Hey, my names Tyler and I’ve really been into the iron for about 4years now. My current bodyweight and lifts at 18years(185lb) of age are as follows- 275lb bench, 525lb deadlift and a 405 pound squat. Ive relied on a 5x5 routine up until this point and I’ve gotten this far but I am thinking of switching it up. I really want to focus on getting immensely strong and I’m thinking of competing in early march at181 pounds.
I need a routine that will deliver maximum strength within the next three months even if its just 10pounds on each lift… any suggestions? Should I go 10/3 or 10/1 how frequently?.. also where would my lifts stand by raw natural (absolutely no gear) standards…I’m just looking for some feedback from people who are better than me… any tips suggestions information will help. Thank you
As for where you stand, look up the website of your nearest powerlifting federation and see what the records are for your weight class (181). It’ll give you an idea of where you are.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
To clarify, has 5x5 stopped working?
As for where you stand, look up the website of your nearest powerlifting federation and see what the records are for your weight class (181). It’ll give you an idea of where you are.[/quote]
Yeah the 5x5 has come to a halt…ive been experimenting with lower rep ranges(10x1-3)andi sometimes feel as if its not enough… which is why I’m in search of educated info from other strength/power athletes
dont overthink the program part, just pick a program and go with it.
overthinking a program usually ends up in being not fully committed to the routine. I.e if a day doesnt go well or a week is off your more likely to 1. not finish the program or 2. start the habit of program hoping mid routine which is a bad thing
my best advice for program picking is take a well known routine that is known to work (5/3/1, different type of intermediate 5x5 routine, cube, etc. )for others and commit to a full cycle, thru ups and downs. think of it this way, if you put full effort into a program ,at worst you can say you put 100 percent in to and it didnt work and then move from there
also i say to look for another 5x5 routine because it is relatively known that ed coan,even in his world record time, would use sets of 5(main and aux lifts) up until his peaking routine.
personal experience tells me that since 5x5 worked for you it might be a good idea to run another program for a while and then try another 5x5 routine when gains stop happening because people ive been around have 2 responses to 5x5s. 1. doesnt work at all 2. is something that they can come back to from time to time to get surefire no doubt about it gains on their lifts
That looks like a lot of volume, and only 1 workout per week per movement.
I was going to recommend benching and squatting each 2x per week, for 3 x 5 starting at 70%-75% max. Maybe some leg raises and speed deads, and a couple sets of rows and closegrips or dips or 3 boards and nothing else.
If 3 x 5 stalls for 2-3 workouts I’d switch to 4 x 3 and then maybe 4 x 2 in the last month. Add 5 pounds to the bench and 5-10 to the squat in every workout.
I guess my rule is to make your plan as simple as possible, but no simpler.
And also if bodyweight doesn’t matter, try to eat enough to add 1/2 to 1 pound a week.
I would suggest a type of daily undulating periodization exp. ( 6x6 wk 1,7x5 wk 2,8x4 wk 3) trying to increse by 5% each workout and each cycle. Also check Christian Thibedeau’s russian manual labor routine and also cs sloans blog.
I’d say just don’t overthink it. Like Ozzy said just hop on a tried and proven program and run it, the simpler you can keep things now the more things you can change later when progress gets harder to find.
Ive comprised a program in which its 2 days on 1off then 2on and weekend off… its split up max strength then power ill post a picture of it tomorrow let me know what you think… my main concern is I might have put in too much volume but since the exercises that aren’t one of the big 3 are supposed to be done very light I don’t think it will be a problem
Work in some 1-3 rep sets at 85% of your max or more. I’ve found six sets going 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 works really well going from 70% for the first set and ending at 95& on the last. Increases of about 5 to 10 lb every two to three sessions (usually equates to every two weeks for me) worked pretty well. I used that for all my main lifts (squat, bench, dead) as well as some accessory power and speed work (cleans, high pulls - Oly stuff, I know, but it helps my upper back).
It does get a little taxing after about eight weeks because you end up putting a decent amount of weight on the bar for the last two sets, but I got through a 12 week cycle without injuries, just a little flatness.
[quote]MarkKO wrote:
Work in some 1-3 rep sets at 85% of your max or more. I’ve found six sets going 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 works really well going from 70% for the first set and ending at 95& on the last. Increases of about 5 to 10 lb every two to three sessions (usually equates to every two weeks for me) worked pretty well. I used that for all my main lifts (squat, bench, dead) as well as some accessory power and speed work (cleans, high pulls - Oly stuff, I know, but it helps my upper back).
It does get a little taxing after about eight weeks because you end up putting a decent amount of weight on the bar for the last two sets, but I got through a 12 week cycle without injuries, just a little flatness. [/quote]
Thanks dude I actually implemented that in my program I’m doing 8 sets of 3(I do only stuff do its great for power generation)