5 x 5 work sets with the same weight…
The usual next step after the beginner version of 5 x 5 is a 5 x 5 program in which all the work sets are done with the same weight. Of course, you need a proper warm-up to get to the work sets, so in practice the lifter does more than 5 sets, but there are still only 5 work sets.
Depending on your starting point and training level, the five work sets are preceded by 3 – 5 warm-up sets. That is a large volume of work, which is why this approach is used only for selected basic exercises. Assistance work is of course added as well, in the form of longer sets, but in a considerably smaller volume. I have seen programs where people plan to do every exercise as 5 x 5, all sets with the same weight. Add the warm-up sets on top of that and see what volume you end up with by the end of the day. That approach is not the most sensible one.
Either way, the goal of this 5 x 5 version is to do all five work sets with the same weight after the warm-up sets. In itself, that means using a training load somewhat below 85% of your max. 5 x 5 with the same weight demands good recovery and work capacity, and the resistance used for 5 x 5 (all sets with the same weight) is usually 75 – 80% of 1RM.
For this 5 x 5 variant, a few general principles are worth keeping in mind. For example, if all five sets together don’t add up to at least 14 repetitions (the maximum total rep count is 25), the weight you are using is too heavy. So if your workouts start coming out as 5, 3, 2, 2, 1, the weight is probably too heavy. That means you started the program too close to your five-rep max.
Some also say that if you plan 5 x 5 with the same weights and it works, but the next time you go to the gym the workout comes out as 5, 5, 2 and so on, you should give yourself a rest. You are probably overtired and need a break.
Naturally, when you complete 5 x 5 with the same weight, you should raise the weight a little next time. How much depends on the exercise. And depending on how sensibly you add weight, you will either complete 5 x 5 with the same weight next time or the last sets will come up short. In the latter case, you should stay at the same weight again the time after next, until all 25 repetitions with the same weight finally come out.
Essentially, the aim of 5 x 5 with the same weight is to give the body a proper amount of training load in terms of volume; once you reach 25 repetitions, it’s time to add weight. Provided you recover and eat properly, this 5 x 5 variant should ensure solid progress in strength and muscle mass.
Other interpretations of 5 x 5…
It’s probably safe to say, more or less confidently, that the two previous 5 x 5 versions are the most common and main variants of this program. There are, however, two more variants that I have seen, which are certainly workable, effective and worth discussing. Both are in fact modifications of the “all sets with the same weight 5 x 5” version.
The first of these is one in which only the last two sets are done with the same weight. Typically, after three warm-up sets you do two work sets, both with the same weight. Technically the program is still 5 x 5, but only the last two sets count as work sets, with the same weight. When I have done such 5 x 5 variants myself, then to be honest I have never stuck strictly to the idea that there must definitely be 5 sets in total. I have always done as many warm-up sets as are actually needed and then done my 2 x 5 work sets with the same weight.
Because you do have to use the same weight but only for 2 x 5, this modification of 5 x 5 lets you work with considerably heavier weights than when all 5 work sets have to be done with the same weight. If the classic 5 x 5 with the same weight is done at perhaps 75% of your max, we can do 2 x 5 at even 80 – 85%. That means that in practically every workout we can work very close to our five-rep max.
Similar to the 2 x 5 same-weight 5 x 5 program, there are also versions in which 3 sets of five are done with the same weight (3 x 5). After the warm-up, 3 x 5. John McCallum has advocated precisely this variant of 5 x 5. As with 2 x 5, 3 x 5 also allows you to work with considerably heavier weights than traditional 5 x 5 (all sets with the same weight). In addition to the 3 x 5 system, McCallum recommends doing volume work with longer sets, for example 3 sets of 8 – 10 repetitions with 30-second rest intervals. This kind of approach could be called strength bodybuilding.
Either way, the last-described interpretations of 5 x 5 pay off when:
1. Heavy weights are used (relatively close to your maximum set of five)
2. Your work capacity for long, numerous sets and large volume is slightly poorer than usual.
Closing comments…
It must be noted that for certain lifts, such as the deadlift, 5 x 5 with the same weight is not always the most productive and often proves too exhausting. Mark Rippetoe (in his “Practical Programming”) recommends, for example, only one top set of five for the deadlift. And I think that is good advice.
Other lifts, such as the back squat, front squat, bench press and standing press, as well as the clean, work fine as 5 x 5 with the same weight. Some people may need to get used to that volume, but it works. True, today we perhaps don’t see classic weightlifters doing cleans as 5 x 5, but for athletes with functional training goals, doing even those same cleans as 5 x 5 with the same weight is perfectly acceptable.
I have sometimes also used the 5 x 5 principle with the same weight but applied a smaller volume. That means the cycle does start as 5 x 5, five sets, each with 5 repetitions at the same weight, but as the cycle progresses and the weights increase, the training volume starts to decrease.
Simply put, as the weights go up, some lifters often can’t get very far with 5 x 5 at the same weight. Perhaps in one workout the weight goes up and the sets no longer all come, and no matter how long they stay at that weight, they never complete the 5 x 5. For example, one workout gives 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, the next gives exactly the same, and the one after that too, and so on. No matter how long they keep trying, the 5 x 5 at that sticking weight just won’t come. Whatever the reason may be.
In this situation, you drop the fifth set, do your warm-up and then 4 sets of five, all work sets at the same weight. You keep doing this 4 x 5 until the weight goes up. Usually, at some point with this modification too, you’ll get 5, 5, 5, 4, then again 5, 5, 5, 4, and so on. In short, the fourth set of five gets stuck as well. In that case, you drop that fourth stuck work set at the same weight and move on to 3 x 5. If, with 3 x 5 (all sets at the same weight), the third set gets stuck, you move on to two heavy work sets, and so on. Naturally, the work sets are always preceded by a proper warm-up and ramp-up sets. In the end, the lifter actually arrives at a point where, after the warm-up and ramp-up sets, they do one heavy, maximal five-rep work set. In a sense, this approach is a kind of creative or unplanned progression, in which (as with programs whose numbers can be calculated in advance) training volume generally goes down as the lifter advances and the weights go up. To keep making progress in the weights lifted, you have to reduce the number of work sets of five at the same weight as you go. As long as the weights keep rising from workout to workout, you should hold the number of work sets, volume-wise. For example, if you are at 2 x 5, you keep going with those 2 work sets of five for as long as both sets come and the weight keeps increasing from workout to workout, even if only a little at a time. Cut the volume only when 2 x 5 no longer comes at the required weight. And of course, if the system finally gets completely stuck, you have to either start over, change the set length, switch programs or take up golf.
Summary
That was a quick overview of the classic 5 x 5 and its most typical interpretations. Applied correctly, it is a worthwhile approach. Of course, it is not “the one and only right” approach; that can probably never be said about any plan, program or system.
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Come and train! ArtGym
