Hi everyone. After using the search tool to find what I can on these forums on doing 5x5 training, I’m left with a few enigmas that I have yet to find.
I understand that I’m just performing core exercises, about 3 days a week, at a weight that I can comfortably perform 5 sets of 5 reps. (ie. I gather the 4th and 5th set should be tough but not overly brutal) For helping me out with some weight loss…
Fine. I do understand. I only have two more questions:
What rep speed should I be performing these?
What kind of rest is recommended (for weight loss) between sets?
as i understand 5x5 if you can do 5 sets of 5 you need to up the weight 5%/10%. your first workout should go something like 5,5,4,3,2.
emphasize (sp?) the +ve for strength gain/retention and the negative for size gain/retention. i would rest 90 secs if hypertrophy biased, and 120-180 if strength biased. personaly i would avoid over emphasis on the negative portion if you are cutting 1-2 secs (depends on the movement) Also stay away from actual faliure and change your excercises every 2-3 sessions. hope this helps. regards
A 3010 rep speed is appropriate for most exercises. There is no set rest period between sets; you might take up to 4-5 minutes. The idea is that you will probably be “casually” supersetting/alternating two exercises in order to make better use of your training time. For instance, do a set of sumo squats, rest two minutes, do a set of sumo deadlifts, rest two minutes, and return to squats and repeat. If you find your reps are dropping off too quickly, up the rest interval to 2.5-3 minutes.
I have a very different understanding of the 5x5 training. My understanding (and yes, I did use the search engine) is that once you actually achieve the 5x5, you need to increase the weight. Also, 5x5 is supposedly designed for strength and mass.
If fat loss is your goal, you might want a different program, perhaps a German Body Comp, aka Manly Weight Loss, program. Are you losing much fat with your 5x5? Just curious.
A 31X0 tempo is what I recommend. Of course, there are exceptions (deadlifts, pause training, etc.)
Casually alternate between antagonistic exercises; do not superset. For example, do a set of barbell curls...rest a min or so...follow it up with a set of dips...rest a min or so...barbell curls, and so on. Repeat until you have completed all 5 sets for each exercise.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I’ll see what I can do starting tonight.
Yorik, I was researching “fat loss” programs here in the forum, and I found some interesting threads regarding the Meltdown training vs. the 5x5 program. I’ve tried the Meltdown approach before, but I wanted to try out the 5x5 program for a comparison on myself. The majority of the respondents to those “vs.” threads found that 5x5 worked better for them, provided they were already mostly in shape. I gathered that the Meltdown approach is targeted for huge beginners or people who have taken a lot of time off from their diet/training if you know what I mean.
The more I read the more friggin confused I get. When doing 5x5 do you pick maybe 3 or 4 exercises and do those three times a week? Example, Bench, deads, squats. Or, do you train different body parts? For example, Mon-chest and tris, wed-back and bis, and fri-shoulders and legs. Which is best?
The more I read the more friggin confused I get. When doing 5x5 do you pick maybe 3 or 4 exercises and do those three times a week? Example, Bench, deads, squats. Or, do you train different body parts? For example, Mon-chest and tris, wed-back and bis, and fri-shoulders and legs. Which is best?
you do a regular split, just use compound exercises though. for example right now, i do power cleans, squats, and calf raises on monday. bench press, pullups, barbell rows on wednesday. deadlifts, push press, barbell shrugs on friday. there are more examples if you search for the “Don Alessi’s Response” thread.