Reg Park's 5x5 Routine - Get Stronger And Gain Muscle Mass

The rule that we can learn from old-school bodybuilders is: to gain more muscle mass you have to get stronger. If you want to get stronger and bigger you might consider trying Reg Park's 5x5 workout routine. It is great workout routine for size and strength,  that many classic bodybuilders used to build their powerful physique and they were much stronger than bodybuilders today.

Old school bodybuilders also spent most of their time in the gym doing compound exercises and lifting heavy weights, which recruited more muscle fibers, and it is better for muscle growth. In order to only get stronger with this routine, you shouldn't be in caloric surplus which you need if you want to gain muscle mass and strength with this workout program.

Exercises that Reg Park used to do in his training were squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and power cleans. Reg Park believed that training to failure is a mistake, he believed in gradual progression for gains that last longer. The aim of his workout routine is to do 5 sets of 5 reps with the proper weight and if you can do more than 5 reps with that weight then increase the weight on every training day. But, don't increase the weight if you can't lift it for five sets of five reps. First two sets in Reg Park's workout routine were warm ups and last three were primary work sets. For an example, if you lift 200 pounds on bench press it will look like this:

1 Set - 5 Reps with 160 pounds

2 Set - 5 Reps, 180 pounds

3 Set - 5 Reps, 200 pounds

4 Set - 5 Reps, 200 pounds

5 Set - 5 Reps, 200 pounds

First two sets are great for building confidence and last three sets are the real deal. If you can lift more weight in last three sets, it is time to put 5 pounds more on each set. That is the point of Reg Park's progression, more strength with every training day which results in more muscle mass.

Reg Park's Workout Routine was split into three phases.

5x5 Workout Original Routine by Reg Park:

1st Phase:

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back Extension	3	10
Back Squat	5	5
Bench Press	5	5
Deadlift	5	5

Three days per week for three months then start with phase 2.

2nd Phase:

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back Extension	3	10
Front Squats	5	5
Back Squats	5	5
Bench Press	5	5
Military Press	5	5
Deadlift	5	5
Calf Raise	5	25

Train three day per week before starting the last phase.

3rd Phase:

EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back Extension	4	10
Front Squat	5	5
Back Squat	5	5
Bench Press	5	5
Bent Over Row	5	5
Deadlift	5	5
Behind Neck Press	5	5
Barbell Curl	5	5
Triceps Extension	5	5
Calf Raise	5	20

As in first two phases, train three times a week for three months and you are done with Reg Park's 5x5 Workout Routine. Write down your progression every time.

Benefits of Whey Protein to Build Lean Muscle Mass

Protein supplement, especially whey protein, has many benefits for all gym goers that want to build lean muscle mass and burn fat. Whey is a milk-based protein which has the highest biological value among all proteins. 

When it comes to building lean muscle there is nothing more important than getting the right amount of protein.

Every lifter knows about the importance of high-protein diet and about the role protein plays in muscle building. In order to gain muscle mass, you need to consume more protein than you break down during the workout. That makes whey protein one of the best and fastest sources of protein to include in a post-workout meal.

The reason why whey protein is so popular as the post-workout meal is that it has a higher amino acid content and is the most easily absorbed by the body compared to other protein-rich sources.

BENEFITS OF WHEY PROTEIN:

1. Great source of high-quality protein 

It is a complete, high-quality protein, containing all of the essential amino acids. Consuming only one dose of whey protein will fuel your muscles with about 30 grams of very digestible high-quality protein.

There are three main types of whey protein powder:

- Concentrate 

- Isolate 

- Hydrolysate

Concentrate is the most common type and also the cheapest. 

2. Whey protein promotes muscle growth

In order to build muscle mass and strength, it is very important to consume a high-protein meal right after the workout. That helps to avoid the breaking down the muscle tissue and promotes muscle growth.

Because of its quality and fast absorption whey protein is probably the best source of protein to consume after a workout and anytime when you think that you didn't consume enough protein for the current day.  Supplementation with whey protein may help you to count your daily protein intake easier and to prepare high-quality protein meal faster.

3. Whey protein is low in calories

This is also one of the benefits for building lean muscle. Whey protein has a great protein to calorie ratio. Although it is very important to consume more calories than you burn when building muscle mass, consuming whey protein will help you build lean muscle and get ripped. 

How to Gain Muscle Mass - Tips for Beginners and Hardgainers

Gaining weight is easy for many people. On the other side, building lean muscle mass can be very hard, especially for people that have a fast metabolism, often referred as hardgainers. 

Like many of the people in the world that are fighting with a body fat, there are also many people that are struggling to gain weight and build muscle mass. If you are one of those from the second group, continue reading this article. I strongly believe it will help you to gain a few pounds of muscle in a couple of weeks. 

There are 3 main ways to make your muscles grow:

1. Force muscles to grow with the right training

2. Feed your muscles with enough healthy calories

3. Rest, recover your muscles, let them grow

Those are only three general rules for muscle gain, now continue reading to learn five principles of muscle growth.

1. Multi-Joint Movements

In order to gain muscle mass faster, you need to place emphasis on the compound, multi-joint movements. Compound exercises are much better for building muscle mass than single-joint, isolation exercises. That is because exercises like squat and bench press allow bigger loads of weight and involve more muscle groups which lead to more muscle gains.


Bigger load and heavier exercises stimulate the bigger release of the muscle-building hormone. 

It is very important to do one of the hardest exercises - Squats. The squat is a great mass builder and it is probably the movement that involves the most muscle groups at the same time. 


Best Exercises to Build Muscle Mass Fast





2. Progressive Overload


The progressive overload is one of the most important muscle-building principles. Lifting the same weight with a same number of reps won't help you build muscles. Muscles can quickly adapt to the weight and you need to put some more load in order to force your muscles to grow. 


Mass-Building Full-Body Workout Routine for Beginners


The key of muscle gain is to leave your comfort zone, give your muscles a reason to grow. If you lift heavier weights from week to week you won't let your muscles time to adapt and you will force them to grow.


By performing compound movements in every workout and consuming enough calories you will become stronger and that will make you able to lift heavier which will lead to more muscle gains.




3. Caloric Surplus 


To gain muscle mass you need to eat a lot. And that means you need to spend a lot of your time in the kitchen. One of the biggest mistakes that lifters make while trying to build muscle mass is that they don't consume enough calories or macronutrients. 


20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Muscle Mass


You need to consume 18 calories per pound of your bodyweight to build muscle and at least 1 gr of protein per pound of bodyweight. On training days, try to consume more proteins because your muscles need it to repair and grow. 


Foods that are Best Sources of Protein




Consume enough calories and all three macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) and in a combination with resistance training your muscles will start to grow. 




4. Rest Your Muscles


This is how it goes, you give your muscles a reason to grow in the gym, build them in the kitchen and they grow while you sleep. Lack of rest can decrease the chance of muscle growth.


Also, don't overtrain your muscles. Don't train same muscles for two days in a row or you will overtrain them and prevent them from growing. To build muscle you need a short and intense workout and long periods of rest. 




5. Supplements Selection


Many supplements ads promise you results. A lot of them are actually unnecessary and just a waste of your money. The best muscle building supplements that you need to buy are Creatine and Whey Protein. They can be a great support for building muscle mass. 


You can check the list of 5 best muscle-building supplements, but you must know there are no better supplements for building muscle mass than Whey Powder and Creatine. 


Top 5 Muscle-Building Supplements




If you start following these five principles right now, you have a big chance to build your muscles for less than one month. Applying these rules could make the most benefits for beginners because in the starting phase, first two to three months, you can build most muscle mass. 


It is very important to start doing it right from the beginning, so don't lose your time following wrong workout plans and wasting money on unnecessary supplements. 

How Many Calories per Day to Gain Muscle Mass?

How many reps I should do to build muscle? How many calories should I consume to gain muscle mass? There are many different answers and different opinions on these questions, but one is sure - you need to consume more calories than you burn every day. You need to constantly be in caloric surplus.

DO YOU WANT TO GAIN LEAN MUSCLE MASS?

But, that isn't so easy and it doesn't mean that if you eat twice more calories than you need that you will build muscle faster. Also, that doesn't mean that you should eat anything. By the way, check out the list of muscle-building foods you should include in your diet:

20 Foods You Should Eat to Gain Lean Muscle Mass

There is an upper limit of nutrients that you can consume and turn into muscle which means that there is no point in eating calories that would just be stored as fat. Of course, it is very common that you will gain some fat while trying to build muscle mass but that doesn't mean that you should eat more than it is enough for the muscle to grow. 

Now you are probably thinking something like this:

But those big guys on YouTube say that I need to consume at least 5000 calories to gain muscle mass.

Your muscles need enough calories and enough proteins to grow, you don't need to consume 5000 calories every day if you weigh about 170 pounds. That would be too much and many nutrients will be stored as fat. Protein also, if you consume more proteins that you need that excess of proteins will be stored as fat and nothing else. 

EAT BIG, BUT HEALTHY!

There is no natural way to build 10 pounds of muscle every week, it doesn't exist. You need to focus on steady lean muscle gains. The whole point of muscle growth is to pursue progressive overload every week and to be in caloric surplus every day.

SO, HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU NEED TO GAIN MUSCLE?

Some people say that one needs to multiply his body weight in pounds by 16 - 17, well I recommend you to multiply your body weight by 20. You might gain some fat along the way but if your diet is perfect there is nothing special to worry about. You can always shred one or two pounds of fat after you reach the size that you always desired.

Let's do some calculation for all you lazy people over there:

If you weigh about 160 pounds, for example, you need to multiply that number by 20 as I already mentioned which will be equal to 3200. You can add about 100 calories more if you want to be sure that you consumed enough, but I think that 3200 calories will be enough for your muscles to grow. Now, as you gain more and more muscle mass every week, you are going to need more calories and more proteins. If you reach the 170 pounds weight then multiply that number by 20 and the result is - 3400 calories. 

I know that there are many recommendations that differ from mine and that is mostly because I recommend more calories than some people or less than other but you can adopt this advice and see if it works for you. I believe that it does, especially if you are just starting your bulking phase.