Switched from 5x5 to higher volume after a hard plateau - 6 week update

[BjornTitan]

Been stuck on a 140kg squat for almost four months on straight 5x5. Three weeks ago I dropped to 60% and ran 5 sets of 10 twice a week plus a lighter pause day. Already feel like my legs recover better and the bar speed is back. Anyone else break a plateau this way?

[LiftMaven]

This is the classic fix. 5x5 is great until your joints and CNS are just fried from grinding heavy triples every session. More volume at submax loads gives you the reps to actually clean up technique. Keep the lighter pause day, that's doing more than you think.

[IronGuru88]

What's your weekly set count on quads now vs before? People jump to 'more volume' but never count. If you went from like 10 hard sets to 22 overnight that's a big swing and the soreness will catch up.

[BjornTitan]

Roughly 10 before, about 18 now across the two days. First week my quads were wrecked, second week was rough, this week I'm barely sore which I'm taking as a good sign.

[AlphaBulk]

Barely sore isn't a problem as long as the weight on the bar is moving. Soreness is a terrible progress marker. Track your top set reps and whether you're adding load every couple of weeks.

[SteelTitan9]

I did almost the same thing last year. The thing nobody warned me about: keep a heavy single or double in once every 10-14 days or your max strength drifts even while your reps go up. Pure hypertrophy volume made me look better but my 1RM dropped until I added it back.

[BjornTitan]

That's a good point, I was worried about losing the top end. So something like 5x10 for six weeks then a heavier week to re-test?

[SteelTitan9]

Exactly. Run the volume block, then a week where you work up to a heavy double or triple and see where you are. You'll usually surprise yourself.

[MuscleMaster]

One thing to add - your warmups matter way more at higher volume. I started doing two proper ramp sets and some leg swings before squats and the knee niggles I used to get on set 4 disappeared.

[Maverick]

Curious how your sleep and food are. Going from 10 to 18 sets means you need to eat for it. I tried a volume jump in a slight deficit and just stalled and felt flat the whole time.