Five Lifting Programs, Five Personalities: Which One Fits You?

A Steadfast guide to starting after 40, 5×5, GVT, 5/3/1, and the nine-week Russian routine

Give me five lifting programs and I can make a case for all five. Give me your actual calendar, training experience, and goal, and the conversation gets much more useful.

Because a program can look perfect on a spreadsheet and still be a terrible date. It wants four evenings you don’t have. It expects recovery you can’t give it. Or it asks you to test a heavy squat when you’re still figuring out where your feet belong.

So here’s how I’d size up five very different options: an over-40 beginner approach, 5×5, German Volume Training, Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1, and my favorite, the nine-week Russian squat, bench, and deadlift routine.

Yes, I have a favorite. No, that doesn’t make it the right starting point for everybody.

First, choose the job

Before I get excited about percentages, I want three answers: What do you want to improve? What can you do well right now? How much training can you realistically repeat next week?

The American College of Sports Medicine updated its advice in March 2026. For most healthy adults, regular strength training matters more than a complex plan. You usually do not need to reach failure, the point where you cannot finish another rep with good form. That gives us room to choose a plan we can actually live with. [1]

My quick sorting rule: start with the basics if you’re new. Consider 5×5 for a simple barbell plan or 5/3/1 for steady progress. GVT adds a lot of work. The Russian routine aims to help an experienced lifter get ready for a heavy-lift test.

1. The over-40 beginner approach: make the next workout happen

If you’re starting or returning after a long break, I’m interested in a repeatable first month. I don’t need your first Tuesday to become a survival documentary.

Bodybuilding.com’s “Gaining Muscle After 40” article offers a three-day plan that trains the whole body with machines and free weights. I’d use that as a conversation starter, then choose exercises and how much work to do around the person in front of me. [2]

I would not carry over its blanket message that turning 40 means heavy weights are off the table. A birthday cannot tell me your lifting experience, current capacity, or medical history.

I’d focus on learning the moves, choosing weights you can handle, and tracking your work. We can use a squat, a push, a pull, and a hip hinge. A hinge means bending at the hips while keeping your back steady, as you would in a deadlift. No need to audition every machine in the building.

Good fit: a newcomer or someone rebuilding a routine. Main watch-out: mistaking “beginner” for an insult and racing past the learning stage.

2. 5×5: bring a notebook and leave the mystery at home

Five sets of five reps. A rep is one full movement. A set is a group of reps before you rest. So five sets of five means 25 reps, split into five groups. There’s something satisfying about a plan you can explain before the coffee gets cold.

5×5 is a format used by several plans, not one fixed routine. The Bodybuilding.com example uses compound lifts: moves that work several joints and muscle groups at once, such as squats. It switches between two workouts. Each version has its own exercises and rules for adding weight. I’d follow one plan rather than assemble a greatest-hits playlist. [3]

What I like here is the clear assignment. Record the lift. Record the load. Record the reps. Then make the next decision from what happened, not from how impressive the plates look.

My caution: five sets can still be a substantial workload. I would not add weight simply because the calendar says so when the reps have become a wrestling match.

Good fit: someone who enjoys a simple barbell-focused structure and has the skills and time to rest that the chosen plan needs. Main watch-out: assuming “simple” means “easy,” or that every 5×5 plan uses the same rules.

3. German Volume Training: the volume knob goes up

GVT is known for ten sets of ten reps on certain exercises. That adds up to 100 reps for one exercise. In lifting, volume means how much work you do. That is a lot of opportunities to reconsider your enthusiasm for counting. [3]

The appeal is obvious: a defined muscle-building focus and plenty of repeated work. My question is whether that amount of work earns its place in your week.

More sets do not automatically buy better results. One small study followed 19 men for six weeks. The men were assigned by chance to groups doing five or ten sets in a modified GVT plan. Ten sets did not produce better overall strength and muscle growth. One small study cannot settle the question. Still, I see no reason to crown 10×10 the automatic winner. [4]

I’d discuss this as a planned period of higher-volume training for an experienced lifter, with room to adjust the workload. I would not use it as a punishment for missing last week’s workouts.

Good fit: an experienced lifter who wants to try more sets to build muscle. Main watch-out: treating exhaustion or soreness as the scorecard.

4. Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1: patience gets a seat at the rack

This is where I want the impatient part of your brain to put down the extra plate.

5/3/1 is Jim Wendler’s training system, with several versions, or templates. It uses a training max: a starting number below the most weight you can lift once. That number helps set your workout weights. Every session is not a test of your limit. His beginner advice stresses smooth reps and weights you can control. [5]

That is the part I’d bring into the conversation first. I want a plan that makes room for the next session, not just a heroic screenshot of this one.

The specific template matters. Wendler’s beginner option uses three full-body sessions, while other versions arrange the work differently. I would follow the chosen template’s actual instructions rather than borrow its name and improvise the important details. [5]

Good fit: a lifter who values a structured, patient approach and is willing to learn the selected template. Main watch-out: setting your training max too high or mixing several versions until none of their rules make sense.

5. The nine-week Russian routine: my favorite needs context

Now we get to my favorite: the nine-week Russian squat, bench, and deadlift version.

I mean the Extended Russian routine for all three powerlifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. It is not the separate six-week squat plan. Over nine weeks, the weights get heavier as you prepare for a planned heavy-lift test. That preparation is called peaking. [6]

That is the appeal: a set period of training with a clear strength goal. It is also why I would be selective about who uses it.

The published plan ends with attempts above your starting one-rep max. That means the heaviest weight you could lift once at the start. That is a target written into a routine, not a promise your body has signed. I would not tell anyone that nine weeks guarantees a new personal record. [6]

Before discussing this option, I’d want consistent recent training, dependable technique, sensible starting numbers, appropriate equipment, and a recovery schedule that gives the work a fair chance. If those pieces aren’t there, my favorite can wait.

Good fit: an experienced lifter preparing for a heavy squat, bench, and deadlift test. Main watch-out: entering wishful numbers and expecting the spreadsheet to negotiate with gravity.

How I’d narrow it down with you

Starting again? I’d begin with a manageable foundation rather than the most dramatic program name.

Want clear barbell practice and simple tracking? I’d compare an appropriate 5×5 version with your current ability and schedule.

Want a longer-term plan with small, planned weight increases? I’d look at a suitable version of 5/3/1.

Already lifting regularly and curious about trying more sets to build muscle? We can discuss GVT, including whether a smaller dose would make more sense.

Experienced, confident with the lifts, and preparing for a heavy-lift test? Then we can have a serious conversation about the nine-week Russian routine.

These are options to discuss, not five plans you can swap without thought. I’d rather help you choose one plan you understand than watch you combine all five into a scheduling emergency.

Before the first working set

Warm up with easy movement and lighter practice sets for the lifts ahead. For lifts that need them, use rack safety bars and a trained spotter who can help if you get stuck. Choose weights and a movement range you can control. Stop for sharp pain or other symptoms that worry you, and get appropriate help. Finishing the spreadsheet can wait.

If a health condition, injury, or medical restriction could affect training, get advice from a qualified health professional and coach. This article explains options. It is not a personal workout plan, and you do not have to test your heaviest lift.

Let’s pick the plan that fits

Tell me what you want from your next training block, what equipment you have, and how many days you can honestly protect. I’ll start there.

Book a free strength and mobility assessment with Steadfast. We can work out where you are now and which direction makes sense next.

Bring your questions. I’ll bring enthusiasm. The barbell can wait until we have a plan.

Frequently asked questions