time frame have you set for yourself?

Good luck.

LL

[DriDDeRz]

looks really good cal, and what is good that your sticking to your workouts of course i hope all goes well

[-calvus-]

Originally Posted by Little Lifter

Hey Calvus,

Would you advocate the 5x5s routine or tapering down and upping weight for a powerlifitng routine? Ive never tried 5x5s but noticed that I am better at maintaining good form and strength for shorter bursts.

Just wondering cuz I wanna go in a comp and so dont know whether to follow old routine or a new one. What do you think? Also (if you dont mind me sucking your brain a bit more), from your experience have you found higher weight with lower reps to produce muscular growth?

Your workouts look great. Big exercises and big lifts. Im interested to see your results. What time frame have you set for yourself?

Good luck.

LL

Well, I dont know if I would be an advocate for the 5x5 yet but, the science behind the loading, deload phase does make a lot of sense. Do you want to go into a figure comp or lifting comp? I always have had a goal of strength so this is why I chose the 5x5. I am going to do this split for 6 weeks right now and see where it takes me. Everyone is different in how they respond to muscle growth. In my personal experience, if I alter the reps throughout the week, lets say on Mon doing 10 reps, 3 sets, Wed doing 5 reps, 5 sets, and Fri doing 8 reps, 4 sets...........That has given me my best overall muscle stimulation. After doing this for 5 months however, it was time to change my routine and break through the plateau. It took a long time for my muscles to get used to that routine because of the altered reps and sets. I had an 8 week journal not too long ago of a pretty hard 6 day a week split that just tore my body down completely. I felt it was nescisary though to bring my body back into heavier gains. You do have to find what your body responds to by a lot of educated guess work. I think your plan of 2 weeks at a certain rep/set range is a good idea. If it is working good then you can cycle it over. You can also change the frequecny of the cycle to one week or even every workout a different range. Think that covers my take on it. Anyway, you will notice what your body responds to the best. Try different things and follow what works best. Thanks for stopping by.

[-calvus-]

Originally Posted by DriDDeRz

looks really good cal, and what is good that your sticking to your workouts of course i hope all goes well

Thanks bud. These journals have really been a great motivation to keep my sticking sadly enough. Every time I was too tired to work out I though "No I cant skip a journal entry." Oh well, whatever works.

Today was more cardio. 45min of about 135 HR. Pretty smooth, hardly broke a sweat. This morning weighed in at 178 so I guess im cutting a bit. Down 5 lbs or so. Just hope im not loosing any muscle mass at all. Dosent seem so by just looking at the mirror and my arms are still at 17". Happy thoughts, cant wait for more squats tomorrow. Gonna stick with the same weights as last week to get used to the added volume of sets then push for some records in week 3,4,5. Stick around...............its gonna get hardcore. I hope to keep my weight about the same and push 325 for bench after the 6 weeks is up.

[DriDDeRz]

so cal when u gonna post more pictures of urself

[-calvus-]

lol..... When I get bigger.

[DriDDeRz]

nice as mate i wish my arms were that big :P
good picture
pfft when u get bigger u are alrdy big , but tho once u go big u wanna get bigger once u get bigger u wanna go extreme :P