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| Three-time Mr. Universe Reg Park got great results with one variation of the 5 x 5 system - but there are many other ways to use the 5 x 5 system - and some of them work better than others. |
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Two quick notes and then we'll talk
iron.
1.The July-August Dino Files
The July-August issue of The Dinosaur
Files strength training newsletter has
landed - and it's a good one!
This is a combined issue for July
and August - so it's a little bit
bigger than usual - and it's jam-
packed with great articles and
information.
And, as always, we have some
terrific training articles and work-
outs in this issue, including:
The "Hit By a Mack Truck"
Workout
A Hard and Heavy 35-Minute
Workout
Hill Sprints
Speaking of Leg Training
Your Best Weight
Stabilization and the Amazing
Shoulder Rehab
Two Real-Life Barbell Robinson
Crusoes (Note - you won't be-
lieve this one - it brings the
idea of desert island training
to a whole new level.)
Remembering Capt. Jack
Erickson
and
A Super Effective 30-Minute
Workout
Here's the link to grab the little
monster:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-julyaugust2018.html
As always, be sure to shoot me
an email and let me know how
you like this issue!
2. John Wood's Strength Training
Shorts
John Wood is doing some great short
videos on his YouTube Channel. He
also posts them at his Oldtime
Strongman site.
They're 60 seconds long - and
each of them covers a fascinating
piece of Iron Game history.
For example, check this out:
Episode 1
https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/60-second-strength-history/
John's YouTube channel is right
here - you can sign up if you like
what you see there:
https://www.youtube.com/OldtimeStrongman
3. The Never-Ending 5 x 5 Question
I wrote an email about 5 x 5 and sent
it out to the Dino Nation a few days
ago - and of course, I got a ton of
emails asking "What's the RIGHT
way to do 5 x 5?"
Do you do four progressively heavier
warm-up sets and ONE work set?
Three progressively heavier warm-up
sets and TWO work sets?
Two progressively heavier warm-up
sets and THREE work sets?
Or does 5 x 5 refer to your work sets -
meaning, you do FIVE work sets?
And which method is BEST?
The answer is - there is no "right"
way to do 5 x 5.
And no one way of doing it works
best.
Different ways work better for different
people - and different ways work best
for different exercises - and what works
best for you usually changes over time.
So let me offer some general guide-
lines:
1. If you handle really heavy weights in
your work sets, you need more warm-up
sets. (It takes more jumps to go from 135
x 5 to 405 x 5 than to go from 60 x 5 to
100 x 5.)
So four warm-up sets and one work set
might be best for the really strong Dinos.
2. Older trainees have trouble recovering
from their workouts.
So, for them, four warm-up sets and one
work set might be best.
3. Squats and deadlifts are much more
demanding and more tiring than curls or
presses.
So you might do two warm-up sets and
three work sets on curls and presses -
but do four warm-up sets and one work
set on squats and deadlifts.
4. If you do an assistance exercise after
a primary exercise for a given muscle
group, you may not need as many
warm-up sets.
For example, you might do four warm-
up sets of bench presses and one work
set - followed by two warm-up sets and
three work sets on close grip benches.
5. You might follow a progression system
where you add work sets - and then add
weight and drop the number of sets and
work back up. (I cover this in Dinosaur
Training Secrets, Vol. 3, my course on
old-school progression methods.)
If you add work sets, you're going to
progress from 5 x 5 to 6 x 5 - or even
7 x 5.
That's okay - there's no magic to 5 x 5.
6 x 5 and 7 x 5 work just as well.
6. I know that many people advocate
doing five work sets of five reps. This
training method has been around since
at least the 1930's. Bob Hoffman even
wrote about it back in the 30's.
Bit I'm not a fan.
I think most trainees would burn out if
they tried to do five work sets - especially
on squats and deadlifts.
However, there are always exceptions.
For example . . .
If you follow an ultra-abbreviated
or one-exercise specialization pro-
gram you might be able to do five
work sets just fine.
Or it might work for you for awhile -
and then you might need to scale back.
And in that regard . . .
7. Nothing works forever - so whatever
type of 5 x 5 workout you do probably
needs to change over time.
The bottom line is this:
There's no one way to do 5 x 5.
There are multiple ways to do it.
They all have their uses - and they all
build some serious muscle.
I hope that helps clear things up.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I mentioned Dinosaur Training
Secrets, Vol. 3, my course on old-
school, drug-free progression methods.
It's a great course, with a number of
very effective progression systems -
and you can grab the little monster
right here:
Hard-copy and Kindle
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html
See the special section for our PDF
courses at our Products page:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .
We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle
bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:
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