last 2 weeks of 5's

[kyles]

Quick Question,Ii tried to search but got lost in the amount of info!

After the 2 weeks of 15s, 10s and then 5s, on the final 2 weeks where its either negatives or 5's again do you continue with your highest weight on 5's so you're lifting the same weight for two weeks or do you drop back like the 5th & 6th week and decrease the weights and work up to your max on the last friday?

Thanks,
kyles

 

[Lol]

Just keep using your 5RM loads if possible. You may well be stronger and be able to manage that for the full two remaining weeks or you may find that fatigue accumulation starts to take its toll. You can always drop to sets of 3 using your 5RM loads. So instead of 3 x 5 you could do 5 x 3. In the last week you could either increment the load a little more or add an extra set. That should help you to continue to get a PS response from the same loading over the last two weeks.

When you SD, make sure you eat at at least maintenance (I would shoot for a bit more) to aid recovery and so you feel refreshed and ready to start the next cycle. Up your target RM loads by 5% and work towards them. When you get to the RM workouts, make a note of how easy or hard the lifts are and adjust the percentage increase up and down for the next cycle accordingly.

The other thing you could do is retest RMs right before SD. However, if you do this, bear in mind that fatigue accumulation at the end of a cycle will most likely mask some of your actual strength gains. Before trying for new RMs, a few days rest with over maintenance cals can work wonders and reveal your true progress.

 

[kyles]

Thanks Lol,

When you say "You can always drop to sets of 3 using your 5RM loads. So instead of 3 x 5 you could do 5 x 3. "
Should I be doing 3 sets per exercise on 5’s anyway in the 5<SUP>th</SUP> and 6<SUP>th</SUP> weeks?

Currently I only planned to do 1 set per exercise in all the rep ranges (although I usually prefer doing more but im giving it a go). Im still in my two weeks SD so getting it planned out before I begin lifting.<O></O>

 

[Lol]

Depends on your level of conditioning to exercise and on how many exercises you are doing for a specific body part. I usually train 3-5 different lifts in a session. You may be using more. Sometimes I'll do a session where I do only a single exercise, as is often the case with clean and jerks -- these are pretty much a full-body exercise all on their own.

For a squat session during 5s I'll do at least 3 x 5 but that will be the only leg work I do that session. Often I'll shoot for a particular rep total; so if I'm going for 20 reps during 5s that'll be 4 sets. For the first week of 5s I will be able to do 4 x 5 without too much trouble, but during the second week I might have to do 2 x 5 + 4, 3, 3 to get my 20 reps. If I feel like my fatigue levels are starting to hurt my strength recovery between sessions, I'll reduce the number of reps a bit -- perhaps down to 15. During the post 5s when the loads are at their heaviest (>=5RM) I would still try to keep my reps up to 15 if possible. To accomplish that I'll usually do 5 x 3.

This may not suit you. It all depends on your level of conditioning and the number of exercises you are performing.

If one set provides enough of a growth stimulus during 5s then that's great. Run with that while it lasts!

A general guide would be to do 1-2 x 15 for 15s, 2-3 x 10 for 10s, and 3-5 x 5 for 5s. Something in that range will suit most folks. For post-5s dropping to triples allows you to get the same rep total with the added advantage of reducing overall fatigue.

There are lots of ways to play with the variables but it's a good idea to do a few cycles with a level of volume that you feel comfortable with and that doesn't overly fatigue you as the cycle progresses.