When did you move on from SL 5x5?
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amyinthetardis1231
Posts: 571 Member
Hey ladies, as the title states, I'm wondering how long people stay with SL 5x5, and how you knew when it was time to do something else? I'm currently squatting and deadlifting 68-71% of my body weight and my OHP hasn't moved up since week 2. I stayed at the same weight for squats for all 3 workouts this week and hitting 5 sets of 5 is getting pretty exhausting. I don't know if I'm not fueling up well enough, if it's energy drain from a sore muscle, just general fatigue, or if I'm ready to switch to a different program like Madcow or Wendler. I know as a beginner program, 5x5 usually works for newbies for several months before they outgrow it, but I came into it with a pretty good strength base and feel like I'm starting to hit a bit of a wall after only a couple months. Am I crazy?
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i don't think you're crazy, but i do wonder if you've taken a rest week at any time since you started. nothing wrong with moving on already, probably. but on the other hand, it could be that there's lots more mileage waiting to be gotten out of stronglifts, if you do take a break and let your body catch up.
to answer your question, i did sl for a year, and then when i started with mr t we made it 3x5 instead of 5x5. that lasted me for i guess 8 months or so. and then last april he moved me to wendler, because i was stuck up against a ceiling and just getting angrier every time i re-tried.
started out doing it just for bench, but i pretty soon moved everything else there as well. i just liked it better.0 -
^^^ on ohp, it might be there are some form things that would make a difference. have you tried posting a clip here or in one of the other mfp groups, to see whether people have any feedback on it?0
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SL was my first lifting program as I liked that I knew a couple of lifts but still had others to learn. Made it easier to ease into things. I did the program for around 12 weeks, then was comfortable enough lifting that I wanted to branch out and try a few new things. Plus, my stepsister had bought me the book New Rules of Lifting for Women, so I decided to try that. It was very different and I think I liked the heavy lifting focus of SL more than the different stages of NROL4W but it did help me branch out. Now I do more of an upper/lower split and focus on my numbers for powerlifting but sometimes revert to the 5 rep range from SL.0
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canadianlbs wrote: »i don't think you're crazy, but i do wonder if you've taken a rest week at any time since you started. nothing wrong with moving on already, probably. but on the other hand, it could be that there's lots more mileage waiting to be gotten out of stronglifts, if you do take a break and let your body catch up.
to answer your question, i did sl for a year, and then when i started with mr t we made it 3x5 instead of 5x5. that lasted me for i guess 8 months or so. and then last april he moved me to wendler, because i was stuck up against a ceiling and just getting angrier every time i re-tried.
started out doing it just for bench, but i pretty soon moved everything else there as well. i just liked it better.canadianlbs wrote: »^^^ on ohp, it might be there are some form things that would make a difference. have you tried posting a clip here or in one of the other mfp groups, to see whether people have any feedback on it?
I have taken a forced rest week due to illness, but not a real, planned rest week. I've also been really stressed about building up my private practice (I'm a therapist) and dealing with outside crap like my parents' ugly divorce. I'm sure stress is contributing, along with several weeks of interrupted sleep due to toddler being a toddler kind of stuff. I wonder about maybe trying 3x5 to see how that feels, esp now that the weights are getting heavier.
Also, re: OHP I have not taken video of that. Since I'm taking a break from it to let my rib muscle heal, I may take some when I get back to it. I'll post it on here if I do, since you're the OHP queen
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@DawnEmbers , thanks for your perspective. It feels so short to move on, since I've only been doing SL since mid-November, but maybe that's not too short a time if you've gotten what you can from it. I think at some point I'll for sure switch to a lower rep range (thinking about trying 3x5) or a Wendler's type thing because I get bored doing the same thing for too long. I'm also feeling impatient at not seeing results in body changes as quickly as I want, which may be motivating the itch to change things up.0
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amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »Also, re: OHP I have not taken video of that. Since I'm taking a break from it to let my rib muscle heal, I may take some when I get back to it. I'll post it on here if I do, since you're the OHP queen
heh. of my own world i am,
i'm still dreaming of 70 pounds though, and i think dawn has long ago left that in the dust. so perhaps she has some thoughts too.
i agree that it's all academic until your sprain heals, since any form you'd have right now would be special-circs form. as far as rest goes . . . honestly, an honest-to-goodness real rest week can do wonders sometimes. your body might just be in a bit of a 'growth debt' where it's got more stimulus buffered than it's been able to process and respond to. so that's one thought.
on the other hand, when i moved to wendler the first cycle was like a religious revelation. he has you calculate a one-rep max, and then he insists you start LIGHT for the first cycle or two. so i was giddy for the first month, after two or three months of fighting the absolute max i could do with 3x5. i was like, bwahahahaha i can do this! *bling dance* EASY!! mwahah!
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*blushes* not by that much but hoping to get 100 one of these days on that pesky OHP or push press cause that's a tiny push helps.
Well, there is some merit to sticking to a program for at least a certain amount of time in order to see progress. It is tempting to jump from one to another but that can make it hard for progress too. Most of the time now I focus on the main lifts squat/bench/deadlift with a few accessories in order to try getting those lifts up. When I follow it at least. I didn't do bench as much this last cycle so that hasn't really gone up but increased my squat and deadlift.
OHP is a pain to increase. I really need to get those micro weights to increase one lb at a time.0 -
My micro weights just arrived! Can't wait until my next OHP day (two days from today). 2
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amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »canadianlbs wrote: »i don't think you're crazy, but i do wonder if you've taken a rest week at any time since you started. nothing wrong with moving on already, probably. but on the other hand, it could be that there's lots more mileage waiting to be gotten out of stronglifts, if you do take a break and let your body catch up.
to answer your question, i did sl for a year, and then when i started with mr t we made it 3x5 instead of 5x5. that lasted me for i guess 8 months or so. and then last april he moved me to wendler, because i was stuck up against a ceiling and just getting angrier every time i re-tried.
started out doing it just for bench, but i pretty soon moved everything else there as well. i just liked it better.canadianlbs wrote: »^^^ on ohp, it might be there are some form things that would make a difference. have you tried posting a clip here or in one of the other mfp groups, to see whether people have any feedback on it?
I have taken a forced rest week due to illness, but not a real, planned rest week. I've also been really stressed about building up my private practice (I'm a therapist) and dealing with outside crap like my parents' ugly divorce. I'm sure stress is contributing, along with several weeks of interrupted sleep due to toddler being a toddler kind of stuff. I wonder about maybe trying 3x5 to see how that feels, esp now that the weights are getting heavier.
Also, re: OHP I have not taken video of that. Since I'm taking a break from it to let my rib muscle heal, I may take some when I get back to it. I'll post it on here if I do, since you're the OHP queen
Dude... Maybe you need a week off from life in general and that's what's making you feel so weak. That sounds like so much stress and I know everyone is different but that could be beating you up more than the weights are. Maybe throw some yoga into your life for a week and then go back to the weights (switching to 3x5 sounds good). It helps reset things for me at least. Also, yoga with the toddler can be very, very, VERY fun and funny. Plus it could help with the strain depending on the asanas you go with. Anyway, stay strong. And have at least one dance party a day.4 -
amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »canadianlbs wrote: »i don't think you're crazy, but i do wonder if you've taken a rest week at any time since you started. nothing wrong with moving on already, probably. but on the other hand, it could be that there's lots more mileage waiting to be gotten out of stronglifts, if you do take a break and let your body catch up.
to answer your question, i did sl for a year, and then when i started with mr t we made it 3x5 instead of 5x5. that lasted me for i guess 8 months or so. and then last april he moved me to wendler, because i was stuck up against a ceiling and just getting angrier every time i re-tried.
started out doing it just for bench, but i pretty soon moved everything else there as well. i just liked it better.canadianlbs wrote: »^^^ on ohp, it might be there are some form things that would make a difference. have you tried posting a clip here or in one of the other mfp groups, to see whether people have any feedback on it?
I have taken a forced rest week due to illness, but not a real, planned rest week. I've also been really stressed about building up my private practice (I'm a therapist) and dealing with outside crap like my parents' ugly divorce. I'm sure stress is contributing, along with several weeks of interrupted sleep due to toddler being a toddler kind of stuff. I wonder about maybe trying 3x5 to see how that feels, esp now that the weights are getting heavier.
Also, re: OHP I have not taken video of that. Since I'm taking a break from it to let my rib muscle heal, I may take some when I get back to it. I'll post it on here if I do, since you're the OHP queen
Dude... Maybe you need a week off from life in general and that's what's making you feel so weak. That sounds like so much stress and I know everyone is different but that could be beating you up more than the weights are. Maybe throw some yoga into your life for a week and then go back to the weights (switching to 3x5 sounds good). It helps reset things for me at least. Also, yoga with the toddler can be very, very, VERY fun and funny. Plus it could help with the strain depending on the asanas you go with. Anyway, stay strong. And have at least one dance party a day.
You're not wrong....and it looks like I might be taking time off whether I want to or not. My strained rib muscle was sore throughout squats and deadlift today, then afterward at home I sneezed and the whole area seized up. Holy *kitten* did that hurt! I was planning to take tomorrow off and go back Friday but I feel like I took a few steps back in my rib recovery
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I only did it for about 6 weeks because I was coming off of a bodybuilding program and had a fairly strong base. I switched when it started taking me about 45 min to squat alone. About 1.5x BW squat, 1.6X DL, .5X OHP, .75X bench. I jumped programs for a bit, but I just started 5/3/1 since it seems to work out better timing wise for me.
@canadianlbs , I'm on my first cycle, and I admit it was nice to drop the weight. Especially on squats because I don't know what happened to my hip flexor, but squats are not my friend now.
OP, where does it hurt along your ribs? In the front, or on the side kind of under the armpit? I pulled my Serratus Anterior a few months back, and I'm still trying to get back the upper body strength I lost healing from that.1 -
amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »then afterward at home I sneezed and the whole area seized up. Holy *kitten* did that hurt!
oh no. and oh yes, i recall how that hurts. ribs are staggeringly painful. it's like getting punched in the nose type of pain, except in a way that spreads through your whole thorax. i think it must have something to do with cartilage, although who really knows.
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mom23mangos wrote: »I only did it for about 6 weeks because I was coming off of a bodybuilding program and had a fairly strong base. I switched when it started taking me about 45 min to squat alone. About 1.5x BW squat, 1.6X DL, .5X OHP, .75X bench. I jumped programs for a bit, but I just started 5/3/1 since it seems to work out better timing wise for me.
@canadianlbs , I'm on my first cycle, and I admit it was nice to drop the weight. Especially on squats because I don't know what happened to my hip flexor, but squats are not my friend now.
OP, where does it hurt along your ribs? In the front, or on the side kind of under the armpit? I pulled my Serratus Anterior a few months back, and I'm still trying to get back the upper body strength I lost healing from that.canadianlbs wrote: »amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »then afterward at home I sneezed and the whole area seized up. Holy *kitten* did that hurt!
oh no. and oh yes, i recall how that hurts. ribs are staggeringly painful. it's like getting punched in the nose type of pain, except in a way that spreads through your whole thorax. i think it must have something to do with cartilage, although who really knows.
It's along the side, right at bra band height. When I sneeze, I feel the muscle spasm all the way from front to back along that line. It sucks! I had to switch back to a bra that is too loose bc the pressure of a correctly fitting back hurt. It's getting better after making myself take a couple days off from even squatting, so I'm hoping I'll be good to go back Monday. Thanks for the tea and sympathy, it feels so silly to complain about a tiny muscle but there's no getting around it!
Aside from the rib issue, I may stick with 5x5 fir a bit longer but after taking a few days off I'll prob need another deload. My trainer suggested it to help my squats progress anyway, since I've been taking a week at the same weight and starting to feel form break down by set 4. I also have to remind myself that I started at an empty bar in Nov and squatted 125 on Weds, so I am definitely progressing. Sicknesd, injury, and holidays have complicated things for sure.1 -
That definitely sounds like the Serratus. I initially injured mine benching, then obliterated it doing inversions in my aerial class. It took about 4 weeks of PT to heal. I could work lower body and a very few isolated upper body movements in that timeframe. Squats and deadlifts were no problem.0
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mom23mangos wrote: »That definitely sounds like the Serratus. I initially injured mine benching, then obliterated it doing inversions in my aerial class. It took about 4 weeks of PT to heal. I could work lower body and a very few isolated upper body movements in that timeframe. Squats and deadlifts were no problem.
Benchpress definitely made it worse. Squatting irritates it because reaching up or above my head irritates it, so holding the bar for back squats was problematic as well. I may continue to stay away from the benchpress and OHP next week, we'll see how it feels.
On another note, tell me about aerials! I'm really interested in taking a class some time.1 -
I took fabric. I haven't gone back since I hurt myself this last time. I love it and it's a great workout, but it's the second time I've seriously injured myself doing inversions. I rarely injure myself lifting and at max it's a little strain that takes a week's rest or so. My 12yr old son has been taking classes for two years and does it all...fabric, Lyra, trapeze, rope, harness.0
