I've been doing a 5 x 5 program for as long as I can remember and am also trying to lose weight at the same time, so need to eat at a deficit. These past couple of weeks I've decided to get my shite together and sort my diet out. This is NOT easy to do when you have a lot of drinking sessions lined up let me assure you but I digress!

To go with it I've shaken up my weights routine a little bit to be more cardio focussed and get me out of breath. I plan on doing it twice per week.

Part One: Big Lifts

5 Squats immediately followed by 5 Pull Ups (4 sets)
5 Deadlifts immediately followed by 20 Press Ups (4 Sets)
5 Hang Cleans + Military Press (4 Sets)

I added weight to each set of Squats and Deads so they became progressively harder. I started Squatting 70kg and added 5kg per set, ending at 90kg. I started Deadlifting 80kg and did the same ending at 100kg. I don't plan on increasing the weight week on week, since my goal is to lose weight. I will add more reps though, especially of the body weight exercises.

I did this part yesterday. It was brutal.

Part 2: Assisstance

Assistance lifts / routines: Planks, Bench Press, Medicine Ball, Kettlebells, Hang Snatches, Lunges, Dips, More Press/Pull Ups, Weight Machines etc.

Basically something different each time to keep my body guessing and I'll likely do 3 x 5-10 reps of each at a slower pace than Part One.. Note that I didn't include any exercise that included the words 'Tricep' or 'Bicep'.

Part 3: Cardio

10 - 20 minutes on cardio machines (Ellipictal, Treadmill, Rower)

Aim is to stay out of breath and keep my heart rate up.

Other Stuff

Alongside this I'm planning to do at least 2 x barbell complex routines a week (basically where you do a set of 6 barbell exercises for 10 reps non stop, rest for 2 minutes and then do it again and again and again etc. - like a barbell circuit) and also running 15 miles. Aim is to do 2 days of exercise and then take a day off.

Thoughts, comments and questions welcome :-)