Fierce 5
Also known as: fierce 5 · fierce5 · novice · 5x5 alternative · beginner barbell
A well-rounded novice barbell program — the community "Fierce 5". Three sessions a week alternating two full-body workouts: the main lifts run 3×5 and add weight every session, backed by accessory work for arms, rear delts and calves. A more balanced alternative to bare-bones 5×5.
Free during beta · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is Fierce 5?
Fierce 5 is the community novice program for people who look at bare-bones barbell routines and ask where the rest of it went. The strength core is familiar — two alternating full-body workouts, three days a week, main lifts at 3×5 — but every session carries a proper accessory tail. Workout A: squat, bench press and Pendlay rows, then face pulls, barbell curls and calf raises. Workout B: squat, overhead press and a single set of five deadlifts, then AMRAP chin-ups, face pulls, dumbbell skullcrushers and calves again. The A/B pattern rotates across two weeks — A-B-A, then B-A-B.
Small details show the thought behind it. Rows are done Pendlay-style, reset dead on the floor each rep, so form holds as the bar gets heavy. And face pulls appear in every workout — that steady dose of rear-delt and upper-back work is cheap insurance for shoulders that are about to bench three times a fortnight.
Is Fierce 5 right for you?
Choose Fierce 5 as the balanced take on novice lifting: arms, rear delts and calves grow from week one alongside the squat, without adding a fourth training day. Anyone hunting for a "5x5 alternative" usually wants exactly this — the same beginner barbell progression with less main-lift grinding and the gaps filled in. Its 3×5 scheme also keeps sessions near an hour where a heavy 5×5 sprawls past it. Skip it if you want strict minimalism, or if you would rather earn your accessories later and pour everything into the big five for now.
How progression works
Squats and deadlifts climb 5 kg per successful session; bench, press and Pendlay rows climb 2.5 kg. Three consecutive misses on any main lift triggers a 10% deload, after which you build back up. Accessories advance by double progression: curls, skullcrushers and face pulls hold their weight while you push all sets from 8 toward 12 reps, then take a 2.5 kg bump and start again — calf raises do the same over 10–15. Chin-ups are pure AMRAPs, chased in reps. In Durata each lift follows its own rule automatically, so the barbell moves every session while every accessory waits for its rep ceiling.
Durata runs this progression for you — every session's weights are computed automatically from your training maxes and logged AMRAP sets.
Fierce 5 — every set, every session
Percentages are of your training max (TM). AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the final set.
Week 13 sessions
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Pendlay Row (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Pendlay Row (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 | 2:30 |
| Chin Up | 3×5+ AMRAP | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Skullcrusher (Dumbbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Week 23 sessions
Workout A
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Pendlay Row (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Bicep Curl (Barbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 | 2:30 |
| Chin Up | 3×5+ AMRAP | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Skullcrusher (Dumbbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Workout B
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 3×5 | 2:30 |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 1×5 | 2:30 |
| Chin Up | 3×5+ AMRAP | 2:30 |
| Face Pull | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Skullcrusher (Dumbbell) | 3×8–12 | 2:30 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3×10–15 | 2:30 |
Fierce 5 — common questions
Why Pendlay rows instead of regular bent-over rows?
Each rep starts from a dead stop on the floor with a horizontal torso, which stops the slow drift into heaving quarter-reps that plagues novice rowing. It is stricter, easier on the lower back at a given effort, and self-corrects your form every single rep.
Why 3×5 on the main lifts rather than 5×5?
The first three hard sets carry most of the strength signal; the extra two mostly add fatigue and time. Fierce 5 spends that saved budget on accessories instead, and the lighter main-lift workload tends to stretch the linear progression a little further before the first stall.
Only one deadlift set — is that a typo?
No. You squat every session at +5 kg a time, so lower-back and hip work is already abundant; a single heavy set of five keeps the deadlift progressing at 5 kg per session without wrecking the rest of Workout B.
How long does a Fierce 5 session take?
About 45–60 minutes. The 3×5 mains want proper 2.5–3 minute rests; the accessory work runs on 60–90 second breaks and moves quickly.
Source: Fierce 5 — community novice routine (r/Fitness).
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
Run Fierce 5 in Durata
Training-max calculation, AMRAP tracking, automatic progression, plate calculator and rest timers — the whole program, ready to log.
