Friday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 255 (pyramid)
[5x5] Incline Bench: 225
[5x5] JS Rows: 245
[3x10] Weighted Dips: Bw + 30

-After each exercise per bodypart, I'll do a loaded (DC) fascia stretch, each one running 60 seconds worth of pain.

-Last easy day of the week. I found that I only needed 90 seconds rest between sets for every exercise save for squats. I think my first three sets of inclines only had 60 seconds. As I progress through the next three weeks, my rest periods will most assuredly increase to [hopefully] no more than two - two and a half minutes. Next week is going to be a lot tougher for sure. I

Week Two: DF 5x5

Monday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 235
[5x5] Flat Bench: 275
[1x5] JS Rows: 285
[2x10] Skullcrushers: 80

-After each exercise per bodypart a loaded (DC) fascia stretch, each one running 60 seconds worth of pain.

- Felt very good. I had a massive full body pump in the gym today. Probably from the x factor. I'm starting to see that shit take effect. It's reported that gains start coming after week three. I've gained 3 lbs in 3 weeks so far, which is very good since I wasn't hitting the weights with a definate routine or set schedule due to my gym being closed for the holiday's. I visibly see more muscle, but that may also be because of some dropped bodyfat. When I get the chance I'll update those pics in my thread. Flat bench was very strong. I could probably do 295 next week, then finish with 305 (5x5)..But I don't want to start changing everything around. For the JS Rows-> 225x5, 245x5, 255x5, 265x5, 285x5. Really felt that final set in my hamstrings. After the two sets of skullcrushers, I did a set of reverse curls with that same weight for 15 reps..For no particular reason. Rest between sets was still right around 90 seconds. Next week I'll take longer I imagine.

Wednesday:

[5x5] Front Squats: 195
[5x5] Standing Military Press: 175
[5x5] Weighted Pullups: bw + 15
[5x5] Deadlifts: 355
[2x10] Incline Curls: 55

-After each exercise per bodypart, I'll do a loaded (DC) fascia stretch

- Felt good. Still, every exercise except for the deadlifts had only 90 seconds rest between sets.

Friday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 265 (pyramid)
[5x5] Incline Bench: 235
[5x5] JS Rows: 255
[3x10] Weighted Dips: Bw + 35

-After each exercise per bodypart, I'll do a loaded (DC) fascia stretch.

- My lower back was slightly hurting me from doing deadlifts on Wednesday. I also added in a set of 12 reps with 100 lb standing reverse curls.

Week Three: DF 5x5

Monday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 255
[5x5] Flat Bench: 285
[1x5] JS Rows: 295

-After each exercise per bodypart a loaded (DC) fascia stretch, each one running 60 seconds worth of pain.

- I was pressed for time so I had to bail before doing the skullcrushers..Not like I had to do them. Flat bench was strong as usual. I'm half tempted to bump up to 305 for my next 5 sets of 5. Squizots was very strong. I probably could've done 275 for all 5 sets, so I need to factor that in next week. JS Rows was also very good. Perfect form on my final set with 295..Which is a new PR [I think] from last time. I used a weight belt on that final set because I was getting a hot pain in my right side of my back. It's a lot of weight so I'm not very surprised about the pain. The JS Rows went: 225x5, 245x5, 265x5, 275x5, 295x5.

At this point I'm thinking about doing another 5x5 cycle after my deload. I can tell that either I'm gaining strength quick or I may have underestimated some weights->A2G squats especially.

Wednesday:

[5x5] Front Squats: 205
[5x5] Standing Military Press: 185
[5x5] Weighted Pullups: bw + 20
[5x5] Deadlifts: 365
[2x10,8] Incline Curls: 60 lb. dumbbells

-After each exercise per bodypart a loaded (DC) fascia stretch

- Definately think I should've increased the squats and standing military's more than 10 lbs this week. The 185 wasn't bad whatsoever. Deadlifts are right on the money as well as weighted pullups. Just goes to show that some exercises improve more drastically than others within a cramped time frame.

My curling power has shot through the roof on this program for obvious reasons. Each rep was very controlled and slow. I was aiming for 2 sets of 8.
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My overall thoughts so far is that some exercises will naturally increase more than others. OHP's for example..Last week I thought it was more difficult than this week even though I increased the poundage by 10 lbs. Same with front squats. I personally like to increase everything the same because it makes it easier to track what the fuck I'm doing. However, I think I'm going to definately do another volume phase after the deload. I love the workouts.

One option I may incorperate next time is doing a few things 4x6 or 6x4, which is a pretty viable idea IMO. Maybe not for everything, but maybe Monday's Olympic Squats. Not sure yet on that.

I guess I'm going to just keep the increases set at +10 for next week, deload, then run another volume phase..Back to back. I do not believe I'm going to hit my absolute (5x5) maxes on anything besides maybe flat bench at 295 lbs. Then again, I might be able to do more. I still haven't used a spotter yet...Not even close. When I feel that everything is pretty close to maxed, I'll consider moving along to either the intensity phase or do the HST split I made.

It certainly would be fun to do some higher reps [full body of course]. No matter what, my plan as of now is two (5x5) volume cycles back to back [seperated by a deload]...Then head straight into the HST style of full body split I made in the HST thread. I already know my RM's from before, so after my second run through of 5x5..I won't deload, just take a week off to fully recover/grow/decondition. Obviously I'll need a lot longer of an SD but I only plan on a 1 week (12-15 rep) mesocycle before getting crazy with the 8's. After 2-3 weeks of the 5 rep mesocycle, I'm going to go straight into another volume phase of 5x5. To pull this off, I'm going to have to do this:

- After my second (or more likely third) week at 5 reps, take a (bill starr style) deload week, then dive into the first week of volume (5x5)

Interesting.

Friday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 275 (pyramid)
[5x5] Incline Bench: 245
[5x5] JS Rows: 275
[2x10] A1) Weighted Dips: Bw + 40
[2x10] A2) Reverse Curls: 90 lbs.

-After each exercise per bodypart, a loaded (DC) fascia stretch.

- A2G squats feeling stronger and stronger. I still held back on the weight because I undershot it. I kept the pyramid very close to the 275 for a harder workout. Inclines ran pretty smoothly. Still didn't need a spotter whatsoever. Next week I'll do 255 (5x5) inclines, then on my next cycle I'm aiming for 265 easy. JS Rows was very tough on my lower back. Very tough, and very close to my RM. Next week at 285 will put my on the button. I was completely drained by the time I hit the dips. I actually supersetted a set of weighted dips with a set of 90 lb. standing reverse curls (also for 10 reps apiece). That's going to be my plan from now on.

Monday: Finish with Skullcrushers ss w/ Reverse Curls
Wednesday: Finish with Incline Curls
Friday: Finish with Weighted Dips ss w/ Reverse Curls

*Not that I need to do them, I just like to compliment the compound lifts with something I like to do [arms]. It's just 2 sets apiece. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do them during the fourth week though. ;)

Week Four: DF 5x5

Monday:

[5x5] Olympic Squats: 265
[5x5] Flat Bench: 295
[1x5] JS Rows: 305 :cool: (new pr)
[2x10] Skullcrushers: 90
[2x10] Standing Rev. Curls: 100

-After each exercise per bodypart a loaded (DC) fascia stretch.

- PR week has begun. I've hit an impressive new PR for JS Rowing. Sucked the life right out of me. My sets looked like this: 255x5, 265x5, 275x5, 285x5, 305x5. Stayed strong, and can probably do 315 next time. A2G squats was really easy today. My legs have responded really well, so after next week's deload, I might keep the weight very high for the next 4 weeks. Possibly match my week 4 weight for the first week, then keep adding 5-10 lbs until I hit new PR's. Flat bench didn't need a spotter, however, it was hard enough to where the last rep of the final two sets was a struggle. 305 lbs for next time. Skullcrushers had a 45 lb plate per side, not that it really matters. I'm not looking for any PR's with supplemental exercises, just some extra hypertrophy. BTW, for the skullcrushers I have the bar go behind my head as I lay on the flat bench for greater ROM. I see a lot of people stopping just above their eyes/forehead. No idea why. IMO, that's like stopping a few inches above your chest doing bench pressing. :D

Already cannot wait for my next volume phase! BUT, I'm definately looking forward to a very necessary deload. :cool:

In case anyone's wondering about how warmups affect the total time in the gym with this program, I'll post an example of what I did for today that proves to be IMO very effective.

A2G Squats (5x5): The following warmups for me take hardly any time, especially between sets. I'm basically just taking my time, adding on weight, then doing them.

- Using bodyweight, I squat down as low as possible and hold it for at least 10-15 seconds.
- No weight on bar I do a set of ten reps, slow going down, pausing for 2 seconds, then almost jumping up as fast as possible. (feet never leave the floor)
- 135 x 8
- 185 x 5
- 225 x 3 [This is my only weight acclimation set]
- Worksets using 265 (5x5)

Flat Bench (5x5): Flat bench takes a little bit longer, but after squats, I'm already warmed up...Very much so. I'd warmup a lot longer if it wasn't for the squats beforehand.

- 135 x 12 (slow)
- 135 x 10 (fast)
- 225 x 5
- 255 x 3 [Acclimation set]
- 275 x 1 [Acclimation set]
- Worksets using 295 (5x5)

Normally I'd add in a few more warmups if I started off with flat bench walking in through the door. However, after deep squats my entire body is warmed up. This makes my job easier because now all really need to do for bench is a warmup or two, then a few acclimation sets before I begin. For the warmups, my only rest is walking over to get a drink from the bubbler, then sit down and do another set. For the weight acclimation sets, I just rest long enough to get a drink, load the weight on, then go.

JS Rows (1x5): Squats and bench pretty much take care of business. My lower back and hamstrings are primed from squatting, my back from balancing the weight benching. All that's left really is biceps.

- 135 x 10 (fast) Not JS Rowing, I don't touch the floor with these.
- Worksets begin since I'm doing a pyramid up to my max set of 5.

If I was doing straight sets (5x5: same weight), then it would look like this:

- 135 x 10 (fast)
- 225 x 5 (JS Rows)
- Worksets begin.

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The first two weeks don't need a lot of warmups compared to the last two weeks. Therefore, my total time in the gym differs.

Week 1: 50 minutes
Week 2: +/- 1 hour
Week 3-4: +/- 1 hour, 15 minutes.

It just depends on how long you need to recover between sets, the weight you're using (I take longer than a lot of others), how many added exercises you're doing, and focus.

I guess it's also important to note that I use a lot of BCAA's, protein, and most importantly carbohydrates to combat catabolism since I'm in the gym longer than an hour. It's not a dire requirement, you won't shrivel up without them like some people try to portray if running over an hour, but it gives me piece of mind. :)

Disclaimer: I've never gone beyond 1 hour, 15 mintues, even during my PR week.