Five sets of five on a handful of barbell lifts, three days a week, adding weight every session for as long as it works. The 5x5 is the simplest way a beginner or returning lifter can add real strength, and this page covers both workouts, the progression rule, and the point where the plan stops working and what to do then.
What is a 5x5 plan?
A 5x5 plan runs two alternating full-body workouts, A and B, three times a week. Each session is built from compound barbell lifts done for five sets of five reps, and you add a small amount of weight every time you train. There is no variation to think about and no accessory work to argue over — the plan is the bar getting heavier.
It works because of linear progression. Early in a training career, recovery outpaces the difficulty of small weight jumps, so you can add load every session for weeks. That period is worth using: it builds the base that everything later is programmed on top of.
The 5x5 weekly schedule
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Workout A |
| Tuesday | Rest |
| Wednesday | Workout B |
| Thursday | Rest |
| Friday | Workout A |
| Saturday | Rest |
| Sunday | Rest |
The next week starts with Workout B, so A and B alternate evenly. Squats appear in every session.
The full workout
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 5 | 5 |
| Barbell bench press | 5 | 5 |
| Barbell row | 5 | 5 |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 5 | 5 |
| Overhead press | 5 | 5 |
| Deadlift | 1 | 5 |
The deadlift is one working set of five. Five heavy sets of deadlifts three times a week is more fatigue than it is worth at this stage.
Warm up each main lift with two or three light sets, and rest three to five minutes between working sets once the weight gets heavy. The rest is not optional: a five-rep set after 90 seconds is a conditioning drill, not a strength set.
How to progress, and when to stop
Add the smallest jump you can after every successful session: 5 pounds or 2.5 kg on squats, bench, row and press, 10 pounds or 5 kg on the deadlift. If you own microplates, use them for the presses once the jumps start failing.
When you miss reps, the rule is simple and it matters more than the adding:
- Miss a session's reps on a lift, repeat the same weight next time.
- Miss the same weight three sessions in a row, cut it by 10 percent and work back up.
- Stall through that cut twice on the same lift, the linear run is over for that lift.
Almost nobody runs a 5x5 forever, and nothing is wrong when it ends. It means recovery no longer outpaces the jumps, which is the normal end of a beginner's free period. The next step is a plan with rep ranges and more exercise variety, like the upper/lower split or push/pull/legs.
Run this plan in Trackist
Trackist writes a block around your goal, experience, equipment and the days you can train. Ask for three days a week and a strength goal and you get a barbell-led plan with the sets, rep targets and rest set for you.
Where it helps most on a plan like this is the decision after a hard set. Above each exercise sits one line with the load to try today, worked out from your last session's sets and the effort you logged: the top of the range at a manageable RPE gets a jump, a session where sets fell short holds the weight, and a session that fell well short takes five percent off. That is the 5x5 rule, applied from your numbers rather than your memory of them.
When the linear run ends, say the week was too hard and the coach rebuilds the rest of the block; when the block finishes, the next one is written from what you actually lifted. Progressive overload explains the underlying idea.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is 5x5 good for building muscle or only strength?
It builds both, with strength moving faster. Five sets of five on compound lifts is a solid amount of hard work for the legs, back and chest. If your main goal is size, add two or three sets of isolation work at the end of each session for arms and shoulders.
How long can you run a 5x5 program?
Until adding weight stops working, which for most people is eight to sixteen weeks from an untrained start. When you have cut the weight back and stalled again on the same lift, the linear phase is finished and a plan with rep ranges is the next step.
Should I deadlift 5x5 too?
No. One working set of five is enough. Deadlifts accumulate fatigue faster than any other lift in the plan, and five heavy sets three times a week is the quickest way to stall everything else.
Can Trackist run a 5x5 for me?
It writes its own block rather than a named program, and you can shape a day to this structure in the editor. What it adds is the load call: one suggested weight per exercise from your last sets and how hard they felt, and a rebuild when the progression stops working.
5.0 ON THE APP STORE · FREE TO DOWNLOAD
Run this plan in Trackist
Six questions, and the block is written around your gym and your week. Log every set and the load climbs from what you lifted last time. Free on the App Store, Android coming soon.
