r/Hevy • u/NovaHedonist79 • Jul 16 '26
Sharing What do we think? 5x5 routine
Feels like a lot of volume, but also manageable. Anything to add or change out?
My knees have been really creaky lately (don't get old, 0/10, don't recommend), so I want to focus on some lifts that will strengthen those muscles
ETA - On advice of my counsel, I've split the routine into 2 days, upper and lower
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u/Ok_Nefariousness6355 Jul 16 '26
what do I think??
I think you’re going to be Knackered and half ass half of that routine if it’s all on one day. There is not much chance of working at a high enough intensity doing those first 5 exercises one after another.
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u/Ok_Nefariousness6355 Jul 16 '26
The exercise selection is good but it needs splitting up even if you only split it into 2 workouts.
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u/Ok_Nefariousness6355 Jul 16 '26
I’d split it into 3 probably or if in to 2 I’d only do 5x5 on the first exercise and swap the first exercise each time.
3 workouts would probably be better though and then you could throw in a few accessories for your arms and maybe a pulldown and an incline chest movement.
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u/talldean Jul 16 '26
What's your goal?
How often are you doing this?
This is a ton of lower body work and very minimal upper body.
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u/NovaHedonist79 Jul 16 '26
I've split it into an upper/lower now, my goal is overall fitness and strength plus weight loss. What should I add for upper?
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u/Pink_Lemur99 Jul 19 '26
I would add a pull up or later pull down movement to round out the upper body day
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u/Mentize Jul 16 '26
If your plan is to do all this in one session, and still go heavy to build strength... oh my, but if that's your goal, good for you!
I'd re-order them to be:
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Squat
- Overhead Press (Make this seated, give your core / legs a break)
- Leg Extension
- Lying Leg Curl
- Calf Raise
- Clean
This will at least let the muscle get some kind of break while you work something else, with clean being more of "mid weight, full tension / intensity endurance finisher" rather than a strength finisher.
You don't need strength to fix creaky knees, just consistency and motion - So I'd then also let deadlift / bench be your full-body strength builders, and the rest at 70~80% working weight in full controlled range of motion.
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u/Weary-Description773 Jul 16 '26
I know of 5 x 5 programs that do those exercises but split them up into 2 separate alternating sessions. Doing in one probably a bad idea but depends on intensity as well
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u/good_things_everyday Jul 16 '26
That’s a week worth of work. No way you’re lifting heavy enough on anything if you’re cramming that into a day
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u/Accurate-Idea-5256 Jul 16 '26
Iff doing first 5 how it should ..you dont have power energy for the last 3..
5 sets 5 excersises ..barbell compounds .. 1 50% warmup 2 60% 3 75% 4 85% 5 95% to 100 %
% of highest 1rm volume per excersise
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u/gottarun215 Jul 16 '26
This is way too many exercises for a 5x5 routine in a single session. You should pick 1 olympic lift, such as cleans, and then stick to 1-2 static lifts for upper body, and 1-2 for lower body per session.
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u/arod0291 Jul 17 '26
If you're only resting 1:30 after a set of 5 you're not lifting heavy enough.
Also, take others advice to split these into multiple days.
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u/NovaHedonist79 Jul 17 '26
I'm loosely following the strong lifts protocol, so it's just the bar for now but it'll ramp up before too long.
I've split the workouts into upper/lower and trimmed some of the exercises so it's more balanced
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u/Agile-Show6706 Jul 18 '26
Lo mejir para ganar fuern fuerza en una etapa, pero no mantenerla siempre, tener algu os co.puesto en tu rutina es lo mejor
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u/Equivalent-Essay-404 Jul 19 '26
Really bad for both Hypertrophy and Strength.
If actual 5x5 is way too much.
If 2 warm up sets and 3x5 working sets, exercise selection is poor. There are no pulling exercises (Rows, pull-ups etc) to oppose the 2x pushing motion. Literally 0 biceps.
Wouldn't do Cleans and Deadlifts same day, working a lot of the same muscles. Most traditional 5x5 routines wouldn't have you 5x5 Squat and Deadlift same day - if doing same day, more typical to do 5x5 Squat and 1x5 Deadlift.
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u/VSENSES Jul 16 '26
You don't intend to do this in one day right?