5x5 PLAN for Strength and Size

The 5x5 plan is basically 5 reps for 5 sets of a particular exercise for most days. Other exercises will be 5 sets of 8-12 reps. You will do at LEAST 20 total sets per day. It will be used in the following manner for 5x5:

Set 1 – 5 reps of 50% max weight
Set 2 – 5 reps of 55% max weight
Set 3 – 5 reps of 60% max weight
Set 4 – 5 reps of 65% max weight
Set 5 – 5 reps of 75% max weight

So if you can bench press 155 lbs for 1 rep, your set would look like this –
Set 1 – 77.25 (rounds up to 80) [155 x 50%]
Set 2 – 85.25 (rounds down to 85) [155 x 55%]
Set 3 - 93 (rounds up to 95) [155 x 60%]
Set 4 - 100.75 (rounds up to 105) [155 x 65%]
Set 5 – 116.25 (rounds up to 120) [155 x .75]


In order to determine your max, however, grab a spotter at the gym, and load up weight until you can only do 1 unassisted rep. That is your 1-rep max from which you will be able to get your 5x5 plan started.
Don’t forget, its best to use a spotter no matter what, but if you can’t the 5x5 is fine to do without one. As for the 5x8-12, you will do moderately heavy weight for optimal burn and pump.
I realize you will be only doing a Mon/Weds/Fri split – but I have itemized your routine for all 5 days should you choose to do that. If you are doing just a 3 day plan – you will have to split Chest/Back as well as Shoulders/Arms.


Day 1 (Monday) - Chest
• Bench Press - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Incline Bench Press - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Decline Press - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Cable Crossovers – 5 sets of 8-12 reps (do not use 5x5 for this!)
OTHER CHEST EXERCISES INCLUDE: Dumbbell Bench Press, Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Decline Bench Press, Dumbbell Flies, Pec Deck, Weighted Pushups, Wide Chest Press, Overhead extensions. You can use any of these exercises instead of the 4 I have mentioned if you want to change it up or have difficulty doing any of those 4.

Day 2 (Tuesday) - Back
• Barbell Deadlift - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Lat Pulldown - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Seated Cable Row - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Dumbbell Rows - 5 set of 8-12 reps
OTHER BACK EXERCISES INCLUDE: Lower Back Extensions, Underhand High Cable Rows, Rack Pulls, Good-Mornings, Dumbbell Deadlifts, Close-Grip Pulldowns, or Barbell Rows. You can use any of these exercises instead of the 4 I have mentioned if you want to change it up or have difficulty doing any of those 4.

Day 3 (Wednesday) – Legs
• Barbell Squats - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Seated Machine Leg Extensions - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Seated Machine Leg Curls - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Standing Calf Raises 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raises 5 sets of 8-12 reps
OTHER LEGS EXERCISES INCLUDE: Dumbbell leg lunges, Leg Hip Abbduction Machine, Leg Hip Adduction Machine, Laying leg curls, Front Squats, 1 Leg Squats. You can use any of these exercises instead of the 4 I have mentioned if you want to change it up or have difficulty doing any of those 5.

Day 4 (Thursday) - Shoulders
• Military Press - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Presses - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Dumbbell Front Raises - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
OTHER SHOULDERS EXERCISES INCLUDE: Lateral Dumbbell Raises, Barbell Shrugs, Arnold Presses, Straight Bar Cable Pulldowns, Herculean Pulls. You can use any of these exercises instead of the 4 I have mentioned if you want to change it up or have difficulty doing any of those 5.

Day 5 (Friday) - Arms
• EZ-Bar Curls - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Concentration Curls - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Olympic Bar Curls - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Weighted Dips - 5 sets of 5 reps
• Tricep Cable Pulldowns - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
OTHER SHOULDERS EXERCISES INCLUDE: Lateral Dumbbell Raises, Barbell Shrugs, Arnold Presses, Straight Bar Cable Pulldowns, Herculean Pulls. You can use any of these exercises instead of the 4 I have mentioned if you want to change it up or have difficulty doing any of those 5.

Day 6 – (Saturday) Rest
Day 7 – (Sunday) Rest
NOTE::: Every other day at the gym (3 days a week) you will be doing abs!! You will need to work into your schedule 100-200 reps of ab workout into 20-25 rep sets.
Ab exercises:
Crunches, Hanging Leg Raises, Broomstick Twists, Roman Chair Situps, V-Crunches, Decline Situps, & Knee Raises.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO A PARTICULAR EXERCISE MENTIONED ABOVE…GO TO THIS WEBSITE: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

Could you answer some questions about this workout? Or is this just a full on copy paste.

1) I wanted to know when exactly do I increase my weights for each set? Is it at the end of every week(so for me that'd be thursday since I wk out sun-thurs).

2) Is this workout to bulk or to cut? 50-75% of up to 5 sets seems kinda weak isnt it?

3) Could I be doing 3x5 setxrep of my max reps (so 165 3x5 for flat bench) instead, wouldnt that build more strength as I'm doing the maximum every workout? Not asking this question out of ignorance, but I honestly don't know why that scheme is better for strength training, if raynor or you could chime in and explain?

Thanks a bunch for any help, as I'd like to get an answer before next sunday, as I realize my whole workout scheme needs a total recomp, but I'd like to have a good routine for next week and so on.

i think raynors is more for strength AND size
ive personally been doing stronglifts 5x5 for 11 weeks now and finding it very good for building strenght
heres a link - http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/

raynor might have other advice though, mine is just from my personal experience and im no where near raynors level of expertise

Hey there.

Increase weights for each set ONCE per week. The weights should go up approximately 5% each week. So if this is performed properly it will look like this:

your 1 rep max of 225 on the bench lets say...

week 1 - 170 is going to be the highest your weight will be (at 5 reps)
week 2 - (5% increase now) so now its 180 for 5 reps
week 3 - another 5% increase here so now its at 190

and so forth.

This is an EXCELLENT plan for bulking and if performed properly, your 1-rep max, as well as your 5-rep max will DRAMATICALLY increase over a 3-4 month period.


This workout is to BULK - and it is NOT weak! Try it out for a few weeks and see for yourself.

Remember, 5 reps @ 75% of your max weight by the time the last set happens is going to be HELL. You are going to NEED a spotter, and if you can do it easily for 5 reps, it isn't 75% of your max.


lastly, the reason you are doing 5 sets instead of 3 sets is because the extra 2 sets aid in pre-exhaustion which begins preparing the muscle fibers to be stretched and torn (this is what builds muscle). The more sets, the more brutality. The 5x5 plan is NOT for pure 1 rep max increases, but for OVERALL strength and size!

If you are looking to be a PURE POWERLIFTER and go for 1-rep maxes on everything, then this is NOT for you.

But for a solid bulking cycle, to build good solid strength gains, there is no finer overall plan then my 5x5 plan for strength and size.

heya, first time posting in this section of jsp.

anyways, currently i workout at home, i have a barbell, 180kg pf plates, a powerrack, pull up bar,incline/decline/flat bench, a 2x9kg DBs and 2x12.5 KG db's. Currently my 1 rep maxs are around 1.0 body weight for bench press, 1.5 squat, 2.0 deadlift. I've been told this is good to aim for (i weigh 87kg atm. 6'1 height, age 21)

anyways wot kinda split would you recommend for bulking up, i want to thicken/widen my back/chest and get big arms.

cheers.

Thanks for the clarification raynor, I'll begin this routine starting next week, however I just had few last questions.

For the machine type exercises, such as lat pulldowns, seated cable rows etc, do I also apply the 5x5 rule? For example if I can do 1x165 of lat down, than I'd do 50%-75% max weight 1-5 sets?

Also for the exercises where ill be doing 5x8-12 reps, does that rule also apply?


About the bolded part, am I just increasing my last last of 5, by 5% every week? Or do I also increase sets 1-4, by 5%? Now that I think about it more, this seems like some crazy fast progression. What happens when I'm nearing my 1 rep max?

Sorry once again for the pleathora of questions, just wanted to understand everything so I don't end up doing something wrong

This post was edited by PotLimit on Apr 9 2010 06:19am

Hi Raynor,
what type of 3-day workout program would you suggest for strength gains? (Size gains are welcome, too, but I'd put preference on strength). I'm a beginner or intermediate lifter at most (something in between I suppose).

Not sure if you know this but

Are artificial sugars bad for your teeth? like the ones they put in diet coke.

Hey, Quick question

Should I be taking Cytogainer on rest days? If so should I go with once in morning and once before bed?

Please look above you at the 5x5 plan for strength and size!