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blackoutHERO wrote:I'd recommend 5x5 for anyone looking to regain strength. It's taken me 3 months or so and I'm now back to a respectable level of strength. Squat and Deadlift add 5kg each session and 2.5kg for Bench.

Started early May after having 3 months off and have gone from:

Squat: 90kg 5x5 - 155kg 5x5
Bench: 80kg 5x5 - 110kg 5x5
Dead: 140 5x5 - 210 2x3

My bar is going to be my limiter for Deadlifts plus I only have 220 weights I think. Happy with the squat progress though.

I've been adding KB Swings three times a week at end of my training. Every Minute on the Minute, 10 swings, 20kg kettlebell. I'm up to 18 minutes this week and I'm enjoying it. Get a real sweat on then cold shower.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a 5x5 - just 3x5 and 5x3 when I stopped making progress on that. I think I might give it a go though.

How many days a week do you train, out of interest? PPL worked well for me in my last job because I could get in the gym at lunch and get a workout done in 25-40 mins, but I think I’m going to have to rethink how I train as getting to the gym now takes me 15-20 mins, so it just doesn’t make sense to go 5-6 times a week for only 30-40 mins.

5x5 is regarded the mix of strength and size. Heavy enough weight that 5 reps is good but still getting 25 reps in.

I'm 5 days a week just now.

Monday: Heavy Squat
Tuesday: Heavy Bench
Wednesday: Heavy Deads
Thursday: Light Squat
Friday: Light Bench

Just had a PT session to try and learn power cleans. I don't think I can do power cleans.

blackoutHERO wrote:5x5 is regarded the mix of strength and size. Heavy enough weight that 5 reps is good but still getting 25 reps in.

I'm 5 days a week just now.

Monday: Heavy Squat
Tuesday: Heavy Bench
Wednesday: Heavy Deads
Thursday: Light Squat
Friday: Light Bench

Have you tried mixing 5x5 with intensity days? Lots of the programmes.in PPST has 5x5 on volume days and 5's, 3's and singles on intensity days.

Hime wrote:Just had a PT session to try and learn power cleans. I don't think I can do power cleans.

Definitely the hardest (technically speaking) of the compound barbell lifts unless you go full Olympic with the snatch and CJP.

Will take a few sessions at least before you land a solid rep. To this day after the second rep of a work set there's almost no chance whatsoever of me landing the next ones properly. Any level of exhaustion makes it nigh on impossible for me.

Keep it up though. It's good for shaping your upper physique and it can be good fun. Never fails to draw eyes in the gym, too, for better or worse!

Hime wrote:Just had a PT session to try and learn power cleans. I don't think I can do power cleans.

Have you done some reading on it? I find one of the biggest problems people have is thinking their arms should be doing the work, when it’s basically a weighted jump.

After that, once you’re comfortable with the rack position, you could start with hang cleans to get the position you start the second pull from down. The first pull is basically just a deadlift to that above the knee position so it’s probably the bit you’ll struggle least with.

Hang cleans followed by a power clean with a pause before the second pull, followed by a power clean is a handy progression.

Hime wrote:

blackoutHERO wrote:5x5 is regarded the mix of strength and size. Heavy enough weight that 5 reps is good but still getting 25 reps in.

I'm 5 days a week just now.

Monday: Heavy Squat
Tuesday: Heavy Bench
Wednesday: Heavy Deads
Thursday: Light Squat
Friday: Light Bench

Have you tried mixing 5x5 with intensity days? Lots of the programmes.in PPST has 5x5 on volume days and 5's, 3's and singles on intensity days.

I haven't tried that yet but I'm at a stage now where I'll start tapering it off. So I reckon in couple weeks I'll be doing 4x4, then 3x3, then 2x2, test and reset.

I’ve seen (after my previous posts) my strength seem to rapidly come back on my arms, back nearly shoulders too.

My chest is lagging behind but it’s slowly going back up to where I was which was good.

Just feels good to be able to work out maaaan

Harry Bizzle wrote:

Hime wrote:Just had a PT session to try and learn power cleans. I don't think I can do power cleans.

Have you done some reading on it? I find one of the biggest problems people have is thinking their arms should be doing the work, when it’s basically a weighted jump.

After that, once you’re comfortable with the rack position, you could start with hang cleans to get the position you start the second pull from down. The first pull is basically just a deadlift to that above the knee position so it’s probably the bit you’ll struggle least with.

Hang cleans followed by a power clean with a pause before the second pull, followed by a power clean is a handy progression.

Yeah I've watched videos and read how to do them. I just found it really hard to stop flipping the bar with my arms. To be honest I'm not sure they add enough to my training to put in the effort to learn them.

They’re a lot of fun and the power generation you develop with them is kind of crazy, so worth it if you can fit them in, I think.

The hang clean position helps because you’re starting in a stable position you can hold and focus on keeping your arms straight. It’s also an exercise which kind of helps to load more initially than you otherwise might. You probably can’t help but use your arms if just doing the bar, and if you jump properly you will literally leave the ground, but with 40kg, you can’t really use your arms and have to generate the force with your legs.

Once you’re at that kind of weight you’ll see that using your arms and not having them relatively fixed actually makes things harder for you.




I started off my push workout with 5x5 on the bench last night. Only 65kg but shoulder felt fine throughout. Last set I went to 8 reps and then was careful not to do much more chest volume - just some light machine flys.

19 mile cycle yesterday but still managed to hit the gym today. Fully expected I'd get a really good sleep after that too but Fitbit says I had less than 6 hours so about my normal amount.

90kg bench press 3x5. Had planned to do 87.5kg but 80kg 3x5 went up so easy I had to push it a bit.

Also did an easy 100kg trap bar deadlift for 3x5 too, not arsed about going heavy on squats or deadlifts as I got sciatica years back and don't want to aggravate it so will work on volume more for it. Don't even do squats at all these days as every time I get around 90kg or more I start feeling a compression feeling in the base of my spine.

Harry Bizzle wrote:They’re a lot of fun and the power generation you develop with them is kind of crazy, so worth it if you can fit them in, I think.

The hang clean position helps because you’re starting in a stable position you can hold and focus on keeping your arms straight. It’s also an exercise which kind of helps to load more initially than you otherwise might. You probably can’t help but use your arms if just doing the bar, and if you jump properly you will literally leave the ground, but with 40kg, you can’t really use your arms and have to generate the force with your legs.

Once you’re at that kind of weight you’ll see that using your arms and not having them relatively fixed actually makes things harder for you.




I started off my push workout with 5x5 on the bench last night. Only 65kg but shoulder felt fine throughout. Last set I went to 8 reps and then was careful not to do much more chest volume - just some light machine flys.

Thanks for that. I think I got in a bad habit of flipping the bar up to OHP which I've carried over to the power clean. Maybe I'll give it another go when the gym is empty or my garage gym is finished the way it was shown to me was to sort of hip thrust the bar while shrugging, is that how you do it?

My traps are really feeling it today.

*Edit* I should have said like a jumping hip thrust with a shrug.

Anyone have any experience with purchasing a rowing machine? I would quite like one, as I need cardio workout I can do in winter when cycling or even running would not be ideal. My main concern is space. Is it possible to get 'modular' ones, which store away easily? Space is at a premium here and I don't think I can just have it lying around if I'm only using it a few hours a week at max.

EDIT: Looks like folding is a thing. Hmm, temping. It's £230 though which is a bit for something I might only get limited use from.

So that's about 5 months of gym membership since I spend over £40 a month. I've got a 1 month freeze on my pass in Sept, so do I see myself not going to the gym before March? If things get worse over the next month or so with covid I don't see them getting better before Spring, so I would probably cancel my membership. Also, if things get worse then they'll most likely sell out, so I should buy before then. I also really don't like to cycle in the rain and cold, which it's likely to be over that period, and I don't like to run if it's less than 3 degrees which will happen occasionally.

It's not in stock until early Sept. If I were to use it twice a week until March, which is about 25 weeks, then it's essentially costing me £4.60 a session. I'm not sure I would pay £4.60 normally for a cardio session, but I suppose if it's my best option I might have to take the hit.

I'm leaning towards getting it, but will sleep on it for a few days since there's no rush with it being out of stock currently.

Hime wrote:

Harry Bizzle wrote:They’re a lot of fun and the power generation you develop with them is kind of crazy, so worth it if you can fit them in, I think.

The hang clean position helps because you’re starting in a stable position you can hold and focus on keeping your arms straight. It’s also an exercise which kind of helps to load more initially than you otherwise might. You probably can’t help but use your arms if just doing the bar, and if you jump properly you will literally leave the ground, but with 40kg, you can’t really use your arms and have to generate the force with your legs.

Once you’re at that kind of weight you’ll see that using your arms and not having them relatively fixed actually makes things harder for you.




I started off my push workout with 5x5 on the bench last night. Only 65kg but shoulder felt fine throughout. Last set I went to 8 reps and then was careful not to do much more chest volume - just some light machine flys.

Thanks for that. I think I got in a bad habit of flipping the bar up to OHP which I've carried over to the power clean. Maybe I'll give it another go when the gym is empty or my garage gym is finished the way it was shown to me was to sort of hip thrust the bar while shrugging, is that how you do it?

My traps are really feeling it today.

*Edit* I should have said like a jumping hip thrust with a shrug.

Does your bar spin? Can be very tricky if it doesn't.

I personally feel if you aren't going to dedicate plenty of time and coaching into getting it right given how technical a lift it is, then it's not worth having in your routine.

I think I made a rookie error by deadlifting again today and I don't think I was adequately recovered from Tuesday's session. I'm still sort of eating at around maintenance and I went for a run on Wednesday which battered my legs. I was hoping to do 120kg 5x5 but did 110kg instead. My hips also seemed to keep shooting up early, which I'm not happy about.

Still, good session overall and I got a few light powercleans in after just for fun.

Hime wrote:Thanks for that. I think I got in a bad habit of flipping the bar up to OHP which I've carried over to the power clean. Maybe I'll give it another go when the gym is empty or my garage gym is finished the way it was shown to me was to sort of hip thrust the bar while shrugging, is that how you do it?

My traps are really feeling it today.

*Edit* I should have said like a jumping hip thrust with a shrug.

I usually just concentrate on jumping, but if you film yourself and find you're not getting your hips forward enough, you can certainly work on it. But as BOH says, it's probably worth thinking about what role they serve in your programme.

That's not a growth wrote:Anyone have any experience with purchasing a rowing machine? I would quite like one, as I need cardio workout I can do in winter when cycling or even running would not be ideal. My main concern is space. Is it possible to get 'modular' ones, which store away easily? Space is at a premium here and I don't think I can just have it lying around if I'm only using it a few hours a week at max.

EDIT: Looks like folding is a thing. Hmm, temping. It's £230 though which is a bit for something I might only get limited use from.

So that's about 5 months of gym membership since I spend over £40 a month. I've got a 1 month freeze on my pass in Sept, so do I see myself not going to the gym before March? If things get worse over the next month or so with covid I don't see them getting better before Spring, so I would probably cancel my membership. Also, if things get worse then they'll most likely sell out, so I should buy before then. I also really don't like to cycle in the rain and cold, which it's likely to be over that period, and I don't like to run if it's less than 3 degrees which will happen occasionally.

It's not in stock until early Sept. If I were to use it twice a week until March, which is about 25 weeks, then it's essentially costing me £4.60 a session. I'm not sure I would pay £4.60 normally for a cardio session, but I suppose if it's my best option I might have to take the hit.

I'm leaning towards getting it, but will sleep on it for a few days since there's no rush with it being out of stock currently.

Do you definitely enjoy consistently rowing? If so, as long as the machine has good reviews it may be worth it. Maybe check gumtree for a cheaper second hand one?

Yeah, I enjoy rowing a lot more than stationary riding. Good shout on checking out second hand, I'll give that a go.

I think you have to really, really, really enjoy rowing to not end up in a situation where you've had the machine folded up in the corner of your room for the last three months.

Perhaps. The worry is the only reason I stick with my long runs and cycles on bad days is once I get to the point I want to quit carrying on is the only way to get home again. But I suppose I've mostly kept up with my kitchen weight routine, so perhaps I can be stubborn enough to keep it up. Good point to consider.

blackoutHERO wrote:

Hime wrote:

Harry Bizzle wrote:They’re a lot of fun and the power generation you develop with them is kind of crazy, so worth it if you can fit them in, I think.

The hang clean position helps because you’re starting in a stable position you can hold and focus on keeping your arms straight. It’s also an exercise which kind of helps to load more initially than you otherwise might. You probably can’t help but use your arms if just doing the bar, and if you jump properly you will literally leave the ground, but with 40kg, you can’t really use your arms and have to generate the force with your legs.

Once you’re at that kind of weight you’ll see that using your arms and not having them relatively fixed actually makes things harder for you.




I started off my push workout with 5x5 on the bench last night. Only 65kg but shoulder felt fine throughout. Last set I went to 8 reps and then was careful not to do much more chest volume - just some light machine flys.

Thanks for that. I think I got in a bad habit of flipping the bar up to OHP which I've carried over to the power clean. Maybe I'll give it another go when the gym is empty or my garage gym is finished the way it was shown to me was to sort of hip thrust the bar while shrugging, is that how you do it?

My traps are really feeling it today.

*Edit* I should have said like a jumping hip thrust with a shrug.

Does your bar spin? Can be very tricky if it doesn't.

I personally feel if you aren't going to dedicate plenty of time and coaching into getting it right given how technical a lift it is, then it's not worth having in your routine.

Harry Bizzle wrote:I think I made a rookie error by deadlifting again today and I don't think I was adequately recovered from Tuesday's session. I'm still sort of eating at around maintenance and I went for a run on Wednesday which battered my legs. I was hoping to do 120kg 5x5 but did 110kg instead. My hips also seemed to keep shooting up early, which I'm not happy about.

Still, good session overall and I got a few light powercleans in after just for fun.

Hime wrote:Thanks for that. I think I got in a bad habit of flipping the bar up to OHP which I've carried over to the power clean. Maybe I'll give it another go when the gym is empty or my garage gym is finished the way it was shown to me was to sort of hip thrust the bar while shrugging, is that how you do it?

My traps are really feeling it today.

*Edit* I should have said like a jumping hip thrust with a shrug.

I usually just concentrate on jumping, but if you film yourself and find you're not getting your hips forward enough, you can certainly work on it. But as BOH says, it's probably worth thinking about what role they serve in your programme.

Thanks guys.