Primary goal: muscle building

A type: split

Preparation level: average

Number of workouts per week: 3

Necessary equipment: barbell, dumbbells

Audience: men and women

Author: Dustin Myers, coach

If you are looking for a trick to complete strength sets, you can stop looking. Trainer Myers’ Mad Five aims for the extreme pump you are aiming for.

Program description

Perhaps the most common and most popular pattern of all time is the tried and tested 5 sets of 5 reps. The simple principle of strength training is easy to apply to any exercise, and it works for everyone, novices and veterans of the Iron World.

The Rule of Five is widely used in heavy compound movements. The first set of 5 reps is a warm-up, followed by 5 moderate reps, and the last 3 sets of 5 reps are maximum weight. And although this scheme is simple and effective, I, like you, often had a feeling of some kind of incompleteness.

I have consistently used 5×5 as the basis of my workout routine, but have always tried to find tricks (like partial reps and other techniques) that will get the most out of each exercise. After the final of the five strength sets, I could add or a move to reinforce the standard workout with a powerful one. Still, I had the feeling that a more powerful finisher was needed.

Then I developed a technique I called the Mad Five.

Mad five technique

The technique is based on a 20-rep set divided into 4 blocks of 5 reps, including various training variables.

In Mad Five, one set consists of the following types of repetitions:

• 5 plyometric – super fast but controlled movements
  
• 5 Super slow – to a 5/5/5 beat
  
• 5 Partial – Quarter Reps
  
• 5 Common

The first 5 (out of 20) reps are what I call “plio”; they are performed at a super fast pace. It is important to control the projectile, work in a normal range of motion, but use explosive technique. If I use the trick, I imagine myself tossing the projectile towards the ceiling.

After five high-speed plyometric reps, your nervous system will have to hit the brakes because the second portion is done at a slow pace in a 5/5/5 pattern. This means that you lower the projectile for 5 seconds, pause at the bottom point for 5 seconds, and then raise the projectile slowly for a full 5 seconds.

The downward or negative phase of the movement is the eccentric part of the exercise. “Pause” is an isometric muscle contraction. Make sure the muscles are tense and not relaxed during this phase.

The concentric phase of the movement is the “up” path, the part of the exercise in which you are used to lifting dumbbells or a barbell fast enough. A full 5 seconds of concentric contraction and lifting of the projectile will make the task extremely difficult.

After breaking through five super-slow movements, you can move on to partial quarter reps. Quarter repetitions are usually performed at the “lower” end of the range. For example, in you lower the shells to your shoulders, raise them by about ¼, take a short pause and return to the starting position.

The golden rule for this part of the set is to use the hardest part of the range of motion for partial reps. On the bench press, this will be the lower quarter of the exercise, in which the chest muscles are stretched. This will be the upper quarter of the range, in which the biceps are fully contracted.

After completing 5 quarter reps, complete the set of 20 with 5 regular reps. It may seem like you got to the easiest part, but usually by this point the muscles are so tired from the first three blocks that it is most difficult to complete 5 standard reps. Overcome them at any cost: wriggle, shout, but drag the projectile across the entire range of motion.

Now that you understand the intent of my extraordinary methodology, let’s return to the training program that inspired me to this madness. I like to use the method in the sixth set of the exercise, in which I do the traditional 5×5 strength sets. This allows me to do standard hard work and then shock my muscles and nervous system with a powerful finishing spurt.

When choosing a working weight for the final set, it is better to stop at 50-60% of the weight you used in the final of the five power sets. If in the last heavy set you worked with 50 kg dumbbells, stop at 25-30 kg for the sixth set.

An example of a great XNUMX-day split that has a crazy five woven into it.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Feel free to add other exercises to this program. You can use the method at the end of any exercise, it does not have to be tied to a 5×5 pattern. This technique of completing exercises is so good that it works in any situation – both after heavy 1RM sets, and after loading with volume. She will make even the most boring workout as intense as possible.

I usually use the technique for a week and then take a break for about a month or two. I came to the conclusion that if you constantly include it in your workouts, the effect of shock therapy is lost, as the body gets used to the load. For optimal muscle growth and endurance, use the technique sporadically.

Try it in bodyweight exercises such as and. You will be amazed at how a simple set of 20 reps turns into a brutal ordeal!

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