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Stronglifts5x5: Anybody else doing this? (1 Viewer)

RedmondLonghorn

RedmondLonghorn

Footballguy
I have been doing the Stronglifts program since November.

I have recently fallen off the 3x per week pace a bit and my results have plateaued as a result, but I intend to get back to sticking with the schedule.

I have made a couple minor modifications to the program, as I don't do it all with free weights--for instance I don't do a standing overhead press for my shoulder workout as it is hard on an old shoulder injury of mine. And I also do a few tricep pushdowns and/or tricep dips a couple times a week.

 
Interesting program I might try sometime later as I'm in the middle of a cut program now.

I wonder though, 4 compound lifts per day (including the requisite squat)?

I suppose it'd be good to develop strength, not mass or cut. But I prefer programs centered on one compound lift with iso lifts to compliment it (like Redhorn's tricep dips and pushdowns).

What are your results like Redhorn? Lots of bulk strength, sure, but does it bloat your body, so to speak, removing definition?

Running the same program for 4 months also seems kinda long. I'd think you'd want to switch it up after 8-10 weeks to promote muscle confusion...

 
flysack said:
Interesting program I might try sometime later as I'm in the middle of a cut program now.

I wonder though, 4 compound lifts per day (including the requisite squat)?

I suppose it'd be good to develop strength, not mass or cut. But I prefer programs centered on one compound lift with iso lifts to compliment it (like Redhorn's tricep dips and pushdowns).

What are your results like Redhorn? Lots of bulk strength, sure, but does it bloat your body, so to speak, removing definition?

Running the same program for 4 months also seems kinda long. I'd think you'd want to switch it up after 8-10 weeks to promote muscle confusion...
Click to expand...
I tried Searching for it, but since the Search function now makes Lycos look cutting edge...

Well, the results have been good. I had been lifting pretty seriously 5-6 years ago, then I blew out my knee and had a shoulder problem and my exercise tailed off to sporadic. Over the past 18 months or so I hadn't done much of anything. As a result, I had packed on the pounds and was flabby and soft.

When I started this program I was about 197 pounds at 5'10" and was really soft. Six years ago, right before I blew out my knee, I was in the single digit body fat % range and was about 170 pounds. But all the lifting I did was focused on my upper body. I did some cardio, but no leg lifting back then at all (dumb). I was also 38 then, versus 44 now.

So I was starting from a pretty low base in terms of my strength and fitness. So concerns like "losing cut" to develop strength were completely a moot point. My strength gains had been pretty much linear until I got sidetracked and fell off the 3x a week frequency. I am now squatting more than my body weight and deadlifting 1.5x my body weight. My bench press isn't quite back to where it was 6 years ago, but it is coming along.

 
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.

 
flysack said:
Interesting program I might try sometime later as I'm in the middle of a cut program now.

I wonder though, 4 compound lifts per day (including the requisite squat)?

I suppose it'd be good to develop strength, not mass or cut. But I prefer programs centered on one compound lift with iso lifts to compliment it (like Redhorn's tricep dips and pushdowns).

What are your results like Redhorn? Lots of bulk strength, sure, but does it bloat your body, so to speak, removing definition?

Running the same program for 4 months also seems kinda long. I'd think you'd want to switch it up after 8-10 weeks to promote muscle confusion...
Click to expand...
Setting up a workout program centered around compound lifts is really the way for novice lifters to go. These lifts work multiple muscle areas and typically require strong core support as well. Only a few isolation exercises are needed. And I don't think muscle confusion is a real thing. If you want your muscles to grow, you must continue to put stress on them. Most folks rotate programs because they get bored or to hit lagging muscles with different exercises.

5 x 5 is a great way to start lifting.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think it's a great 4 month routine. My goal was to get my squat back to 225 (low, yeah but I'm little). I'm not going to get it in 4 months. I've struggled a bit with form on the squats and deloaded a few time to fix some stuff.

powered through from 135 to 225 without missing a rep on deadlift and now I'm trying to push to 250.

Bench and row are really weak for me. I stalled out at 145 and backed off to 125 to start up again and haven't been able to push past 135 on either.

OHP is hard for anyone but I'm going to make my first attempt at 100 on that this weekend.

Been doing dips/chinups as accesssories.

 
flysack said:
Interesting program I might try sometime later as I'm in the middle of a cut program now.

I wonder though, 4 compound lifts per day (including the requisite squat)?

I suppose it'd be good to develop strength, not mass or cut. But I prefer programs centered on one compound lift with iso lifts to compliment it (like Redhorn's tricep dips and pushdowns).

What are your results like Redhorn? Lots of bulk strength, sure, but does it bloat your body, so to speak, removing definition?

Running the same program for 4 months also seems kinda long. I'd think you'd want to switch it up after 8-10 weeks to promote muscle confusion...
Click to expand...
There are only 3 lifts per workout. Squat, Bench, Row one day and Squat, Overhead Press and Deadlift the other.

This is designed as a beginning program, although there are options/modifications for more advanced lifters

 
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes

 
Weight wise I've been eating more than I ever have and I stalled out at 162. The amount of food I'm eating is just insane. I've only put 4 extra pounds on and BF% has stayed constant.

I think I'm gonna swap back to a hypertrophy routine when it warms up and I can use my garage gym. I've been able to gain a lot more on HCT than PO.

 
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.

 
culdeus said:
Weight wise I've been eating more than I ever have and I stalled out at 162. The amount of food I'm eating is just insane. I've only put 4 extra pounds on and BF% has stayed constant.

I think I'm gonna swap back to a hypertrophy routine when it warms up and I can use my garage gym. I've been able to gain a lot more on HCT than PO.
Click to expand...
Have you tried PHAT?

 
Spin said:
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.
Click to expand...
I bet your lifts almost double in 6 months.

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.

 
culdeus said:
I think it's a great 4 month routine. My goal was to get my squat back to 225 (low, yeah but I'm little). I'm not going to get it in 4 months. I've struggled a bit with form on the squats and deloaded a few time to fix some stuff.

powered through from 135 to 225 without missing a rep on deadlift and now I'm trying to push to 250.

Bench and row are really weak for me. I stalled out at 145 and backed off to 125 to start up again and haven't been able to push past 135 on either.

OHP is hard for anyone but I'm going to make my first attempt at 100 on that this weekend.

Been doing dips/chinups as accesssories.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call 225 low. Especially if you are a smaller guy. 1.5x body weight is a pretty decent squat.

I am not quite there. I am at 210. My bench is at 165. Deadlift is about 260, though that is one of the lifts that I "cheat" on a little, as I use something like this.

 
Spin said:
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.
Click to expand...
Early on you'll feel like you aren't doing anything. It's to help you get your form right. I added double the weight on everything but the squats workout to workout till I started to really feel it.

 
culdeus said:
Spin said:
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.
Click to expand...
Early on you'll feel like you aren't doing anything. It's to help you get your form right. I added double the weight on everything but the squats workout to workout till I started to really feel it.
Click to expand...
That's true for sure. Only when I got over about 180 pounds did the Squat start to really wear me down.

It is also good to start lower on Squats and Deadlifts if you aren't used to them because they will #### you up at first if you do too much. Like not being able to walk...

 
culdeus said:
Weight wise I've been eating more than I ever have and I stalled out at 162. The amount of food I'm eating is just insane. I've only put 4 extra pounds on and BF% has stayed constant.

I think I'm gonna swap back to a hypertrophy routine when it warms up and I can use my garage gym. I've been able to gain a lot more on HCT than PO.
Click to expand...
This is the problem I had when doing a heavy workout routine. shakes in the am, shakes at night, shakes at lunch, etc. You end up spending a good amount of money on food.What does your hypotrophy routine look like? I have been working out in my garage gym and am struggling to put on mass.

 
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culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:

ETA: in his emails he says that is one of the major reasons why he sees people plateau. They feel like they aren't doing enough, so they start throwing in curls and overhead extensions and calf raises etc. and then end up not getting the results...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Prince Myshkin said:
culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:
Click to expand...
These guys use the rippetoe book like it's gospel. Hell, they keep copies of it on the floor. They pull the routines from there. It's a cult. And Medhi is ambivalent about iso moves. He has routines for chinups/dips/planks in his program as well, but he advises people to only do them on the side.

 
Prince Myshkin said:
culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:

ETA: in his emails he says that is one of the major reasons why he sees people plateau. They feel like they aren't doing enough, so they start throwing in curls and overhead extensions and calf raises etc. and then end up not getting the results...
Click to expand...
I've read that and I am sure there is something to it. The thing is, while I don't want to do a bodybuilding style workout, I am not sure that pure strength gains are the only thing I care about either. So I've messed with it just a little.

 
culdeus said:
Prince Myshkin said:
culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:
Click to expand...
These guys use the rippetoe book like it's gospel. Hell, they keep copies of it on the floor. They pull the routines from there. It's a cult.
Click to expand...
For some reason when it comes to exercise and diet people can get really myopic and clannish about a given philosophy or routine, largely based on anecdotal evidence with a sample size of one (i.e. what they feel has worked for them).

See, for example, Crossfitters. Or adherents of the latest diet du jour. And so on...

 
Prince Myshkin said:
culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:

ETA: in his emails he says that is one of the major reasons why he sees people plateau. They feel like they aren't doing enough, so they start throwing in curls and overhead extensions and calf raises etc. and then end up not getting the results...
Click to expand...
Let me qualify it with this.

The rippetoe guys have all done SL at some point and then swapped to other programs. Most of them are trying to push squats and dl to 405 as a long term goal. They are not the target for Medhi's program.

No question you don't mess with the program the first time thru it. But....If you find the workout times too long there IMO is absolutely no reason you can't parse up the workouts where you squat and something else quick and do the other stuff on alternating days.

It's really the squats that need the proper rest. I certainly see his logic of staying exactly on the plan, but eventually the workouts can take me an hour just for the straight A/B days.

 
RedmondLonghorn said:
culdeus said:
Prince Myshkin said:
culdeus said:
RedmondLonghorn said:
moleculo said:
I do a similar program, but it's 3x5 instead of 5x5. I am planning on ramping up to 5x5 this year.

how long does it take you to get through a work-out? I've only got roughly an hour a couple of times a week, so that's part of my hesitation.
Click to expand...
The Squats, Deadlift, Shoulder Press workout takes me like 35 minutes

The Squats, Bench, and Rows workout takes 45-50 minutes
Click to expand...
Tons of people at my gym do it like this to keep workout time down to 45 min.

Squats arms calves M

Bench Row shrugs T

Squats arms cardio W

OHP DL core R

Squat cardio F

It's some routine some guy made up there are dudes at the gym that have been going on/off this program and they all are DL/Squat 350+. Several swap in cleans for rows now. There are some women that do this and hfs they are strong.

Your body primarily needs to be squatting 3 days a week with a rest day between. The rest of it the program you can ad-hoc to meet your schedule.
Click to expand...
The Mehdi guy that put out the workout is pretty emphatic about not messing with the routine and not including isolation exercises :shrug:
Click to expand...
These guys use the rippetoe book like it's gospel. Hell, they keep copies of it on the floor. They pull the routines from there. It's a cult.
Click to expand...
For some reason when it comes to exercise and diet people can get really myopic and clannish about a given philosophy or routine, largely based on anecdotal evidence with a sample size of one (i.e. what they feel has worked for them).

See, for example, Crossfitters. Or adherents of the latest diet du jour. And so on...
Click to expand...
Medhi is a rippetoe guy. He built his program out of the starting strength routine. SS and 5x5 are really, really similar.

 
culdeus said:
Medhi is a rippetoe guy. He built his program out of the starting strength routine. SS and 5x5 are really, really similar.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I know. I was just commenting about how close-minded, cultish behavior seems to be a pretty common thing in the diet and exercise realm. It isn't isolated to the Rippetoe adherents.

 
I recently switched to Greyskull LP (linear progression) from stronglifts. It's very similar but it uses 2x5, 1x5+ meaning you do two sets of 5 at the same weight and then the 3rd set is as many reps as possible (AMRAP) with the same weight. This helps you break through plateaus when you deload. There's a free pdf version if you do a Google search.

My recommendation is to do Stronglifts 5x5 until you have to deload 3x5. When you get to 3x5 instead of doing Stronglifts, switch to Greyskull LP.

 
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Thanks for all the responses.

I'll probably pass. I'm not a beginning lifter, as I've been lifting pretty seriously (with some minor injury downtime) for 4 years now. Not that I'm large - I'm 5.8, 165lbs. I'm just in very good shape for a 42 year old. No idea what my bodyfat % is, but it has to be single digits. I can bench 1 rep of 200 (barely), squat 245, deadlift around 245 as well.

The program I've been running for the last year in 1 month cycles (modify the exercises every month) is four days lifting, 1 HIIT.

Each lift day focuses on one compound lift with incremental weight.

So week 1 I do 3 sets of 10 reps of low weight

Week 2 is 4 sets of 8 reps of higher weight

Week 3 is 4 sets of 6 reps, more weight.

Week 4 is 5 sets of 2-3 reps of near max weight.

Then start all over again.

This is supposed to groove with the natural way your body adds muscle, and whether that's bro-wisdom or truth, I've found my body responses well.

Each compound exercise is complimented with 3 isolated lifts meant to hit the muscles used in the day's compound lift. So on bench days, you do iso-lifts for the shoulders, triceps, back, etc. 4 sets, 10 reps each.

Then I finish with an arms circuit. 4 exercises, 4 sets, 8 reps each. Shoulders one day, Tris another, Bis another. I "run" on an arc tread machine to end my leg days.

The downside is this isn't something 9 to 5 people can do on their lunch hour. I spend a good 90 to 120 minutes in the gym.

 
flysack said:
Thanks for all the responses.

I'll probably pass. I'm not a beginning lifter, as I've been lifting pretty seriously (with some minor injury downtime) for 4 years now. Not that I'm large - I'm 5.8, 165lbs. I'm just in very good shape for a 42 year old. No idea what my bodyfat % is, but it has to be single digits. I can bench 1 rep of 200 (barely), squat 245, deadlift around 245 as well.

The program I've been running for the last year in 1 month cycles (modify the exercises every month) is four days lifting, 1 HIIT.

Each lift day focuses on one compound lift with incremental weight.

So week 1 I do 3 sets of 10 reps of low weight

Week 2 is 4 sets of 8 reps of higher weight

Week 3 is 4 sets of 6 reps, more weight.

Week 4 is 5 sets of 2-3 reps of near max weight.

Then start all over again.

This is supposed to groove with the natural way your body adds muscle, and whether that's bro-wisdom or truth, I've found my body responses well.

Each compound exercise is complimented with 3 isolated lifts meant to hit the muscles used in the day's compound lift. So on bench days, you do iso-lifts for the shoulders, triceps, back, etc. 4 sets, 10 reps each.

Then I finish with an arms circuit. 4 exercises, 4 sets, 8 reps each. Shoulders one day, Tris another, Bis another. I "run" on an arc tread machine to end my leg days.

The downside is this isn't something 9 to 5 people can do on their lunch hour. I spend a good 90 to 120 minutes in the gym.
Click to expand...
If you have 90 to 120 minutes look into ice cream sandwich if you are wanting to change it up. It's foundation is in the 5x5 stuff, but it uses a ton of iso and varies the reps around a little to get a mix of pump and strength. Sounds similar already to what you are doing and for all I know it basically is ICS, but I haven't done a ton of digging into it to know it completely.

 
What's a good starting weight/scale for a woman to do this as well? My wife is interested in looking into this as well.

 
culdeus said:
flysack said:
Thanks for all the responses.

I'll probably pass. I'm not a beginning lifter, as I've been lifting pretty seriously (with some minor injury downtime) for 4 years now. Not that I'm large - I'm 5.8, 165lbs. I'm just in very good shape for a 42 year old. No idea what my bodyfat % is, but it has to be single digits. I can bench 1 rep of 200 (barely), squat 245, deadlift around 245 as well.

The program I've been running for the last year in 1 month cycles (modify the exercises every month) is four days lifting, 1 HIIT.

Each lift day focuses on one compound lift with incremental weight.

So week 1 I do 3 sets of 10 reps of low weight

Week 2 is 4 sets of 8 reps of higher weight

Week 3 is 4 sets of 6 reps, more weight.

Week 4 is 5 sets of 2-3 reps of near max weight.

Then start all over again.

This is supposed to groove with the natural way your body adds muscle, and whether that's bro-wisdom or truth, I've found my body responses well.

Each compound exercise is complimented with 3 isolated lifts meant to hit the muscles used in the day's compound lift. So on bench days, you do iso-lifts for the shoulders, triceps, back, etc. 4 sets, 10 reps each.

Then I finish with an arms circuit. 4 exercises, 4 sets, 8 reps each. Shoulders one day, Tris another, Bis another. I "run" on an arc tread machine to end my leg days.

The downside is this isn't something 9 to 5 people can do on their lunch hour. I spend a good 90 to 120 minutes in the gym.
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If you have 90 to 120 minutes look into ice cream sandwich if you are wanting to change it up. It's foundation is in the 5x5 stuff, but it uses a ton of iso and varies the reps around a little to get a mix of pump and strength. Sounds similar already to what you are doing and for all I know it basically is ICS, but I haven't done a ton of digging into it to know it completely.
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It took me a second to figure out "ice cream sandwich" is a program. :lmao:

 
Okay. So here is a question for those of you that are more experienced in this kind of workout than I am.

Let's assume I get back on schedule at 3x a week, but I find my gains taper off across the board.

What's next?

I know the Stronglifts guy would suggest just switching over to the "Madcow" variant on his same basic workout. What do some of ya'll suggest?

Here are my goals/requirements:

I want to continue to get into all-around shape. I want to be physically strong, but having a bodybuilder physique isn't my goal. (I have changed my diet considerably and expect to continue to lose fat as long as I stay active. I also am playing on a men's lacrosse team this spring, despite being almost 45.)

I hate running and cardio. I like lifting, but I like a fairly simple and easy to remember/manage program. I have a gym close by and can get to it 3-4 times a week, but I really can't regularly stay for more than an hour or so.

 
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AcerFC said:
flysack said:
The base of it I ripped from the program David Kingsbury used to get Hugh Jackman in shape for the Wolverine movies.

Here's the base program, though I've modified for my body (for example, I can't do pullups so I do rows).

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-true-beast-unleashed-how-hugh-jackman-became-the-wolverine.html
Click to expand...
page not found
Click to expand...
Looks like there was a common problem with the link. This one should work -

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mutant-strength-hugh-jackmans-wolverine-workout-plan.html

 
I did the intermediate version of this for awhile and it was okay but I recently switched to a 5/3/1 routine and like it better - it's one main lift each workout with one or two accessory exercises to go with it for 5 sets of 10 as well. I'm with Culdeus that the 5x5 writeup is a little too dogmatic, I've personally been quite pleased with adding in more volume and I'd imagine many people who've been lifting for awhile would feel the same.

I still like the 5x5 program though and would recommend trying it, actually did recommend it when my wife recently asked for a workout routine. Especially good for the first few years of working out since it is centered on the big lifts and gradual increases in weight.

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/hardcore-look-at-jim-wendlers-5-3-1-powerlifting-system.html

Here are the other two threads about this btw, I had to use google to find them -

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=679960

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=720427

 
Starting this Monday. Haven't lifted regularly since college (9 years ago...eff, I'm getting old). Looked at several different options and chose this one for its simplicity and my familiarity with all the lifts having done them before.

 
I mentioned above I do something similar - the program I'm on is Starting Strength by Rippletoe, but I change it up a bit. I've been doing it for almost a year, but have come in and out of doing it right. I have had some injuries that have really slowed me down, and I've gotten off of it when I travel. Also, I tend to not be too aggressive in terms of advancing the progression, especially if I've been out for a week or so.

My aim is to supplement my jiu-jitsu - for that, I want to be strong for my weight. I don't want hypertrophy, I want to increase flexibility, and I want to make sure my cardio is in good shape as well.

I hurt my back just before Christmas squatting after I was sick (my back is always sore when I'm sick, squatting afterwards seemed to aggrivate it more), so I stopped squatting for a month or so. When I started back, I came back with doing front squats which is what I'm doing now. I figure front squats will take load off of my lower back as well as promote better form - both good things. I have also forgone deadlifting and cleans, simply because I don't like them.

Instead of DL or cleans, I do a circuit of 3 sets of good girl/bad girl/ pull-ups. These are more sport-specific for me - good girl/bad girl are because almost all of jiu-jitsu involves squeezing your legs together and pull-ups are for grip/pulling strength.

and then, when I'm not lifting I like to do cardio of some type - HIIT or LISS. I change it up between running, eliptical, rowing machine, etc.

 
flysack said:
Quez said:
Wolverine? I'm in!
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:lmao:

It's such a terribly written article (par for the course on that site, really), but the program is legit.
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You need to keep in mind that Jackman was likely juicing during his prep for Wolverine. It's basically impossible to add a lot of muscle while staying as lean as we did without "help." The kind of volume you're prescribing is really a lot for natural lifters.

 
Been doing this and starting to peak on some of the lifts. I am stronger than I was in college so I am happy with the progress. I will probably go to a more volume oriented program after this but definitely will come back to it for its simplicity and results.

 
James Daulton said:
flysack said:
Quez said:
Wolverine? I'm in!
Click to expand...
:lmao:

It's such a terribly written article (par for the course on that site, really), but the program is legit.
Click to expand...
You need to keep in mind that Jackman was likely juicing during his prep for Wolverine. It's basically impossible to add a lot of muscle while staying as lean as we did without "help." The kind of volume you're prescribing is really a lot for natural lifters.
Click to expand...
I know. But I don't even take creatine like they claim Jackman was on (it messes my stomach up) and I can do that routine. It definitely takes some conditioning before you can make it through the whole thing, but you can get your body there. When I take a break (usually every 8 weeks I'll do light work for a week) or come back from minor injury it takes me at least a week of struggling through 3/4 of that program before my body is ready for the whole thing. It's definitely not for beginners. It's pretty tough on intermediate guys like myself. But the results are pretty good.

ETA: Again, everyone's body is different and responds differently to different programs.

 
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culdeus said:
Spin said:
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.
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Early on you'll feel like you aren't doing anything. It's to help you get your form right. I added double the weight on everything but the squats workout to workout till I started to really feel it.
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Just started lifting to compliment my running program but it is so good to see someone say this here. Too many people start out too heavy and never learn good form. Eventually they get injured. Meanwhile, those of us trying to be smart about it look weak at first. It's okay, leave the ego at the door.

 
flysack said:
James Daulton said:
flysack said:
Quez said:
Wolverine? I'm in!
Click to expand...
:lmao:

It's such a terribly written article (par for the course on that site, really), but the program is legit.
Click to expand...
You need to keep in mind that Jackman was likely juicing during his prep for Wolverine. It's basically impossible to add a lot of muscle while staying as lean as we did without "help." The kind of volume you're prescribing is really a lot for natural lifters.
Click to expand...
I know. But I don't even take creatine like they claim Jackman was on (it messes my stomach up) and I can do that routine. It definitely takes some conditioning before you can make it through the whole thing, but you can get your body there. When I take a break (usually every 8 weeks I'll do light work for a week) or come back from minor injury it takes me at least a week of struggling through 3/4 of that program before my body is ready for the whole thing. It's definitely not for beginners. It's pretty tough on intermediate guys like myself. But the results are pretty good.

ETA: Again, everyone's body is different and responds differently to different programs.
Click to expand...
Glad it's working for you. I'm worn out using a workout with only 2/3rds of that volume.

 
FUBAR said:
culdeus said:
Spin said:
I'm in, I'll do it for the next 12 weeks. I've been doing an annoying routine anyway that the trainer at the local gym set up for me where the last set, the reps are always "best" where I go til failure. I've done it for the last 2 weeks and just not enjoying it.

I've never really lifted heavily, I just ran all the time and climbed a lot. About 8 months ago I decided to start lifting as my metabolism had finally caught up to me and I could no longer eat whatever I wanted and still have a 32 waist. Then I tore a ligament in my wrist playing flag football and havn't done anything for the last 6 months following surgery. So I'm pretty much starting fresh.

I'm going to start at the weights he recommends on Monday and see how it goes:

"Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press: 20kg/45lb. That’s the empty Olympic bar.

Deadlift: 40kg/95lb. The empty bar with a plate of 10kg/25lb on each side.

Barbell Row: 30kg/65lb. The empty bar with 5kg/10lb on each side."

I'm 6'1 208 currently so will be interested to see where I'm at in 12 weeks.
Click to expand...
Early on you'll feel like you aren't doing anything. It's to help you get your form right. I added double the weight on everything but the squats workout to workout till I started to really feel it.
Click to expand...
Just started lifting to compliment my running program but it is so good to see someone say this here. Too many people start out too heavy and never learn good form. Eventually they get injured. Meanwhile, those of us trying to be smart about it look weak at first. It's okay, leave the ego at the door.
Click to expand...
:goodposting:

Correct form first, the weight will follow.

 
I started working out in September for the first time since high school. Stuck with my buddies standard 3x10 workout for a while, and he's a 2-3 time a week guy. I've also been working to get on more of a 5-6 day a week schedule, and putting leg day on Monday to work in two days, similar to Arnold's Blueprint type of schedule. The main reason I thought to post in this thread was because I have also shifted to a 5x5 on my Olympic lifts, while still keeping my ISO workouts at 3x10, which Im still doing after my "strong lifts." The Olympic lifts take precedent, but I still go through the rest.

I have a back issue, but I can't blame it on lifts just yet. The day before it creeped up on me, I was sanding a sheet rock wall, and bent over at odd angles, which usually tweaks it. Had it happen similarly during the fall, when I was only going a couple of days a week. It wasn't even bad enough for me to go to the chiro this time and feels just fine today, 8 days later. I even did back squats on Wednesday. My neck has been aching over this same time period, and is still a slight ache even right now.

Im working out to lose weight, so the 5x5 is just there because I keep wanting to increase the weight Im pushing and I think that's a better way. I used to bench 3 plates and squat 450, so while I think the 300 I've been doing on squats is fine, Im a little annoyed I can't bench 225 5 times just yet. Im also probably going to deload on squats a little, because my butt is starting to push out on my initial move, and I've gotten on my toes a little at times as well.

 
Currently doing Jim Stopanni's Shortcut to Shred. It's probably the polar opposite of what you are doing. Very fast paced and somewhat longer workouts. I did it one time before at the end of summer and loved the results. It was difficult to come to terms with how much less I could workout with because I was constantly fatigued but last time my overall strength did improve.

Nice to see some older guys talking about workouts. I always wonder if my gains and struggles are the same as most my age or if I'm just not being hardcore enough.

 
I feel like this routine is more for beginners. I use a routine fromhttp://www.musclegainingsecrets.com/home/

Once you get to the advanced workout it is 3 days a week with a lot of super setting. Every week you hit squats and dead lifts as well. Every 4 weeks the routine changes. I've made some serious gains using this. I really like it and recommend it.

Squats 315x8

Deadlifts 290x3(no straps or belt double overhand)

115lb added dips

90 lbs added pull ups/chin ups/weighted push ups and inverse rows

100lb dumbell rows

Bench is lagging a little..180 for reps

Ohp 135

 
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jplvr said:
I started working out in September for the first time since high school. Stuck with my buddies standard 3x10 workout for a while, and he's a 2-3 time a week guy. I've also been working to get on more of a 5-6 day a week schedule, and putting leg day on Monday to work in two days, similar to Arnold's Blueprint type of schedule. The main reason I thought to post in this thread was because I have also shifted to a 5x5 on my Olympic lifts, while still keeping my ISO workouts at 3x10, which Im still doing after my "strong lifts." The Olympic lifts take precedent, but I still go through the rest.

I have a back issue, but I can't blame it on lifts just yet. The day before it creeped up on me, I was sanding a sheet rock wall, and bent over at odd angles, which usually tweaks it. Had it happen similarly during the fall, when I was only going a couple of days a week. It wasn't even bad enough for me to go to the chiro this time and feels just fine today, 8 days later. I even did back squats on Wednesday. My neck has been aching over this same time period, and is still a slight ache even right now.

Im working out to lose weight, so the 5x5 is just there because I keep wanting to increase the weight Im pushing and I think that's a better way. I used to bench 3 plates and squat 450, so while I think the 300 I've been doing on squats is fine, Im a little annoyed I can't bench 225 5 times just yet. Im also probably going to deload on squats a little, because my butt is starting to push out on my initial move, and I've gotten on my toes a little at times as well.
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I hate genetically gifted big guys like you.

I take solace in the fact that I don't gain gut fat like you monsters. Even when I'm drinking beers 5 days a week I only get a little soft in the midsection.

But after 4 years of steady lifting, I've only gone from 145lbs to a peak of 165lbs. That's an average of 5 pounds of muscle a year. That's what it's like being a wiry book nerd who likes to lift. :lmao:

 
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