If you prefer training with 5 reps per set and you also want to use a progressive loading strategy, one option is to use the following method, which I refer to as the 5-rep loading plan:
Step 1
Determine Your twelve-rep max as your twelve-rep max is the amount of weight that you will start with when doing a cycle consisting of sets of five reps. Your twelve-rep max is the maximum amount of weight that you can lift for twelve reps. You can either use previous experience or experiment to find your twelve-rep max.
Step 2
Use your twelve-rep max to do sets of 5 reps with two to three minutes rest between sets. Repeat sets of 5 reps as long as you are able to maintain a steady even rep pace for all 5 reps. When you reach a set where your rep speed slows down on your fifth rep, stop repeating sets for the exercise you are doing.
Step 3
Add 5 to 10 pounds to your lifts every week.
Step 4
When you add weight to your lifts each week, the number of sets that you can perform using a steady even rep pace for all 5 reps will decrease. You will eventually reach a week where your rep speed slows down on the fifth rep on your third set. From that point on, continue doing two to three sets of 5 reps for each workout until you reach your 5-rep max.
An example of how to carry out these steps will help.
Imagine that Jim has enough experience to know that his twelve-rep max for the bench press is 185 pounds, so he selects 185 pounds for his first week of bench press workouts which he performs three times per week.
Week 1 = 5 sets x 5 reps with 185 pounds
Jim performs 5 reps per set for the bench press with two minutes rest between sets.
He is able to maintain a steady even rep pace for all 5 reps of each set for four sets.
When Jim reaches his fifth set, he notices that his fifth rep is slower and feels weaker than all of his previous reps in which he could maintain a consistent rep speed. He knows that this is in indicator that he should stop repeating sets for the bench press.
Week 2 = 5 sets x 5 reps with 190 pounds
At the beginning of the second week, Jim adds five pounds to the bar and lifts 190 pounds for 5 reps per set. He is once again able to perform five reps using a steady even rep pace for four sets, but his rep speed starts to slow down at the end of his fifth set, so he stops after his fifth set.
Week 3 = 4 sets x 5 reps with 195 pounds
At the beginning of the third week, Jim increases his bench press poundage to 195 pounds for 5 reps per set. This time he can only perform 5 reps using a steady even rep pace for three sets. His rep speed starts to slow down at the end of his fourth set, so he stops after his fourth set.
Week 4 = 4 sets x 5 reps with 200 pounds
At the beginning of the fourth week, Jim increases to 200 pounds for five reps per set and is able to perform three sets while maintaining a steady even rep pace for every rep, however, his rep speed slows down at the end of his fourth set, so he stops after his fourth set.
Week 5 = 3 sets x 5 reps with 205 pounds
When Jim starts into the fifth week, he increases his poundage to 205 pounds for 5 reps per set. He is able to maintain a steady even rep pace for all 5 reps for the first two sets, but his rep speed starts to slow down at the end of this third set, so he stops repeating sets after the third set. Now that Jim is down to three sets, he will simply choose to do two or three sets of bench press per workout for the rest of the loading process.
The next four weeks are performed as follows:
Week 6 = 3 sets x 5 reps with 210 pounds
Week 7 = 3 sets x 5 reps with 215 pounds
Week 8 = 2 sets x 5 reps with 220 pounds
Week 9 = 2 sets x 5 reps with 225 pounds Jim reaches his 5-rep max.
If you refer back to weeks six through nine, you will notice that Jim does three sets per workout for weeks six and seven, and drops to two sets per workout for weeks eight and nine. It is during week nine that he hits his 5-rep max, so he only does two workouts during week nine.
You may prefer to do a cycle that is shorter than the nine-week cycle that is listed above. If this is the case, I would suggest adding ten pounds per week instead of five pounds per week. In other words, you can adjust the length of the cycle by adjusting the amount of weight you add each week. For a longer cycle, add a smaller amount of weight each week. For a shorter cycle, add a larger amount of weight each week.
If your favorite number of reps is 5 reps per set, one of your options is to use the loading cycle presented in this article. If you find that it produces positive results, keep doing it as long as it works. If it doesn’t work well, you can either make adjustments that you think may work, or you can throw it out. Do what works as long as it works, and change or adjust when something doesn’t work or it stops working. God bless you with the best of training.