5*5 over 3*5?? Need help

[Henry Swanson]

Apparently the point of a message board is to discuss what's already common knowledge among those that go to it, and not for other people to learn and get advice from those who've gone before... At least accordin' to Lorenz.

You weren't supposed to answer my question. I was actually going to research it myself. :icon_chee

 

[JPC]

Mark Rippitoe uses 3x5 in his beginner routine because that is enough volume to stimulate an overloading response in a beginner. The routine in Starting Strength is exclusively for beginners. 5x5 may be required for intermediate and advanced lifters because they need a bigger stimulus to illicit a response, but that doesn't mean 5x5 will be better for beginners.

 

[Oblivian]

I do a 3 x 5 as opposed to a 5 x 5. I simply do this because it works for my schedule. I prefer to lift right before dinner so I only have about an hour and 15 minutes. I also found that my body works better if I do less in one session but more sessions through the week. I also have the convenience of lifting at home so this works for me.
Do whatever helps your gains and makes sense for you. If I wasn't making progress, I'd switch what I was doing. Also, if you are driving a decent distance to the gym, I'd have longer sessions.

 

[joshetc]

5x5 is good for getting a nice base of strength, but I personally prefer a rotation of 5x5, 5x3, and heavy single days when attempting to increase strength. 6 weeks out from a fight, I switch to 4 x 8s and complexes myself.
Also, add in some upper back stuff in addition to the chins. BORs come to mind.
Good luck w/ the rehab.

I agree. Especially with changing to higher reps close to a fight. It is much less demanding on your CNS to not work around failure and use sub-maximal weights. I'll be using a similar rep scheme in July when I have my "contest".