resetting 5x5, substitutions

[billm311]

okay, so I have had sucess regaining lost strength using the madcow 5x5 outline, but hit the wall on bench press, and will be getting there on military press very soon.

after a one week vacation (fell on week seven conveniently, good time to rest), I plan on resetting somewhat with some new movements.

Old hip flexor injuries have always bothered me if I dont squat regularly, so after vacay, I tried to pick up by repeating week 6 weights (bad idea). Monday/Friday squats will become box squats, reset tbd. would using the hip articulation machine for assistance work help?

Since bench did stall, I plan on switching to reverse grip Monday/Friday at new lower weights to get accustomed and to hit my tris more effectively. gotta burst that plateau! I do dips and extensions on fridays for assistance work. Any better suggestions?

barbell rows will remain intact. As will deads. I debated front squats, but I guess there is no real reason to change them for something else, ay?

now for military - I will press on for now, but dont know how far I can push it (ha, get it). Using more of a push press technique will help. pull ups and rear delt raises assist.

anybody have further suggestions for me? or questions?

 

[Alpha-male]

Sup bro, I'm also doing the madcow 5x5 intermediate program for the first time. I'm in week 5 right now.

From your post you say that bench and military are the only ones that are stalling? If so then you can either switch exercises or reset at a lower weight. If you're stalling on everything/almost everything then I would go down to 3x3 for a couple of weeks.

If you wanna substitue then I would substitue bench press with incline bench. I was thinking db press but going up in weight would be a hassle since they go up by 5lbs. For military that's a hard one. I would try db military press since I can't think of any other substitute.

As far as front squats i've read that they're AWSOME for leg development.

Good luck let me know how it goes.

 

[billm311]

hey alpha... good luck with the program, so far it was been great for me. I was able to "naturally" get back up to levels I had achieved while using pheraplex over the winter last year.

I am will be starting week 9 monday. I decided to go with box squats(reset), reverse bench(reset), and bbrows(not reset, still going strong).

the wednesday routine I kept front squat for leg development :thumbsup: (no reset), military press (no reset), and coventional deads (no reset).....But in all groups, the last set is changed from 5 reps to 3. (So 5,5,5,3).

I hear ya on the DBs, the jump is too much sometimes, and for this run I wanted to keep it all bar, For the military, I think I should be able to get the full 12 weeks I wanted without altering it further.

As far as benching, I chose the reverse over the incline for a few reasons: 1. the reverse helps me focus on my triceps more. 2. It helps me activate my lats while maintaining form and keeping shoulder back. 3. my incline numbers and flat numbers are nearly identical. I actually hit current max on incline before getting it on flat:blink: (prolly due to poor form on flats).

regardless, let me know how it ends up for ya bro, and good luck! :cheers: