Weights for speed

RB34 · May 6, 2009, 2:10pm

He’s not talking about the 5x5 method but general upper body workouts.

I would disagree with this statement. There are other questions that need to be answered, such as ‘how close to 5RM are the 5 x 5 sets’? And how many track athletes do you know that can do 5 reps with 2 x bodyweight? An 180lb. athlete who can do 5 reps at 2 x bodyweight as part of a 5 x 5, at the intensities discussed above, would have a 1RM of around 435-440lbs. Do you know many 180 sprinters, other than elite, that bench that much? I doubt CF was limiting his response to the very few athletes on this board that can perform at that level.

While I may be wrong and CF may correct me, I think you may be underestimating the CNS load that a demanding benchpress workout can provide, even in the 1-1.5 x bodyweight range, especially if we’re talking about warmup plus 25 reps twice a week. Its not that you can’t recover, but you may be dipping too deeply into the CNS pool, which would still have detrimental effects on the sprint side of things.