The "3 by 5" Protocol: How & Why to Build Your Strength

Summary

The transcript discusses the benefits of incorporating low repetition strength training into one's fitness routine. It highlights how training in the three to five repetition range can lead to increased strength, improved cardiovascular fitness, and reduced muscle soreness. The speaker shares personal experiences and introduces Dr. Andy Galpin's 'three by five protocol', which involves three to five exercises per workout, with three to five sets per exercise, three to five repetitions per set, and rest periods of three to five minutes between sets. This approach is recommended for a specific period, such as 12 weeks, to maximize strength gains and overall fitness improvements.

Takeaways

• 💪 The majority of people engage in resistance training with a focus on 5 to 15 repetitions, which is beneficial for building strength and enhancing muscle growth.
• 🏋️ Dr. Andy Galpin suggests incorporating a specific training phase in the yearly cycle, such as 8 to 12 weeks, to focus on the 3 to 5 repetition range for strength gains.
• 📈 Training in the 3 to 5 repetition range can lead to significant strength improvements that persist even after returning to higher repetition ranges.
• 🚴‍♂️ Strength training with low repetitions unexpectedly improved cardiovascular performance, likely due to stronger muscles supporting endurance activities.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Training with heavy weights for 3 to 5 repetitions does not typically cause muscle soreness, which is a common issue with higher repetition training to failure.
• 💊 The '3 by 5 protocol' involves performing 3 to 5 exercises per workout, with 3 to 5 sets per exercise, 3 to 5 repetitions per set, and resting 3 to 5 minutes between sets.
• 🔄 After a period of low repetition training, returning to higher repetitions allows for the use of heavier weights in good form, enhancing both strength and muscle hypertrophy.
• 🚶‍♂️ For smaller muscle groups, a slightly higher repetition range of 5 to 8 might be more effective to ensure adequate muscle fatigue with proper form.
• 💡 Training in the 3 to 5 repetition range can provide mental freshness and enhanced focus and cognition, contrary to the mental fatigue often experienced with higher repetition training.
• 🏃‍♂️ Strength gains from low repetition training can improve performance in endurance activities, allowing for better form and longer duration of cardiovascular workouts.
• 💎 For those concerned about bulkiness, low repetition training is more focused on strength rather than muscle size, making it suitable for maintaining cardiovascular fitness without adding significant muscle mass.

Q & A

What is the common repetition range for most people doing resistance training?

The common repetition range for most people doing resistance training is between 5 to 15 repetitions per set.

What are the benefits of doing resistance training in the 5 to 15 repetition range?

Doing resistance training in the 5 to 15 repetition range, when done with sufficient intensity, can help build strength, enhance hypertrophy, and is tremendously beneficial overall.

What does Dr. Andy Galpin suggest for a portion of one's yearly training cycle?

Dr. Andy Galpin suggests training in the three to five repetition range for some portion of one's yearly training cycle, such as 8 to 12 weeks, for tremendous benefits in strength.

What benefits did the speaker experience from training in the three to five repetition range?

The speaker experienced increased strength that persisted, improved cardiovascular training, and reduced soreness after workouts.

How does training in the three to five repetition range affect cardiovascular output?

Training in the three to five repetition range can improve cardiovascular output by strengthening the muscles used in endurance activities, allowing for better form and longer duration of cardiovascular training.

What is the 'three by five protocol' mentioned by Dr. Andy Galpin?

The 'three by five protocol' involves doing three to five exercises per workout, with three to five sets per exercise, three to five repetitions per set, and three to five minutes of rest between each set.

What is the recommended frequency for doing the 'three by five protocol' workouts?

The recommended frequency is three to five times per week, although the speaker found it challenging to do this for certain muscle groups like legs without impeding on recovery or other life aspects.

Why might someone be averse to training in the three to five repetition range?

Some individuals might fear that training in the three to five repetition range will make them too big or bulky.

How does training in lower repetition ranges affect hypertrophy or muscle size?

Training in lower repetition ranges is more geared towards increasing strength and shifts away somewhat from increasing hypertrophy or muscle size.

What is the exception to the 'three by five protocol' for smaller muscle groups?

For smaller muscle groups, it's suggested to work in a range of five to eight repetitions instead of strictly adhering to three to five repetitions, as it can be challenging to adequately fatigue these groups with such low repetitions.

What additional benefits did the speaker notice when returning to higher repetition ranges after training in the three to five repetition range?

After training in the three to five repetition range, the speaker noticed the ability to move much heavier weights in good form during higher repetition ranges, which induced more hypertrophy while still gaining strength, reduced soreness, and improved mental freshness.

Outlines

00:00

🏋️‍♂️ Strength Training with Low Repetitions

The speaker discusses the common practice of resistance training with repetition ranges of 5 to 15, which is beneficial for building strength and enhancing muscle growth. However, they emphasize the importance of incorporating a specific training protocol with 3 to 5 repetitions for a portion of the yearly cycle, as suggested by Dr. Andy Galpin. The benefits of this approach include increased strength that persists even after returning to higher repetition ranges, improved cardiovascular performance due to stronger muscles, and reduced muscle soreness. The speaker also dispels the myth that low repetition training will lead to bulky muscles, stating that it is more focused on strength rather than size.

05:01

📊 The Three by Five Training Protocol

This paragraph introduces the 'three by five' training protocol recommended by Dr. Andy Galpin, which involves performing 3 to 5 exercises per workout, with 3 to 5 sets per exercise, 3 to 5 repetitions per set, and resting for 3 to 5 minutes between sets. The protocol can be done 3 to 5 times per week, though the speaker found it challenging to apply this frequency to leg workouts due to time and recovery constraints. The speaker suggests adapting the protocol to one's own recovery capacity and schedule, with an emphasis on training major muscle groups within the 3 to 5 repetition range. They also note that for smaller muscle groups, a slightly higher repetition range of 5 to 8 might be more effective. The benefits highlighted include increased strength, improved endurance, reduced soreness, and enhanced mental freshness post-workout.

Keywords

💡Repetition Ranges

Repetition ranges refer to the number of times an exercise is performed in a set. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses the common ranges of 5 to 15 repetitions, which are typically used for resistance training to build strength and enhance muscle growth. The video emphasizes the benefits of training in lower repetition ranges, specifically 3 to 5, for increasing strength and having a positive impact on cardiovascular training.

💡Resistance Training

Resistance training is a form of exercise that involves working against an external force to build strength, endurance, and muscle size. The video script mentions that most people engage in resistance training using machines, free weights, or body weight, focusing on specific repetition ranges. The main theme revolves around the benefits of incorporating different repetition ranges into one's training regimen.

💡Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the increase in muscle size and is a key goal for many individuals engaging in resistance training. The script explains how training in a 5 to 15 repetition range can enhance hypertrophy, but also points out that lower repetition ranges can indirectly contribute to it by first increasing strength.

💡Dr. Andy Galpin

Dr. Andy Galpin is a professional mentioned in the script who advocates for the inclusion of lower repetition ranges in one's training cycle. His protocol, referred to as the 'three by five protocol,' is discussed as a method to significantly improve strength and has been personally adopted by the speaker for a 12-week period.

💡Strength

Strength, in the context of the video, is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force against resistance. The script highlights the importance of strength training, particularly in the 3 to 5 repetition range, to achieve not only increased lifting capacity but also improvements in cardiovascular performance and reduced muscle soreness.

💡Cardiovascular Training

Cardiovascular training, or cardio, involves activities that strengthen the heart and lungs and improve endurance. The video explains an unexpected benefit of low repetition strength training: it improves one's ability to maintain good form and output during cardiovascular exercises due to the increased strength of the muscles involved.

💡Soreness

Soreness is a common result of intense exercise, particularly when training to failure or near failure. The script contrasts the typical soreness experienced after high repetition training with the reduced soreness noticed when following the 3 to 5 repetition protocol, which is presented as a significant advantage.

💡Three by Five Protocol

The 'three by five protocol' is a specific training regimen recommended by Dr. Andy Galpin and adopted by the speaker. It involves performing 3 to 5 exercises, with 3 to 5 sets per exercise, 3 to 5 repetitions per set, and resting for 3 to 5 minutes between sets. The script describes this protocol as a straightforward and effective method for increasing strength.

💡Mental Fatigue

Mental fatigue refers to a state of diminished cognitive capacity often resulting from physical exertion. The video script notes a contrast in mental state after performing low repetition strength training versus higher repetition training, suggesting that the former can actually enhance focus and cognition, in contrast to the mental fatigue that can follow the latter.

💡Zone 2 Cardio

Zone 2 Cardio refers to cardiovascular exercise performed at a moderate intensity, typically corresponding to 60-70% of an individual's maximum heart rate. The script suggests that the increased strength and improved cardiovascular form resulting from low repetition training can enable individuals to engage in more effective Zone 2 Cardio sessions.

Highlights

Low repetition strength training is often overlooked by most people who focus on 5-15 repetition ranges.

Training in 5-15 rep ranges is beneficial for strength and hypertrophy when done with sufficient intensity.

Dr. Andy Galpin suggests incorporating 3-5 rep training for a portion of the yearly cycle for enhanced strength.

The author experienced increased strength and persistence of that strength after adopting the 3-5 rep range.

Unexpected improvement in cardiovascular training was observed due to stronger muscles.

Training with heavy weights in the 3-5 rep range did not cause muscle soreness for the author.

The 3-5 rep training can be beneficial for those who want to be strong without adding muscular size.

Increased strength from low rep training allows for heavier weights in hypertrophy training, promoting more muscle growth.

The 'three by five protocol' is a straightforward method for strength training involving 3-5 exercises, sets, reps, and rest minutes.

The author could not perform the 3-5 protocol for legs 3-5 times per week due to time and recovery constraints.

For small muscle groups, a slight variation of 5-8 reps is recommended to ensure adequate fatigue with good form.

The author suggests focusing on the 3-5 rep range for compound movements to maximize strength gains.

Training in the 3-5 rep range can lead to better endurance training performance due to increased strength.

After a period of low rep training, the author was able to lift heavier weights with better form in higher rep ranges.

Low rep training reduced muscle soreness and mental fatigue, enhancing overall cognition and energy levels.

The 3-5 rep range training protocol is a powerful method for those seeking to improve strength and cardiovascular fitness.

The author emphasizes the importance of the 3-5 rep range for compound exercises and slight variation for smaller muscle groups.

Incorporating the 3-5 rep range into a resistance training program can lead to numerous benefits, including strength, reduced soreness, and mental freshness.

Transcripts

Now, some of you may already be doing low repetition,

pure strength work, but I believe that most people don't.

Most people who do resistance training

are using either machines or free weights

or some combination of those,

or perhaps are using body weight.

And they tend to focus on repetition ranges

from about five and usually more like six repetitions

out to about 10 and perhaps 15 repetitions.

Now, of course, doing resistance training

in repetition ranges of five to 15 reps per set

provided it's done at sufficient intensity,

so either to failure or close to failure,

of course, in good form, is tremendously beneficial.

It can help build strength, it can enhance hypertrophy.

There is tremendous value

to training in those repetition ranges.

But when I sat down with Dr. Andy Galpin

to discuss resistance training specifically,

he made it very clear that at least for some portion

of one's yearly training cycle, so perhaps eight weeks

or 10 weeks, or in the case that I adopted it, 12 weeks,

there is tremendous benefit to training in the three

to five repetition range and maybe even lower.

So the second tool of training specifically

for strength in this three

to five repetition range is something that I started

to incorporate after I sat down to record that series.

And I'll just tell you a few

of the benefits that I've experienced

and then I'll tell you the specific protocol

that makes it very easy to do this.

The most obvious benefit to me was that I got much stronger

and that that strength persisted such that when I went back

to using higher repetition ranges,

so typically I train with weights or machines

in the six to 10 repetition range,

sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower,

but never before had I specifically trained in the three

to five repetition range exclusively

for a period of 10 to 12 weeks.

And when I did that, I of course gained strength,

but that strength stayed with me such that when I returned

to higher repetition ranges,

I could use more weight in good form.

And that, of course, enhanced strength

and hypertrophy further.

In addition, there was another effect that was,

at least to me, very unexpected, which was

that my cardiovascular training improved significantly.

Now, why would this be?

Because typically a three to five repetition set

does not elevate the heart rate for long enough

that you would consider it cardiovascular training.

And of course, the rest periods

between those sets is pretty long as well.

So even if heart rate goes up during those heavy sets,

it's going to go down during those long three

to five minute rest periods between those sets.

But what I noticed was that my overall posture

and my ability to maintain cardiovascular output

while using good running form

or good rowing form was also vastly improved.

And the logical interpretation of why that would be

is simply that the muscles got stronger

and those same muscles are being incorporated

into the cardiovascular, let's call it endurance work

that I'm doing on other days.

And therefore, I can carry out

those cardiovascular training sessions

in better form for longer periods of time.

I actually felt much stronger

during my cardiovascular training

as I got much stronger moving these heavier weight loads

for low repetition sets.

And then the third specific benefit that I noticed

is that when training heavy for three

to five repetitions per set, I didn't get sore.

And this to me was an incredible benefit

because typically when I train in the six repetition

to 15 repetition range and I take those sets to failure

or near failure, I do experience some soreness the next day.

Ordinarily that soreness isn't so intense

that it prevents me from doing any

of the other sorts of workouts that I do.

And for those of you that have visited

that Foundational Fitness Protocol,

you know that I hit each major and minor muscle group

once per week directly as well as once per week indirectly,

that's the overall structure of that program,

in order to allow sufficient recovery

between those resistance training workouts

to be able to make continual progress.

Now, by training in this three

to five repetition range that Dr. Andy Galpin suggested,

I was able to improve my strength,

improve my cardiovascular output, reduce soreness,

I also just felt better overall,

I had a lot more energy after those workouts

than I typically do

after my resistance training sessions

when I use higher repetition ranges.

There are just a number of different things

that made me feel, wow, this is really a powerful protocol.

And of course, moving heavier weights

in the gym feels good too.

It feels good to get stronger.

At least there's a positive feedback loop there for me,

and I think for most people.

And I should also mention that for those of you

that are averse to doing heavier resistance training

in the three to five repetition range

because you fear that it will make you too big or too bulky,

training in the low repetition ranges

is actually more geared towards increasing strength

and is shifting away somewhat from increasing hypertrophy

or muscle size.

So that's a great benefit for those of you

that want to be strong and also want

to maintain cardiovascular fitness,

but you don't want to add muscular size.

And of course for all of you that want to add muscular size,

it's well established that increasing your strength

will allow you then to return

to patterns of hypertrophy training

that will allow you to use heavier weights,

and therefore induce greater hypertrophy.

So there are, oh, so many reasons

to incorporate these strength training protocols.

So the way that Dr. Andy Galpin suggested one do it

and was the way that I did it

is use this three by five protocol.

The three by five protocol is very straightforward.

It involves doing three to five exercises per workout, okay?

So if it's a workout for legs, it's three to five exercises.

If it's a workout for some upper body muscle,

it's three to five exercises.

Three to five exercises for three to five sets per exercise,

three to five repetitions per set,

and three to five minutes of rest between each set.

In addition, he emphasized

that one can do those workouts three to five times per week,

although I'm going to put in asterisk next

to that last statement because I found

that I couldn't do the three by five protocol

say for legs specifically three to five times per week.

I realized that might be possible for some people,

but I'm somebody who, like many of you out there,

either doesn't have the time

or doesn't have the recovery capacity to train my legs three

to five times per week, even though I acknowledge

that there are probably ways to do that

that would still allow me to recover, it just simply starts

to impede into other areas of training.

It starts to impede other areas of life like work and family

and sleep and all the rest.

So what I did, and what I'm suggesting you try,

is for any existing resistance training that you're doing

to take a period of eight or 10 or ideally 12 weeks

and do the vast majority,

if not all of that resistance training,

in the lower repetition range

that's designed specifically to induce strength adaptations

and to not pay attention to whether

or not you're hitting that same muscle group three

to five times per week.

Rather, if you train your legs once or twice per week,

to simply do all of the work for your legs

in that three to five repetition range.

If you train an upper body muscle or muscle groups,

chest, shoulders, back once per week or twice per week,

to just stay within that three to five repetition range

for those work sets, right?

Warmups can include a few more reps.

And then to adhere to this, three to five exercises,

three to five sets per exercise,

three to five repetitions per set,

and three to five minutes between sets.

Now, the one exception to this that I incorporated

was that for very small muscle groups, so for instance,

the rear deltoids or for neck work or for calf work,

to not rely purely on three to five repetitions,

but maybe to work in a range of anywhere from five

to eight repetitions, so still fairly low repetitions

but not so low that it restricts you

to three to five repetitions.

The reason for that is that I,

and I think a lot of people out there, find it hard

to fatigue those smaller muscle groups adequately

with good form when restricting oneself

to those low repetitions.

However, for big compound movements like presses and squats

and deadlifts and glute ham raises

and things of that sort, maybe even leg extensions

and leg curls, which are isolation exercises, of course,

to really restrict oneself to those three

to five repetition ranges

that take you to failure or near failure.

I listed off the benefits of doing that

that I experienced, and I'm confident

that you will also experience a lot of benefits.

So just to remind you what some of those benefits are,

you get stronger, which feels great,

that occurs within your weight workouts,

but it also carries over

to your endurance training sessions.

I also noticed that when returning to higher repetitions

for resistance training, so after 12 weeks,

shifting away from three to five repetition ranges

and going back to training

in the six to 10 repetition ranges mainly,

occasionally up to 12 or 15,

but really mainly restricting to six to 10 repetitions,

that you can move much heavier weights in good form

and thereby induce more hypertrophy

while still also continuing to gain some strength.

And another benefit was, again, reduce soreness compared

to when training with higher repetition ranges

and more mental freshness,

is I guess the only way to describe it,

when training in those lower repetition ranges.

I don't know about you, but when I finish

a really hard hour long resistance training session done

in the sixth to 12 repetition range, there's a certain type

of mental fatigue that even if I eat properly afterwards,

even if I hydrate properly, that it tends to sap a bit

of my mental energy later in the day.

But that the training at the three

to five repetition range did just the opposite.

It actually enhanced my focus and my cognition,

my overall levels of physical energy,

which is great because it allows you

to do all the other things

that we're required to do throughout the day.

And by the way, it'll also allow you

to get more of that Zone 2 Cardio.

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