The following (in italics) is an excerpt from a Facebook Exchange we had last week in the private group for the Baker Barbell Club Online.
We have been running variations of my 8-5-2 program in the online barbell club for several months and many of the members, old and new, are surprised about the regularity of new PRs being set by members on a regular basis on the Squat, Bench, Press, and Deadlift.
The original question from one of my members was:
Andy Baker et al, have you written (and for the rest, have you read) an article that gives a simple explanation of why 8-5-2 works? Or, is there a post you can point me to just to satisfy my curiosity.
I have a copy of PPST3, and I don’t see anything similar in the intermediate section (though I confess I have not read the entirety).
My Response is Below:
Stephen and Mark are both correct. As an intermediate it’s not just that you need more or less volume / intensity etc, but also that you need to vary the TYPE of stress you are exposed to regularly. Sets of 5 work so well because they are right in the “metabolic middle”. In other words, multiple sets of 5 are heavy enough that they actually improve force production, but have enough work (or time under tension if you want to go there) to deliver some hypertrophy and endurance adaptations as well. Perfect for a novice to do JUST that. However at some point you can’t just keep doing 5s and expect to keep progressing. How do we improve the hypertrophy/endurance component and how do we improve the force production component? Well…..if you drive up your 8s you get more of the hypertrophy/endurance thing, if you drive up your 2s you get better at force production i.e. handling heavier weights. 2s are good because they don’t burn out our CNS like regular singles do and they allow a small amount of wiggle room to miss or have a bad workout and still hopefully come up with a few singles instead of just complete failure. Same with 8s. You can miss on occasion and still get 6 or 7 good reps – still building strength. The 3 rep ranges are far enough apart from each other that the loads each week vary quite a bit, but are all in the “strength building zone” I have programs that cycle between 5s, 3s, and 1s and that works too but not for prolonged periods of time. Before you know it your 5s, 3s, and 1s are all kinda “clustering” around similar loads and this makes stalling/burning out easier. Having wider gaps between loading each week prevents physical AND mental burnout in my opinion. The 3 week cycle means that you are hitting each rep range frequently enough so you don’t lose the adaptations you are gaining from each one. If you do say a 4 week block of 8s, a 4 week block of 5s, and a 4 week block of 2s then you are potentially detraining from the adaptations you aren’t working. Louie Simmons recognized and solved this detraining and stagnation problem with his Westside System which is a concurrent periodization model which trains all these facets simultaneously each week. Force production is trained EVERY WEEK with a max effort day (although exercises vary every week which is the conjugate method), Power is trained every week with a dynamic effort day, and hypertrophy / endurance is trained every week with a high volume of high rep “special exercises” i.e. assistance work. ”
In a nutshell, the 8-5-2 program operates in 3-week cycles where each week is either focused on new PRs in sets of 8, sets of 5, or sets of 2. It’s not revolutionary or complex, but it does work. And we use this core strategy in split training routines, heavy-light routines, and heavy-light-medium routines. This is basic intermediate cycling. There is an emphasis on weekly PRs, although the target rep range changes each week. This fluctuation week to week keeps trainees progressing, but prevents premature burnout and stagnation.
If you are an intermediate lifter, and you are interested in learning more or training with the 8-5-2 system, then you might consider the Baker Barbell Club Online. We are currently using the 8-5-2 model in both our Power-Building Template as well as our Basic Barbell HLM template. Members receive access to both tracks. Members are also PRing their lifts like crazy.
If you prefer a downloadable program then my KSC Method for Power-Building is also predicated on the 8-5-2 system of training with a detailed explanation of the system in the intro.
