Have you ever pondered that how powerlifters are able to gain huge muscle and are fitter as compared to their competitors? If may seem odd to you that power lifters have more strength and energy while their muscles are not as big as compared to bodybuilders. You may be thinking how is it possible? After reading this article hopefully you will get all your answers.
To gain power, strength and power, power lifters follow a special training regime known as 5×5 training. This technique has created by Ivan Abadjiev who is known as the god father of weightlifting. He belongs to Bulgaria, a small Eastern European country, and has trained some of the top bodybuilders of Bulgaria.
What 5×5 training is?
This training is done on the heaviest weight. You have to lift five sets of five reps on heaviest weights you can handle. Once your body is used to of it, weights will be increased and again you have to lift five sets of five reps. This training session is usually of four to five days a week and every session must be of at least 45 to 60 minutes long. Every session focuses on specific muscles and uses compound exercises as the backbone of the training.
You may be thinking what are compound exercises? Basically compound exercises are those exercises in which more than one joint is being used during exercises. Such exercises not only give boost to your muscle growth but also increase your fitness levels. In 5×5 training combination of compound exercises and conditioning exercises are used to boost your workout levels and muscle growth.
Here is a glimpse of 5×5 training and it has to be performed three times a week. When your body gets use to of these exercises, you can take this training to an advanced level by doing it at least four times as week and increasing the weights. Moreover, you can use conditioning exercises as well but with lighter weights and more repetitions.
Day 1:
- Bench press: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Incline bench press: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Shoulder press: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Skull crushers: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Cable pushdowns: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Abs crunches: 3 sets of 25 reps
Day 2:
- Barbell row: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Lat pulldown: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Hammer curls: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Barbell curls: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Abs reverse crunches: 3 sets of 25 reps
Day 3:
- Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Squat: 5 sets of 5 reps
- Leg press: 3 sets of 8 reps
- Calf raises: 2 sets of 12 reps
While you are following this training, it is important that you must at least follow it for 12 weeks then take 1 week off before resuming it.
People who are following 5×5 training regime have find that their strength has increased by 60% or more in the first 12 weeks. Moreover, their muscle mass has increased and has been aesthetical improvements in their body. Due to all these reasons, people who are looking for ways to increase their strength and muscle mass should follow this training regime. This will increase their muscles size as well as strength.
You may be pondering that why didn’t you haven’t heard about it before? Answer to this question is very simple. This training regime is a secret of Soviet bloc nations and it wasn’t that famous in west until 1980’s.
This amazing and unbeatable training regime has not been devised without the effort of Abadjiev. If he had not made the effort of making it, many men and women would have not enjoyed huge gains of muscle mass and strength.
You can take your workout sessions to the next level with this 5×5 training regime but remember you must take proper diet and legal steroids supplements with them. Effective and efficient supplements will help you gain your ideal physique. You can buy these supplements online without prescription from their official website. They have cutting, bulking, ultimate and strength stacks which you can use to get huge gains.

Wilbur is a fitness fanatic who has been writing about his experiences for over ten years. He started his own publications on topics such as bodybuilding, Steroids, SARMs, and Fitness, and he doesn’t claim to know everything – what he talks about is something he’s done himself. From anabolic steroids to peptides, to HGH, SARMs, and supplements, Wilbur has tried it all at some point in his life and can relate to the experience.