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5 reps big difference from 8

post #1 of 20
3/10/11 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
influenced by stronglifts, started trying 5X5 instead of 8X3 for the first time in a while I am all sore, which leads me to believe that it is a good system. I think I am going to try to keep it up for a few months and see where it goes.
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post #2 of 20
3/10/11 at 8:01pm
Soreness is primarily just an indicator of "change" not "quality".

Sounds like you were do for a change-up.

I've long-followed a cyclical routine the takes you through the three typical rep ranges with appropriatre rep rates: "power" - like stronglifts and other schemes that focus on heavier weights, more rest, etc. with a goal of strength building. "rep-range" which is the typical 8-12 reps focused on hypertrophy/muscle size/growth and finally overload/shock work with high rep-ranges, supersets, trisets, all aimed towards maximal blood flow, exhaustion...

And just to really shake it up i'll throw in periods of total body that might incorporate aspects of all the above.


All have a place and if you work out casually I'd say this is especially true.
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post #3 of 20
3/11/11 at 2:32pm
What was the prob w/8x3? (I personally like sets x reps nomenclature) IMO change for change's sake is pointless, once you find something that works stick with it. If you were stalling on 3x8, could have been a shit ton of stuff not related to lifting (undereating, weak diet, lack of sleep, overtraining etc etc etc), and changing routines wouldn't fix that. IDK I am on a 3-4x8 program now and I love it, it really works for me. 5x5 is excessive if you're lifting close to your 1RMs (as you should on a low rep program) Being sore isn't an indication of anything good or bad, people get stronger all the time w/o being sore, all that matters progress wise is being able to lift more today than you did at some point in the past. Just my opinion FWTW
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post #4 of 20
3/11/11 at 5:33pm
I've also been doing a variation of the 5x5 and have really enjoyed the results, but I haven't gotten sore. I agree that it was probably the shock of changing your regular routine.

Rather than stick to the 5x5 religiously, I'll do the core lifts (Bench, Squat) and then mix in some auxiliary lifts (Overhead Press, Barbell Row) using the 8x3. I'm not really sure if this is advisable, but it seems to be working alright.
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post #5 of 20
3/11/11 at 5:38pm
I've done stronglifts 5x5 and I'd like to think I completed the beginner's goal of hitting 1.5x body weight, but I seem to have done something to my knee, so then I started doing lighter weight with more reps, and that actually gets my heart rate going much more than going heavier 5x5 even if that last rep is much 'harder' it's always more of a pass/fail rather than the higher reps where the final reps are more of an all out effort, as my muscles are burning more, my veins are popping out more, and I'm much more tired... I mix it up... as my knee heals from this injury I'll stay away from heavier weights I definitely think the lower reps/higher weight are more effective in gaining strength... my quads are bigger than ever (not too huge though) I also think that if you train for a particular sport, there are certain ways of training that are more tailored to that sport. I think the low reps weight training alone doesn't train you enough to have higher stamina and/or endurance. So I think that for some sports some additional weight lifting or modification of the lifts could be necessary.
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post #6 of 20
3/11/11 at 5:58pm
Low reps/high weight are great for explosive strength, but can be hell on your joints. I vary the approach for what the body part can take... for example my back is decently strong so I do 4-6 reps for deadlift, but I have knee problems so I do ~8 reps on squats
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post #7 of 20
3/11/11 at 11:16pm
I'd probably just cycle in a 20 rep program once in a while instead of 3 or 5 reps. It is definitely a different experience or as Rip says:"Trust me, if you do an honest 20 rep program, at some point Jesus will talk to you. On the last day of the program, he asked if he could work in."

After 20 reps, you should feel like you just sprinted a mile.
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post #8 of 20
3/11/11 at 11:26pm
I think you missed the sarcasm there
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post #9 of 20
3/12/11 at 12:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cary Grant View Post
Soreness is primarily just an indicator of "change" not "quality".

Sounds like you were do for a change-up...

This.

Currently on 4x8-10 per body part for this month, but each 4 is a superset of 4. Example: EZ curl to dum curl to cable preacher to hammer dums is 1 set. No rest in between. 30 sec rest, then repeat. Etc.

As said, cycle. Change is good and keeps the body from complacency.
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post #10 of 20
3/12/11 at 1:08am
Why are you doing so many sets of curls?
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post #11 of 20
3/12/11 at 5:33am
Do 12 sets of 2RM squats, then tell me how you feel.
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post #12 of 20
3/12/11 at 5:38am
I've recently given up on 5x5 and went back to 3x5. The extra 2 sets just wear me down, once I hit 1.5 bw squats/bench it's not possible to increase each time.
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post #13 of 20
3/12/11 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eason View Post
I've recently given up on 5x5 and went back to 3x5. The extra 2 sets just wear me down, once I hit 1.5 bw squats/bench it's not possible to increase each time.

the end game is that I want to hit a spot where I will have a one hour, once a week weight set that will be for maintenance - once I get to the shape I want. so I am sort of playing around with things now, I had hoped to get to that point by this birthday, but I am now aiming for next birthday.
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post #14 of 20
3/14/11 at 4:17pm
I feel like I'm stalking you today. :P Anyway...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eason View Post
I've recently given up on 5x5 and went back to 3x5. The extra 2 sets just wear me down,
What happens when you decrease the weight on your warmup sets? Or when you do, say, three warmup sets and two working sets?
Quote:
once I hit 1.5 bw squats/bench it's not possible to increase each time.
Have you tried micro-loading/micro-weights? There are a lot of very expensive, "oooh, shiny!"-type products out there to waste your money on, but I've always been a fan of little, pre-weighed loops of chain to slide over the ends of the bar. Personally, I've had decent success with this method. Another guy I know was having some real problems getting off a plateau, and remedied the issue by hitting the dynamic movements really hard. Because the guy had never done, say, a snatch before, this obviously necessitated decreasing the amount of weight he was putting up over the course of an entire workout so as to get his technique right. By the time he had developed a solid technique for those movements, he found he was able to blast through previous limits on the more well-worn squats, deads, and so forth. YMMV, or course. Also, I probably don't need to tell you that if you're not eating big, eating clean, sleeping enough, and getting enough downtime between sessions, you're fucking yourself into stasis....right? Oh yeah; you ever considered trying heavy singles for a while? I've never done it myself, but I've heard of guys having success there, too.
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post #15 of 20
3/14/11 at 4:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Surfrider View Post
Also, I probably don't need to tell you that if you're not eating big, eating clean, sleeping enough, and getting enough downtime between sessions, you're fucking yourself into stasis....right?

QFE, qfe.
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