5x5 Strength
Fixed weight added each session on the foundational compound lifts. Two alternating workouts, three days a week.
The selected Grain Gym catalog has 13 programs, 448 exercises, and 11 progression systems. This page covers one program's structure.
ABSOLUTE INCREMENT
Add the smallest plate every clean session.
Equipment: Barbell, Dumbbell
Who this is for
Beginners who want to learn the barbell lifts and add weight every session for as long as their body lets them. The original "newbie gains" program: simple, brutal, effective.
If you can barbell squat the empty bar with a clean depth, you're ready.
Structure
Three days a week for 12 weeks, alternating two workouts. Week A runs A / B / A, week B runs B / A / B.
- Workout A: Barbell Squat 5×5, Barbell Bench Press 5×5, Barbell Bent Over Row 5×5, Barbell Curl 2×5.
- Workout B: Barbell Squat 5×5, Barbell Overhead Press 5×5, Barbell Deadlift 1×5, Bodyweight Plank 2×60s.
Progression is a fixed increment: add 2.5 kg (about 5 lb) to each lift every session you complete all 5×5, and 5 kg to the deadlift. The program drops a lift's weight by 10 percent after three failed sessions in a row on it. A scheduled recovery week (deload) comes at week 12.
How to run it in Grain Gym
Start light. Use the empty bar if you have never done these lifts. The program shows the weight to load for each lift, and adds the increment when you complete every set.
Notes
- Rest long between heavy sets. The math doesn't work if you rush.
- Squats every workout means your legs will hate you for the first few weeks. They'll adapt.
- Form before weight. If your back rounds on the deadlift, drop the load.
- Linear progress stalls eventually. That's normal. Then you move on to 5/3/1 or Upper/Lower.