Proven program, faithfully implemented
Fierce 5 — Novice
Fierce 5 is a novice full-body programme built as an answer to the 5×5 routines — two sessions, A and B, over three non-consecutive days, with the main lifts at 3×5 and the pulls at 3×8. Because three is an odd number the rota takes two weeks to come back round (A-B-A, then B-A-B), and the load step is weekly, not per session: the squat takes exactly one step whether you trained it twice that week or once.
About the program
Created by: davisj3537 — Fierce 5 Novice Full Body Program (originally posted on the bodybuilding.com forums), as published by Dr Workout.
- The published routine this definition was built from: Fierce 5 Workout Routine — Dr Workout
- Archived copy (26 November 2025): Fierce 5 Workout Routine — Wayback Machine
Who it's for
- Best for: Size on a novice barbell base — more upper-body and posterior-chain volume than a plain 5×5.
- Experience: Beginner. It assumes no programming knowledge, though front squats and Pendlay rows take some coaching to get right.
- Time: Three non-consecutive days a week. There is no deload and no built-in end date — a short week holds the weight rather than resetting it.
How it's built
The shape of the program — sessions, sets and rep scheme. Iron Forge fills in the exact weights for you from your maxes.
Linear progression
Workout A
- Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
Workout B
- Barbell Front Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
Workout A
- Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
Workout B
- Barbell Front Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
Workout A
- Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
Workout B
- Barbell Front Squat — 3×5
- + 5 more exercises
How Iron Forge runs it
How it works
Two full-body sessions, A and B, alternating across three non-consecutive days a week. Three is an odd number, so the rota takes two weeks to come back round: week one is A-B-A, week two is B-A-B, then it repeats.
The lifts
A is squat, bench, Pendlay row, face pulls, then calf raises supersetted with pressdowns. B is front squat, overhead press, Romanian deadlift, lat pulldowns, then core work supersetted with curls. The main lifts run 3×5; the pulls run 3×8.
⚠ The step is WEEKLY, not per session
"You will be adding up 5 lbs every week to your upper body lifts and 10 lbs every week to your lower body lifts." The squat is trained twice in an A-B-A week and once in a B-A-B week, and it still takes exactly one step either way. That rate is what separates Fierce 5 from StrongLifts, so it is deliberate rather than an approximation.
There is no deload
The source prescribes none for the novice routine, so none is invented. A week whose reps fall short holds the weight where it is rather than resetting it.
Fierce 5 — Novice in Iron Forge
FAQ
- Why does the weight only go up once a week when I squat twice?
Because the author's rule is weekly, not per session — "5 lbs every week to your upper body lifts and 10 lbs every week to your lower body lifts". A per-session step would deliver about 1.5× his rate, and for a novice linear progression the rate is the programme.
- Why is week 2 different from week 1?
Three sessions a week alternating between two workouts cannot repeat inside one week. Week 1 runs A-B-A, week 2 runs B-A-B, and then it starts over — that two-week rota is the source's own.
- What weights do I start with?
The source names none, so you choose. The Forge asks for a starting weight per lift and seeds it from your existing best where there is one. These are absolute working weights, not percentages of a training max.
- What happens if I miss my reps?
The weight holds. The source prescribes no stall or reset protocol for the novice routine, so none has been invented — you repeat the weight until you make it.
- Why do calf raises only go up 5 lb if they're a lower body lift?
The +10 rule is for the compound lower-body lifts. The source separately gives leg curls — also lower body, also isolation — 5 lb2.5 kg a week, so isolation work steps at 5. That reading is recorded as an interpretation rather than a quote.
- What is the "ab work" slot?
Exactly what the source says and no more: it names no movement, so neither does the programme. It is a core slot you fill with whatever you choose.
- How do the supersets work?
Alternate them. Workout A pairs calf raises with triceps pushdowns, workout B pairs your ab work with curls — a set of one, then a set of the other, with the rest you need between pairs rather than between every set. Two sets each, and they finish the session.
- Which days should I train?
Three non-consecutive days, and beyond that it is up to you — Monday, Wednesday and Friday is the obvious answer but nothing here depends on it. What matters is three sessions a week, because the progression steps once a week and it assumes you took all three.
- Is there a deload?
No, and none has been added. The novice routine prescribes no deload and no reset, so a week where the reps fall short simply holds the weight where it is until you make it. If you are stalling on everything at once for weeks, that is the signal to move to a programme built for it rather than to keep grinding this one.
- I have seen an upper/lower Fierce 5. Where is it?
Not here yet. The same page carries an upper/lower version and a five-day one, and only the novice full-body routine is implemented. The others have their own exercises and their own progression notes, so they would be their own programmes rather than a setting on this one.
Start Fierce 5 — Novice for free today.
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