This time we'll look at an example of someone a bit more advanced in their progress or training. This individual will represent the genetically average trainee in Metro-Manila with at least 2-5 years of training experience. The truth is that most individuals who fall into this category are not much further advanced than the preceding example. Sad but true. The reason, as you probably know by now, are the mindless worship of bodybuilding mags (rags) and the lies they perpetuate to sell supplements or machine equipment. But this must be forgiven and accepted, since there has never been a foundation of knowledgable trainers. And in this, I'm especially talking about the AFPP/FitPhil. It is a disaster and a complete laughing stock in my humble opinion. That organization should be disbanded and started anew, as an organization without hidden agendas. Who knows....maybe we'll start our own fitness professional society and will give complete disclosure of our vested interests. There's always a first time for everything
But I digress again...
The idea now is to get our advanced trainee out of his chronically overtrained state and prime him for some fresh gains. In this case, it won't be as straightforward as the first example. The problem lies in the strategy of the loading of the weights. If you load him too soon, you won't allow for adequate nervous system response and the opportunity for gains will be missed. This is the chronic problem with trainers who are unexperienced in administering micro-cycles such as the 5x5. They often have the trainee doing his maximum weights by the 2nd week and do not back off enough during the first week to allow adequate priming of the nervous system. You must keep the progression fairly linear and shoot for smaller gains. After all, if you have been stuck bench pressing 185lbs for the last 2 years, I'm sure you won't mind a 20-25lb increase over 5-10 weeks.
So let's use the following test weights for 5 reps:
Bench Press: 185lbs
Squat: 185lbs
Row: 185lbs
(You might be surprised how common it is to see weights like those above and how they are all the same)
Deadlift: 225lbs
Standing Military Press: 85lbs
Pullups: Bodyweight x 5 reps
WEEK 1
Format - Weights x reps x sets
Workout 1 (monday) rest at least 5 min in-between squat and row sets.
Bench: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 175x5
Squat: 160x5x5 (warmup 45x5, 115x5)
Row: 160x5x5 (warmup 135x5)
Workout 2 (wednesday)
Deadlift: 205x5x5 (warmup 135x5, 185x2)
Squat: 135x5x5
Military press: 75x5x4 (4 sets)
Pullups: Bodyweight x5x5
Workout 3 (friday)
Bench: 165x5x5
Squat: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 175x5
Row: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 175x5
WEEK 2
Format - Weights x reps x sets
Workout 1 (monday) rest at least 5 min in-between squat and row sets.
Bench: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 180x5
Squat: 170x5x5 (warmup 45x5, 115x5)
Row: 170x5x5 (warmup 135x5)
Workout 2 (wednesday)
Deadlift: 215x5x5 (warmup 135x5, 185x2)
Squat: 140x5x5
Military press: 80x5x4 (4 sets)
Pullups: Bodyweight x5x5 + 5lbs
Workout 3 (friday)
Bench: 170x5x5
Squat: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 185x5
Row: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 185x5
WEEK 3
Format - Weights x reps x sets
Workout 1 (monday) rest at least 5 min in-between squat and row sets.
Bench: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 190x5
Squat: 180x5x5 (warmup 45x5, 115x5)
Row: 180x5x5 (warmup 135x5)
Workout 2 (wednesday)
Deadlift: 225x5x5 (warmup 135x5, 185x2)
Squat: 145x5x5
Military press: 85x5x4 (4 sets)
Pullups: Bodyweight x5x5 + 10lbs
Workout 3 (friday)
Bench: 175x5x5
Squat: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 195x5
Row: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 195x5
WEEK 4
Format - Weights x reps x sets
Workout 1 (monday) rest at least 5 min in-between squat and row sets.
Bench: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 155x5, 195x5
Squat: 190x5x5 (warmup 45x5, 115x5)
Row: 190x5x5 (warmup 135x5)
Workout 2 (wednesday)
Deadlift: 235x5x5 (warmup 135x5, 185x2)
Squat: 150x5x5
Military press: 90x5x4 (4 sets)
Pullups: Bodyweight x5x5 + 15lbs
Workout 3 (friday)
Bench: 180x5x5
Squat: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 155x5, 205x5
Row: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 155x5, 205x5
WEEK 5 - Deload week. Notice that there are only 2 workouts this week with an extra rest date, and the weights have not increased from last week.
Format - Weights x reps x sets
Workout 1 (monday) rest at least 5 min in-between squat and row sets.
Bench: 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 155x5, 195x5
Squat: 190x5x5 (warmup 45x5, 115x5)
Row: 190x5x5 (warmup 135x5)
2 DAY REST
Workout 2 (thursday)
Deadlift: 235x5x5 (warmup 135x5, 185x2)
Squat: 150x5x5
Military press: 90x5x4 (4 sets)
Pullups: Bodyweight x5x5 + 15lbs
3 DAY REST
Begin Phase 2