Bill Starr 5×5 Workout Program
April 18, 2008
Ah, the good ol’ 5×5 programs, an excellent workout program to follow for both beginners and intermediate lifters. These 5×5 programs are so effective because the stick to what works best for building mass, compound lifts. By using compound lifts the program gives people the best possible start they can get, if they are smart enough to adopt an effective diet, that is. I have chosen to post Bill Starr’s 5×5 Linear workout program, if you need more detail about the program then you can find a link below which will walk you through the whole thing and answer any of your questions, if not then feel free to post a comment or e-mail me and I will help you.
| Monday | ||
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Details |
| Squat | 5×5 | Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday’s heavy triple) |
| Bench | 5×5 | Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday’s heavy triple) |
| Barbell Row | 5×5 | Ramping weight to top set of 5 (which should equal the previous Friday’s heavy triple) |
| Assistance: 2 sets of weighted hypers and 4 sets of weighted sit-ups | ||
| Wednesday | ||
| Squat | 4×5 | First 3 sets are the same as Monday, the 4th set is repeating the 3rd set again |
| Incline or Military | 4×5 | Ramping weight to top set of 5 |
| Deadlift | 4×5 | Ramping weight to top set of 5 |
| Assistance: 3 sets of sit-ups | ||
| Friday | ||
| Squat | 4×5, 1×3, 1×8 | First 4 sets are the same as Monday’s, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8 |
| Bench | 4×5, 1×3, 1×8 | First 4 sets are the same as Monday’s, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8 |
| Barbell Row | 4×5, 1×3, 1×8 | First 4 sets are the same as Monday’s, the triple is 2.5% above your Monday top set of 5, use the weight from the 3rd set for a final set of 8 |
| Assistance: 3 sets of weighted dips (5-8 reps), 3 sets of barbell curls and 3 sets of triceps extensions (8 reps) | ||
As you may have guessed, the “Assistance” part is not a must, it is purely optional.
And if you are looking for a more detailed review of his program then this link is for you, a long read but worth it Bill Starr 5×5 - Linear Version for Intermediate Lifters
Yeah the 5×5 is a great workout! I remember the first couple of times that I did something like this thinking that it would be easy, but man was I wrong!