Mix It Up With 5x5s

Hit a plateau? Looking to gain more strength quickly? Why not take a page out of the powerlifting community and try some 5x5 workouts. What’s a 5x5 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 5x5, but my favorite is to pick compound exercises. Here’s a good starter 5x5:

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 5x5 to your routine every other week starting with a very low weight and gradually adding to the weight each time. For example, your first 5x5 you might only use 3lb weights. The next time you do your 5x5 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?