Estrix Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 So after working through Starting Strength I moved on to madcow 5x5 and it's been going great. Doing first deload this week. But I had a sudden thought that google has not sufficiently answered. The workout is structured like a pyramid, lighter weights working to heavier ones. And on Fri up to a PRx3 then a set of 8 at a lower weight. But why is the workout this shape? There must be a good reason, as opposed to straight sets, or for that matter warming up and then going from heaviest to lightest? It seemed that I'd be more likely to hit my heaviest sets if I did them first So I guess I'm wondering if there is a physiological reason for the workout being designed this way? Quote The valiant never taste of death but once. Battle Log: 100 Day Bench Press Challenge (64 Days) Challenge: 1, 2 Estrix, level 1 Goblin Raider STR 3|DEX 2|STA 3|CON 3|WIS 3|CHA 2 Link to comment
El Exorcisto Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 It's just the way that Bill Starr designed his 5x5 program. There are justifications for every set and rep scheme. The Bulgarians do a lot of max effort singles. Westside loves conjugate periodization in 1 week blocks. Lily likes conjugate over 3 week blocks. Wendler likes waving block periodization over 3 week cycles. All of them work, some more effectively in some trainees than others. Madcow's game is to do just enough volume on Monday to be able to hit a PR on Friday, rinse, lather, and repeat. The Texas Method looks similar but does straight sets on Monday but Friday's PR isn't necessarily based on your Monday's weight but on the previous Friday. TL;DR: Because Bill Starr said so. 1 Quote My training log Spoiler 2016 Hudson Valley Strongman presents Lift for Autism (USS), April 16th Contest report 2015 Hudson Valley Strongman presents Lift for Autism (NAS), April 18th Contest report Eighth Annual Vis Vires Outdoor Strongman Competition (Unsanctioned), August 1st Contest report "What's the difference between an injury that you train around and an injury that you train through?" "A trip to the hospital" Link to comment
Gainsdalf the Whey Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 It's built that way so you can work up to the max triple and be the freshest possible for it, with the lighter 8 added for additional hypertrophy after the most difficult work has been done. It makes the set of the easier to get and lets you move more weight on it. Quote Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim 500 / 330 / 625 Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge "No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates "Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith "It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf Link to comment
Vintage Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 One practical reason (among many reasons, including those above) - as your weight gets heavier, you'll need more warm-up sets to get to your max sets. This a)takes a lot of time and b)adds a fair amount of volume. Plus it's easy to missjudge your jumps - too big and you're not ready for it, too small and you're fatigued before getting to your max set. Working in a pyramid gives you some structure to that build up and manages volume somewhat. Quote Link to comment
Estrix Posted January 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Hey guys. Thanks for the feedback. Hate having an unanswered question lol. Eats away at me I particularly like "Because he said so" which is sort of what I imagined but thought it might be some deeply complicated chemical and physiological reason Quote The valiant never taste of death but once. Battle Log: 100 Day Bench Press Challenge (64 Days) Challenge: 1, 2 Estrix, level 1 Goblin Raider STR 3|DEX 2|STA 3|CON 3|WIS 3|CHA 2 Link to comment
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