I am almost done with a 9 week 5x5 program. Because of a trip and down time I will resume lifting a few weeks after this program ends. My question is, if I move onto more endurance/ explosiveness based programs i.e. bodyweight, circuits, and less of the Big 3 lifts, will I lose much of the raw power I have gained? Would one day a week of maintenance lifts help prevent this? I ask this because now that I have gained some muscle and become stronger I am hoping to shape my strength into something more useful in case I do decide to do NROTC at college in the fall.
you most likely will lose a bit of raw strength but don't be disconcerted by it. by switching to a more endurance/exlplosive program or what most refer to as HIT(high intensity training) program, you will gain "quality muscle" or much denser muscle. Plus it's always good to keep challenging your muscles by changing up your routine. keep training and have fun!
ok thanks and my gym coach/ school strength coach taught me a circuit which consists of 5 exercises for 6 reps each with a 1 min break in between rounds. the exercises are upright rows, snatches, squat press, bent over rows, and snatches again. Do you think if I did this 3 times a week that would be sufficient?
Well, that's a mouthful... My advice would be to you, OP, to consider making your routine and tailor it to your specific needs. These needs could not possibly do without being stronger, so I'd suggest not dropping your bread and butter movements (Big Three, OHP, Rows, etc...). A suggestion would be to start off your session with 1-2 heavy exercises (make sure your routine covers your whole body every week), and then do your bodyweight/circuits/conditioning session. The "heavy" lifts I'd suggest using would be: Squat Deadlift Bench Press Overhead Press Row Chin-up Explosive Pull (Olympic lift, powerclean, etc.) Dips Now, not all of these have to be done as one of your "heavy" movements. Dips and chins could be easily incorporated into a bodyweight circuit or something of the sort. The others, however, definitely go heavy. Hope I helped.
part of my issue is IF i do go into naval rotc i know I need more conditioning as a part of my workouts, the thing is that I am a small guy 5'8" 165 only after lifiting hard for 2 months. So I suppose part of the issue is will switching to a more muscular endurance based workout affect my ability to keep the mass Ive gained and stay stronger as well
Not if you keep with the heavy lifting, as well. You don't have to go full boar, but if you do abandon it all together, you WILL lose some. I see no reason why you couldn't do 4-5 heavy weighted movements a week in conjunction with your conditioning.
so if i did the 5x5 3 times a week and then the other days do conditioning in the form of the circuit, abs, running, etc etc thatd be ok or too much?
You don't have to do the 5x5. In fact, if you're doing A LOT of conditioning like you say you have too, than it probably is too much. I'm not very good with setting up programs for conditioning(what's that?), but I'm sure someone with more experience in that area would be more than glad to help you. Xtrainer and Finnegan come first to mind. They could help you get going in the right direction.
yeah ok well idk i do like the gains i have made from the 5x5, esp mass wise. I mean it will be summer so I think my recovery abilities should be fine, plenty of sleep etc. My goal is just to find that perfect balance of power, explosiveness, and muscular endurance.
Why don't you email whoever is in charge of your school's ROTC program and ask them what their PT schedule is?
There really isnt I started this thread more as a way to learn transfer my strength and power into usable endurance but I suppose I will just keep doing more of the same
