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Classic 5x5

Beginner 12 weeks 3 days/week Powerlifting

Classic 5x5 is a beginner powerlifting program that runs 12 weeks at 3 sessions per week. It is built into Ægir Iron and free to load for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster.

What this program is

A 12-week beginner powerlifting program in the classic 5x5 mold (StrongLifts / Starting Strength). Three days per week, alternating Workout A (squat, bench, row) and Workout B (squat, overhead press, deadlift), with the squat in every session. Main lifts are prescribed as a percent of your 1RM and climb about 2.5 percent each week for linear progression (deadlift is one top set of 5, everything else is 5x5). Set your training maxes on the PR page first so the percentages load correctly.

At a glance

DisciplinePowerlifting
Experience levelBeginner
Length12 weeks
Training days3 per week
EquipmentFull power gym
LoadingPercentage of 1RM or RPE, resolved live from your training maxes, with automatic progression.
PriceFree for individual lifters and rostered athletes

Free for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster. Coaches pay only for roster tools.

How it works in Ægir Iron

Inside Ægir Iron the plan is real Cycle, Block, Week, Day structure, not a flat workout list. Blocks are labeled by mesocycle (Accumulation, Intensification, Realization, Peak) and progress over the 12 weeks. Main lifts can run as a percentage of your training max, which resolves live from your maxes, so a heavier max reprices the plan without a rebuild. Log your AMRAP top sets and the app proposes a training-max bump at the end of each cycle, then reprices every percentage in one tap. You load it in a couple of taps, then adjust any session, and a coach can push it to an athlete's account in real time.

Load Classic 5x5 as is, or use it as a starting point and adjust the sets, reps, exercises, or loading to fit you. Save any version as a reusable template that a coach can assign in a couple of taps.

Start Classic 5x5

Open Ægir Iron, go to Program, choose New Program, then Browse Programs, and load Classic 5x5. It is free on iOS, Android, and the web, with your data synced across all three.

Load Classic 5x5 free →