5s, some advice please

A

aussiemark

New Member
Hi,
I'm on my 2nd week of the 5s, my excersises below
Squat 5,4,3,3 (total 15 reps) - drop set on last set
Machine Delts 5,4,3,3
Machine Bench 5,4,3,3
Machine Back Pull 5,4,3,3
Is it safe to squat 3 times a week with this rep range on squats? So far I don't have any back pain but its quite exhausting, especially after doing a drop set on the final set of 3 reps.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to effectively do 5s without machines? I would like to do dumbell delt press but when doing 3 reps you spend most of your energy just getting the weight up.
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I've dropped doing isolation exercises during the 5s as a result of the suggestiongs (on bicep, calves and tricep). Actually my bis and tris get a good workout from the other compound exercises i'm doing. Is this what most of you guys do?
 
i wouldnt do a drop set untill post 5s or negs just try for 3sets of 5 reps..and i think quite a few guys drop isos in the 5s.i know i do thanks to jv and dkm..and its helped. :D
 
Thanks for your reply.....

what about doing squats in the 5s? I'd prefer leg press but my gym doesn't have one. Should I alternate between leg extentions or is doing squats 3 x a week advisable?

How many of you use free weights for the 5s as opposed to machines? If your doing clusters and your last set is a 3 or 2 how do you do this kind of excersise safely? Do you switch to the smith machine instead of bench for instance? I would prefer to do bent over rows in my 5s but due to the weight I feel a lot in my lower back.....
 
i squat 3x a week no problem...i dont understand the question about clustering,if your clustering say with 100k squats it should go like this 5,4,3,3,all at 100k you dont up the weight in a session you up it every workout..
 
You may just want to take a little more time between sets, until you regain more of your strength, and maintain strict form throughout your lifts. If you can't, then you're using too much weight. Unless you have some nagging injuries or some core weaknesses, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to do squats and bent over rows.
 
I just noticed that you said you are only on your second week of 5s. There really shouldn't be any reason why you should be resorting to clustering when you haven't even reached your 5rm yet. Take some more recovery time -- especially with squats.
 
semajes, when i'm on my 2nd week of 5s my understanding is that by the end of the 2nd week (the last workout) I should be at my max for 5RM, then the 3rd, 4th ,etc i'm at my 5RM give or take any increases.

At the moment I haven't reached my 5RM, but after one set of 5 at about 85% of 5RM I don't have enough endurance to push 2 more sets of 5 (well I could but I would be going to failure, which i have read you should avoid where possible). So this is why i'm doing the clustering.... If i'm doing something wrong here please advise......

faz, my comment about getting the weight up was more to do with dumbell shoulder press, not squats.... yes, I do use the same weight when clustering, my weight increases are from day to day not set to set......
 
How much time are you allowing for recovery between sets? For something like heavy squats, you may need as much as 3 minutes. Given this much time, though, you should be able to get another 5 reps out (don't be afraid to push yourself -- if you stop yourself too far from failure, you may be selling yourself short).
 
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