what do u guys think of the 5 reps and 5 sets idea?
here is some info on it.
oK, I admit it, I’m a reformed HITer. I used to train twice a week, 20 minutes per workout, two
exercises trained to absolute failure for 1 set apiece. I trained so hard I would collapse after a
set of deadlifts. We used to call squat day “bring-your-own-bucket” leg day. I read all the HIT
stuff I could get my hands on. Mentzer, Darden, Jones, the ding-dongs that call themselves Jedi at
cyberpump. All claimed miraculous results with a minimum of sets, but near blinding intensity.
My results for nearly 2 years were marginal. I figured I was a hardgainer (there is probably no such
thing) and that at the end of my membership I was going to quit training.
After digging around on the net and reading some articles by Charles Staley and a guy they call
“The Evil Russian:” Pavel Tsatsouline.
I thought I would give a shot at something new and different. Their recommendations were
completely alien to me: multiple sets low reps and avoid failure like the plague. What the hell,
I thought, I’ll use some of these ideas and see what happens. A week after following some of the
principles in Charles’s articles, I took on a pumped kind of look. Like I got kind of puffy. I decided
that this was the routine that I was going to use for the next three months. My results still stupefy
me: 9 pounds of lean body mass and greater total body strength. Not bad for breaking every
training tenet set forth in the magazines!
This is how I got started: I stopped defining intensity as state of exertion and started defining it
as the total number of sets, reps, and total poundage moved during a workout. This is a MAJOR
distinction. It’s not simply how hard you work, or whether or not you get yourself to puke after
curling, it’s about the total poundage you move in a workout. Muscles and bones grow by the
amount of tonnage you apply to them, not how badly you can beat them to a pulp!
Instead, I began a simple program of 5 x 5 (5 sets of 5 reps) with an eye toward increasing the total
amount of weight per workout for a few weeks, then scale it back to prevent overtraining and begin
increasing the total tonnage all over again. I would increase this amount of weight moved in one
of two ways: increasing the amount of weight and do the same sets and reps, or just tack on 1 set
more than last time. This calculation is simple:
Weight x reps x sets = total poundage for that movement.
So a 185 used in the bench presses looks like:
185 x 5x 5=4,625.
In order to induce hypertrophy, I would either increase the amount of weight per set or add an
additional set.
195 x 5reps x 5sets = 4,875 pounds or
185 x 5reps x 6 sets= 5,550 pounds
It struck me that hypertrophy is a function of total poundage applied. And if it is increased slightly
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every time you hit the gym, you will grow. That meant no more dizzy spells after lifts, or having
people spot me. I could use a weight that was heavy, yet because I was avoiding failure I didn’t need
a spot. The only time I would come close to failure was on my last set of the exercise and even then
I would stop with two reps left in the tank! And sometimes I wouldn’t even sweat!
I have designed my program to include a type of volume cycling, meaning that I would slowly
increase the total number of sets per muscle (and therefore the poundage) for 3-4 weeks and then
cut the number of sets back, add weight and start all over again. I utilize multiple joint movements
on all body parts to save time and for the use of greater weights. My progression looked like this:
Week 1: 5sets
Week 2: 6
Week 3: 7
Week 4: 8
Week 5: back to 5 sets
I kept the weight increments small, 5 pounds on curls and 5-10 pounds for the major bodyparts.
I did typically 3-8 sets of an exercise per cycle, depending on the muscle group. For instance I
would do the 5 x 5 for my curls and add a set every week, and for back I would start with 3 sets
of chins and 3 sets of dumbbell rows, adding a set to each movement for few weeks before scaling
back and starting again.
The way that the 5 sets of 5 reps method works is by improving the connection between the central nervous system and the muscles. In order for muscles to contract the brain has to send them a signal to do so. For this signal to reach the muscles, it has to travel through the central nervous system. When you train with heavy loads that only allow you to perform around 5 repetitions, for instance, you are training the body to become more efficient at recruiting more muscle fibers in order to move the weight. This is what is called improving your neural connections and this is the way in which strength increases. The perfect time to implement this method of training is following a high volume phase like the 10 sets of 10 reps. Why is it important to train for strength after a high volume phase? Because this sort of training offers the following benefits:
1. The testosterone levels go through the roof in response to the longer rest in between sets and the heavier weights.
2. Hypertrophy (muscle growth) occurs by the body increasing the actual diameter of the myofiber (the muscle fiber size) through increased protein synthesis. In other words, the actual protein content of the cell increases as well as the thickness of the muscle filaments. However, in this phase, strength gains come first and hypertrophy later.
3. Since your body’s recuperation abilities were built up to the maximum by the previous phase and the volume has gone down dramatically, these extra recuperation abilities are used to increase strength and build more muscle mass. The reason the body does this is in order to be prepared for another stressful period like the one it just went through.
Not unlike the 10x10 method, the goal of the 5x5 routine involves doing 5 sets of 5 reps, using the same weight. At first, you won't be able to do 5 repetitions for all 5 sets but once you do, then it is time to increase the weight. The perfect weight to select is one that allows you to perform 5 reps for the first set and perhaps even the second. The third, fourth and fifth you may fall back to 4 reps and on the last one perhaps all you can do is 3 reps.
Is there a need for more exercises once you do the one for 5 sets of 5? I like to do an additional exercise using the 5x5 method to ensure that the muscle has been stimulated from a couple of different angles.
Now let’s take a look at my recommended 5 sets of 5 reps program.