Mix It Up With 5x5s - Gym Free Fitness

Hit a plateau? Looking to gain more strength quickly? Why not take a page out of the powerlifting community and try some 5×5 workouts. What’s a 5×5 you ask? Well, it basically goes like this. Pick a couple of exercises, grab the heaviest weight you can manage for that exercise, and do 5 sets of 5 reps. Complete the 5 sets of each exercise before moving on to the next exercise.

You can pick isolation exercises for your 5×5, but my favorite is to pick compound exercises. Here’s a good starter 5×5:

Overhead press squats
Plank Rows
Lat raise lunges
Deadlifts

5x5s should never be done on consecutive days, and should be done only if you’ve already got a good groundwork in exercise (such as The Daily HIIT routines).

Just starting out? Try adding one 5×5 to your routine every other week starting with a very low weight and gradually adding to the weight each time. For example, your first 5×5 you might only use 3lb weights. The next time you do your 5×5 add 3 pounds and use 6lbs total. The next time you would use 9lbs total etc. The PowerBlock dumbbells are perfect for something like this.

Will you be adding some 5x5s to your routine?

Photo courtesy of The Daily HIIT