If you prefer workouts consisting of 5 reps, and you also enjoy progressive loading strategies, you can try a very simple plan for working your way up to a 5 rep max, which is the maximum weight that you can lift for five reps.
The loading plan listed in this article is based on starting out with light weights and adding weight on a weekly basis until you reach the maximum weight you can lift for 5 reps. Since light weights are used at the start of the cycle, you will find it easy to recover quickly. This is why you will be working out five days per week at the start of the cycle. As the weights grow heavier from week to week, it will become harder to recover. This is why you decrease to a lower number of workouts per week.
It is up to you to choose which exercises you want to include.
I recommend that you add five to ten pounds to your lifts each week, but It is up to you to choose the exact amount of weight you want to add to each lift each week.
It is also up to you to recognize when you reach a week where it is hard to recover. When you feel like it is getting hard to recover from five workouts per week, it is a signal to decrease to three workouts per week. Likewise, when you feel like it is getting hard to recover from three workouts per week, it is a signal to switch to two workouts per week.
The training plan for working your way up to a 5 rep max has three phases. The plan and the phases are listed below:
Phase 1: Do 5 sets of 5 reps Five days per Week
Start training five days per week by doing 5 sets x 5 reps with 50% for each exercise
Increase by 5 to 10 pounds per week until you reach a poundage that makes it hard to recover
Phase 2: Do 3 sets of 5 reps Three Days per Week
When you reach a weight where it feels like it is hard to recover from doing 5 sets x 5 reps five days per week, switch training three days per week while doing 3 sets x 5 reps.
When ding 3 x 5, increase by 5 to 10 pounds per week until it feels like it is hard to recover
Phase 3: Do 2 sets of 5 reps Two Days per Week
When you reach a weight that makes it hard to recover from 3 sets x 5 reps, three days per week, switch to training two days per week while doing 2 sets x 5 reps.
Increase your 2 x 5 workouts by 5 to 10 pounds per week until you reach your five-rep max weight, which is the heaviest weight that you can lift for five reps.
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Training Tips
You may have to decrease to a lower number of training sessions per week during different weeks for different exercises. For example, It is generally harder to recover from deadlifts than it is to recover from bench presses. This will probably cause you to switch from five workouts per week to three workouts per week at an earlier week for deadlifts than bench presses. You may even decrease to just one deadlift workout per week instead of two when you get close to your five rep max weight.
Individual Differences
One of the keys to this training plan is your ability to recognize the point at which you should decrease to less sets and less training days per week. You must be honest with yourself in terms of when you feel like you are fully recovering, and when you aren’t, as this is what determines the right time to decrease the number of sets and weekly workouts. This will vary from lifter to lifter which means that lifters who try to copy other lifters instead of listening to their own bodies will not get the results they are capable of getting.
If your goal is to improve your 5 rep max, consider giving this training plan a try. Strength training is not always a one size fits all process. If the plan that is listed in this article works, keep doing it. If not, throw it out and try a different plan that is a better suited to your individual physiology. May God bless you with the best of training.