Getting Massive

I know it's a little late, but if you haven't already decided what to do about the skulls, I would say drop them completely. You might be tempted to just drop the load you are using and up the reps, but I think you need to give your elbows a rest. This is one reason that I try to avoid doing lower reps (and never negatives) on lifts that involve the elbow joint. Too easy to screw up your elbows.
 
What I did a while ago when my elbows were bothering me, was did 20 rep sets for those lifts during the 15s, then 15 rep sets during the 10s. By the end of that, my elbows felt good again. I haven't had any major problems since but they do get a little tender once in a while, and when they do I just back off a bit and do some higher rep stuff for them again. That might work for you.
 
5s DAY 8

LegPress 190*8, 240*5, 280*5, 280*5, 280*5 - hard
Dips BW*8, BW15*5, BW30*5, BW30*5, BW30*5 - good
RowsDB 38*5, 44*5, 44*5, 44*5 - hard -form a bit dodge
MilPress 47.5*8, 60*5, 60*5, 57.5*4 - very hard - PB !!! got two sets of 60
Deads 70*5, 100*5, 130*5, 130*5, 130*5 - very hard

very hard sesh today. i think i can break 140KG deads next week though.
 
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OzMullet said:
5s DAY 8

LegPress 190*8, 240*5, 280*5, 280*5, 280*5 - hard
Dips BW*8, BW15*5, BW30*5, BW30*5, BW30*5 - good
RowsDB 38*5, 44*5, 44*5, 44*5 - hard -form a bit dodge
MilPress 47.5*8, 60*5, 60*5, 57.5*4 - very hard - PB !!! got two sets of 60
Deads 70*5, 100*5, 130*5, 130*5, 130*5 - very hard

very hard sesh today. i think i can break 130KG deads next week though.
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Sweet PB on the press!

Yeah, the sesh looks hard - nice work Oz!
 
5s DAY 9

IncBenchDB 38*8, 44*5, 50*5, 50*4, 48*4 - too hard. not as good as last cycle. disappointed...
Chins BW*5, BW20*5, BW20*5, BW20*4 - v hard
ShldrPrsDB 26*8, 36*5, 36*4, 36*2 - too hard - died on the las set
Squats 80*5, 100*5, 115*5, 115*5, 115*5 -v hard - no energy left. couldnt get parallel at all.

little bit disappointed with this sesh. worked my a$$ off but just couldnt push the weights. hopefully better next week. i have to keep reminding myself the primary goal is hypertrophy!
 
i have to keep reminding myself the primary goal is hypertrophy!
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Even though I’m still making the easy starting out (well restarting) strength gains I have to keep reminding myself of the same thing in designing my next cycle. I like pushing my main lifts higher but as I near the end of the second cycle looking at my body I can see I really need more arm work. I’m trying to come up with a compromise were I switch from primarily hypertrophy to primarily strength as the cycle continues.
 
yeah its all about defining goals before you start hey. mine is getting bigger. i have to keep remembering that, strength will come anyway.
 
5s DAY 10

LegPress 200*5, 240*5, 300*5, 300*5 - v hard
Dips BW*5, BW20*5, BW35*5, BW35*5 - v hard
RowsDB 36*5, 44*5, 44*5 - hard -form better
MilPress 40*5, 50*5, 60*5, 60*5 - very hard
Deads 60*5, 100*5, 135*5, 135*5 - PB !!!

i had a revelation today. i have been feeling really stuffed and losing motivation the last couple of sessions. it's due to getting 2 good sets and then getting nothing for the 3rd. so i had a quick read through the HST faq book and saw that volume isnt as important as i thought. it said to drop a set if the weight is getting too heavy or you're getting demotivated, so i decided to do 2 working sets instead of 3 today and it felt so much better. plus a PB for deads helped.
 
OzMullet said:
5s DAY 10

MilPress 40*5, 50*5, 60*5, 60*5 - very hard
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Good work, especially on the military press, I take it this is in KG's! I love this excercise, and progrssed really quickly on the 5 reps, but whenever I get past 60kg, I can only manage 3 reps, so frustrating as I fell strong at 60kg, but anymore and my body doesnt want to know!

Keep up the good work
 
thanks mate, yeah its standing mil press. yep KGs. i know it takes a lot out of you hey! keep at it you'll get past it. i'm stuck on bench - its so frustrating but you just have to be patient. the fives are a killer arent they.
 
I do love the 5's, No better feeling than heavy sets with low reps! I'll keep going, Im determined to beat it. Next session im going to do a cluster set on the military press, 65kg for 3 reps, rest for 20 seconds, then 2 more reps, to see if that helps me get past this little hurdle. Maybe a similar approach on your bench might work?

What are you benching in the 5's at the moment?
 
i do dumbell bench on a slight incline. last cycle i managed 3 sets of 50kg dumbells. this cycle i only got 2 sets and dropped the last rep, but i have one more sesh on wednesday to nail it before my SD. i'm a bit gutted because we got 52.5s and 55s at the gym and i wanted to use them this cycle. if i feel really good on wednesday i might just try em.

i might try clustering, thanks dude!
 
OzMullet said:
i do dumbell bench on a slight incline. last cycle i managed 3 sets of 50kg dumbells. this cycle i only got 2 sets and dropped the last rep, but i have one more sesh on wednesday to nail it before my SD. i'm a bit gutted because we got 52.5s and 55s at the gym and i wanted to use them this cycle. if i feel really good on wednesday i might just try em.

i might try clustering, thanks dude!
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Clustering has helped me before to get over other little plateus that we face along the way. Another thing that has helped me before is forced reps. If its your last sesion before your SD than it is fine to do. Basically get somone to spot you, to basically force you to get to 5 reps. It should only be used little and often but might be because of the risk of overtraining, but may help. Do you ever bench press with the barbell? I find that bench pressing with dumbells can be difficult as you sometimes expend alot of energy just to get the weights up and in position.
 
i have done barbell bench in the past when i had a training partner, i just find dumbells more convenient - dont need a spot, plenty of benches. i was considering switching to barbell bench for one reason - they are going to run out of dumbells for me! hehe not a bad thing i guess. i'll think about it next cycle - i'm changing to a new gym so will check out what they have. thanks bro!
 
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