5^5 routine, new to board

[Prana]

First I would like to introduce myself and say this board and elite are great resources. I'm 20 y/o, 5'7, 140 @ 22% bf. I started weight lifting in May of 2003. I train at a gym with Needsize and Alltraps (who is my bf)... Fyre, I've seen u at the gym too!

Before now I was doing more of a drop set routine and cardio. Currently I am trying Needsizes 5^5 Routine. I started 2 days ago.

My goal is to build muscle & improve my strength. I'm planning to do this routine for 12 weeks or until I plateau on increasing my weights each week. After the 12 weeks or so, I am planning to focus on my cardio and dropping in bf... probably with the help of Thermorexin.

These are my questions:

1) How much cardio should I do on the 5^5 routine to reach my goals?

2)What should my diet be like on the routine?

Right now my diet is 5 meals per day. I consume approx. 1350 cals / day. (I know these cals are not efficient if I want to increase muscle mass), I'm taking in 100 g Carbs, 125 g Protein, 50 g fat. Bascilly I'm eating eggs, whole wheat flax bread, tons of veggies, chicken, lean steak, shrimp, protein shakes and oatmeal...

Thanks for any help. The guys I go to are great for weight lifting tips but all and all I think help from other women is what I need;

[atherjen]

Hi Prana! Welcome aboard, so glad to have you with us!

I have used the 5x5 routine before with good success while bulking as well. Its also a nice change to typical training.
If you are trying to gain more muscle then you need to drop the cardio down to almost nothing.. I would sometimes do boxing or sprints 1x week while bulking, just to keep my sanity and endurance up some.
-wow! you are not eating NEAR enough even to maintain your weight. Im afraid that you may be risking putting your body into starvation mode. how long have you been eating this amount of calories?
id suggest slowly increasing them to maintenance level (which is approx bwX15) and then begin to slowly add a couple hundred calories on top of that for growth.
- you need more protein! at minimum 1g/lb bodyweight. 1.5g/lb being optimal imo. you also dont have enough carbs, 100g each day is dieting levels for some. slowly increase this as well. good sources are old fashioned oats, sweet potatoes/yams, brown rice, beans/legumes, fiberous fruit in moderation.
-I dont see any form of EFA's (essential fatty acids) in your diet. good choice include flaxseed oil, fish oil caps and/or fatty fish, olive oil, Udos oil, hempseed oil, natural peanut butter and nuts/seeds in moderation.
-are you including a post workout shake after training? consisting of whey protein and dextrose. ratios are 0.4g/kg bodyweight of protein(form of whey) and carbs 0.8g/kg bodyweight (in form of dextrose). ALA is also a great addition as well as creatine/glutamine if supplementing with those. drink this immediatly after training and then 1 hour later have a whole food meal of complex carbs and lean protein, no fats in that meal.
-your meal before bed should consisit of a casein or egg protein at best along with an EFA. cottage cheese and peanut butter is great! this allows for a slow release of amino acids in your blood as you sleep, to help keep catabolism at bay.
-I also cant emphasize the importance of LOTS of water. minimum of 1 gallon/day.
-with the 5 meals a day im assuming that your eating every 2.5-3 hrs, correct?

hope that helps a bit, any other questions/concerns feel free to ask! Great gang of ladies here willing to help!

[Prana]

Thanks for responding so quickly Atherjen.

The diet I posted was orginally created by a friend and it was intended for cutting. I knew I would need a whole new plan for the 5^5 routine.

For the routine, according to ur post atherjen, I need 2100 cals per day, you said this was just for maintenace and I should add a couple hundred cals on top of that. Should I expect to gain a lot of bf during this type of diet / program? and when I'm cutting in 12 weeks, how many cals do I need then? is there a seperate calculation for that?

Also, I do eat every 2.5- 3 hrs & I have a post workout shake with carbs (usually fruit). I did the calculations and I should have have 50 g's of dextrose and 25 g protein. Is this just during bulking as well?

Thanks so much for answering all of my questions, I have so much to learn about dieting. Should I start the program once I've got all this dieting sorted or should I just progress with it? and lastly, does anyone have a link or a diet they've used that would suit my needs? Thanks so much everyone!!

[atherjen]

your very welcome Prana.

yes for your height and weight 2100 calories is about right for maintenance assuming that your metabolism is "normal". Work you way slowly up to this level from where you are at now. start by adding 250 calories a week. once you hit that level stay there for a couple weeks and then slowly increase by an additional 200 to begin with. if your diet is kept clean and consistent then you should not worry about gaining too much fat. myself, I dont tend to near any. you will see the scale go up some but keep it will be from the added carbs in your diet, as they hold more water within the muscle cells, and ofcourse it could be added muscle!
as for when the time comes to cut, yes you will need less than maintenance but not near as low as your friend has advised! we can always work on that when the time comes.
your calculations for post workout seem correct. mix the whey and dextrose in with 2L of water for optimal absorption/digestion. fruit is NOT a good choice as a post workout carb as its carb source is fructose, which acts differently in the body. its slower broken down and replinishes liver glycogen stores before it ever makes its way to muscle tissues. dextrose is high glycemic, thus spiking insulin post workout to shuttle nutrients into the muscle cells to being repair and ward of catabolism. do not be afraid of the sugars as this time, it is very beneficial and so long as you are consuming no other sugars in your diet at other times you will be fine.
and yes go ahead and begin the 5X5 routine now and let the diet progress with the training

[Prana]

Thanks again Atherjen.. BIG help!

[Fyre]

Very solid advice Jen!
Welcome to the board Prana. It's great to have you here!

[needsize]

good to see you here prana, careful though, if you follow this routine too closely you might end yo bigger than alltraps and I dont think his ego could handle that....

[JRfromTN]

great post good information
im gonna print this one

[atherjen]

your Welcome Prana.. keep us updated often!

[Prana]

Hey Everyone,. I have a couple more questions - If my primary goals are to gain strength and lose body fat, is it possible I could continue with the 5^5 program and cardio at the same time? Of course knowing that I will not see muscle growth?? Or is this routine strictly for "bulking"??

the reason I chose to do this program in the first place was to change up my routine and get past my plateaus on weights!! what do u guys think?

Needsize - how bout we dont tell alltraps and I just up at the gym with 20's??? hahahah

[atherjen]

well if your goal is not to add more muscle.. and just become overall stronger and lean down some then yes keep that 5x5 training method and incorporate a small amount of cardio along with a clean diet.
for cardio I would suggest HIIT. you get the most benfits and see the most progress with that sort. not to metion long dreaded cardio sessions are not needed.

[Prana]

You have that right Atherjen about the dreadful cardio sessions!
For HIIT> how many times per week and how long?
thanks

[Fyre]

I agree. Too much cardio can be as bad as not enough.
20-30 minutes should be fine for you if you're doing interval training.
Far too many people do 60minutes of cardio and get little or no results.

[atherjen]

yuppers I agree with Fyre, 20-30 minutes is definitly enough. I hate cardio. lol
how about try 3 sessions of HIIT per week. see how that goes for a while. and dont make them first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. at the intensity you'll risk loosing muscle.

[Prana]

ok thanks a lot everyone, I'll keep you all updated