Eric,
i really appreciate your post. There's tons of good info, and you seem educated i've read alot of your post on these forums. I really didn't want to keep up on the 5x5 because of the beating i take from it. In no way am i complaining about the mental, or physical beating of a good workout, i know what i feel is just my body feeling really beat up, and not in a good way. I love hurting myself in the gym, as long as its healthy. It's just that i was enjoying the gains so much i didn't want to loose them/ or quit gaining. If you look at the begging of this post i did have another idea lined up, but i guess it wasn't very good. I just want to continue gaining size and strength, i don't think im going to be concerned with "cutting" or "getting shredded" for another couple years....im in this for the long haul.

So my question is what would you recommended i do after two 8 week sessions or so of the 5x5 that would be a good transition to help me keep the gains coming, especially in the big lift areas?
I'm always ready to learn as much as i can from people with more experience then me, i'd rather learn from someone else's mistakes than my own. (Nothing personal....lol)