Weights: 3x8 vs 5x5

alx · 30 May 2006 at 16:39

I'm quite new to body building/weight lifting and am curious as to whether it's worthwhile to change from my current 3 sets of 8 reps routine to 5 sets of 5 reps one. I've seen 5x5 routines being recommended on various forums (including here) and was wondering whether it's worth it. I've only been properly training reguarly for the last 4 weeks, what are your views on this?

Smit · 30 May 2006 at 17:03

You've got to do what works best for you, that's really the best advice anyone can give.

3x8 will work better for some and 5x5 will work better for others.

If you've only been training for 4 weeks then I wouldn't recommend that you change your routine until you give it time to work

alx · 30 May 2006 at 17:13

Yeah I thought so. I had been training irregularly for about 6 months with some minor gains because I'm a lazy uni student

, but recently (last 4 weeks) I've been taking it more seriously and going to the gym every 2 or 3 days.

Bes · 30 May 2006 at 17:27

Try mixing it up a bit- it's good to give your muscles some variation, so try altering the weight/ rep combo every so often

As long as you're keeping the excersise at the same difficulty level of course!

brocksta · 30 May 2006 at 19:07

remember your diet is an intergral part, if 3x8 is getting you good gains then theres no point changing.

Bes · 31 May 2006 at 16:25

Yes agree 100%- I'd say the diet is 100% as important as the workout itself- when my calorie intake was too low, I put on muscle but it was very slow progress... I impoved my diet, tweaked my routine, and I got bigger really quickly!

theleg · 31 May 2006 at 17:00

10x3

Chong Warrior · 31 May 2006 at 21:49

Balddog said:
10x3

Considering sh4rks experience I have to agree, even 12x3

Forget 5x5 for at least 6 months mate... ideally even longer, it's too much for a beginner, get your basics right before you start going so heavy that you can only rep 5 times.

alx · 31 May 2006 at 21:50

Ok cheers for the advice

Morba · 2 Jun 2006 at 02:21

Chong Warrior said:
Considering sh4rks experience I have to agree, even 12x3

Forget 5x5 for at least 6 months mate... ideally even longer, it's too much for a beginner, get your basics right before you start going so heavy that you can only rep 5 times.

no harm after a month or 2 moving to 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, progressing in weight each time.
as long as the technique is good, that should be fine

theleg · 2 Jun 2006 at 08:02

Chong Warrior said:
Considering sh4rks experience I have to agree, even 12x3

Forget 5x5 for at least 6 months mate... ideally even longer, it's too much for a beginner, get your basics right before you start going so heavy that you can only rep 5 times.

Nah mate...thats 10 sets of 3 reps :cool:

A2Z · 2 Jun 2006 at 12:34

4X6 here