5x5 --> 5x3 or 3x3 ?

Even though I read up well on the subject before I started lifting, I seem to have somehow messed up anyway and have done my 5X5 routine "wrong" up till this point. I've been going from a 5x5 base for the first part to a 5x3 part instead of the 3x3 most guides advocate (eclipse etc.).


I haven't been failing my weights in the latter part (doing 5x3) though, so should I really be doing 3x3 when I'm succeeding at 5x3? Or should I go 3x3 and add weights faster?

 

i think there is nothing wrong with 5x3 but it depends on what lifts you are focusing on. Ive personally done a 12x4 program and it really paid off. 3x3 tends to be a little too low on the volume scale for me but it sure helps in the strength department. However, ive found that you cant do 3x3 fo too long cause its very taxing on the CNS, especially in terms of the big 3.

 

pwesonally i would think you should do 5x4 and 5x3. if each set is up 10% from the last, theres no way youll be taxing yourself, youll just be warming up.

 

ok, i think i might have misunderstood the question. I was reffering to 5x3 with your 3RM. Is that was this is about?

 

I like 5x3 personally, just make sure you rest between sets

 

i've been doing a 3x3 for a few weeks now and I haven't had that much of a problem... I had a bad lift last week but I doubt its from the 3x3 taking its toll on me. If I have a 2nd week of bad lift i'll prob back to a 5x3 instead.

 

I like the 5x5 rep scheme, shit sometimes if I can do more I do more. If I feel I have more in me at the end of 5x5 then I aim to do another set of 5, if I can do it great I've done 6x5

Sometimes I end up only doing 3 or 4 reps though so it's 5x5 plus 1 set of 1x3.

 

if you properly record your lifts and weights then you wont run into this very often. Seems like you are all over the place.
5x5 is pretty strict in the sense that you must use your 5RM. If that is the case, you shouldnt be able to do an entire extra set. In fact, it should be the opposite....Usually my 5x5 workout looks like this.

1- _x5
2- _x5
3- _x4
4- _x4
5- _x3

Assuming im using my 5RM on the first set, then i shouldnt be able to complete an entire 5 sets on my 5RM. if i can, i increase the weight and go back to the 5,5,4,4,3 scheme and keep doing it until i can do all sets for 5 again. Then i increase the weight again.

 

Yeah you are right, I am all over the place but it has been working for me. I stopped lifting for a few months a while back do to some circumstances in my life so when I came back I started doing 5x5 with lighter weight than I knew I could handle.

Like for the squat when I started back I just did 5x5 with 225, well I aimed to do 5x5 anyway but towards to end I realized I could do like 7x5. I increases the weight week by week doing the same thing and for today's workout I am aiming to squat 5x5 with 275 lbs at a BW of 158.

 

6x3

There is no alternative.

 

How long do you rest between sets?

 

Wow. I thought I was the only one who advocated 6x3. The lower ones just don't seem like enough volume to me.

 

Since 6x3 and 5x3 are so different? Lol

 

In week 3 of the 5x5 cycle I'll be hitting what was my 5RM. Week 4 then is new territory and when I shift to phase 2 (the 5x3 or 3x3) I'm still just adding onto the weights in the same fashion as I did for the first 4 weeks. That's why 3x3 seems very low volume for me.

 

If you're pushing yourself that last set feels like teh suprise buttsecks

 

your on the fast track to burning yourself out sonny boy

 

I like 5x3 on the more involving and demanding exercises, and 5x5 on the less intensive ones.

 

it depends on how long my cycle is on the program. Obviously im not going to go on it continuously....and if im only using this on the big 3 lifts, how on earth would i burn myself out on a 4 day/week program on a 4-5 week cycle??

 

Where did you hear that nonsense? I've never read a 5x5 protocol that called for doing all 5 sets with your 5RM. Thats not what Bill Starr, Mark Rippitoe, or Madcow suggest. Its always 90-95% of your 5RM, hence the MULTIPLE SETS. Its more important that you get all 5 reps in all 5 sets for the volume. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with what you are doing, just that its not the rule, or even the norm.

 

i used to do it with about 90% of my max but when i started with my 5RM i found that my strength went way up very quickly. They theory is that if you pull or press you 5RM on the first set and take a a long enough break for your CNS to reset, you should be able to bust out another 5 reps on the second and possibly third set as well. However, regardless of your rest times, you CNS will be pretty shot and result in the last few sets falling under the 5 reps needed.
That being said, since the 1st set is your 5RM, there is a significant increase in strength on the next workout...more so than if you used 90% of your 5RM. However, you can see the toll this kind of set up takes on your CNS and like i said previously, i tend to use this cycle for 4 weeks maximum and usualy only on 1 of the big 3 (whichever i need to bring up). Hope that kinda helps.