Just started SL 5x5 - advice please

canadianlbs

buffalogal42 wrote: »

Question about Stronglifts - how long are you supposed to take between sets and then between exercise changes? Does it matter?

not saying i'm right about this, but my heuristic i tell myself is about depleting the atp/whatever in my muscles, and then having to wait for my body to do the refill. in my head i try to set a picture of filling a cup under a tap that's only turned on to a trickle.

for squat/deadlift and maybe rows too, i just go by 'until i feel ready for the next set', and it's usually more related to my heart and respiration rates. for bench and press i go more by the trickle theory since i don't get out of breath. my trainer's trying to get me to rest a little longer on those ones than i'm used to. but i do band pulls and broomsticks in between sets for those anyway.

sgt1372

buffalogal42 wrote: »

Question about Stronglifts - how long are you supposed to take between sets and then between exercise changes? Does it matter?

Medhi use to tell people to take minimal rest -- as little as 90 secs, regardless of the weight.

Not sure what he says now but you should take as long as YOU need to recover your strength.

If you don't, it will negatively affect your form and increase the possibility of injury, especially when you start to lift heavy.

I don't do SL or any 5x5 program anymore but I lift heavy (at least 80-85% of my prior 1RM max and I normally rest 3-5 mins between sets and up to 10 mins between lifts.

People will tell you not to rest more than 10-15 mins because of the risk cooling down & tightening up but I always do a warm up routine b4 starting each new lift. So, that has never been an issue for me.

sammyliftsandeats

The Stronglifts app now tells you 90secs if it was easy, 3 mins if it was hard and 5 mins if you failed.

I generally follow that guide.

As for switching from squat to bench to row, it is generally about three minutes for me.