

The routine above is one variation of the 5 x 5 training method. It is advisable to add recovery and mobility work into your rest days, as this will help to improve your movement when you step back in the box, alongside helping you to recover much more efficiently.Ĥ Steps to Efficient Recovery After Training There are many slightly different versions of this program but they all follow the same basic principles of progression and structure. The most important part is always the 5 x 5 compound lifts.

The accessory exercises are exactly that, accessory exercises. Try German Volume Training Core compound lifts Rest for 30 – 45 seconds between sets of the accessory exercises. Rest for 60 – 120 seconds between sets of the 5 x 5 compound lifts. Add weight in incremental amounts each week, provided that you were able to complete the prescribed sets the previous time you completed that particular workout.įor example, when benching in workout A, only increase the weight if you successfully lifted that weight for 5 sets of 5 reps the last time you completed workout A. Park also recommended taking a good rest between heavy sets, from 3 to as many as 5 minutes.Alternate between workout A and B three times a week with at least one day off between sessions. In other words, once you hit your max weight for five reps after two warmups, then perform 3 sets of 5.įor example, if your bench press is a max of 225lbs for 5 reps (which is about 90% of 1RM), the first set would be at 60% – 135 lbs, then the next warmup set, the second set, could be 80% – 185lbs.įor example, this sort of pyramid progression would look like this if you were applying it to your bench press sets: Unlike the more popular 5×5 “sets across” that we would see later on in Bill Starr’s routine, Park advocated that sets 1 and 2 are to be warmups for sets 3, 4 and 5 which are finishing or “stabilizer sets” in his terms.

Like Park, Arnold trained at this routine 3 times a week and it comprised mainly of heavy compound movements done with the “5×5” protocol. It was Park who first became associated with and popularized this method of training which consists of five sets of five repetitions each for each exercise, using weights as heavy as one can manage in proper form. No doubt everyone today has heard of the “5×5” training routine.
