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5x5 workout

5×5 Workout

When it says 5×5, many powerlifters are sure to recall something. It is a proven program for building muscle and strength. Among the bodybuilders, it was trendy in the past and Ed Coan, one of the best powerlifters of history, contributed to its promotion. The 5×5 program has many variations. Here we will explain the fundamental principle of training, and we will introduce one of the possible models that will show you how to build your muscle naturally.

The principle of training

The 5×5 workout is a training session where we practice the competition exercises (squats, bench-press and deadlift) in five series of five reps. You can also perform additional exercises with a 5×5 system, but nothing happens if we do so in a few more repetitive sequence, e.g. 3x 8-10.

The secret of the success of this training is that five repetitions are the imaginary boundary between the straightforward strength training (2 to 3 repetitions) and volume training (8 to 12 repetitions). By five repetitions with the corresponding load, we stimulate both types of muscle fibers and achieve a specific compromise between muscle building and strength. This training does not fit in just before the competition, but it is definitely appropriate to build the fundamental strength. This is 100% right approach for beginners that want to gain their muscles naturally.

Training split and proper weight selection

Because it is training with a relatively high load, it is enough to train squats and deadlift once a week. We will train Bench-press twice: once hard and easy once. I would recommend running this program on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and resting on other days.

On the first day we will train squats with other, the second day heavy bench-press, third day deadlift and fourth day light bench-press with other.

5x5 workout

The alpha and omega of success in this training is the choice of a reasonable load. The training is based on the principle of periodization, so we need to have enough reserve to add weight. I do not know if you can determine the exact percentage. The big difference will be between the beginner who is squatting with 60 kg and he does not know what the bandages are, and the experienced jerk who squats with more than 300 kilograms and his tools allows him to add another 70 kg.

Generally speaking, for the first training, we choose the load we can do with about 10 reps. It may seem lightweight to you, but you will add every additional training. It’s about keeping you as long as possible. The load is added depending on the exercise and performance, but it is always necessary to add at least 1 kg. Either we add it systematically, or every three weeks, we include a lighter week (i.e., about 75% of the weight you practiced in the third week). By this we make a little bit of relief from the high-sensitivity workout and prepare our muscles for further increase of the intensity.

5×5 Training schedule

1 dayseries x repsDay 2series x reps
squats5 x 5bench-press5 x 5
leg extension3 x 10incline dumbbell bench press3 x 8
leg curl3 x 10push-ups3 x 8
calf3 x 20dumbbell side rise3 x 10
abs3 x 20
Day 3series x repsDay 4series x reps
deadlift5 x 5decline EZ bar triceps extension3 x 8
pull-ups3 x 8cable pushdown3 x 10
cable row3 x 10barbell curl3 x 8
abs3 x 20dumbbell curl3 x 10
standing dumbbell triceps extension3 x 8
dumbbell side rise3 x 8
lightweight bench-press5 x 5



Before performing the series, you need to limber up correctly and take care of the correct technique for all repetitions. Breaks between series will be selected for competitive exercises so that you can perform another series (for example, 3 minutes). For other exercises that will not be performed with such high intensity, shorten the breaks to 1 – 1.5 minutes.

The training is done without any specialized equipment, only with a squat and a deadlift use a belt. This workout can be kept for about 8 to 10 weeks. If you were able to add 2,5 kg each week to the bench, you will be able to raise 25 kg more in the series than in the first training session, which could mean an increase in the maximum capacity by about 10 kg. After the end of the cycle, place a week off, and then you can try another workout training.

How to build muscle

How to Build Muscle Soon Enough

Building muscles take time – this is something that you ought to know at this point. You have thought about making your body bigger by growing your muscles for quite some time but you have not put as much thought into it yet because you assumed that the road to building muscles is easy. It is not, unfortunately. So how to build muscle soon enough?

Your muscles cannot just grow overnight. You need to make them grow frequently so that you can see your desired results and admittedly, it is not going to be easy. You are going to go through some heartaches and setbacks especially when you do not immediately get what you want.

A lot of people assume that going to the gym frequently is enough to make them gain muscle at the soonest possible time. It is what you do at the gym that will determine if you would be able to build muscles or not. People assume that doing longer workout routines will help build muscles more. This is not true.  So what are the things you should know about to become familiar with methods on how to build muscle effectively?

When you want to know how to build muscle, you simply cannot stay at the gym and drink your coffee while speaking to your newfound friends. You have to exercise and know the proper training that will ultimately help you in reaching your goals.

Some Goals to Help You Gain Muscle

Once you have determined that you truly want to gain more muscle starting now, there are some goals that you can add to your list so you can be properly guided to the right path. Here are some of the goals that will help you gain knowledge on how to build muscle effectively:

Make sure that you have long–term goals.

What are your long-term goals? Do you plan on having the best muscles that you can show-off when you are at the beach? Perhaps you would like to have muscles that will make the ladies stop and stare. Your long-term goal will allow you to formulate short-term goals that will serve as your milestones before you reach your ultimate goal.

Know your short-term goals.

Your short-term goals are important. These goals will serve as your motivation especially when the exercises that you are doing seem so monotonous and boring that you do not know how to hype yourself to work out more. Short term goals can be a bit disheartening especially when you do not reach your goals at a certain period of time but when you think about it, it can prepare you for your main goal. For example, you want to become stronger. You cannot reach this goal without building your strength step by step. Once again, building muscles will take time.


Know your plan.

You can have a plan in mind that you have thought about while you were in the shower or while you were relaxing. When you formulate a plan, write it down on paper immediately. This way, you can look back and check what you have written when you get the chance. You can make some tweaking with your plan to make it perfect for your goals. To know how to gain muscles, formulate a plan that is composed of routines for the specific muscle groups. You also have to incorporate lifting and cardio with your routine.

Always stay positive.

What is the number one reason why people fail? It is because they do not believe in themselves. If you do not believe that you can do something, the rest of the world will just agree with you. You will lose your chance before you try to take it. There will be times when you are not in the mood to exercise but drag yourself going to the gym or to your very own home gym. Even a little bit of work is better than no work at all.

If you feel that you are already losing motivation, you can search for things that can motivate you online. You can also ask your support group to offer more motivation so that you can push through with your plan.

never give up

Never give up.

This is the ultimate goal that you should have. There will be moments when you will be on the verge of giving up. You just want to stop whatever you are doing and just allow yourself to do something else but this will not help you at all. Giving up can make you go hard on yourself. You will remember this for long time because you have turned away from something that you could have done better.

It will always take time to see results. You cannot have muscles after one workout session at the gym. Some people even take years before they are able to reach their muscle goals. At least, they did not give up. They continued their journey even if it was difficult. Your journey to gaining muscles will be difficult too. Brace yourself but enjoy the ride.

Do you like the goals to follow to know how to build muscle effective soon? There are still a lot more that you can create based on you’re the things that you want to achieve.

Building Your Muscle

You already know the goals and the mindset that you should have when you start building your muscles. Do you think you are already aware of the various things you can do to know how to build muscle effectively?

You have seen different fictional characters and real people have the type of body that you want to have. You cannot help but wonder how long it took for them to achieve your dream body. So, you should know now that it took time.  So many supplements and of course, steroids, offer that you will get your dream body in months together with the right diet and exercise but the muscles that you will get are a bit different. They would not look like the muscles that you want to get.

How to Get to Your Dream Body

A lot of people are required to do a lot before they can get the body that they have always wanted. If you want to get your dream body, you may have to do one or more of these things:

  • Lose/Gain Weight
  • Start Eating Healthy
  • Increase Muscle Growth Effectively
  • Pay Attention to Health in General

dream body

When was the last time that you paid any attention to your health? You may be part of the corporate world and you are too busy to think about your health. You spend long hours doing different tasks. Your lack of sleep, rest and exercise may cause turmoil to your body. For some people, it will be enough to give them sickness that will make it hard for them to recover.

Do not let this happen to you. The first thing to accomplish once you decide that you want to build muscles is you have to achieve your body weight goal. For example, you are a man and you want to be 160 lbs. for your height. This is possible as long as you would make the effort to achieve that weight before you start building your muscles.

The Optimal Conditions to Gain Muscle

Let us say that you only have a limited amount of time to improve your overall physique, how can you get the body that you like to have. This is easy, you need to know the optimal conditions that will allow you to build muscle effectively. Here are some of these conditions:

  • You are only going to eat the right type and amount of food – it will be easy to search online about the food that you should eat but the moment that you are there, you will eat more than what is required of you. Only eat the required portions to ensure ultimate muscle growth. You need to condition your body to build effective muscles.
  • You are training perfectly to get your required muscle growth – This means that you already have the proper training that will allow you to build muscle effectively. An effective training is not only composed of lifting weights and strength training, you have to do cardio too.
  • Get proper sleep – When was the last time that you slept on time? Most people do not get enough sleep because of the lifestyle that they lead. This can ultimately lead to unnecessary weight gain due to excess fat in the body. If you eat healthy, there will not be a lot of fat to store and if you get enough sleep, the calories that you consume throughout the day will be burned effectively.

proper sleep

You have the ability to gain muscle but do not expect that it is going to be like how people describe it in magazines wherein they wake up every day with bigger muscles. This is not going to happen unless you want to use steroids.

Building Muscles with Steroids – Is it Safe?

Do you think it will be a good idea to know how to build muscle with the use of steroids? This is something you should know so that you can weigh in your options.

Most people think that the moment they start taking steroids they are going to become muscular. This is not the case.  Even if you use steroids but you do not make any effort on how to build muscle, expect that you are going to fail at it.

Some people overuse steroids thinking that they are doing the proper methods on how to build muscle and this has led to these uncomfortable symptoms:

  • Vomiting
  • Liver and Kidney Damage
  • Urinating Blood
  • Ulcer
  • Heart Attack
  • Aggressive Personality

People who have abused steroids have experienced one or more of these symptoms. People will not abuse steroids unless they are misinformed. They may take different types of steroids one after another without realizing that different steroids are meant for different purposes.

One of the major problems that people face when using steroids is addiction. People who see immediate results become addicted to it and they want to  take more even when they are not supposed to. Some even take steroids all-year round when people should take them in cycles.

What Are Steroids?

You have to understand what steroids are before you consider taking them. Steroids are man-made and they are created with different substances. There are some steroids that are meant to increase the overall testosterone level of the body so that the body can start building  muscles faster.


Anabolic Steroids are steroids that are meant to improve the muscle and make them bigger. They come in two forms: pill form and injectable. The pill form can be taken before a workout and it will take effect after a few minutes. Injectables will work faster.

It is quite surprising that steroids were created first in order to get rid of inflammation. It was created to help cure asthma until people realized that they can be used for other things too. Right now, a lot of aspiring bodybuilders and even those who are already popular use different types of steroids regardless of whether it is good for their bodies or not.

Take note that some side effects of steroids will stop the moment that the person has stopped using it. Doctors recommend that people stop the use of bodybuilding steroids when they start experiencing even minor side effects. Some of the side effects are permanent and will never go away. Different previous steroid users have died from heart failure or multiple organ failure months or even years after taking their last steroid. The damage has already been done to their bodies and they cannot change it anymore.

Different people have already died because of the abuse of steroids. Is it still worth it?

How Effective are Steroids?

Provided that you will use steroids with hard work and exercise, it is meant to work well. According to some studies, people who actually take steroids gain about 10 pounds of muscle or more in a period of six weeks. This is much faster than the rate of steroids that people can gain by working out naturally. Most people gain about 1-2 lbs of muscles every month with exercise and proper diet.


With these figures alone, it is not surprising why people are into taking steroids. People live in a world wherein everything instant is highly lauded. Things that take time are looked down on as being low-tech and unpopular.

Some Benefits of Steroids

Steroids cannot just be disregarded when you want to know how to build muscle especially if you are determined to build muscle soon. These are some of the benefits you can expect to get:

  • Steroids can help improve your muscle growth. This was already mentioned earlier. Expect that you are going to grow impressive muscles in a short period of time with the right steroids.
  • You can become stronger with steroids. If you are having trouble with doing some of the reps effectively, steroid use can make them easier. You will gain strength that you never knew you had.
  • It can lower your body fat percentage. The lower your body fat is, the more that your muscles will be emphasized. The “dry” look is popular among people who would like to build impressive muscles.

In conclusion about these details that you have learned about steroids, it is evident that they are good in helping you build the type of muscles you want within a limited time frame but if you are patient and you like to know how to build muscle naturally, stay away from steroids. You do not need steroids to build muscle but if you want to build muscles fast, be responsible about your steroid use.

How to Build Muscle Naturally

Let us say that you have decided to go completely natural. You want to know how to build muscle naturally. Your reasons may vary but this is the safest way. There are various factors that can determine how well your muscle will grow:

  • Your current height
  • Your weight
  • Genetics

Being taller is an advantage when you are trying to build muscles because your muscle growth will also be bigger. There is only so much that the body can take. If you try to build too much muscle for your body, your skin might burst. It has happened many times before with different bodybuilders so learn from their experience and know how much your body can take before you do more.

Your weight will also play a huge factor because it will determine how much the body will be able to burn. If you are too skinny, building muscles will be harder and this is the same with having too much body fat. The stored body fat can make it harder for muscles to penetrate and become visible. This is the reason why you are recommended to get to your desired weight first before you start building muscles.

build muscles

Do you wonder why there are some bodybuilders who are recognized more than others? It is not only because of their incredible physique but because of their genes. Some people are meant to carry muscles on their body better than others. You have to accept this fact because no matter how hard you workout, this will always have an effect on how great your body will look like.

If you want to know how to build muscle naturally, these are some tips:

Keep a food journal

It is not a surprise that healthy eating will have an effect on how fast you can build muscles. If you have done research prior to creating your meal plan, it will be easier to stick to what you have planned. The food journal will help you track if certain foods help you build muscle faster or if there are some that allow you to build your overall body strength effectively.

Get enough sleep

When was the last time that you slept on time? If you have not slept on time for quite a long time, it will be harder for you to build muscles as you are depriving your body of resting. Your body needs rest especially after grueling hours of exercise so that it can build bigger and stronger muscles. Without proper rest there wouldn’t be big and strong muscles. Simple, right?

Choose the muscle groups

Choose the muscle groups you are going to work on and work them out 2 – 3 times a week – If you are a beginner, you can start by building one muscle group once a week but if you have been working out for a few months already, elevate to working out each muscle group more.  How to build muscle? It will depend on the muscle group you are working out

Do not forget your legs

One of the biggest mistakes of people is working out various parts of their bodies. They work out their core muscle groups, their arms and their shoulders but they usually forget about their legs. Leg days are the hardest training days and there will be moments when you can barely get out of bed after a leg workout but if you want to look well-rounded, do not skip leg day.

strengthen legs

Set goals

The goals can first start with your target weight then your target muscle growth then your target strength. The stronger you are, the more that you can do when you are trying to build muscles. You cannot expect that you will be going to the gym with enough strength to put people who have been training for a long time to shame. And, you need to build your strength slowly but surely.

You can take supplements instead of steroids if you want to know how to build muscle effectively. Some supplements can be taken before you start your exercise while others have to be taken during or after. There are so many supplements available. Do enough research so you can make the perfect choice. You do not want to end up with a supplement that does nothing for your body.

With all of these tips and details that you have learned, do you think you are knowledgeable enough to know how to build muscle well?

5 biggest benchpress mistakes

5 biggest bench press mistakes

All of us want to look better. This is why we workout, right? But please, make sure you are doing your workout properly, otherwise you will risk an injury. In the video below you can see 5 biggest bench press mistakes people do. So don’t be like others. Do your workout correctly.