Hello CT!
My friend asked me a question this morning about his 5x5 training. He is actually doing a ramp on the 5x5 (2 light sets, 1 moderate, 2 heavy sets), but he asked me if it would be better to do his 5x5 with the same weight. Which one is the best? Is one better to build muscle and the other better to build strength? He is doing 5x5 with 2 different lift everyday (monday= bench/high pull, tuesday= Push press/squat, wednesday= High pull/deadlift, thursday= squat/bench)
Thank you!
[quote]bigmax wrote:
Hello CT!
My friend asked me a question this morning about his 5x5 training. He is actually doing a ramp on the 5x5 (2 light sets, 1 moderate, 2 heavy sets), but he asked me if it would be better to do his 5x5 with the same weight. Which one is the best? Is one better to build muscle and the other better to build strength? He is doing 5x5 with 2 different lift everyday (monday= bench/high pull, tuesday= Push press/squat, wednesday= High pull/deadlift, thursday= squat/bench)
Thank you![/quote]
It sounds like your friend is a beginner? -if thats the case then i’m impressed with his workout choice! 
i would first say split up the workouts evenly throughout the week; try working out monday, tuesday, thursday and saturday to allow more recovery between workouts.
in terms of how to use the 5 sets, a beginner could get away with doing them all heavy because the load will be relatively light. however, why not start out just as you planned (2-3 heavy sets) to learn technique, and gradually work up to doing 5 work sets?
-in terms of which type builds more size or strength etc. I would say that 2-3 heavy sets will build pure strength, 5 heavy sets will build a good blend of size and strength. (check out CT’s 22 proven rep schemes for some cool info)
last point on exercise choice; i would change workout 3 and 4… try this to be more balanced and allow better recovery;
Monday - Bench/High Pull
Tuesday Push Press/Squats
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - Bench/Deadlifts
Friday - OFF
Saturday - Push Press/Squats
Sunday - OFF
I thought the idea behind the 5x5 double progression was that once you can do 5 sets of 5 using the same weight, you’d add weight. Ideally you’d want to start with a weight that’d be something like 5,5,4,3,3, and then progress to being able to do the full 25 reps
[quote]bigmax wrote:
Hello CT!
My friend asked me a question this morning about his 5x5 training. He is actually doing a ramp on the 5x5 (2 light sets, 1 moderate, 2 heavy sets), but he asked me if it would be better to do his 5x5 with the same weight. Which one is the best? Is one better to build muscle and the other better to build strength? He is doing 5x5 with 2 different lift everyday (monday= bench/high pull, tuesday= Push press/squat, wednesday= High pull/deadlift, thursday= squat/bench)
Thank you![/quote]
It depends on volume tolerance and how many assistance exercises you are doing. 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight is what I do, but I do not do many assistance work. If you do 4 exercises in your session then 5 sets with the working weight is probably too much.
[quote]Pabro wrote:
I thought the idea behind the 5x5 double progression was that once you can do 5 sets of 5 using the same weight, you’d add weight. Ideally you’d want to start with a weight that’d be something like 5,5,4,3,3, and then progress to being able to do the full 25 reps[/quote]
Yes, that is if you use the double progression system. But you can do 5 x 5 without doing the double progression… just like you can do 4 x 8 or 10 x 3 with the double progression method
Does “double progression” mean that you are 1) progressing on your weight and at the same time 2) progressing on your reps?
[quote]irfhdah wrote:
Does “double progression” mean that you are 1) progressing on your weight and at the same time 2) progressing on your reps?[/quote]
It means that you use a rep range instead of a specific rep target.
E.g. 3 to 5 reps
The goal is to complete all the work sets (let’s say 5 work sets) with the same weight… “complete” means doing the top end of the range (5 in our case) for all the sets. When you can do that, then you increase the weight at the next workout.
For example…
Let’s say that in session 1 you do
Bench press
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 4
315 x 3
That means that you stick with the same weight at the next session, but try to add reps.
Now, if at session 2 you do:
Bench press
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
You progressed by doing more total reps, and you can now increase the weight because you completed all the work sets.
I saw a very interesting take on a 5x5 printed somewhere, cant really remember where, and have seriously considered trying it. Basically you only progress sets when you reach 5 reps but each set progresses independently. For Example:
First session:225x5,225x5,225x4,225x3,225x3
Session 2: 230x5,230x5,225x5,225x4,225x3
Session 3: 235x5, 235x4, 230x5, 225x5, 225x4
Session 4: 240x5, 235x5, 235x4, 230x4, 225x5
And so on. You basically end up with a ramp but progression it is self regulating.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
[quote]irfhdah wrote:
Does “double progression” mean that you are 1) progressing on your weight and at the same time 2) progressing on your reps?[/quote]
It means that you use a rep range instead of a specific rep target.
E.g. 3 to 5 reps
The goal is to complete all the work sets (let’s say 5 work sets) with the same weight… “complete” means doing the top end of the range (5 in our case) for all the sets. When you can do that, then you increase the weight at the next workout.
For example…
Let’s say that in session 1 you do
Bench press
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 4
315 x 3
That means that you stick with the same weight at the next session, but try to add reps.
Now, if at session 2 you do:
Bench press
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 5
You progressed by doing more total reps, and you can now increase the weight because you completed all the work sets.[/quote]
Thanks for the explanation!