5 x 5

[Ronin_TS]

Ive been lifting weights for 2 years now and ive decided to now give 5 x 5 a go

Just asking has anyone tried 5 x5 and how was there results in terms of strength and weight gain and anything that can be useful



cheers!

 

[DOMS]

I did the Mad Cow variant of the 5x5 and it was great!

I hit PRs (starting about the 5th week) all over the place. However, week 4 seems to be the wall for advanced lifters. I would only recommend it if you're still intermediate or lower.

 

[JonnyStead]

I consider myself intermediate and I have so far found it very useful. The de-loading at the beginning helps I think and the introduction of the heavier weights is done in such a way that you're 'ready' in your mind for them which helps with mental attitude on the lifts. I've been doing Bill Starrs - just for info and at week 5 (which I am) I'm setting PRs across the board which I'm really pleased with.

 

[darren m]

dumb question -- but what is the 5x5 routine please

 

[Triple Threat]

Try a google search for "5x5 training".

 

[P-funk]

or try doing a search here for 5x5. use my name also. i have posted a lot of answers to 5x5 questions over the past year.

 

[GoLdeN M 07]

Its definately the best way to build muscular strength. It will increase your max strength along with your explosive power as well.

 

[CowPimp]

5 sets of 5 reps with a weight that is a difficult is a great way to increase strength while still getting sufficient volume to induce hypertrophy. Obviously though, you don't want to stick exclusively to a given intensity zone forever. You have to change after a while. P-funk has gone over ways to do this in previous posts many times over.

 

[darren m]

ok - so if i use it say for bench press increase , what do i do ?.
at the moment , my weights sticking , and i bench 3xsets of 10 reps at 100kg after the warm up set .
i would like to increase the weight as i,ve been on the same for months now .
what do i need to do
thanks

 

[Gazhole]

ok - so if i use it say for bench press increase , what do i do ?.
at the moment , my weights sticking , and i bench 3xsets of 10 reps at 100kg after the warm up set .
i would like to increase the weight as i,ve been on the same for months now .
what do i need to do
thanks

Well atm im doing a program that uses the 5x5 rep range on one of the workout days in the week.

Throughout the week, there is a 5x5 day at the start, a recovery day where you use sub-maximal intensity for that particular rep range (i do 2x6 @ 10RM) then a third day where you try for a PR using a 3x3 rep range.

The first day causes the most adaptation because like CowPimp said, the 5x5 rep range has a high level of both volume and intensity, the recovery day is obvious, then the PR day has little volume so you can use those adaptations from day one to concentrate ONLY on intensity and putting more weight on the bar.

Thats just one of a million ways that you can use this sort of rep range.

Have you read any articles on the Bill Starr 5x5 program? Surely he mentions it in there?

The key word is "periodization".