THE GOLDEN AGE PROGRAMME FOR SIZE AND STRENGTH: PT.4

Here I outline the progression you'll follow for the duration of the programme

More classic shots of Reg Park, the inspiration for the Golden Age Programme for Size and Strength

Welcome back to the Golden Age Programme for Size and Strength, an all-round programme for beginners and intermediate lifters.

This five-part programme will give you everything you need, as far as I’m concerned, to build a tremendously solid base of size and strength in the Golden Age manner. You don’t have to have one or the other: you can have both.

This is part four of five. Here I’m going to explain to you the fundamental principles of progression for this routine. Let’s get to it!

Link to the introduction

Link to the “History of the 5x5”

Link to last week’s Outline of the Programme

The Raw Egg 5x5: Progression

As I explained in the previous instalment, the aim of this programme is to continually increase the weight on the bar for as long as you possibly can, for each exercise you perform. The programme is divided into three phases, each of four months and each consisting of progressively more exercises than the last. If you consider yourself an intermediate lifter, you should start from the second phase rather than the first. You can also, if you want to, reduce the length of time in each phase to three months rather than four. I’ll have more to say on the duration of each phase below, including why I chose four months for each.

I would describe somebody as an intermediate lifter if he’s been lifting for at least a year and has a decent familiarity with the three main lifts (bench, back squat and deadlift). If you’ve been lifting for that long but still don’t feel particularly confident, you can of course start with the beginner phase. If you’re an intermediate lifter, we would suggest taking your 5rep max numbers (assuming you know them) and then reducing them by 30% for the first workout.

As a general principle, you’ll be following what’s known as a linear progression. The best way to explain linear progression is for you to imagine a graph. If you plotted your results each week — the weight you lift successfully — you’ll end up with a straight line that goes up over time in a manner that is stable (i.e. the increments are the same).