How long have u been training? What are your stats?

Been training off and on for 5+ years.
Was supposed to lift yesterday but I had an exam this morning. I probably won't lift tonight either because I only had 2 hours of sleep last! But tomorrow is a new day!

GOOD DEDICATION SO FAR!!

Ya it's horrible. I've had 2 exams this week spaced a day apart.

I also haven't been eating much so I don't know how my weights will be tomorrow because they're supposed to go up because it's a new week

are you to blame for this?

Blame for what?

Anyways, great workout today because I felt really strong!

Front Squat: 77 x 5 for 5 sets

Pendlay Row: 57x5, 61x5, 66x5, 70x5, 75x5

Bench Press: 69x5, 73x5, 77x5, 85x5, 89x5

I haven't been eating much lately because of exams and I felt pretty good about those numbers. Slowly but surely!

u don't need to be a gimmick over here. no one from bbv4 will notice

i noticed fwiw

what do you mean?

LOL do you know how [censored] annoying it is to have the same first name and last initial as you? Who the [censored] uses their name as their handle anyway? A friend just called me up... "dude, you can only bench 80? wtf?"

I could have sworn that you sent me a pm a while back wanting to be friends

Also, I did 89 the other day.

I'm kidding, bro. Well, sort of. Nice work on the 89!

How come your routine only has you doin' the same 3 exercises? That must take what, like 20-25 minutes including warm up? It's good to mix things up more to keep making progress.

I'd highly recommend checking out the waterbury workouts... see spreadsheet for details.

http://216.17.22.84/uploads/CW_Programs.zip

Find your way to the last tab for info on where to start.

? My workouts take 1.5 hours. How on earth would they be so short? The weights might be light for you but they're heavy for me.

I'm currently doing the Madcow 5x5 routine btw.

So wait, does this say you are doing 25 sets of squats, then 25 sets of rows, then 25 sets of bench press in one workout? I hope I'm misreading or you're mistyping.

no no, that would be insane.

I'm doing 5 sets for each exercise while each set consists of 5 reps.

Oh, okay. Having an x5 after each number is redundant because x5 means five sets.

How does this take 1.5 hours?

Squat:

5 reps (15-20 seconds)
rest (60 seconds)
5 reps (15-20 seconds)
rest (60 seconds)
5 reps (15-20 seconds)
rest (60 seconds)
5 reps (15-20 seconds)
rest (60 seconds)
5 reps (15-20 seconds)
rest (60 seconds)
----------------------
Total = under 7 minutes

etc...

Do you take like 20 minute breaks between your three exercises?

There is no way that doing five sets of five reps of three exercises should take you more than 30 minutes max.

Well 1.5 hours includes a 5 min light bike warm up.

In addition to my warm up sets, I rest about 3-5 min between work sets. These sets are heavy for me.

My sets are heavy for me too...

well typically 5 rep sets deplete more ATP so there needs to be a longer rest period. just ask anyone doing a 5x5 routine how long their workouts take.

I've done 10x3, 5x5, 2x18, 6x3, etc etc, roughly six exercises per workout, and I can't remember a single workout lasting longer than an hour.

http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/l...m_32877/tm.htm

Some people talking about workout length.

Well 1.5 hours includes a 5 min light bike warm up.
In addition to my warm up sets, I rest about 3-5 min between work sets. These sets are heavy for me.
My sets are heavy for me too...
well typically 5 rep sets deplete more ATP so there needs to be a longer rest period. just ask anyone doing a 5x5 routine how long their workouts take.

40 minutes or under

3 mins between work sets is pretty normal
i see nothing wrong with what ericw is doing

Thats excessively long. I don't think any workout should be longer than 1 hour. If you're doing that much intensity/volume to warrant extended rest periods, you need to cut back.

Keep up the great work Eric!

yeah bro. looks like your plan is working to full effect!!!!

meh, in my first few weeks of 5x5 (the lighter weeks) I was in and out in 40 min. Now that the sets are heavier because I'm at my peak weeks, 1.5 hours isn't too bad.

Also, I think I'm getting sick again. I was supposed to do RDLs, Squats, and Standing militaries on Sunday but I'm feeling like something is about to hit me

FWIW, I like this log.

thats unfortunate that you're getting sick again eric keep at it and you'll be benching 3 digits in no time!

3 minutes is really not out of the ordinary and depending on the persons goals, a 3 minute rest period can be ideal. Studies have shown that when the goal is strength, longer rest periods lead to greater strength gains. Generally, the rest period recommended is 2-5 minutes for larger muscle groups.

If your goal is hypertrophy then rest should be ~1 minute becuase you will be doing more reps and if your goal is endurance you should only use 30 sec rest periods.

While that is true there are mitigating factors beyond your argument.

1) EricW is either a midget or a beginner. Beginner's can lift more at higher intensities than "older" lifters can. Rest periods should be shorter due to this.
2) This is a hypertrophy/strength program. 3 minutes is big time overkill and typically for sets that reach failure.
3) On the days he's doing ramps. There is really no reason to need >60 seconds for the first few sets. I do a ramp and can pound out my first 3 sets in <5 minutes since I don't need excessive rest periods.
4) Work density is important for growth. Less rest > More rest

Also, you never really addressed my time limit of ~1 hour for workouts which seems to be a generally accepted std with no scientific research to back it.

I agree that workouts should not be longer than 1 hour. Thats pretty widely accepted. I kinda forgot what workout he was doing when I posted. If he is not going to failure, he definately should not be taking 3 minutes rest in between sets. For the ones that he is going to failure on, I dont see a problem with taking 2-3 minutes rest.

psuedo-hijak becuase he is on this workout plan but have there been any studies that ramping such as what the OP is doing is more efficient that going to failure each set (possibly doing less sets because of this)?
I have always been taught to go to failure and ramping is mostly a waste of time.

Failure is horrible. What you were taught is horrible. Everything horrible.

I'm not going to failure but the sets are difficult.

Also, the one hour thing is just a ballpark figure. It's not like after exactly 60 min your workout becomes a waste of time.

Yes, but 90 minutes is far and away beyond that. Considering most of us are door to door <60 on almost the exact same workout and need longer rest periods than you. I'd probably put some thought into manning up and increasing work density.

Studies have also shown that when the goal is strength, shorter rest periods lead to greater strength gains. Oh, and that tobacco isn't bad for you.

Hey guys,

Had to take 2 weeks off because I've been sick. It sucks 'cause now I have to go back to week 2 of this 5x5 program:

Squats: 66 x 5 reps for 5 sets

Bench: 57x5, 61x6, 66x5, 70x5, 75x5

Pendlay Rows: 48x5, 52x5, 57x5, 59x5, 64x5

Decent workout tonight but the weights are lighter because I had to go back to week 2 due to that 2 week lay off. I'm surprised that my strength is still ok after such a long layoff from sickness.

Front Squat: 57x5 for 5 sets

Romanian Deadlift: 80x5 for 5 sets

Standing Military Press: 45x5 for 5 sets

Hopefully I can get back on track and keep on improving!

Couldn't get in for a few days but got in a decent session tonight. It was pretty lackluster but picked up towards the end. I also tried speeding up the pace and got in and out in 45 min including warm up.

Front Squat: 59x5, 61x5, 64x5, 68x5, 73x5

Bench Press: 75x5 for 5 sets

Pendlay Row: 61x5 for 5 sets.

I have a bunch of mid terms coming up so I'm hoping that I'll be able to fit in some time to get into the gym this coming week.

I had an OK workout today. I've been feeling really stressed lately because of mid terms (again) so I'm just physically and mentally exhausted.

Front Squat: 73x5 for 5 sets

Bench Press: 64x5, 68x5, 75x5, 80x5, 84x5

Pendlay Rows: 55x5, 59x5, 61x5, 66x5, 70x5

Next workout is Sunday.

thanks man! It's good to have words of encouragement from you guys!

this whole thread is LoL

what's so funny?

I hate your avatar.

This is pounds correct?

ugh, had a mid term on Tues so I had to take a few days off again.

Anyways, I was really disappointed with my standing military press today. Granted, I was running out of time at the gym so I only took like 30 sec-1 min breaks before going again, I still had to drop the weight and didn't finish the reps etc.

Front Squat: 64x5 for 4 sets

RDL: 89x5 for 5 sets

Standing Military press: 52x5, 52x4, 48x5, 48x4

Hey guys,

Front Squat: 59x5, 64x5, 68x5, 73x5, 77x5

Pendlay Row: 66x5 for 5 sets

Bench Press: 80x4 for 4 sets, 80x3
only had 30 seconds rest between the 4th and 5th sets because the gym was closing down so I wasn't able to squeeze out 5)

I'm impressed with your improvement!

Thanks for the kind words. I know I'm not very strong and because of my lack of strength, it's sometimes a little disheartening but the kind words help me keep on pushing!

on a more serious note, you should post your diet here. I suspect you're a little scrawny, may need to eat more to add muscle. Plus chicks dig big guys.

Great workout today guys!

Front Squat: 77x5 for 5 sets

Pendlay Row: 57x5, 61x5, 66x5, 70x5, 75x4

Bench Press: 68x5, 73x5, 77x5, 84x5, 89x4

This will be my last week of the 5's then I'll de-load and do reps of 3.

hurray!

excellent eric! you have encouraged me to start my own workout program when i get home for winter break!

Eric, how much do you weigh? What are you eating? Have you done a nutrient breakdown?

How many different types of lifts are you doing in the course of a week?

I am currently doing that 5x5 program on madcow's website. The lifts I do during the week are:

Front Squat
Pendlay Row
Bench Press
Military Press
Romanian Deadlifts
Some arm stuff at the end of the week

I'm not eating that much right now so I haven't been gaining any weight. It's a little tough getting in all my cals because my commute to campus is a total of 3.5 - 4 hours a day and I've been pretty lazy. I'm just trying to keep up my strength without losing too much muscle mass. I'd say I'm eating just 2500 cals a day right now.

Are these weights in kilos?

of course. Why would anyone think that these were in pounds??

EricW congrats with the progress

well, a 200lb bench press really isn't impressive at all. My buddy (with whom I usually train) is much bigger and stronger than me. He benches almost 300lbs and front squats like 285 or something so my weights pale in comparison to his.

edit: he only benches 275.

Also, why did people automatically assume that my lifts were in kilos?

it was asked much earlier in your thread if the weights were in pounds but you never answered.

I was pretty sure they were kilos but I could tell from other responses that they thought they were pounds.

I guess everyone else is using lbs since we're pretty US dominated.

I'd rather not give any stats 'cause I'd prefer to remain relatively anonymous on the net but let's just say I'm not impressive at all.

Today:

Front Squats: 66x5 for 5 sets

Romanian Dead Lift: 93x5 for 5 sets

Standing Military Press: 50x5, 50x5, 52x5, 52x5, 52x3

OK because of the confusion, I'll start listing my weights in lbs now.

Front Squat: 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 170x5, 185x5

Pendlay Row: 150x5 for 5 sets

Bench Press: 180x5 for 4 sets, 180x4

whew

also, keep up the great work eric!

I thought they were in pounds all along and you were just a tiny fellow.

Decent workout today. It was my first "de-loading" workout so everything came up really easily and felt light.

Front Squat: 170x3 for 3 sets

Bench Press: 155x3, 175x3, 195x3

Pendlay Row: 130x3, 145x3, 165x3

I'm a little frustrated though because even though I've been going to the gym etc, I'm not really making any progress. I'm still really skinny and not strong at all.

Are you gaining weight?

If you're not gaining weight, you're not eating enough.

You can workout all you want, but without a caloric surplus your body simply can't add muscle.

Try eating a *lot* more. If you find yourself gaining fat, cut back a little, but I doubt that will happen.

Hi friend,

I noted a few posts back that I'm mainly just trying to retain muscle mass while also retaining strength. My crappy commute + school makes me too lazy to eat the amount of cals that I need to gain weight

Anyways, today:

Romanian Deadlifts: 205x3 for 3 sets

Standing Military Press: 115x3 for 3 sets

I also just started training calves again. About 6 months ago, my right ankle went through a 2nd degree sprain and it has not fully healed until now. I went about a good month before I was even able to walk normally. Needless to say, because I haven't been able to train calves, my calves have atrophied terribly and now they're extremely small and weak.

Single leg DB calve raise (with a 2 second pause at the bottom, and a 1 second contraction at the top): 25x9 (both legs), 25x8, 25x8

Front Squat: 145x3, 165x3, 185x3

Bench Press: 185x3 for 3 sets

Pendlay Row: 150x3 for 3 sets

Single Leg Calf Raise: 30x9,8,7

Hi friends!

OK workout today:

Front Squat: 171x3 for 3 sets

Bench Press: 160x3, 180x3, 200x3

Pendlay Row: 135x3, 150x3, 165x3

Single Leg Calf Raise w/ 2 second pause at bottom, 1 second pause at the top: 30x10,9,9

It seems like the words of encouragement to build up my confidence has stopped ever since people found out that my weights were posted in kilos. Please keep posting because I know that I'm not big or strong so I need all the kind words to keep me going!

im still here for you eric! thanks for the updates!

Hi friends,

Went a few days without going because I wasn't feeling well but today was pretty good imo:

Romanian Deadlift: 210x3 for 3 sets

Standing Military Press: 120x3 for 3 sets

Smith Machine Calve Raises (2 second bottom, 1 second contraction): 135x10, 165x9, 165x9

Are you on a cycle? Looks like you were doing 5x5 and now you're doing 3x3 ?

Well I'm doing the madcow 5x5 and the 3x3 is part of the deloading process, so yes.