Have you ever tried the 5×5 workout routine before to build muscle? I’ve been lifting weights for a few years now and it’s my primary means of strengthening my muscles and burning body fat, and during that time I’ve tried a lot of different rep/set variations to see what sort of results I get.
In a nutshell, if you lift lighter weights at higher repetitions, you’ll increase muscle size and if you lift heavier weights at lower repetitions, you’ll increase strength and toning. But an important technique that I think gets overlooked and under-appreciated is the ramping method developed by the Bill Starr 5×5 routine.
This special method of starting light and ending heavy all within the same set is a goldmine technique that’s been utilized by most football teams and professional bodybuilders designed for rapid strength increases between workouts with pretty aggressive size building simultaneously. I’m going to talk about the 5×5 workout program that’s been redeveloped since its creation and how you can tweak it slightly to meet your fitness goals.
The 5×5 Was Developed By Fitness Expert Bill Starr
Bill Starr has been credited with creating some of the most “near perfect” bodybuilding lifting routines and he has around a half dozen variations of his 5×5 workout program. The majority of Bill Starr’s 5×5 training involve setting a lifting target that would only allow you to lift 5 reps at the max and then using the 5 sets to “ramp up” to that target weight.
For example, if you test your flat bench press and realize that you can do 185 lbs 5 times at your maximum, then that’s your target. Then, for each set you do 5 reps of a portion of your target weight. Normally the portions are in 10% increments of your target weight.
- 60% of target = 111 lbs (5 x 111 lbs)
- 70% of target = 129.5 lbs (5 x 129.5 lbs)
- 80% of target = 148 lbs (5 x 148 lbs)
- 90% of target = 166.5 lbs (5 x 166.5 lbs)
- Target = 185 lbs (5 x 185 lbs)
One of the original routines from Starr only calls for squats, bench press, barbell rows, deadlifts, and military or incline presses laid out in this fashion.
Monday
- Squat
- Bench Press
- Barbell Row
Wednesday
- Squat
- Military or Incline Press
- Deadlift
Friday
- Squat
- Bench
- Barbell Row
Why Is This Workout Effective?
The real secret to the effectiveness of this rep/set choice is the ramping up to the target weight and then increasing your target by 2.5% weekly. This allows a 10% increase in your target lift weight in about 8 weeks.
Another common variation of this 5×5 routine is to eliminate the ramping factor and use the same weight for all 5 sets of the same exercise.
Another reason why the 5×5 workout is so popular is because of its effectiveness on “hard-gainers” or people whose body type makes it very difficult to add muscle. Due to the continued push to increase weight each week and the ramping procedure, gaining muscle becomes much easier for hard-gainers… like myself.
Body Building Vs. Looking Lean
Now, to maximize size in the least amount of lifting time, Bill Starr recommended using multiple muscle exercises like squats, dead lifts, military presses, and bench presses. This way you can target more muscles in a shorter period of time.
If you’re aiming for a more chiseled and lean look as opposed to a body builder, then you’ll need to target individual muscle groups with other exercises as opposed to solely these multiple muscle exercises. The problem with multiple muscle exercises is they create rounder and thicker looking muscles, while isolation exercises promote a more angular look that looks great when you have a low enough body fat percentage.
The 5×5 Works For Me… An Ectomorph
I’ve tried quite a few different rep/set variations, but I believe that 5×5 with or without the ramping technique is the most effective for myself. Even when attempting sets of 10-12, I would put on some size, but my muscles looked thick and bulky instead of angular and chiseled as I intended.
The gradual increase of each set is designed to warm-up your muscles and create more gradual tension and stress that promotes dense muscles and size simultaneously. Plus, when it’s only 5 sets of 5, my workouts don’t last as long and I don’t have to spend my whole evening sweating.
The important thing is to make sure you work all the important areas like arms, chest, shoulders, back, abs, and even legs. Once you strive to hit all of those in balance, your progress will become more obvious to friends and family.
P.S. If you're interested in the diet that I use when I want to get particularly lean, it's Eat Stop Eat. It's very progressive, and probably not like anything you've tried before.
