BILL STARR 5x5 strength training

[TKDaddict]

Eclipse Gym :: View topic - Bill Starr 5x5 Primer - How to create your own 5x5 program

this is a good program used by many athletes. this is the program.

Monday (Perform them in this order)

1) Bench Press

2) Squats

3) Dynamic rows

Wednesday (Perform them in this order)

1) Military Press

2) Deadlifts

3) Squats

4) Pull-ups

Friday (Perform them in this order)

1) Bench Press

2) Squat

3) Dynamic Rows


So how does this work:

First, you'll find the most weight that you can do, for 5 reps for:

Bench press

Squat

Dynamic Rows

Pullups (if you can't do even one, don't worry about it)

STANDING Military Press

Deadlifts (sumo or conventional depends on you)

Now you'll begin your progression as follows:


Monday (Perform them in this order)

1) Bench Press - Pyramid to approximately 95% of your top 5 weight over 5 sets. Each previous set should be approximately 15-20% less than the first. Note that this will be very loosely followed when the weights are light. Rest 5 minutes before performing your last set.

2) Squats - After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform 5 sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for squats. Be sure to rest 5-7 minutes here.

3) Dynamic rows - After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform 5 sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for squats. Be sure to rest 5 minutes here. If the weight is less than 155lbs, don't bother with warm-up sets.

Wednesday (Perform them in this order)

1) Military Press - After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform FOUR sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for STANDING Military Press. Be sure to rest 3-5 minutes here. If the weight is less than 85lbs, do not bother with warmup sets.


2) Deadlifts - After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform 5 sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for Deadlifts. Be sure to rest 5-7 minutes here.


3) Squats - Here you will perform 15-25% less weight than you did on Monday. For most guys, I've found that 15% is sufficient. This is assuming that you are less than 35 years old. For older individuals, you might need a larger reduction in weight.

4) Pull-ups After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform 5 sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for Pullups. Be sure to rest 5 minutes here. If you cannot do 5 pullups per set, don't worry about it. They grow stronger as your deadlift and dynamic rows grow stronger.


Friday (Perform them in this order)

1) Bench Press - After maybe 1-2 warmup sets of 3 reps, you will perform 5 sets of 5 reps with approximately 90% of your top 5 weight for Pullups. Be sure to rest 5 minutes before attempting each set.

2) Squat - Pyramid to approximately 95% of your top 5 weight over 5 sets. Each previous set should be approximately 15-20% less than the first. Note that this will be very loosely followed when the weights are light. Rest 5 minutes before performing your last set.

3) Dynamic Rows - Pyramid to approximately 95% of your top 5 weight over 5 sets. Each previous set should be approximately 15-20% less than the first. Note that this will be very loosely followed when the weights are light. Rest 5 minutes before performing your last set. If you could not do more than 135lbs on your top 5 test, you'll simply add 5lbs more than you did on Monday and do 5x5 with a constant weight instead. This will be the case for most new lifters or non-athletes.


Now that you know the basic instructions, and do's and don'ts, I'd recommend that you study them THOROUGHLY. An ounce of prevention is worth TONS of cure, or slapping yourself in the forehead ala Homer Simpson later when you realize you did something dumb.

[john55]

while a lot of people praise the 5x5 workout, I really think if you do it all the time as your main workout, you are setting yourself up for injury. I cringe when I see people constantly benching/squatting/deadlift near their max. While you do need heavy weights, that heavy plays a major toll on the joints.

[TKDaddict]

most weight movements are linear. plus its only movements done badly cause pressure on the joints.

doing martial arts in the case puts strain in joints aswell.

[john55]

Originally Posted by TKDaddict

most weight movements are linear. plus its only movements done badly cause pressure on the joints.

doing martial arts in the case puts strain in joints aswell.

Yea but thats the problem, even a lot of trainers dont do those movements correctly. For instance in the bench press, the bar should never touch the chest. This has been written about in many many medical journals. Also, I probably see 1 out of 100 people actually bench pressing with proper form. And then even some of those guys with proper form touch their chest, straining the shoulder. The shoulder girdle just wasnt made to go that far down. Pressing is a good compound movement though.

So while I think the exercises in 5x5 are all great, they are all also ones that can cause greatest injury. I am just very cautious about telling people to do bench/squat/deadlift unless they are really serious about weightlifting, know how to actually do them properly, and know that lifting heavy a lot can really hurt the joints.

Yea, MAs hurt the joints as well, but lifting very heavy weights consistently does a lot of damage. Most people go on these exercise programs they read online and dont get a professional to put together a program for them and switch it around every 2-3 months. I have been lifting seriously for about 11 or 12 years now, read lots of books, had lots of experiences, etc, so I am talking from lots of research and practice. I made lots of mistakes my first few years lifting and one of the main ones was lifting heavy weights. 99.9% of people in the gym lift weights and do not use proper form.

I am not saying the 5x5 program is bad. In fact, if done properly its probably great to do for 2-3 months. But its a program for the serious expert lifter. Not the average guy at the gym.

[Them's Fighting Words]

Maybe if I was a younger man, as it stands that sort of workout would kill me after a year. It looks like the sort of training a bud of mine used to do when he was power lifting. But even then that would only be for 3 months a year. And once he rejoined the military he had to stop cus of the lack of rest period.

[kenny decker jr.]

i workout along with MA, all i do is bench presses, squats, bicep curls and ab workouts then i beat on the heavy bag for about a half an hour or 45 minutes then i take creatine and lots of protein, that seems to work out pretty good for me.

[Joemoplata]

As usual, I agree with John here.

If you want short lived strength, then those routines are great. But the toll it will take on your joins (tendons, ligaments and cartilage) will, and I say this with certaintyl, it WILL cause you grief later on.

When you lift heavy weight, especially compound exercises your bodies reaction is to flood your body with HGH and other muscle building chemicals. This causes your muscles to grow. It also causes your bones to become more dense, and heavier.

What it does NOT do is have any effect on tendons, ligaments or cartilage. In fact, the very act of lifting, pulling, or pushing anything is detrimental to this tissue.

So while it's very important to include these exercises in your routines, it may not be wise to do them often with very heavy weights over a long, extended period of time.

Mix it up a bit.

[Zaraki Kenpachi]

As a martial artist it kind of makes no sense to train in this manner if those rest periods were between sets not between exercises.

A) do you really have that kind of time to waste in a gym with those rest periods.

B- When using martial arts when is there an opportunity to go 20 seconds of activity followed by 5 to 7 minutes of rest.

It seems that you are training your muscles in a way that wouldnt be overall beneficial to being a martial artist.

Your muscles should get used to performing low to medium volume, heavy lifts, with as little rest as possible.

If your goal is performance...not just strength, endurance, or looks.

^^^^ all of the above purely my opinion and I am not licensed nor accredited.