Working out 5 days a week when following strengthening routines

Question

I am currently following the strengthening routine suggested by @DaveLiepmann 3 days a week.

Extracts from this thread - Are these Workout Routines right for Body Building

2.In each workout you will squat, press and pull. The presses alternate between bench and overhead. The pull alternates between deadlifts and power cleans. If you don't know how to power clean, 3 sets of chin-ups to failure will do. The deadlifts are 1x5 (1 set of 5 reps, after warming up), power cleans are 5x3, and all the rest are 3x5.

3.You add 5 pounds to every lift in every workout. So if you start with 3 sets of 5 squats at 135 pounds, your next workout would be 3 sets of 5 squats at 140 pounds.

The reason for me training 5 days a week is that my work is very stressful and I find it training at the Gym helps relieve the stress and also progress faster towards my goal in terms of shaping my body with size.

My question is can I train 5 days including the above like this,

Day 1 - Squat, Press, Pull.

Day 2 - Bi's & Tri's

Day 3 - Squat, Press, Pull.

Day 4 - Shoulders & Back

Day 5 - Squat, Press, Pull.

Dave

Answer 1

Short Answer: Sure!

You can do any schedule you want. The technical term for such a program would be YNDTP: You're Not Doing The (Starting Strength) Program. There's nothing stopping you from working out 5 times a week, but your progress will be harder and slower.

Why It's Problematic

If you add extra workouts, you'll find yourself unable to add weight to your lifts fairly quickly.

The problem is that it's impossible to recover sufficiently from heavy lifting with workouts on recovery days. A walk or gentle bikeride into town would be fine (it's called "active rest"), but anything more strenuous doesn't work. There's an old adage: it's not lifting weights that makes you strong--it's resting after lifting weights.

The SS and CrossFit forums are chock-full of people who try to do the program but get derailed because they insist on long bikerides/running/CrossFitting on days that are set aside for rest and recovery. These people find themselves stalled, unable to add weight, not getting stronger, their diet thrown out of whack in one direction or another. The advice is always the same: do the program without additional exercise, get enough food, get your sleep, and do the lifts correctly.

Answer 2

The reason for me training 5 days a week is that my work is very stressful and I find it training at the Gym helps relieve the stress and also progress faster towards my goal in terms of shaping my body with size.

Way too much. Even at 28, this schedule will get you over trained more sooner than later. I would suggest sticking to Starting Strength or 5/3/1 3 times per week. Focus in basic movements and add some minimal accessory work.

A long easy walk will relieve your stress. You can even add some conditioning work once per week (hill sprinting, prowler push).

.. and you need patience. You goals will come, but it takes time.

Answer 3

I think the answers so far have made it loud and clear that overtraining will not help you with your goal to get stronger, shape your body with size or reduce your stress. @Dave and @coxnegative have hit the relevant points, so I'll just add some suggestions on how to reduce stress on your rest days.

This stress relief article describes several relaxation techniques to help you find one that best deals with the way you experience stress. This answer also addresses stress reduction. If relaxation techniques like relaxed breathing, meditation or visualization are not your thing, maybe Tai Chi would be a good way to still exercise, but not interfere with your weight training.