Are Five Work Sets Too Much?

Having fun hitting some old-school split style snatches in the outdoor training area here at Dino Headquarters.After more than 50 years of training, each workout is still fun, fresh and enjoyable.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk iron.

1.The John Wood Report, No. 5

Issue no. 5 of The John Wood Report
was released on Friday, and I understand
that it's been selling like hotcakes.

That's no surprise, because it's a great
issue - with an update on John's Bone
Strenth Project - and a detailed look at
one of Bruce Lee's favorite forearm and
wrist training tools and how to use it for
"Dragon-level" results.

Go here to grab it:

The John Wood Report No. 5 (PDF)

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport05.html

2. The Sept-Oct Dinosaur Files

You'll also want to grab the Sept-Oct
issue of The Dinosaur Files newsletter.

It includes plenty of excellent articles,
including one that features a killer
training program using a. strongman
yoke for heavy singles, partials and
weighted carries - along with another
article on a unique and very effective
progression system for 20-rep breathing
squats.

Go here to grab it:

Sept-Oct Dino Files (PDF)

www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-sep-oct2018.html

3. "Are Five Work Sets Too Much?"

I just got an email from a reader who
does 5 x 5, using five work sets for
each exercise.

He wondered if that was too much.

Short answer:

Yes, it's probably too much work - but,
like anything else, it depends on
several different factors - and it will
probably change for you over time.

Many trainees get very good results from
ONE work set. They find that they overtrain
if they perform more than one work set -
especially in their squats and deadlifts.

These trainees do best on a 5 x 5 program
that includes four progressively heavier warm-
up sets followed by ONE work set with their
top weight for the day.

It's simple, effective, and it works great for
them.

Other trainees do well with TWO or even
THREE work sets. But three is the limit for
most trainees, unless they're doing very low
reps (singles, doubles or triples).

Your age is also an important factor.

As a general rule, older trainees do better
with fewer work sets. So what works best
for you may change over time.

If you do five work sets, you need to follow
an ultra-abbreviated training program. Limit
yourself to one or two exercises per workout.
You won't be able to do justice to more than
that.

And here's a thought: If one, two or three
work sets do the job for you, why do more
than that?

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more straight talk on sets, reps and
real, world, no-nonsense strength training,
grab Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1:

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Kindle

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol1_digital.html

2.  My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: 

"Three words: less is more."

 -- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

The Never Ending 5 x 5 Question

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

PDF

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:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

Are Five Work Sets Too Many?

Hitting it hard at Dino Headquarters. The older I get, the more fun my workouts are - but I have to pay careful attention to the workload and make sure I'm not over-doing things.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk iron.

1. The Dinosaur Facebook Group

If you use Facebook, be sure to join
your fellow Dinosaurs at The Dinosaur
Training Facebook Group.

It's under: "Dinosaur Training - Brooks
Kubik."

You need to apply for membership -
but if you note that you read about
it here, you should get in with no
trouble.

John Wood's Strength Secrets Face-
book Group is also a great place to
go - so be sure to join that one, as
well.


2.The Dinosaur Strength Training
Notebook, Vol. 1

This little monster is our newest edition
to the Kindle bookstore, and it's been
selling like crazy. Go here to grab a copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurnotebook001.html

3. "Are Five Work Sets Too Much?"

I just got an email from a reader who
says he does 5 x 5, using five work sets
for each exercise.

He wondered if that was too much.

Short answer: Yes, it's probably too
much work -- but, like anything else,
it depends on many different factors.

And to add an extra level of complexity,
it will probably change for you over time.

Many trainees get very good results
from ONE work set. They find that
they over-train if they perform more
than one work set -- especially in
exercises like squats and deadlifts.

Other trainees do well with TWO
or even THREE work sets.

But three work sets is the limit for
most trainees, unless they're doing
very low reps (singles, doubles or
triples).

As a general rule, older trainees do
better with fewer work sets -- and
stronger, more advanced trainees
do better with fewer work sets. So
what works best for you may change
over time.

If you do five work sets, you need to
follow an ultra-abbreviated training
program. Limit yourself to one or two
exercises per workout. You won't be
able to do justice to more than that.

And here's a thought:

If one, two or three work sets do the
job for you, why do more?

As always, thanks for reading, and
have a great day. If you train today,
make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more straight talk on sets,
reps and real world, no-nonsense
strength training, grab Dinosaur
Training Secrets, Vol. 1:

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Kindle

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol1_digital.html

2.  My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: 

"Why do MORE when LESS works just
as well -- or maybe even better?"

-- Brooks Kubik

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:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

Are Five Work Sets Too Much?

Hitting it hard and having fun in the outdoor training area here at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk iron.

1. Follow Me On Instagram!

I'm posting a ton of photos and videos
On Instagram now - be sure to check
them out:

https://www.instagram.com/brooks_kubik/

2. The Dinosaur Strength Training
Notebook, Vol. 1

This little monster is our newest edition to
the Kindle bookstore, and it's been selling
like crazy. Go here to grab a copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurnotebook001.html

3. "Are Five Work Sets Too Much?"
He Asked

I just got an email from a reader who says he
does 5 x 5, using five work sets for each
exercise.

He wondered if that was too much.

Short answer: Yes, it's probably too much
work -- but, like anything else, it depends on
several different factors -- and it will probably
change for you over time.

Many trainees get very good results from ONE
work set. They find that they over-train if they
perform more than one work set -- especially in
exercises like squats and deadlifts.

Other trainees do well with TWO or even THREE
work sets. But three is the limit for most trainees,
unless they're doing very low reps (singles,
doubles or triples).

As a general rule, older trainees do better with
fewer work sets -- and stronger, more advanced
trainees do better with fewer work sets. So what
works best for you may change over time.

If you do five work sets, you need to follow
an ultra-abbreviated training program. Limit
yourself to one or two exercises per workout.

You won't be able to do justice to more than
that.

And here's a thought: If one, two or three work
sets do the job for you, why do more than that?

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more straight talk on sets, reps and real,
world, no-nonsense strength training, grab
Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1:

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Kindle

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol1_digital.html

2.  My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Why do MORE when LESS works just as
well -- or maybe even better?"

-- Brooks Kubik

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:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html