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  1. #1
    randumb is offline Junior Member
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    Sep 2004
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    Add extra WO day? (5x5 routine)

    So I've been doing this 5x5 routine for almost a month now:
    Monday - Legs
    Squats, SLDLs, Calf Raises
    Wednesday - Push
    Bench, Overhead Press, Close-Grip Bench
    Friday - Pull
    Deadlifts, BB Rows, Barbell Curls

    This is how the Push WOs went:

    Bench__________________OHPs_____________CG-Bench
    5x5x145_______________5x5x80______________5x5x95
    5x5x150_______________5x5x80______________5x5x100
    4x5x150+1x7x150 (done on a saturday)
    4x5x155+1x7x155_______5x5x80______________5x5x105
    4x5x160+1x4x160_____2x5x80+3x4x80_______1x4x105+4x 4x95

    I'm wondering what caused OHPs and the CG-Bench to go down so much today. Was it because I strained extra hard on Bench (first time I didn't get 5 reps on the last set)? Or was it just one of those days?

    Also, I am wondering if it would be okay to do an extra Push day on Saturdays. I love this routine, but I know I wouldn't mind lifting 4 days a week instead of 3, and I'd like to work my chest/shoulders out a little harder. When I did Bench on that Saturday, I felt completely healed up from Wed's Bench, and the Weds after that I felt fine as well. (Background info: I used to overtrain like heck (2 body parts per day, 4 exercises per body part, 4 sets per exercise) back in the day but I grew pretty darn well and didn't have many symptoms of overtraining. This is why I am considering an extra Push day during the week, because I think my body can handle it.)

    I have read all of the arguments for one muscle per week, but I also read (I think it was Swole who said it) that you can work out a muscle twice in a week if you know your proper recovery time. Would it be a good idea to give 2 Push days a shot or should I just stick with the way it is?

  2. #2
    Hypertrophy's Avatar
    Hypertrophy is offline Senior Member
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    If you want another workout day, revise your split. I would not recommend adding "just" another push day. You need to be balanced. No flame, you numbers on the exercises look low, unless those are dumbbells for bench. I would have to go with a more frequent workout to increase neuromuscular adaptation through frequency of activation. The more times you activate the muscle fibers, the more coordinated they become, thus producing more force. Once you have near full adaptation, then recruit more fibers by increasing your load. This information is given without any background information about yourself, so. . .

  3. #3
    boondockSAINT's Avatar
    boondockSAINT is offline Associate Member
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    Dec 2004
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    USA
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    Randumb,

    Glad to see you like the routine. Looks like your bench is climbing. If I remember correctly you repped 135 a few times, looks like your near 200 now. As far as the other 2 exercises dropping, it could be because of the added weight in bench, but it could also have been a number of things (lack of rest, sleep, nutrition, etc.) Do it again next week, and if the weights don't go back up switch the exercises to the alternatives that I gave you.

    Question: I'm having a tough time making out your results, but it looks like you overhead pressed 80x5 everytime, how come you didn't increase the weight afterwards?

    As far as adding another day, maybe you can keep the 3-day split but put a 4-day workout in a week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) and just rotate all the days through. I'll let someone else answer this though as I'm looking into adding another day as well.

    How are you legs working out?

  4. #4
    randumb is offline Junior Member
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    Sep 2004
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    50
    Hypertrophy: Yeah, my numbers are pretty low. I've been lifting for a couple of years off and on. Everytime I started to make progress, I fell into an alcoholic depression and lost everything. I've been keep workouts consistent for a few months now and keeping my diet in check. I've also been sober for about 3 weeks straight now and it's definitely helping me make gains quicker. I know adding an extra push day wouldn't keep things balanced, but I was just wondering if it would be okay if I work my chest/shoulders a little harder.

    boondocksaint: I was benching 3x8x135 before, so I'm definitely happy with the bench results, except for today because I was pretty determined to get 5x5x160. The reason I didn't increase weight on OHPs is because each time I got 5x5x80 the last rep was a struggle (barely got it up before failure). I was waiting until I got 6 or 7 reps easily on the last set before I went up in weight since I'm using DBs and can only go up by 10lbs. My legs are going great. I can finally squat deep enough while not feeling like I'm going to topple over or round my back too much. I started using the safety bar method (squatting down until I hit them) and it's helped me a lot. SLDLs have been great as well. I've always been strong in that area, but when I was doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps, my grip would usually give out before my back. Now I can go heavier and not get worn out so fast.

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