Is the Bill Starr 5x5 program good for size?

[Phenom01]

Is it?

[dbcb314]

yes

[adelman337]

I have been doing it for about a month, and have noticed some size gain. Just make sure you eat and get in your protein.

[PHreak48]

It is extremely good for size b/c demands that you move heavy weight intensely and allows proper rest periods essential for optimum growth.

[Elite]

yes, definitely

[Phenom01]

Thanks guys

[hell-bent]

you'll see great leg development on the outside, your upper chest will expand and your lats will get wider.

your arms will lag as there isn't enough arm work. everyone says that rowing and pressing so much will make things grow, but 5 reps and 1 day on fridays isn't enough to keep the arms up to speed.


I ran the 5x5 for 12 weeks. My legs grew, upperchest grew, lats grew. Arms stayed about the same :(

[Phenom01]

you'll see great leg development on the outside, your upper chest will expand and your lats will get wider.

your arms will lag as there isn't enough arm work. everyone says that rowing and pressing so much will make things grow, but 5 reps and 1 day on fridays isn't enough to keep the arms up to speed.


I ran the 5x5 for 12 weeks. My legs grew, upperchest grew, lats grew. Arms stayed about the same :(
really my arms grew 1 inch in 1 year,

[dbcb314]

Mine grew .5 or 1 inch in 12 weeks... I don't quite remember now...

[adelman337]

Altough I have only been doing the 5x5 for 5 weeks I have noticed gains in my chest, legs and lats. but like Hell bent said no noticeable arm growth. I think I am going to have to take a break from it though, because my body is starting to hurt.

[PHreak48]

If you read the principle you will realize that is allows you to modify via adding 1 excercise per session for any bodypart that you may want to focus on (aside from your heavy compound movements of course).

[dbcb314]

you'll see great leg development on the outside, your upper chest will expand and your lats will get wider.

your arms will lag as there isn't enough arm work. everyone says that rowing and pressing so much will make things grow, but 5 reps and 1 day on fridays isn't enough to keep the arms up to speed.


I ran the 5x5 for 12 weeks. My legs grew, upperchest grew, lats grew. Arms stayed about the same :(
how much weigh did you gain?

Altough I have only been doing the 5x5 for 5 weeks I have noticed gains in my chest, legs and lats. but like Hell bent said no noticeable arm growth. I think I am going to have to take a break from it though, because my body is starting to hurt.

dude, in five weeks how musch growth do you honestly expect?????

[PHreak48]

^Great point DB!

[adelman337]

I don't expect much, I wasn't saying it as a bad thing I was just pointing out that I have made noticeable size gains in the ares the workout focuses on, legs chest and back.

[AnyOldIron]

if you fixate on your arms you won't notice them growing.

plus, back, chest and legs SHOULD be the ones growing, arms will follow suit

you're doing fine.

[Centaur]

Hi guys, I've been a lurker for a while and thought I'd share my results with the 5x5.

I started 5x5 in November and ran madcows intermediate for about 16 weeks (resetting the weights once along the way) and currently am in week 4 of the advanced 5x5. My arms are definitely bigger. Make sure you do chins/pullups on Wednesdays as they're just as good as any DB curl. My biggest size gains have been legs and back.

1RM's:
Lift - November 06 - Now
Squat - 245 - 315
Bench - 275 - 305
Rows - 185 - 225
Deads - 250 - 375? (I did 315x5x5 last week :( )
Militarys - 150 - 185ish
Chins went from 3x5 to 4x8 with some weight added.

BTW I'm 6'1" 220, 27yrs old.

Best routine I've ever tried, my only regret is that I had known about it earlier. My advice is don't worry about arm gains and focus on adding weight to the bar every week in the main lifts. If that happens everything will take care of itself. Good luck!

Great site you guys have here.

[Diesel46]

Those are some big gains Centaur, well done

[iron addict]

Problem is t's not "flashy". Just a bunch of hard work doing basic lifts. Nobody wants to do simple and productive. They want esoteric theories and rouutine composistion:D

IA

[Hoops]

I've been running if with a small break for my back (which still isn't perfect damn it). I can't even count how many times I completely dropped the arm work, or just did tris. So I maybe did direct bi work once a month, and I've been doing it for at least 4 months...(probally like 6 months). The lifts that matter are up. My arms aren't out of balance or suddenly the size they were before I started lifting. Could they potentially be slightly larger if I did more direct arm work? Who gives a shit, I can squat and deadlift a lot more weight! If not for my back, I am confident I'd be that much stronger!

Maybe you guys are right. Maybe adding weight to the big lifts and ignoring the 1/100ths of an inch I could have added extra to my arms was a mistake.

[legaljuicer]

I liked the 5x5 best. made my best gains on it

[Phenom01]

I haven't changed my workout ever since i started doing the 5x5. Well took about 3 weeks off to try WS4SB but failed. I am completing 2 years of 5x5 :)

[mjw8204]

I haven't changed my workout ever since i started doing the 5x5. Well took about 3 weeks off to try WS4SB but failed. I am completing 2 years of 5x5 :)
That's odd, I've only been a member of BB.com for a little more than a year and I seem to remember you starting a thread there about how Rippetoe's program wasn't working for you.

[Phenom01]

That's odd, I've only been a member of BB.com for a little more than a year and I seem to remember you starting a thread there about how Rippetoe's program wasn't working for you.
Yea it doesn't work for me.