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

Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses the benefits of incorporating low repetition strength training into one's fitness regimen, highlighting improved strength, cardiovascular performance, and reduced soreness based on his experiences and discussions with Dr. Andy Galpin.

Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab Podcast.

Social & Website

#HubermanLab #Science #StrengthTraining

The Huberman Lab podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

[dm_podcast_takeways]

Summary:
The discussion emphasizes the benefits of incorporating low-repetition, high-intensity strength training into a workout regimen, particularly focusing on the 3-5 rep range. While many people typically train in the 5-15 rep range for resistance exercises, training in the 3-5 rep range can offer significant advantages. This type of training, advocated by Dr. Andy Galpin, involves performing 3-5 sets of 3-5 repetitions for each exercise, with 3-5 minutes of rest between sets. This protocol is recommended for a period of 8-12 weeks.

One major benefit of this approach is increased strength. By training with heavier weights and lower reps, individuals can build strength more effectively than with higher-rep ranges. This increased strength can then translate to improvements in other areas of fitness, such as endurance training. The protocol also helps improve cardiovascular output, even though the heavy sets themselves may not significantly elevate heart rate. This improvement is likely due to the overall increase in muscle strength and efficiency.

Another notable benefit is reduced soreness. Unlike training in higher rep ranges, which can lead to significant muscle soreness, training with heavy weights and low reps tends to result in less soreness the following day. Additionally, many individuals report feeling more mentally fresh and energetic after completing a workout using this protocol, compared to higher-rep workouts, which can leave them feeling mentally fatigued.

It's important to note that while this approach is highly effective for building strength, it may not be suitable for everyone. Some individuals may find it challenging to recover from workouts done in the 3-5 rep range, especially if they are not accustomed to this type of training. Additionally, those with certain health conditions or injuries may need to modify the protocol to suit their needs.

[ButtersMD]

Rip has been preaching this for years!

[Notzen]

Idea for an episode…Dr. galpin, Peter Attila, and you are all consistent trainers with some control over your schedules (not suggesting that you aren’t very busy, just that your career trajectory has given you some flexibility to train), but most of us need to work around an 8ish to 6ish schedule where we need to commute to work then attend multiple meetings, then maintain our personal relationships before bedtime. A protocol for people who have 45 minutes per day, 5 times per week, for example. Another idea…a protocol for people who have either not trained for a while or have specilized in running with zero lifting (or vice versa) would be helpful. Nothing kills motivation more quickly than extreme soreness when you’re trying to ease into an exercises that you haven’t done for a while. Thanks for all the wonderful info and interesting science.

[ReflectionOcean]

Consider incorporating low repetition, pure strength work into your training cycle for at least 8-12 weeks to gain strength, improve cardiovascular performance, and reduce muscle soreness. 0:02

Train specifically in the three to five repetition range for substantial benefits, including persistent strength and improved form in higher repetition ranges. 1:06

Utilize the three by five protocol for resistance training, emphasizing three to five exercises per workout, sets, repetitions per set, and minutes of rest between sets. 5:15

Adapt your training frequency according to your personal recovery capacity and lifestyle constraints, focusing on quality over quantity. 5:57

Adjust repetition ranges for small muscle groups to five to eight repetitions to ensure adequate fatigue and good form. 7:32

Return to higher repetition ranges (six to ten repetitions) after the strength-focused period to continue inducing hypertrophy while maintaining strength gains. 8:44

[JoeyIndolos]

Find out what works for you. I’m a 60 year old retiree who’s been weightlifting for over 20 years now, and I have difficulty maintaining good form in the 3 to 5 rep range. I work out in the 8 to 12 rep range, and practice the usual progressive overload protocol: I try to add 1 more rep each session, and once I can do more than 12 reps, I bump up the weight and drop the reps. Rinse and repeat 🙂 My point is that I’m now lifting weights that were 3 to 5 rep weights for me several years ago; it just took me longer to get to this point. If you can lift in the 3 to 5 rep range, by all means add it to your repertoire. Just know that there are options if you can’t.

[TuequoiseQueso]

For optimal results, I watch this video 3 to 5 times a week, 3 to 5 minutes at a time at 3 to 5 x speed

[joshm.]

This is what Michael Matthews has been preaching for years and I had the exact same results following that as described here

[jvm-tv]

It's the old school periodization.
I cycle through 8 week periods of barbell strength training, machines hypertrophy training and functional training using kettlebells and clubbells.

[streetworkoutengineer]

This further reinforced the idea behind my training in Calisthenics that focuses on low reps (3x generally) with proper form as the fundamental of mastering a movement with additional strength required.

[nikola]

Tried this yesterday and i was shocked - lifted much more on every exercise and had plenty of energy because of the longer rest periods. Definitely going to keep on doing this.

[kentborges]

Great to have this very knowledgeable and experienced doctor ! RESPECT !

[Im__Your__Huckleberry]

I started lifting heavy 5x5 last month and was planning on sticking with this until my gains plateau then I'll drop the weight some so that I can start hitting a 10-15 reps per set range.

[karlpk]

Andrew, you need to investigate the Starting Strength program—-progressive overload with compound lifts, three sets of 5 each. The same protocol.

[debkheiry]

Would love to hear a Huberman take on current research for menopausal women, specifically, and how this may fit into our overall strength and health given some of the differences in how men and women build muscle. Thoughts? I think this is beneficial for sure but would love to hear some professional opinions on ths.

[KilliMilliMeter]

Recommend you read Mark Rippetoe's "Starting Strength" and J. Sullivan, A. Baker's "The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training after 40 for real world application.

[shalvami]

3 to 5 protocol comes from Pavel Tsatsouline book Beyond bodybuilding, real that for more specifics

[donaldwindland]

So the old school 5X5 training was on to something then.

[riffedwood]

Here to say, you’re the man. Thank you for your work.

[dandoesntknowsstuff]

This is the Starting Strength ethos. You love to see it.

[jobicek]

3-5 is definitely a good range for strength training but if you're a beginner, you probably want to start with more repetitions. First of all, you want to learn the proper form. Your brain has to learn how to efficiently use your muscles to accomplish given task and what it is that you're actually trying to do. Practice, practice, practice. You want a weight that is heavy enough so that you feel your muscles working. But light enough so that you can focus on form. If you try heavy load without being prepared for it, your form is going to fall apart and you won't even be able to pay attention to it. You are going to be overwhelmed by the effort to lift it. It's all about getting the form into your subconsciousness so that you don't have to think about it. Your body just knows. And you do that through repetition. That's also why form is king - you should always focus on form when learning something otherwise you just learn how to do it poorly (speed, strength, etc. comes later, whether it's weight lifting or writing). Also, if you have a weakness somewhere, this initial training gives your body time to fix it.