The 5x5 routine

[BigMoFoCa]

Needsize post a complete routine for each body part.

My split is:

Back
Chest
Quads & Calves
Hams & Delts
Arms

[needsize]

follow the link to the post on elite, there is a complete routine for each part

[cursedcircle]

needsize i have a few questions if you dont mind. obv you cant use the 5x5 method when traning abs, so what would u recommend? also what do u do for calves?

[cursedcircle]

also you posted a 4 day split with 3 days of resting and i wondered if you think something is wrong with the 5 day split i do.

monday-chest
tuesday-legs
wed- off day
thurs-sholders/traps
friday-arms
sat-back


thanks alot for posting the 5x5 routine

[Intraining]

Doc Banner Wrote--"So you shouldn't be going to failure until maybe the last set of 5 or on your high reps work after?"

Needsize--I didn't catch the answer to this question--Do you go to failure on your last set of 5? Do you go to failure on your last sets of 8-10, or do you always just stick to 5 and 8-10 even on the last sets??

Curious. Just started the routine last week.

[needsize]

Originally posted by Intraining
Doc Banner Wrote--"So you shouldn't be going to failure until maybe the last set of 5 or on your high reps work after?"

Needsize--I didn't catch the answer to this question--Do you go to failure on your last set of 5? Do you go to failure on your last sets of 8-10, or do you always just stick to 5 and 8-10 even on the last sets??

Curious. Just started the routine last week.

The last set of 5 should be around failure, but if you're just starting the program then it should still be fairly easy as you want to keep adding weight. The 8-10 rep sets are to failure

[needsize]

Originally posted by cursedcircle
also you posted a 4 day split with 3 days of resting and i wondered if you think something is wrong with the 5 day split i do.

monday-chest
tuesday-legs
wed- off day
thurs-sholders/traps
friday-arms
sat-back


thanks alot for posting the 5x5 routine

The only thing I see there is that thurs is getting some tris from pressing shoulder movements, then friday they are getting hit on arm day, same thing with bis. Problem for me, this is why I do back/shoulders together, is that traps get hit when you do shoulders and back, so you are hitting them twice in a 3 day period

[needsize]

Originally posted by cursedcircle
needsize i have a few questions if you dont mind. obv you cant use the 5x5 method when traning abs, so what would u recommend? also what do u do for calves?

for abs I do something similar. I use a steep decline bench, and slowly lower myself down about 1/2 way and hold for a slow count of 5, then come back up. Start with 5x5 of that, making sure you hold for a slow 5. When you can do all that, either add more reps or some weight, ie, 5x6 reps, then when you can get that, 5x7 reps, or start adding plates to your chest. Thats is the ONLY ab routine I've done for 4 years now, and you can see from my avatar what its done. It also strengthens the core, so your squats and deads go up

As for calves, I was doing a 5x15 approach, same idea with adding more weight when you can hit all 15 reps on the same weight. But now I'm doing drop sets instead. cant wait to try Nelson Montanas approach too.
He advocates picking a weight you can do 20 reps for. Do the 20 reps, then rest for `10-15 seconds, so as many more as you can, rest for another 10-15 seconds, then continue like that till you hit 75 reps. Everyone that has tried it says they got results but it was brutal

[cursedcircle]

thanks a lot needsize, do u do anything for your obliques?

[cursedcircle]

ns, sorry for all the questions i always thing of something when i look over it again. do u feel that 2sets of 8-10 chins is really enough for lats? i know they get hit on some of the other exercises but that just dosnt seem like enough?

thanks a lot

[needsize]

the only thing I do for obliques is heavy deads and squats, and you can see what thats done for me.
As for the chins, with the other stuff you are doing, its plenty, especially if you are taking them to failure

[cursedcircle]

needsize i know im a pain in your ass with all these questions so i apologize. i tore my acl this weekend and im gonna have to have reconstructive surgery so i wont be able to put any pressure on my knee for awhile but theres no way im gonna stay out of the gym for 4 months. i cant do sguats deads or anything else that involves my knee. what would u advise doing now until i heal. what type of split should i do know and what exercises should i do since i cant do things where i stand up with a lot of weight like straight bar curls.

thanks a lot

[needsize]

honestly bro, I would ask you doc about that, you dont want to take any risks that could mess that up again after surgery

[cursedcircle]

yeah thanks for the concern, i talked to him about it and he said be careful and stay off it, but that if i think i can be careful enough then lifting the rest of my body should be ok.

[Dakkon Dragon]

Well I would like to say that I just started the 5x5 myself last week.

Do you guys find that you ache for 3 days after you train that body part???

[needsize]

I am alway sore for a few days, especially for certain parts like quads

[Ifrit]

Can someone help me out with the routine? I can't view it because my account is not active with elite anymore. Thanks.

[cursedcircle]

ns, when u do side lat rasised do u do them seated or standing?

[TxLonghorn]

Originally posted by Ifrit
Can someone help me out with the routine? I can't view it because my account is not active with elite anymore. Thanks.

I just copied and pasted a couple of needsize's posts (hopefully he doesn't mind):

Needsize's 5x5 revealed... (post #1)
I'll do my best to try and remember all the elements that make the program work.

The premise of the routine is progressive overload, meaning that every week you are putting increasing amounts of stress on the muscles, generally through small increases in the amount of weight used. The progressive overload forces the body to grow to adapt to the increasing amounts of stress, even though the body really isnt training to failure.

The routine consists of choosing a heavy compound exercise to use for each bodypart, these can include, squat, deadlifts, bench press, close grip bench, standing barbell curls, military press, etc. On top of the initial 5x5, you also choose 2 other exercises, and aim to do 2 sets on each, of 8-10 reps per set.
Here's a sample routine
Chest
Flat bench 5x5
incline dumbell press 2x8-10
incline flyes 2x8-10

The key for me when using this routine is to start light, at weights that you can easily nail your reps and concentrate on form. For example, say you can bench 225lbs for 8 reps, start with 195lbs on the bar. This should be easy, but if you keep your reps slow and in control, you will still get a good pump and have a good workout. Next week, bump up the weight by a SMALL increment, remember the key is to be able to keep adding weight, it's not a race to get to the massive poundages. If you add too quickly you will plateau in a hurry and the routine wont do jack for you. So you hit 5x5 on 195, next week its 200, the week after 205, etc. When you get to a point where you're starting to have trouble hitting your reps, add something extra to help, if you're natural, thats when I would throw in creatine and whatever else as this will help you keep adding weight. If you dont get all 5x5, then do not add more weight next week, stick with the same and the odds are you'll hit it next time you try.

This routine is very effective as it targets fast twitch muscle fibres(5x5) as well as slower twitch(8-10reps) all in the same workout. Generally when done correctly you can gain lots of size as well as some pretty incredible strength all at the same time. I'm only a bodybuilder and dont give a rat's ass about strength, but have hit lifts (ie, deadlift 550lbs for 5 reps) that would allow me to compete as a powerlifter.
*****
Follow up post:

Eventually no matter what you are doing or what you are on, the strength gains will come to an end. What I have found worked well for me was when I couldnt add more weight to the 5x5, I switched over to 5x3 instead, and was able to keep adding weight. The beauty there is that as you keep adding weight past where you were stuck on the 5x5, that weight you were stuck on will feel like a joke when you go back to it as you were just lifting more, albiet for less reps.
Here's an example I used when my squats went stale. I had been stuck on 405lbs for a while, but just couldnt get all my sets so that I could add more weight, so heres what I did.
week 1 410lbs 5x3reps
week 2 415lbs 5x3reps
week 3 420lbs 5x3 reps
week 4 425lbs 5x3 reps
week 5 430lbs 5x3reps
week 6 435lbs 5x3 reps
then back to 5x5
week 7 405lbs 5x5(now this felt really light after 435lbs)
week 8 410lbs 5x5
etc.......
But this time when I finally plateaued again, I was squatting 445lbs for 5's. Notice the weight increases were very small, percentage wise it was almost nothing, but see how it added up. When I first started the 5x5 routine back in the day, I was squatting 225lbs for 5x5, and since then the program has allowed me to put over 200lbs on my squat, and about 4" on my quads
i have a lot of old injuries, so I do a really thorough warmup, just enough to get the blood flowing as well as get the feel for the bigger weights, but not enough to fatigue anything.
Here's an example for bench
95lbs x 10 reps
135 x 8 reps
185lbs x 5 reps
225lbs x 5 reps
275x 2-3 reps(just getting the feel of the big stuff)
325lbs 5x5

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