Question regarding 5s after 6 weeks

blowk

New Member
Hi,

Tried to find answers to this question before posting, honest!

Done 6 wks now (15s, 10s and 5s), and because I can't do negs (no partner), I wanted to do 5s: but does this mean repeating the previous 2 weeks of 5s, with its progressive loading, or doing 2 weeks of your 5RM without progressively loading?

Thanks
 
if you're wanting to extend the 5's, you could effectively do it using the same weights for a couple weeks. you might try to cluster smaller sets or even singles in order to allow progressive loading.
 
Thanks for the reply.

I'm trying to work out what is the most significant aspect of this part of the training: progressive loading to beyond the 5RM in weeks 6 or 7, or keeping up the frequency of training at the 5RM.

In either case, isn't it just best to decondition straight after the 6 week mark and then start another cycle? I don't fully understand how this part of the program fits in with the basic principles, so sorry if I seem really 'fick'
rock.gif
 
depends on what your goals are and how you're feeling.... personally, when I finish my current cycle I'm going straight to SD.  I did that last cycle too and I really liked the way it worked out.

were I going to extend the 5's, I'd do mostly singles w/ rest time in between
here's something that might be interesting to you:

By Charles T. Ridgely

What Comes After the 5s?

Once you finish the 5s, you have choices on what to do during the two final weeks of your HST cycle. Certainly, if at this point you are feeling overtrained or are injured, you may wisely choose to terminate the cycle and go into a nice, rehabilitative SD. On the other hand, if you?re still raring to go, then you can do one of the following.

By far the most popular, and likely most beneficial, approach is to use your 2RM for negative, or eccentric, repetition training. With negatives, you generally have a partner help you lift the weight and then you lower the weight under control. You may choose to perform five of these negative reps or you may choose to perform two concentric, or positive, reps on your own followed by three negative reps where your partner helps you lift the weight. The choice is really yours so long as you can perform the negatives without injuring yourself.

Another popular approach is to perform drop sets in place of negatives. With drop sets, you generally use a much lighter weight than your 5RM, such as your 15RM weight, and you do the drop set as quickly after your 5RM set as you can. You can continue working out with your 5RM weights at the same volume you?ve been using and then do additional drop sets; or, you can use less volume with your 5RM weight and add drop sets.

Alternatively, you can continue to increment your weights on up to your 4RM or your 3RM. You can also add drop sets to these workouts. The only caveat is to watch out for failure. With such few reps, failure can come on rather quickly.

Of course, if you don?t want to use any of above-discussed methods, you can always continue working with your 5RM weights. Choosing this approach is beneficial because the 5RM weights are heavy enough to remain productive for two more weeks.

]http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/hst5.html
http://www.bodybuildingpro.com/hst5.html[/i
 
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(blowk @ Nov. 17 2007,21:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Thanks for the reply.

I'm trying to work out what is the most significant aspect of this part of the training: progressive loading to beyond the 5RM in weeks 6 or 7, or keeping up the frequency of training at the 5RM.

In either case, isn't it just best to decondition straight after the 6 week mark and then start another cycle? I don't fully understand how this part of the program fits in with the basic principles, so sorry if I seem really 'fick'  
rock.gif
</div>
The thing is blowk, the 5s are very effective muscle building weeks. The loads are at their highest which means more strain on the muscle tissue which, in turn, means a continued muscle building stimulus. Once you are at your 5RMs it is quite ok to continue using the same loads for a few more weeks as they will remain effective for at least that long.

As fearfactory said, it is quite a good idea to cluster reps, particularly after the initial work set. That way you won't build up as much fatigue over the course of the week and it will help prevent having to drop off your volume.

If you have gained strength over the cycle you can find out in the post-5s (ie. after the first two weeks of 5s) by increasing your 5RM loads where possible.
 
Thanks, both posts really help. I think I'll carry on with 5s for two weeks and try to get as much out of it as possible. I will feel then that I really have earned two weeks off
smile.gif
 
Waitaminnit. I think we were discussing in another thread a little about using MS after the fives...if I remember right, that was okay too. And if not doing a 20-rep set, then just 80-85% singles until fatigued. I see no reason that you couldn't warm up with a set of fives, add some weight and do the MS...no difference in that from drop sets IMO.
One could go into 3's, but I'd imagine (I don't know) if everyone would grow from that...but you'd get stronger. My joints don't like 3's.
 
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