traps and abbs during 5x5

jg87iroc

New Member
hi everyone im new to the board. im 18yrs old and one day i want to compete in BB. right now im focused on my strength though. im doing the classic 5x5 3 day a week program and i have gotten amazing results. i have a few questions regarding traps and abbs. i really need to bring my upper traps up, when would be the best time to train them? should i hit them twice a week? also should i just do abbs on tue and thurs? thank you very much for any reply
 
I always love to see people using the 5x5... but I have to ask you a few questions in order to help you with this. How long have you been doing the 5x5? Are you following the program exactly as it is laid out? People I run into in the real world seem to make the mistake of thinking the 5x5 just means doing 5 sets of 5 reps on whatever exercises they want. I don't believe this is the case with you, but I needed to make sure. It's the funniest thing when someone comes up to you and says "yeah I've been doing the 5x5 program for 3 weeks, but I can't seem to progress with the leg extensions"... And where the F**K are leg extensions or anything of the like in this program? Alright anyway, that's just an example. Let me know how long you've been involved with this program, your stats (height, weight, bodyfat), and I will try to help you the best I can. I am in the middle of the same program right now, I just did Day 1 of week 5, I intend on finishing 6 weeks 5x5, then deloading for 2-4 weeks, haven't decided how long for the deloading, depends on how I feel with it. I can tell you this before knowing anything about you, if you do this program right, and you understand how important nutrition and rest are, you will get results. In the past I've used this and strength consistently went up and up, size also but a little less dramatic than the strength gains.
 
i follow the program like its laid out. im 19, 210lbs, 6'3 around 20% bf. im cutting now though and doing keto. thanks a lot
 
Listen to Grizzly man, everything he says is good to go. I haven't been on this board in a long time but it is nice to see that there are still a few extremely knowledgeable people floating around..

And to backup what he says, I am doing the 5x5 right now, exactly as it's laid out, and yes, traps get PLENTY. If you are going hardcore as you should be with your deadlifts, they will start to come out more if they haven't already. Traps are actually one of the few places where I am genetically gifted, I stopped training for YEARS due to alot of personal problems, but I just finished the 5th week of the 5x5, and I have results EVERYWHERE already, and my traps are standing out as my strong point again already, that's with no shrugs or any extras involved.

I cannot wait to complete this entirely, deloading with the 3x3 and the whole 9, ...BUT after it's complete, I am actually going to do another 5x5 back to back.. and I already know it is all going to be well worth it.

Keep following the program as it is laid out and seriously I wouldn't start doing any accessory movements on your off days, you need those to recover from the beatings of this program.

Also when you reach the 3x3 phase, remember for the first week you have to leave the weights the same as they were for your last week of 5x5, you need this legitimate deloading week before you start to ramp the weight on 3x3. It's been a while since I've actually read the program fully, but I am 90% sure that this is right, ... I have one more week before I start the 3x3 and man am I amped up about everything as a whole..

What do most people out there say is the "ultimate high"? My answer would be ANABOLISM.

There is nothing that puts me in a better state of mind not just for training but for my entire life than muscle growth.

Do me a favor, keep yourself posting here, I like to see how others are doing with this program especially while I'm in the middle of it myself.

Respectfully,

Ken

P.S. - Who else is left out there? AnimalMass ?? Bob Smith? Freddy? I see Grizzly is here...
 
Yea, knee pain whilst squatting is likely poor form. A LOT of people have problems with squatting properly and its usually due to some sort of flexibility issue (hips, ankles, hams). Check you knees for any buckling etc as well.
 
I think my form is good, i don't let them buckle, i injured my one knee as a kid and just that one gives me problems.
 
does anyone have a link to a good video or pictures of good form so i can double check? i have been looking but there seems to be so much variance i don't know what to follow. thanks guys
 
To the original traps question... if you have just started the 5X5, just stay the course, your traps will likely grow in proportion to everything else. If you have been doing it a while and are really unhappy with the trap situation, unhappy cause they arent growing or hell if you just have some strange attraction to huge traps (lol) then, a set, once a week, of cheat shrugs with a bar that is loaded to about your max set of 5 on the deadlift.... cheat shrug it for about 20 reps or until you cant move it at all, whichever comes first... this will work pretty well and shouldnt fuck up the rest of the training program. Just do one set per week.

JS
 
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