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Order of Lifts Matter?

robbyf1971

I have been doing SL 5X5 for a year and half. SL 5X5 recommends a certain order. I think my progression & results (especially chest development) have been stalled. Someone I talked to said my body is becoming adapted to my routine and I need to vary my workout.

Looking at developing own routine but my question does it matter which order you progress in during a session? Should you rotate between body part (chest-back-chest-back-chest)?

Switched things up this morning and did incline lifts (chest), cable row (back), flat bench, lat pull down the cable xovers.

Under SL I did flat bench after squats. Today flat bench was 3rd using arms and my flat bench struggled.

Replies

rileysowner

I would suggest using a program put together by someone else. Most people cannot put an effective program of their own together. There are a lot that you can find to progress from after Stronglifts. Stronglifts is mainly a beginner program, so after a year and a half, it is time to go to something else. What are your goals?

jemhh

robbyf1971 wrote: »

I have been doing SL 5X5 for a year and half. SL 5X5 recommends a certain order. I think my progression & results (especially chest development) have been stalled. Someone I talked to said my body is becoming adapted to my routine and I need to vary my workout.

Looking at developing own routine but my question does it matter which order you progress in during a session? Should you rotate between body part (chest-back-chest-back-chest)?

Switched things up this morning and did incline lifts (chest), cable row (back), flat bench, lat pull down the cable xovers.

Under SL I did flat bench after squats. Today flat bench was 3rd using arms and my flat bench struggled.

In general, most people do their main compound exercises first. If your main compound is flat bench, you do that before incline bench. If your main compound exercise is incline bench, you do it the other way. You're going to be less fatigued in the beginning and then your muscles get more fatigued as you go along so it makes sense that your flat bench was more difficult today.

I have been doing a pull before my push (OHP and bench press) lately. I superset the warmups then do all my pull sets then do my push sets and then follow up with whatever other assistance exercises I have for the day. On deadlift day I am doing goblet squats at the very beginning before the deadlifts but they are more like a warmup since they are pretty light.

singingflutelady

You should check out intermediate lifting programs as you are probably ready to move in from sl

usmcmp

It's best to follow a program written by a professional. It takes into account a variety of factors that most lifters don't know or understand. If you like the 5x5 program you could change over to 5/3/1 or add in a variety of accessory templates built for the 5x5 program. If you want to try something different there are programs like PHAT, PHUL, or HST.

singingflutelady

usmcmp wrote: »

It's best to follow a program written by a professional. It takes into account a variety of factors that most lifters don't know or understand. If you like the 5x5 program you could change over to 5/3/1 or add in a variety of accessory templates built for the 5x5 program. If you want to try something different there are programs like PHAT, PHUL, or HST.

I really like the Texas method (rippetoe). There's also madcow that is a variation of Texas method

robbyf1971

rileysowner wrote: »

I would suggest using a program put together by someone else. Most people cannot put an effective program of their own together. There are a lot that you can find to progress from after Stronglifts. Stronglifts is mainly a beginner program, so after a year and a half, it is time to go to something else. What are your goals?

My goals:

A. need to lose about 10lbs fat, mostly around mid section
B. Chest development, always weak area for me.
C. just look good in tshirt, I am not a body builder by any means. Just look fit for my age (44)

SonyaCele

i always do my compound movements first, followed by accessory, ending up with abs. my routine changes up through effort levels, and variations of the compound lifts. You have probably outgrown strong lifts. you might also benefit from some kinda split routine.

binaryjester

I can vouch for Wendler's 5/3/1. Great program and you can change the lifts at the end for variety.

usmcmp

robbyf1971 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

I would suggest using a program put together by someone else. Most people cannot put an effective program of their own together. There are a lot that you can find to progress from after Stronglifts. Stronglifts is mainly a beginner program, so after a year and a half, it is time to go to something else. What are your goals?

My goals:

A. need to lose about 10lbs fat, mostly around mid section
B. Chest development, always weak area for me.
C. just look good in tshirt, I am not a body builder by any means. Just look fit for my age (44)

Okay, so if you want better size for chest you may want to consider switching to a hypertrophy/bodybuilding program. You've followed a strength program for long enough to build a solid strength base. To build size it's a good idea to follow a program meant for that. PHAT, PHUL and HST are some of the most well known and widely followed hypertrophy programs. You can still make size gains on strength programs.

robbyf1971

Ok thanks everyone. I will research some of the programs you'll recommended. I still consider myself a novice so some of the lingo thrown out is not familiar.

SezxyStef

binaryjester wrote: »

I can vouch for Wendler's 5/3/1. Great program and you can change the lifts at the end for variety.

I 2nd this. I did SL 5x5 for 9 months, switched to 3x5 for the summer (was taking way to long at 5x5) and in the fall moved to 5/3/1...I did that for 18m and got bored...still doing something similar to 5/3/1 but increasing reps for a cycle then increase weights again and start rep count again.

Moving along to something else again.

robbyf1971

SezxyStef wrote: »

binaryjester wrote: »

I can vouch for Wendler's 5/3/1. Great program and you can change the lifts at the end for variety.

I 2nd this. I did SL 5x5 for 9 months, switched to 3x5 for the summer (was taking way to long at 5x5) and in the fall moved to 5/3/1...I did that for 18m and got bored...still doing something similar to 5/3/1 but increasing reps for a cycle then increase weights again and start rep count again.

Moving along to something else again.

Good to hear. My SL with some accessories + cardio was taking close to 2 hours. Something short would be good.

Do any these programs have an app or how do you track your progress? I have trouble sometimes remembering what weight I am at.

rileysowner

usmcmp wrote: »

robbyf1971 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

I would suggest using a program put together by someone else. Most people cannot put an effective program of their own together. There are a lot that you can find to progress from after Stronglifts. Stronglifts is mainly a beginner program, so after a year and a half, it is time to go to something else. What are your goals?

My goals:

A. need to lose about 10lbs fat, mostly around mid section
B. Chest development, always weak area for me.
C. just look good in tshirt, I am not a body builder by any means. Just look fit for my age (44)

Okay, so if you want better size for chest you may want to consider switching to a hypertrophy/bodybuilding program. You've followed a strength program for long enough to build a solid strength base. To build size it's a good idea to follow a program meant for that. PHAT, PHUL and HST are some of the most well known and widely followed hypertrophy programs. You can still make size gains on strength programs.

PHAT -- http://www.simplyshredded.com/mega-feature-layne-norton-training-series-full-powerhypertrophy-routine-updated-2011.html

PHUL -- https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

HST -- http://hypertrophyspecific.com/hst_index.html

robbyf1971

rileysowner wrote: »

PHAT -- http://www.simplyshredded.com/mega-feature-layne-norton-training-series-full-powerhypertrophy-routine-updated-2011.html

PHUL -- https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

HST -- http://hypertrophyspecific.com/hst_index.html

Thanks for the links. Any of those you prefer? TBH I am not big a dumbbells so not sure if any of those are dumbbell centric. But maybe I need to get used to them.

usmcmp

robbyf1971 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

PHAT -- http://www.simplyshredded.com/mega-feature-layne-norton-training-series-full-powerhypertrophy-routine-updated-2011.html

PHUL -- https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

HST -- http://hypertrophyspecific.com/hst_index.html

Thanks for the links. Any of those you prefer? TBH I am not big a dumbbells so not sure if any of those are dumbbell centric. But maybe I need to get used to them.

Dumbbells are incredible for ensuring that both sides of the body develop evenly. The programs are built with barbell as the main and dumbbell as accessory.

PHAT is 5 days per week
PHUL is 4 days per week
HST is 3 days per week

PHAT is my favorite of them. HST was my least favorite. Those are entirely personal preference though and should be taken with a grain of salt especially since I hate 5x5 programs.

galgenstrick

Order of lifts does matter, especially for gaining strength. You don't want to burn yourself out doing 100 pullups, then go on to deadlift, because you won't be able to pull nearly as much as if you did deadlifts first.

Generally speaking, for beginner and intermediate lifters, you should do the most compound lifts first, normally deadlifts and squats, then move on to the less compound ones all the way on to the isolation exercises.

robbyf1971

I looked thru the recommendations and I like the PHUL program.

Anyone do this and can tell me how long each day should take? Seems like a lot and I would like to get 30 minutes of cardio in.

WilsonFilson

Order does matter yes. You want your big compound lifts first so you get the most out of them (i.e. so you have as much strength possible for them).

Have you looked at Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger? This is a program for those in the 2nd-3rd year of heaving weight training (similar to SL).

eeejer

stronglifts suggests moving to Madcow 5x5 once you are done with straight linear progression. I can vouch for this, it is an excellent second stage.

_lyndseybrooke_

Heavy, compound lifts first, always.

If you're doing more than one heavy compound lift (with an upper lower split, for instance), I would prioritize them based on your goals. For instance, an upper body day may consist of bench press, row, and shoulder press. If I were you, I would do it in that order. That way you're prioritizing based on your goal (growing a bigger chest) and it's alternating push and pull movements.