Full-Body Five & Dime

This month-long, 4-days-a-week program combines 5x5s, German Volume Training, and descending rest periods for more size and strength and less body fat.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated May 2, 2022

A trio of hard-hitting training techniques collide for the next four weeks to deliver gains in muscle size, strength, fat-burning, and overall conditioning – the next evolution of my #TrainWithJim series.

My Five & Dime program combines 5x5s, German Volume Training (GVT), and Rest Rundown over the course of four weekly workouts. Unlike most of my other Train With Jim programs, not every workout is technically full-body, but close to it.

Perfect Trio

Here's a quick refresher on the three techniques before I get into the specifics of Five & Dime...

GVT (aka 10x10) entails 10 sets of 10 reps (hence the "Dime" reference) for each exercise. As in my High-Frequency GVT program, on days you do the 10x10 scheme, you'll only be training five muscle groups (half the body) instead of all 10. The high volume of doing 10 sets per exercise is great for promoting hypertrophy (muscle growth) as well as burning fat.

With 5x5 training, you'll be doing 5 sets of 5 reps on each exercise, just like in my 5x5 Full-Blown program. The classic 5x5 scheme is great for going heavy and getting stronger.

Rest Rundown is a technique where rest periods between all sets decrease every week for the length of the program. In my 3x3 Rest Rundown program, as well as the full-body version, rest periods drop 15 seconds per week. In Five & Dime, however, rest periods will drop weekly by 10 seconds – from 60 seconds in Week 1, down to 30 seconds in Week 4.

The key aspect with the Rest Rundown concept is that the weight remains the same throughout the program, just with less rest allowed between sets. This is the mandate in the

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