Bill Starrs 5 x 5 Training

By admin on June 13, 2014 in featured, full body

Perhaps the most influential book ever written on the subject of strength training for
sports is Bill Starrs The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football
written in 1976. Since then, seemingly endless variations of Starrs original 55 routine
have sprouted up all over the Net and for good reason it is possibly the most perfect
strength routine ever devised.
His routine focused on bench presses, squats and power cleans, done on a Monday
Wednesday Friday rotation with heavy, medium and light days. Bill Starr popularized
the 55 routine each exercise was done following a protocol of five sets of five
reps. Starrs 55 routine uses the three exercises which Starr referred to as the big
three, quoting Starr:
These are 3 basic exercises used by weightlifters to increase their strength.the
football player (and you can insert Martial Artist, Fighter, whatever there) must work
for overall body strength as opposed to specific strengthening exercises.In other
words the athlete should be building total leg strength rather than just stronger
hamstrings. He should be seeking overall strength in his shoulder girdle rather than just
stronger deltoids.the program is fast, simple and, most importantly, effective. It
requires very little space and a minimum of equipment.

Bill Starrs 5X5 Routine In Its Original Form

Monday Heavy

Power cleans 5 sets of 5

Bench 5 sets of 5 110 weight from 3rd set

(add 10 rep sets after 8-12 weeks on program)

Squats 5 sets of 5 110 weight from 3rd set
(set 1 35% of target set 2 70% of target set 3 80% of target set 4 90% of target set 5
target)

Wednesday Light

Power cleans 5 sets of 5

Incline Bench 5 sets of 5 110 weight from 3rd set
Squats 5 sets of 5
(110 weight from 3rd set set 5 use weight from 3rd set of Monday)

Friday Medium

Power cleans 5 sets of 5

Overhead press 5 sets of 5 110 weight from 3rd set
Squats 5 sets of 5
(110 weight from 3rd set set 5 use weight from 3rd set of Monday set 5 use weight 4th
set of Monday)

The Bill Starr Power Routine

Monday Heavy Day

Squat 5 sets of 5
Bench 5 sets of 5
Powerclean 5 sets of 5
Weighted hyperextensions 2 sets
Weighted sit-ups 4 sets

Wednesday Light Day

Squat 4 sets of 5
Incline Bench 4 sets of 5
High Pulls 4 sets of 5
Sit-ups 3 sets

Friday Medium

Squat 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8

Bench 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8

Powercleans 4 sets of 5, 1 triple

Weighted Dips 3 sets of 5-8
Triceps and Biceps 3 sets of 8 each

Bill Starrs Beginner 55

Monday (Heavy Day 85%)

Back Squats 5 x 5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 reps across 5 sets

Bench Press 5 x 5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 reps across 5 sets
Deadlifts 5 x 5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 reps across 5 sets

Wednesday (Light Day 65-70%)

Back Squats 5 x 5 using 60% of Mondays weight

Bench Press 5 x 5 using 60% of Mondays weight
Pullups 5 x 5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 reps across 5 sets

Friday (Medium Day 70-85%)

Back Squats 5 x 5 using 80% of Mondays weight

Bench Press 5 x 5 using 80% of Mondays weight
Rows 5 x 5 Ramping weight to top set of 5 reps across 5 sets

The Bill Starr Strength Factor Routine

Monday (Heavy Day)

Back Squats 5 x 5 ramping to limit

Bench Press 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Deadlifts 5 x 5 ramping to limit or Bent-Over Rows: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Incline Dumbbell Press 2 x 20
Calf Raises 3 x 30

Wednesday (Light Day)

Back Squats 5 x 5 using 50 lbs less than Monday or Lunges: 4 x 6 ramping to limit
Good Mornings 4 x 10 or Stiff-Leg Deadlifts: 4 x 10
Standing Overhead Press 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Dips When you can do 20 reps, start adding weight and drop the reps back to 8
Curls 3 x 15

Friday (Medium Day)

Back Squats 5 x 5 using 20 lbs less than Monday

Incline Bench Press 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Shrugs 5 x 5 ramping to limit or Clean High Pulls 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Straight Arm Pullovers 2 x 20
Chins: 4 sets to failure

Bill Starrs Big 3 Program

Monday Heavy Day

Powerclean 5 sets of 5
Bench 5 sets of 5
Squat 5 sets of 5

Wednesday Light Day

Powerclean 5 sets of 5
Benchpress 5 sets of 5
Squat 5 sets of 5

Friday Medium

Powerclean 5 sets of 5
Benchpress 5 sets of 5
Squat 5 sets of 5

Beyond Bill Starr: Madcow and Mark Rippetoe

By far of all of the variations of coach Starrs original routines, the two of them that are
the most used and advanced in term of principles are those ones by Madcow and
coach Mark Rippetoe. Madcow variation isnt one routine, it features several based on
the trainers needs and uses deloading phases, dual factor training, and hypertrophy
phases.

Mark Rippetoes Starting Strength Novice 55 Routine:

Workout A

Squat 35
Bench Press 35
Deadlift 15

Workout B

Squat 35
Overhead Press 35
Power Clean 35
All the sets shown (35) are all working or live sets, not counting warmups sets.
Additional supplementary exercises can be added, but very sparingly. In the case of
arms, the biceps/triceps already get enough growth stimulation from heavy presses,
rows and chins. Abdominal work can be used as a cool-down. Grip work can be added
to the end as needed too. Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per
week. Proof of concept that coach Rippetoes novice routine works isnt only found by
the five star rating that Starting Strength receives regularly on Amazon.com, but also
in numerous threads like this one on the Net.
More proof that these variants work on the vast majority of the population can be found
on the excellent StrongLifts website which features its own variant of Bill Starrs 55.
(note: the site also has a vibrant community found on their forums)

Mark Rippetoes Practical Programming Novice Program

Monday

Squat 35
Bench press / Press (Alternating) 35
Chin-ups 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

Wednesday

Squat 35
Press / Bench Press (Alternating) 35
Deadlift 35

Friday

35 Squat 35
Bench Press / Press (Alternating) 35

Pull-ups 3 sets to failure

(add weight if completing more than 15 reps)

Mark Rippetoes The Advanced Novice Program

Week A
Day 1

Squat 35
Bench press 35
Chin-ups 3 sets
(weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps)

Day 2

Front Squat 35 OR Light Squat 25 (80% 5RM)

Press 35
Deadlift 15

Day 3

Squat 35
Bench press 35
Pull-ups 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Week B
Day 1

Squat 35
Press 35
Chin-ups 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Day 2

Front Squat 35 OR Light Squat 25 (80% 5RM)

Bench press 35
Power clean 53

Day 3

Squat 35
Press 35
Pull-ups 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

Madcow Intermediate 55
Monday Heavy Day

Squat 5 sets of 5
Bench 5 sets of 5
Barbell Row or Powerclean 5 sets of 5
Weighted hyperextensions 2 sets
Weighted sit-ups 4 sets

Wednesday Light Day

Squat 4 sets of 5
Incline Bench or Standing Press 4 sets of 5
Deadlift 4 sets of 5
Sit-ups 3 sets

Friday Medium

Squat 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8

Bench 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8
Barbell Row or Powerclean 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8 for rows
Weighted Dips 3 sets of 5-8
Triceps Extension and Biceps Curl 3 sets of 8 each