In terms of training programs, there aren’t too many “plug and play” workouts that virtually guarantee results. More accurately, there aren’t too many programs that promise and truly deliver on those results. The 5×5 workout does, and it has a 60+ yr track record of success with a trail of strong, muscular, athletic bodies to point out for it.
5×5, or five sets of 5 reps, was first popularized within the Sixties and has developed a fame as one of the vital reliable routines within the long history of weight training. Hit the gym three days every week and do 5×5, eat plenty, and also you almost can’t fail.
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There are a couple of exceptions and details, in fact, however the 5×5 workout is mostly recognized as one of the vital dependable ways to construct size and strength nearly concurrently. It’s the unique “powerbuilding” workout. Here’s what to find out about getting probably the most out of this classic mass-building program.
The 5×5 Workout
History of the the 5×5 Workout
5×5 isn’t some flash-in-the-pan routine. It’s been delivering results for many years, due partially to its simplicity and to its give attention to some reliable training fundamentals — big exercises and heavy weights. Here’s a more in-depth have a look at a few of this program’s hallowed backstory.
Reg Park Built the Austrian Oak
Arnold Schwarzenegger may need the physique that launched one million gym memberships, but what in regards to the bodybuilder who was Arnold’s biggest inspiration? Surely, the one that motivated the one that motivated generations of individuals to hit the gym should get some recognition.
Reg Park is the classic bodybuilder who inspired a young Arnold to achieve for the muscle-building stars. Park won several bodybuilding competitions from the mid-Nineteen Forties into the Seventies, including three Mr. Universe titles. Park also gained a level of mainstream popularity starring because the legendary Hercules in several movies within the early Sixties.
Park’s powerful, well-muscled frame was a step up from the highest bodybuilders of the day. His strength-focused training reflected his ability to “show and go” and it allowed him to change into the primary bodybuilder to bench press 500 kilos. This contrasted together with his bodybuilding contemporaries who often focused on lifting moderate to light weights for relatively high repetitions.
Like some successful bodybuilders of his era, Park published a series of coaching catalogs and programs to guide hopeful gym-goers along the muscle-building path. One in all his books, “Strength and Bulk Training for Weight Lifters and Body Builders,” was published in 1960. This appears to be certainly one of the primary widespread advice of a structured 5×5 workout, although using five sets of 5 reps featured in some parts of “Training for Power,” written by Park in 1954.
In “Strength and Bulk Training for Weight Lifters and Body Builders,” Park advocated for 3 workouts each week. In each session, three fundamental exercises — the squat, bench press, and deadlift — are performed for five sets of 5 repetitions. Every training session featured a comparatively minimalist approach:
- Weighted Back Extension — 3 x 10
- Squat — 5 x 5
- Bench Press — 5 x 5
- Deadlift — 5 x 5
The back extension was considered essential for strengthening and warming up the lower back. Park advisable a particular approach to every of the five sets. The primary two sets were progressively heavier warm-up sets, for instance, 135 kilos for five reps and 155 kilos for five reps. The three final sets for every exercise used the identical weight, for instance, 175 kilos for 3 sets of 5 reps.
Park also advised a whopping three to five-minute rest between each of those three working sets. This may increasingly sound like an eternity for lifters accustomed to fast-paced workouts, but such long rest intervals have been shown to permit optimal performance when lifting heavy weights. (1)
Park suggested following the essential 5×5 workout plan for 3 months before progressing to either a “bodybuilder’s workout,” featuring additional exercises like calf raises and barbell curls, or a “weightlifter’s workout” which incorporated lunges, power cleans and other sport-specific movements.
Bill Starr: The Strongest Shall Survive
There was once a widespread myth amongst mainstream sports that “lifting weights creates unathletic, muscle-bound bodies.” While we now know that well-designed weight training programs can construct stronger, faster, more durable athletes, many skilled athletes and coaches used to imagine this urban legend whole-heartedly. Until Bill Starr.
Bill Starr was a competitive weightlifter, editor of Strength and Health magazine from 1966 to 1972, and certainly one of the primary NFL strength and conditioning coaches as he worked with the Baltimore Colts starting in 1969. Notably, the Colts won their first Super Bowl in 1971 while under the guidance of Starr’s weight room coaching, landing a major blow against the “muscle-bound myth.”
Starr was also an advocate of easy and effective basic, heavy lifting. In 1976, he wrote “The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football.” The plan laid out a three-day-per week training plan centered around what Starr known as “The Big Three” — three exercises which construct muscle, strength, and explosive power throughout all the body.
These priority exercises were the bench press done with a comparatively close-grip (hands shoulder-width apart), the facility clean (which he called “the athlete’s exercise” for it’s practical carryover to the playing field), and the back squat descending as deep into the underside position as possible.
This system also incorporated leg extensions and leg curls to warm-up the quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively, in addition to sit-ups and leg raises to deal with core strength. These exercises were done with fewer sets and better repetitions to avoid excess fatigue. Once every week, the overhead press was also suggested rather than the bench press for athletes on the lookout for much more upper body strength and power.
One cornerstone of Starr’s 5×5 program was a circuit-style approach, where each of the three primary exercises were performed in a superset-style — one set of power cleans, followed by one set of the bench press, followed by one set of squats. This was intended to assist construct cardiovascular conditioning together with strength and power.
Starr, unlike Park, increased the load on each of the five sets for each exercise. He also incorporated varied loading parameters on every day. While the 5×5 format was kept constant, the primary workout of the week was “heavy” using near-maximal weights. The second workout was “light,” using 80% of the weights moved within the previous workout. The third workout of the week was considered “medium” and called for 90% of the hundreds used through the heavy workout.
This kind of “every day undulating periodization” allowed more efficient recovery because training intensity was adjusted throughout the week. It also encouraged increased power output since relatively lighter weights may be lifted with more explosive power. (2)
The right way to Program the 5×5 Workout
Establishing a 5×5 workout may be easy, nevertheless it’s not quite so simple as just performing five sets of 5 reps on a couple of random exercises. While the sets and reps are one defining feature, an efficient 5×5 plan also requires several other programming aspects.
The Sets and Reps: 5×5
Similar to you possibly can’t do a kettlebell swing with out a kettlebell, you possibly can’t do a 5×5 workout without specializing in five sets of 5. Whether it’s five progressively heavier sets, like Starr’s approach, or multiple sets with the identical weight like Park advisable, aim for five total sets per exercise.
Use a load that achieves muscular fatigue inside 4 to 6 repetitions while performing not more than five repetitions per set. If a load only permits you to complete only 4 reps before reaching muscular failure or compromising exercise technique, repeat the load the next week. Basic strength adaptations should will let you reach the five-rep mark.
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Any training with higher rep ranges must be kept to a bare minimum to keep up give attention to the 5×5 portion of the workout. Limit additional sets/reps to at least one or two exercises per workout, at most.
Those exercises should either be single-joint movements akin to curls or lateral raises or they must be less strenuous movements like dumbbell rows or split squats. These strategic decisions will keep physical and CNS (central nervous system) stress to a relative minimum, allowing overall recovery.
Or, as Park showed the world, you possibly can definitely perform only 5×5 movements in every workout without supplementing higher repetitions. This keeps this system rooted in its primary focus — emphasizing exertions by going “all in” for five sets of 5 repetitions.
Five-rep sets allow a heavy enough weight to trigger significant strength gains without the high degree of neuromuscular fatigue that may accompany one, two, or three-rep maximums. Performing five sets per movement allows the involved muscles to be put under significant total volume, which is crucial to stimulate muscle growth.
Three Full-Body Workouts Per Week
The character of 5×5 workouts requires a single exercise per body part. Performing 5×5 for multiple exercises per body part — for instance, training several bench press variations for five×5 in each workout — would likely result in overtraining by moving an excessive amount of weight for an excessive amount of volume with too few muscle groups.
Using multiple exercises per body part per session would also not allow an efficient weekly workout split since just one or two body parts might be trained in each workout. Since the 5×5 is the core programming concept, the workout forgoes multiple exercises per body part. Because a single exercise per body part is utilized in each session, more muscles may be trained in a given workout.
Because of this a full-body approach is the one effective and efficient technique to plan a 5×5 workout. Centering the training routine around three weekly full-body sessions, also creates “built-in” rest days to permit muscular growth and recovery. Three workouts mandates 4 non-training days.
Repeating these kinds of full-body workouts several times per week also allows a high frequency of coaching, which has been shown to be more useful for strength gains than training once per week. (3)
Multi-Joint Barbell Exercises
Multi-joint (compound) barbell exercises are the popular movements to accommodate relatively heavy sets of 5. It is a matter of efficiency, practicality (barbells are much simpler to load heavy weight), and safety.
Dumbbell exercises can change into dangerously unwieldy when using very heavy weights as a consequence of the stabilizing muscles needed to manage each individual dumbbell. Heavy body weight exercises, similarly, can overload stabilizing muscles before the goal body part is sufficiently worked.
Specializing in multi-joint exercises, like squats, deadlifts, and presses somewhat than single-joint exercises like curls or extensions permits you to recruit more muscles with each lift. This creates greater training efficiency while also allowing you to maneuver more overall weight.
In each workout, include a squat, a press (either overhead or a bench press variation), and a “pull” whether it’s a style of deadlift or something that more directly recruits your back muscles like a barbell row.
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This may ensure relatively balanced training of each your upper and lower body in addition to your “pushing muscles” (chest, shoulders, and triceps) and your “pulling muscles” (back and biceps). With proper exercise selection, your core will likely receive sufficient stimulation while not having direct training.
Advantages of the 5×5 Workout
The 5×5 workout would’ve faded into obscurity many years ago if it didn’t deliver real physical advantages. The explanation it’s continued to be a staple program for generations is because it may reliably add muscle and power onto nearly any lifter.
Muscular Size
Whether you’re trying to be built like a powerhouse linebacker, a well-muscled bodybuilder, or something in between, the 5×5 workout generally is a top alternative. The calorie surplus needed to recuperate from high frequency, heavy lifting coincides with the style of calorie intake needed to support muscle growth.
Actually, certainly one of the surest ways to short-change your results with the 5×5 program is to not provide insufficient fuel for growth and recovery. One common mistake some lifters make is to try “eating for fat loss” with a calorie deficit while using a 5×5 training routine.
Without ample calories and enough high-quality protein, you run the chance of wasted time and energy, and potential overtraining.
Total-Body Strength
Performing big barbell exercises with heavy weights for relatively low repetitions is a spot-on approach to constructing raw strength. Using a limited variety of exercises in each workout will let you focus your training intensity on probably the most efficient movements.
Performing a comparatively limited variety of sets and repetitions keeps your workouts focused on classic hard and heavy lifting which also yields focused results.
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One worthwhile “side effect” of the 5×5 workout is that high-frequency exposure to the identical exercises might help ingrain proper lifting technique. Improved technique can carry over to raised long-term gains, greater training efficiency, and potentially lower the chance of injury.
Drawbacks of the 5×5 Workout
While the 5×5 program has several clear advantages, there are also a couple of opposing points to think about. Any training routine can have its own list of pros and cons; being around for several many years doesn’t give the 5×5 workout a free pass.
Limited Muscular Development
Although the multi-joint barbell exercises do recruit various muscles during each workout, certain body parts will likely remain somewhat undertrained as a consequence of specific exercise alternative or a person’s unique limb lengths.
For instance, performing the bench press as the first upper body pushing exercise may leave your triceps and shoulders less-than-fully stimulated depending in your arm length and specific grip width. Performing the deadlift will work portions of your hamstrings, but won’t efficiently train the “leg flexion” aspect of hamstring function which may be achieved through leg curls.
Relatively smaller body parts just like the upper back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and calves receive some activation as supporting muscle groups but aren’t directly trained with a classic 5×5 workout.
That is one reason why this system is well-suited for beginner lifters looking to ascertain a general base of muscular size and strength — they don’t yet have any significant weaknesses or discrepancies. Experienced lifters sometimes require more precise training to focus on key developmental weaknesses, which will not be effectively addressed by a 5×5 plan.
Limited Cardiovascular Development
With its give attention to heavy barbell lifting, and recovering from heavy barbell lifting, the 5×5 workout doesn’t leave any real room for significant cardiovascular training. Research has shown that aerobic training (like running on a treadmill or long-distance biking) can negatively impact explosive strength and power, and will interfere with overall strength and muscle gains. (4)
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Similar to the 5×5 workout isn’t compatible with a calorie deficit, it’s also not applicable for those with cardio-based goals akin to distance running and lots of general sports. The important thing exception could be to specifically program 5×5 within the offseason when cardio training generally is a lesser priority within the short-term.
Starr did find an efficient shortcut around this obstacle by training in a superset or circuit style. If maintaining some semblance of cardio fitness is a secondary goal, consider planning your 5×5 workout similarly. That’s an efficient compromise, presuming you have got the available equipment to make use of three barbells in quick succession — a scenario not going in lots of business gyms, but quite possible in a house gym.
Potential Joint Issues
Training exclusively with barbells may be highly effective, unless you have got pre-existing joint issues that preclude you from performing many barbell exercises. This could often be related to general mobility issues — being unable to soundly perform a given exercise — or damage from pattern overuse — the outcomes of performing a given exercise repeatedly through the years.
Creative exercise selection might be a short lived solution in some cases, for instance, selecting a push press as a substitute of a strict overhead press. Nonetheless, for long-term joint health and overall progress, a more conservative approach is usually to avoid problematic exercises (and implements, just like the barbell) altogether.
Sample 5×5 Workout Program
Train three days per week, with at the very least at some point of rest between each session. In case you’re hitting the 5×5 exercises as hard as try to be, you’ll quickly appreciate having a day of rest after each workout and a day to mentally and physically prepare before each session.
Each workout includes a comparatively limited “accessory” movement at the tip of every workout to tack on some additional work for the chest, triceps, back, biceps, and hamstrings. In case you’re feeling excessively fatigued on a given day, the ultimate exercise is entirely optional. What’s vital, nevertheless, is to not add much more exercises or volume to the training plan.
Be happy to experiment (for weeks at a time, not a couple of workouts at a time), various between Park’s “three sets with the identical weight” approach in addition to Starr’s method of accelerating the load on every set.
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You would possibly find that you just get right into a “groove” by repeating the identical weight for multiple sets or you would profit from the dialed-in focus of steadily increase to at least one very heavy set per exercise. In either case, while you’re capable of successfully perform five reps in your fifth set, increase the load on all sets.
Beginner lifters could be higher served repeating roughly the identical weight for every workout, increasing every time the ultimate set reaches five repetitions. More experienced lifters will likely profit from Starr’s “heavy, light, medium” — the primary workout of the week sets the usual, the second workout is programmed with 75 to 80% of the weights, and the third workout uses 85 to 90% of the primary workout’s loads. Any required mathematics will payoff with improved recovery between sessions and more powerful performance during training.
Monday
Trap Bar Deadlift — 5 x 5
Overhead Press — 5 x 5
Front Squat — 5 x 5
Dips — 3 x 8-12
Wednesday
Trap Bar Deadlift — 5 x 5
Overhead Press — 5 x 5
Front Squat — 5 x 5
Chin-up — 3 x 8-12
Saturday
Trap Bar Deadlift — 5 x 5
Overhead Press — 5 x 5
Front Squat — 5 x 5
Romanian Deadlift — 3 x 8-12
Easy, Effective, Timeless Training
Like many recipes within the culinary world, great strength training programs don’t must be overly complicated to deliver an optimal final result. Mastering the fundamentals — whether it’s the proper omelet or easy, heavy barbell training — builds an efficient foundation for beginners. This pared down program can be a reliable fallback for knowledgeable lifters, under the appropriate conditions, who need a short-term, general purpose plan to refresh their size and strength gains.
Steadily Asked Questions
Can I exploit non-barbell exercises for five×5?
The first concept of this system is to make use of one big compound lift per body part, limiting the session to 3 key exercises per session. The exercises must have the option to be safely and efficiently loaded to a four-to-six rep maximum, while recruiting as many muscle groups as possible.
Many barbell exercises meet this criteria. Nonetheless, the case is also made, for instance, to make use of the trap bar deadlift (as seen within the sample workout above) or the leg press. Certain machine exercises, like a machine chest press, T-bar row, or Smith machine squat, likely can’t be safely performed with the crucial load.
Use your judgment but, when doubtful, try to keep up the give attention to barbell lifts. There are many variations of basic movement patterns (squats, deadlifts, and presses) and also you likely don’t “need” to stray too far off-course.
Can I exploit 5×5 with barbell isolation exercises or single-leg exercises?
No. Any style of five-rep isolation (single-joint) exercise, like a heavy barbell curl, triceps extension, or calf raise, gets farther from the first focus of the 5×5 workout — recruiting as many muscle groups as possible per exercise. Unless you’re all for doing cheat curls (which may be high risk and low reward) to recruit your back and hips into the movement, it’s best to avoid programming isolation movements for five×5.
Single-leg exercises, just like the split squat, or single-arm exercises, like dumbbell rows, will limit the load you need to use relative to a two-leg or two-arm barbell exercise. The added time and energy needed to coach either side will even increase overall fatigue.
Unilateral (single-leg/single-arm) exercises also increase overall stress in your core musculature, especially when moving heavier weights. This could further reduce give attention to the goal muscle.
References
- de Salles, B. F., Simão, R., Miranda, F., Novaes, J.daS., Lemos, A., & Willardson, J. M. (2009). Rest interval between sets in strength training. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 39(9), 765–777. https://doi.org/10.2165/11315230-000000000-00000
- Rhea, M. R., Ball, S. D., Phillips, W. T., & Burkett, L. N. (2002). A comparison of linear and every day undulating periodized programs with equated volume and intensity for strength. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 16(2), 250–255.
- Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Davies, T. B., Lazinica, B., Krieger, J. W., & Pedisic, Z. (2018). Effect of Resistance Training Frequency on Gains in Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Evaluation. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 48(5), 1207–1220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0872-x
- Schumann, M., Feuerbacher, J. F., Sünkeler, M., Freitag, N., Rønnestad, B. R., Doma, K., & Lundberg, T. R. (2022). Compatibility of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Size and Function: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Evaluation. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 52(3), 601–612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01587-7
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