Reg Park Biography

Roy "Reg" Park was born in Leeds UK on 7th June 1928 and was a football player until the age of 16 when a friend invited him to train at his gym. Reg got addicted to lifting weights and getting stronger. He was a Physical Training Instructor when he did his national service and served in Singapore.

Reg attended his first bodybuilding contest as a spectator where he saw John Grimek edge out Steve Reeves in a very controversial decision, some commentators continue the argument to this day. Marking it as a turning point in bodybuilding where mass beats aesthetics symmetry and balance.

Reg was inspired and started training hard and serious, standing 6'1" tall and weighing 225 pounds, he was a mountain of muscle the world had not seen before. He wrote a book called "Strength & Bulk Training for Weight Lifters and Body Builders"in which he details his 5 X 5 method.

Reg Park won three Mr. Universe titles and a number of other international titles but his contribution to bodybuilding with his 5 X 5 training is of enormous value to the sport of bodybuilding. Reg explains in his book that training to increase your strength is the only way to ultimately increase muscle mass long-term.

Reg Park Workout Routine

His simple 5 X 5 program was for anyone who wants to increase their core strength. The full variations are presented in three phases of 3 months. Below is phase one which lays the foundation to build strength and muscle mass. One should note that resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets is suggested.

However using a lighter weight and resting less than 2 minutes is extremely challenging and gets good results. If you are a beginner first make sure you have the form of these movements down, as training to failure will cause serious injury if you are unsure of the movement.

The Reg Park 5 X 5 workout phase one:

45 degree back extension 3 sets of 10 reps
Back squat 5 sets of 5 reps 5x5
Bench-press 5x5
Dead-lift 5x5
Press over head 5x5
Barbell curl 5x5

This routine is done three times a week with a rest day between each workout. Obviously eating correctly and drinking lots of liquid are required to maintain any strength progress made using this system. The objective would be to increase the weights used on these movements every week.