How to get the body of your dreams…

About 4 months ago I was talking to a friend I play music with.

And out of the blue, he asks, “I just started going to the gym, but I have no idea what to do. Where do I start?”

What I recommended was NOT your typical fitness advice.

It wasn’t hopping on a treadmill…

Or paying $$$ a month for group training sessions…

Or buying the latest fitness program that is more complicated than a rocket launch SOP…

All those things can be great (I’ve tried them all).

But the #1 fitness routine I recommended is something much cheaper and simpler.

In fact, this regimen allowed me to add 300% more strength in all of the top compound movements (squat, deadlift, and bench press), and go up a shirt size from muscle growth…

It gave me the confidence to upgrade my gym from Planet Fitness to a luxury gym full of elite lifters…

All without imposter syndrome.

So what was this great workout?

Like I said, it wasn’t Crossfit…

It was the 5x5 lifting routine.

If you aren’t familiar, this is the gold standard for getting strong and growing muscle, which should be anyone’s goals.

The program is called 5x5 because you do five sets of five reps for multiple compound (multi-joint) exercises, typically 3-5 days a week. 

And it’s intense.

You are shooting for 70-80% of your 1 rep max for all five sets of five reps.

And a hallmark of the program is slow-and-steady progressive overload: you increase the weight on the bar by as little as 2.5 pounds each week.

The reason this workout regimen is goated (as the kids say) is because of the compound movements.

Compounds force an insane amount of full-body coordination. Therefore, it hits a bunch of muscle groups at once.

With this regimen, isolation movements can be sprinkled in. Stuff that hits the beach muscles, ie, lat raises, bicep curls, etc. 

I’ve actually found that the muscle growth hormone that hits when you are doing heavy leg lifts will benefit other muscles like if you do bicep curls after a squat for instance.

Here’s a sample 5x5 workout if you want to try it yourself:

Monday

• Deadlift: 5 x 5

• Pull ups: 5 x 5

• Shoulder press: 3-4 x 12-15

• Core + isolation movements: 3 x 15 (each)

Wednesday

• Barbell bench press: 5 x 5

• Bent over barbell row: 5 x 5

• Kettlebell swing: 3-4 x 12-15

• Core + isolation movements: 3 x 15 (each)

Friday

• Deadlift: 5 x 5

• Shoulder press: 5 x 5

• Pull ups: 3-4 x 12-15

• Core + isolation movements: 3 x 15 (each)

Have you ever tried 5x5? What did you think?

I’d love to hear about it!

Cheers,

Swanagan

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