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Bill Starr's 5 X 5 Training: Admin Featured Full Body
Bill Starr's 5 X 5 Training: Admin Featured Full Body
Perhaps the most influential book ever written on the subject of strength training for
sports is Bill Starr’s “The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football”
written in 1976. Since then, seemingly endless variations of Starr’s original 5×5 routine
have sprouted up all over the Net and for good reason – it is possibly the most perfect
strength routine ever devised.
His routine focused on bench presses, squats and power cleans, done on a Monday –
Wednesday – Friday rotation with heavy, medium and light days. Bill Starr popularized
the “5×5″ routine – each exercise was done following a protocol of five sets of five
reps. Starr’s 5×5 routine uses the three exercises which Starr referred to as “the big
three”, quoting Starr:
Wednesday – Light
Friday – Medium
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Powerclean – 5 sets of 5
Weighted hyperextensions – 2 sets
Weighted sit-ups – 4 sets
Squat – 4 sets of 5
Incline Bench – 4 sets of 5
High Pulls – 4 sets of 5
Sit-ups – 3 sets
Friday – Medium
Back Squats 5 x 5 using 50 lbs less than Monday or Lunges: 4 x 6 ramping to limit
Good Mornings 4 x 10 or Stiff-Leg Deadlifts: 4 x 10
Standing Overhead Press 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Dips When you can do 20 reps, start adding weight and drop the reps back to 8
Curls 3 x 15
Powerclean – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Powerclean – 5 sets of 5
Benchpress – 5 sets of 5
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Friday – Medium
Powerclean – 5 sets of 5
Benchpress – 5 sets of 5
Squat – 5 sets of 5
By far of all of the variations of coach Starr’s original routines, the two of them that are
the most used and advanced in term of principles are those ones by “Madcow” and
coach Mark Rippetoe. Madcow’ variation isn’t one routine, it features several based on
the trainer’s needs and uses deloading phases, dual factor training, and hypertrophy
phases.
Squat – 3×5
Bench Press – 3×5
Deadlift – 1×5
Workout B
Squat – 3×5
Overhead Press – 3×5
Power Clean – 3×5
All the sets shown (3×5) are all working or “live” sets, not counting warmups sets.
Additional supplementary exercises can be added, but very sparingly. In the case of
arms, the biceps/triceps already get enough growth stimulation from heavy presses,
rows and chins. Abdominal work can be used as a cool-down. Grip work can be added
to the end as needed too. Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per
week. Proof of concept that coach Rippetoe’s novice routine works isn’t only found by
the five star rating that “Starting Strength” receives regularly on Amazon.com, but also
in numerous threads like this one on the Net.
More proof that these variants work on the vast majority of the population can be found
on the excellent “StrongLifts” website which features its own variant of Bill Starr’s
5×5. (note: the site also has a vibrant community found on their forums)
Squat – 3×5
Bench press / Press (Alternating) – 3×5
Chin-ups 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps
Wednesday
Squat – 3×5
Press / Bench Press (Alternating) – 3×5
Deadlift – 3×5
Friday
Week A
Day 1
Squat – 3×5
Bench press – 3×5
Chin-ups – 3 sets
(weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps)
Day 2
Day 3
Squat – 3×5
Bench press – 3×5
Pull-ups – 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Week B
Day 1
Squat – 3×5
Press – 3×5
Chin-ups – 3 sets to failure, unweighted
Day 2
Day 3
Squat – 3×5
Press – 3×5
Pull-ups – 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Barbell Row or Powerclean – 5 sets of 5
Weighted hyperextensions – 2 sets
Weighted sit-ups – 4 sets
Squat – 4 sets of 5
Incline Bench or Standing Press – 4 sets of 5
Deadlift – 4 sets of 5
Sit-ups – 3 sets
Friday – Medium