Stronglifts 5x5

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

So for the past 4 months I have been using various self made bro splits which aren’t the best thing for me especially as a beginner. I am ready to chuck them all out and I have decided to get on stronglifts 5x5. What I saw when I looked at the program is that there’s no calf training involved. Should I add 3x15 calf raises to both workouts? Or only to one? Any other tweaks you guys have found to improve this program? It seems pretty solid to me except for the lack of calf exercises, lol.

Workout A:
squat 5x5
bench press 5x5
barbell rows 5x5

workout b:
squat 5x5
overhead press 5x5
deadlift 1x5

today is saturday so its my rest day, just sleeping in and sitting at home doing homework. Sunday i would normally train legs but i have a music festival. Monday I plan to start stronglifts and do it 3 times a week, mon wed and fri. I’d like to have it all sorted out and planned by then :slight_smile:

2

Honestly, I can’t vouch for stronglifts. I don’t know of anyone that followed it and really was successful with it, to include the creator of the program. I feel like the best way to improve the program is to not follow it, and do something like 5/3/1 instead.

3

You don’t need to train calfs at this point. Squats will hit them hard enough. Don’t tweak anything until you are well into the program.

4

I did stronglifts when i was starting out and it worked really well although i had to quit because the squats bdecame too heavy and i didnt have a rack. But it worked out great up until that point. I would say the calf raises arent necessary at this point although if you really want to it wouldnt hurt to do them. I liked to add some bodyweight movements to the mix because i wanted to work on my chin ups mainly although the program is great without any modifications. Run it for a few months and if you feel as though something is missing go from there.

5

Stronglifts will work…to a point. Once I started stalling on the 5x5 lifts I made absolutely no progress. I dumped it and went to something else. Stronglifts is most useful because it teaches you to record workouts and be consistent. You will see good progress for about 4 months depending on your strength levels.

Also, I would add farmers walks. Deadlifting once a week will not strengthen your grip when you get to heavy weights. Start out with something easy, like 50lbs each hand. Do 3 sets of 50-100 foot walks with good form. Every week add 5lbs to the dumbbells you were using. In no time you will be using your body weight total. Do it after you deadlift. I absolutely love this exercise. It has done wonders for me, bigger traps, stronger grip, stronger core, mitigates shoulder pain, better posture, stronger everything!

6

thanks aero i will try that. I was thinking about doing static holds with a barbell for grip strength. I was meant to start stronglifts on monday but sundays music festival really wore me out and ive got after school detention on wed so i cant go so I am starting stronglifts on Thursday. i will be going 3x a week tue thur and sat.

7

Don’t make a big deal about missing a workout or two. Go enjoy your life. Just don’t make a habit of it. Remember to record workouts. Buy a dedicated notebook, a marble one with graph paper so you can make clear records and notes. This is more important than anything else. Don’t even bother lifting if you aren’t going to do this.

8

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Don’t make a big deal about missing a workout or two. Go enjoy your life. Just don’t make a habit of it. Remember to record workouts. Buy a dedicated notebook, a marble one with graph paper so you can make clear records and notes. This is more important than anything else. Don’t even bother lifting if you aren’t going to do this. [/quote]

Sage advice.

9

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Stronglifts will work…to a point. Once I started stalling on the 5x5 lifts I made absolutely no progress. I dumped it and went to something else. Stronglifts is most useful because it teaches you to record workouts and be consistent. You will see good progress for about 4 months depending on your strength levels.

Also, I would add farmers walks. Deadlifting once a week will not strengthen your grip when you get to heavy weights. Start out with something easy, like 50lbs each hand. Do 3 sets of 50-100 foot walks with good form. Every week add 5lbs to the dumbbells you were using. In no time you will be using your body weight total. Do it after you deadlift. I absolutely love this exercise. It has done wonders for me, bigger traps, stronger grip, stronger core, mitigates shoulder pain, better posture, stronger everything![/quote]

stronglift WILL work. The fact that it “didn’t” for you had nothing to do with the program. With the deloads you can take and/or moving up to Madcow, there is no way you will not progress. The program not be for you, for whatever reason, but please don’t blame the program.

The four months rule a thumb is a good one. In theory, you would put 240 lbs to your squat. If on day one you would have started with only the bar, you would 30lbs short of a three platter. Not bad at all. The only problem comes from not reading the program. When you start to stall, people either give up, post on the internet wondering what to do or keep repeating what they are doing to eventually hurt themselves.

So, read the program and do what is says once you start missing all the time.

10

[quote]JFG wrote:

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Stronglifts will work…to a point. Once I started stalling on the 5x5 lifts I made absolutely no progress. I dumped it and went to something else. Stronglifts is most useful because it teaches you to record workouts and be consistent. You will see good progress for about 4 months depending on your strength levels.

Also, I would add farmers walks. Deadlifting once a week will not strengthen your grip when you get to heavy weights. Start out with something easy, like 50lbs each hand. Do 3 sets of 50-100 foot walks with good form. Every week add 5lbs to the dumbbells you were using. In no time you will be using your body weight total. Do it after you deadlift. I absolutely love this exercise. It has done wonders for me, bigger traps, stronger grip, stronger core, mitigates shoulder pain, better posture, stronger everything![/quote]

stronglift WILL work. The fact that it “didn’t” for you had nothing to do with the program. With the deloads you can take and/or moving up to Madcow, there is no way you will not progress. The program not be for you, for whatever reason, but please don’t blame the program.

The four months rule a thumb is a good one. In theory, you would put 240 lbs to your squat. If on day one you would have started with only the bar, you would 30lbs short of a three platter. Not bad at all. The only problem comes from not reading the program. When you start to stall, people either give up, post on the internet wondering what to do or keep repeating what they are doing to eventually hurt themselves.

So, read the program and do what is says once you start missing all the time.[/quote]

All I am saying is that I think the leader of Sronglifts takes advantage of selection bias. IE only presenting results that back his claims. Personally, when I did the program I followed the deloads as suggested and barely gained 5lbs in a month. I took a short break and switched to WSFSB and smashed my squat from 255 to about 315 in 2 months. I did the program twice a few years apart. For the record the first time I did it I got to about 275 in 4 months. But then after that…nothing.

11

[quote]Aero51 wrote:

[quote]JFG wrote:

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Stronglifts will work…to a point. Once I started stalling on the 5x5 lifts I made absolutely no progress. I dumped it and went to something else. Stronglifts is most useful because it teaches you to record workouts and be consistent. You will see good progress for about 4 months depending on your strength levels.

Also, I would add farmers walks. Deadlifting once a week will not strengthen your grip when you get to heavy weights. Start out with something easy, like 50lbs each hand. Do 3 sets of 50-100 foot walks with good form. Every week add 5lbs to the dumbbells you were using. In no time you will be using your body weight total. Do it after you deadlift. I absolutely love this exercise. It has done wonders for me, bigger traps, stronger grip, stronger core, mitigates shoulder pain, better posture, stronger everything![/quote]

stronglift WILL work. The fact that it “didn’t” for you had nothing to do with the program. With the deloads you can take and/or moving up to Madcow, there is no way you will not progress. The program not be for you, for whatever reason, but please don’t blame the program.

The four months rule a thumb is a good one. In theory, you would put 240 lbs to your squat. If on day one you would have started with only the bar, you would 30lbs short of a three platter. Not bad at all. The only problem comes from not reading the program. When you start to stall, people either give up, post on the internet wondering what to do or keep repeating what they are doing to eventually hurt themselves.

So, read the program and do what is says once you start missing all the time.[/quote]

All I am saying is that I think the leader of Sronglifts takes advantage of selection bias. IE only presenting results that back his claims. Personally, when I did the program I followed the deloads as suggested and barely gained 5lbs in a month. I took a short break and switched to WSFSB and smashed my squat from 255 to about 315 in 2 months. I did the program twice a few years apart. For the record the first time I did it I got to about 275 in 4 months. But then after that…nothing.
[/quote]

So you’re saying the program worked like it was supposed to, for the target audience (beginners in strength training) and then when you did it again, it didn’t work as well? That’s kind of what’s supposed to happen. 5x5, Starting Strength, Reg Park. Those are all beginner programs that are meant to reach a point where you no longer progress. Apparently for you, that was at a 275lbs squat.

Like you said, nothing wrong with that, but it also doesn’t mean the program is lacking for anything.

12

[quote]Aero51 wrote:

[quote]JFG wrote:

[quote]Aero51 wrote:
Stronglifts will work…to a point. Once I started stalling on the 5x5 lifts I made absolutely no progress. I dumped it and went to something else. Stronglifts is most useful because it teaches you to record workouts and be consistent. You will see good progress for about 4 months depending on your strength levels.

Also, I would add farmers walks. Deadlifting once a week will not strengthen your grip when you get to heavy weights. Start out with something easy, like 50lbs each hand. Do 3 sets of 50-100 foot walks with good form. Every week add 5lbs to the dumbbells you were using. In no time you will be using your body weight total. Do it after you deadlift. I absolutely love this exercise. It has done wonders for me, bigger traps, stronger grip, stronger core, mitigates shoulder pain, better posture, stronger everything![/quote]

stronglift WILL work. The fact that it “didn’t” for you had nothing to do with the program. With the deloads you can take and/or moving up to Madcow, there is no way you will not progress. The program not be for you, for whatever reason, but please don’t blame the program.

The four months rule a thumb is a good one. In theory, you would put 240 lbs to your squat. If on day one you would have started with only the bar, you would 30lbs short of a three platter. Not bad at all. The only problem comes from not reading the program. When you start to stall, people either give up, post on the internet wondering what to do or keep repeating what they are doing to eventually hurt themselves.

So, read the program and do what is says once you start missing all the time.[/quote]

All I am saying is that I think the leader of Sronglifts takes advantage of selection bias. IE only presenting results that back his claims. Personally, when I did the program I followed the deloads as suggested and barely gained 5lbs in a month. I took a short break and switched to WSFSB and smashed my squat from 255 to about 315 in 2 months. I did the program twice a few years apart. For the record the first time I did it I got to about 275 in 4 months. But then after that…nothing.
[/quote]

I don’t think stronglifts is that cult-like. I mean Mehdi clearly thinks he is the shit, but he doesn’t claim that stronglifts is the only program you need. He lays out a pretty clear plan for deloading, switching from 5x5 to 3x5, and eventually abandoning the program altogether for something else, I think he recommends madcow.

In general, if you take a fresh beginner, put him on a 5x5 program that involves squats in every session, and adding weight very gradually in a structured way, he should be able to reach a three plate squat (for working sets not max) without hitting a major plateau. It’s kind of hard, but its not so hard that any man who followed the program to the letter might still fail to acheive the end goal. I would say anyone who doesn’t see those results on this program (or any 5X5 program so i’m not plugging stronglifts) just fucked up the program

13

I am still a beginner much the same as you and have just started doing stronglifts 5x5 4 weeks ago and have aready scene big strength gain but make sure you eat big and healthy

By the way did that music festival you mentioned earlier happen to be called goodlife I went to that too! LOL

14

cheers guys, buying a log book today after school on my way to the gym.

[quote]TheLifterdude wrote:
I am still a beginner much the same as you and have just started doing stronglifts 5x5 4 weeks ago and have aready scene big strength gain but make sure you eat big and healthy

By the way did that music festival you mentioned earlier happen to be called goodlife I went to that too! LOL[/quote]
good to hear about your progress. LOL!!! YEAH IT WAS GOODLIFE :stuck_out_tongue: i might have seen you there hahaha