are there any strength programs similar to strong lifts that is more than 3 times a week. i want to be more active without a lot of cardio and still gain strength on a cut. is there anything out there thats like 5 days a week? i mainly want to focus on squat and deadlift, bench press too…or should i just stick to strong lifts and add extra stuff on off days?
[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
are there any strength programs similar to strong lifts that is more than 3 times a week. i want to be more active without a lot of cardio and still gain strength on a cut. is there anything out there thats like 5 days a week? i mainly want to focus on squat and deadlift, bench press too…or should i just stick to strong lifts and add extra stuff on off days?[/quote]
Just train. Buy the Beyond 531 book. There’s years and years worth of training in there. Don’t over think it. I think you’ve asked about similar to this before. Just go do it up man.
[quote]osu122975 wrote:
[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
are there any strength programs similar to strong lifts that is more than 3 times a week. i want to be more active without a lot of cardio and still gain strength on a cut. is there anything out there thats like 5 days a week? i mainly want to focus on squat and deadlift, bench press too…or should i just stick to strong lifts and add extra stuff on off days?[/quote]
Just train. Buy the Beyond 531 book. There’s years and years worth of training in there. Don’t over think it. I think you’ve asked about similar to this before. Just go do it up man.
[/quote]
just wish strong lifts was more than 3 a week
[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
[quote]osu122975 wrote:
[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
are there any strength programs similar to strong lifts that is more than 3 times a week. i want to be more active without a lot of cardio and still gain strength on a cut. is there anything out there thats like 5 days a week? i mainly want to focus on squat and deadlift, bench press too…or should i just stick to strong lifts and add extra stuff on off days?[/quote]
Just train. Buy the Beyond 531 book. There’s years and years worth of training in there. Don’t over think it. I think you’ve asked about similar to this before. Just go do it up man.
[/quote]
just wish strong lifts was more than 3 a week[/quote]
Who says you only have to do it 3x/wk? Figure out a way to split it up and make it longer.
When I first started lifting I misunderstood the 5x5 Idea that weeks go ABA BAB, so I was lifting (ABA ABA) for two weeks and felt I needed to pull more often, so, In addition to the week going:
Mon: A
Squat, Bench, Row
Wed: B
Squat, Press, Deadlift
Fri: A
Squat, Bench, Row
…then I decided to add a Saturday workout to learn the clean
Clean>Front Squatx5x5, DB Snatch L,Rx5repsx3sets, Pullups x5x5 starting adding one rep per set per workout i.e.
workout 1: pullupx5,5,5,5,5
workout 2: pullupx6,5,5,5,5
workout 3: pullupx6,6,5,5,5
etc
I also found I get basically nothing from the Pendlay row, and squatting 3-4xwk means a bent row will be done with a sore back, which is not good with heavier weights. I first switched to t-bar rows after a couple of months, and then switched to cables and the Hammer Strength Hi-row machine. YMMV with rows on SL, some people love them; I think a beginner would be better off sticking to just Chinups, Pullups, and supported DB/kroc rows.
Is SL working?
If it is, I probably wouldn’t try to change the formula too much. Trust in the process. If you’re feeling masochistic, you could try adding heavy prowler pushes or farmers walks on an off day. Both are a great addition to any strength program and complement your weight loss goals nicely without impacting recovery too much. Great activity to do with friends because it gets pretty competitive, so you push yourself harder.
I don’t think a small amount of direct ab or hamstring work on an off day would necessarily ruin the program, as long as you’re reasonable about the intensity and volume. Be careful when modifying programs as a beginner, though. It’s easy to fall into the trap of adding too much assistance. There are a lot of great movements out there, but you can’t include them all in your program at the same time (well you CAN, but you won’t like the results).
You could also spend some time on soft tissue work, mobility, pre-hab exercises, and flexibility on your off days. Go crazy on these. I know it’s not as glamorous as throwing heavy barbells around, but they absolutely have a place in any strength training regime. You won’t be deadlifting 500+lbs anytime soon if you lack the mobility to deadlift properly. Learning how to and taking good care of your joints now means less time injured later, so faster progress overall. Always important to think about the long game.
Doing a program like Stronglifts You don’t get stronger in the gym; you get stronger by recovering from what you do in the gym.
When you are on a cut your ability to recover is significantly reduced. 5x5 sets across three times per week is a lot of volume anyway (much more than similar beginner programme from coaches who are true experts in their field like Bill Starr, Glen Pendlay and Mark Rippetoe, whom all recommend only 3x5 or ramping 5x5 for beginner to intermediate level), on a cut you’ll struggle to recover enough to gain strength with three days per week, let alone with extra days in there!
If you really want to do more I’d suggest Dan John’s 40 Day Programme which works by frequent practice with lighter weights which develops strength by increasing neural efficiency and coordination.
[quote]osu122975 wrote:
Just train. Buy the Beyond 531 book. There’s years and years worth of training in there. Don’t over think it. I think you’ve asked about similar to this before. Just go do it up man.
[/quote]
^ This
Here’s one solution. I train 4 days a week: Squat, Bench, Deadlift, and Standing Overhead Press. I don’t care if overhead press isn’t in powerlifting meets. It’s not an excuse not to do it, and the people who told me I should have a speedwork day instead of an overhead press day are all benching less than me now.
Just add a 4th day if you want to lift more. Do ABAB every week. Or pick a program that has you lifting more often.
Your body will adapt – squatting 4x a week is not the end of the world. Just note that you may not see much, if any, additional benefit from adding a 4th day.
Yeah, the other thing to realize about beginner programs like these is that your squat is moving up REALLY fast, and that means you need time to recover. The only reason I added a fourth day is because I had misunderstood the program, and because I knew my body responds well to pulling from the floor and wanted time to learn the clean/front squat. I feel like I was able to add in the pullups on a different day because there isn’t supposed to be a real concentric with the Pendlay row. The other thing is that I did have SOME experience before attempting SL, (which is the only reason my lower back had the mobility to do the rows) so I understood my body better than most beginners.
Ok, if you are doing StrongLifts AS WRITTEN without modification, then there’s ztuff you can do. Don’t modify the meat of stronglifts. A friend of mine just got into training and is using stronglifts, and I had him do something similar…
Strong lift days stay as written. On off days during the week you train abs and beach muscles if you want. Or, since you want to focus on squat/dead, do abs back and hamstrings work. Nothing major, just get some work in. No barbells allowed. He does this during lunch breaks and then does Stronglifts after work. Basically treat the lunch workout as a priming workout for weaker/neglected muscle groups, activation workout, not heavy (no tricep work though, due to pressing fatigue in SL). On days off he does ab work and basic drills. It is working really well for him, tall gangly fuck that he is. Gone from 95 lbs to 250 in the squat inside 3 months. His deadlift is almost 350.
Remember, nothing heavy or exhausting. Just get some extra priming work in. Numbers may take a dip the first few weeks as your body Djust to the extra workload, but should normalize inside 3 weeks if you are eating enough. If not, problem is most likely food related.