Can someone explain Stronglifts 5x5 to this wet noodle?

FitCanuckChick

I am the wet noodle, which is how I lovingly describe my arms. I keep seeing all over the boards about Stronglifts 5x5 and people doing this. What is it? Do I need to buy a program? Can I do it at the gym? Is is a total body strength/muscle program (meaning should I incorporate other weights into it)? Will it help me to get lean and muscular and not bulky?

Thanks!

JenMc14

It's a strength/lifting program. Google it, I'm pretty sure you can download it free. It will only make you "bulky" if you eat at a surplus and want to be bulky.

bceltic

search in the groups. There is a Stronglifts 5x5 group. An easy layout is there in the stickies.

Huffdogg

Honestly...go on Amazon and drop $30 on the book Starting Strength. It's a remarkably similar program but the book is the single best beginner's resource on weight lifting on the market.

Snow3y

It's a basic and well structured strength building program. While on it, don't try fix it up or change it in any way. Follow exactly what it says you're meant to do.

It's designed by professionals, so leave it that way.

You can do it at the gym, yes. You do NOT need to buy it, you can get it free if you search for it, or head over to www.jefit.com and find it there. The only way to get 'lean muscular' is to have a small surplus of your daily calorie intake, or by bulking up and then going on a cut in the future.

amberlykay1014

Stronglifts is free and you can download it with a quick google search.

Basically, it's two workouts (A & that you alternate at the gym 3 times a week. For example, Monday I do A, Wednesday I do B, Friday I do A.. Monday B.. and so forth.

I do Stronglifts because I am new at lifting so it is an easy way for me to learn form and progress quickly without having to deal with an overload of new information. And the workouts take less than 30 minutes each. The core exercises are squats, bench presses, deadlifts, rows, and overhead presses. It is a 12 week program. Hope that helps!

FrnkLft

There are only 5 main lifts. They are all big "compound" lifts which means they work multiple muscle groups in the same movement.

You workout 3 times a week, with a day of rest in between each, and you alternate between Workout A and Workout B:

Workout A
Squat: 5 sets of 5 reps
Bench Press: 5 sets of 5 rep
Barbell Rows: 5 sets of 5 reps

Workout B:
Squat: 5 sets of 5 reps
Shoulder Press: 5 sets of 5 reps
Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 reps

Doing this, you will hit every muscle group in your body, 2-3 times a week. You start light (even with just the bar if you like), and add 5 lbs to each lift every time you complete a full 5 sets of 5 repetitions with safe/good form. If you can't complete it, no problem, just try again the next time you come around to it.

Simple, complete, great program. Also free, with a lot of good resources on the website.

The alternative is Starting Strength, which is the same thing for money. You can do either one, and you will get strong and fit.

You will find out when you start lifting that these are really the only exercises you need. They need to be the basis for your program/routine.

timbrom

I started doing Stronglifts 5x5. It's free, and you get what you pay for.

Picked up Starting Strength about a month into doing Stronglifts, and while the programs are close to the same, the amount of detail that Starting Strength goes into leaves Stronglifts in the dust. One of the best $30 I've ever spent (and the Kindle e-book edition is only $10, if that floats your boat).

Plus, Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts) is annoying as hell, but that's my personal opinion.

Huffdogg

It's designed by professionals, so leave it that way.

o_O

Mehdi is a marketing guy. Not a professional in terms of lifting in any capacity.

FrnkLft

I started doing Stronglifts 5x5. It's free, and you get what you pay for.

Picked up Starting Strength about a month into doing Stronglifts, and while the programs are close to the same, the amount of detail that Starting Strength goes into leaves Stronglifts in the dust. One of the best $30 I've ever spent (and the Kindle e-book edition is only $10, if that floats your boat).

Plus, Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts) is annoying as hell, but that's my personal opinion.

... what did Starting Strength give you that SL5x5 didn't?

javacafe

"Stronglift 5 x 5 is a (relative simple) weight training program that utilizes compound movements with progressively heavier weights." That is my summary of the program. And, I happen to be a fan of it. Using SL5x5, along with a few other things I was able to change my physique (at the age of 57) from being "tubby" to "quite lean with visible abs." (See pictures in my profile, if you care).

Gaining muscles is INCREDIBLY hard for women. Even for young males, it is a serious challenge. Not working out with weights because of the fear of gaining bulk is absolutely pointless. One can stop putting on more weight on the bar, and the gains will immediately stop. One can stop eating a caloric surplus and bulking will come to a halt.

However, working with weights will preserve muscle to a significant extent, and cause fat loss (if eating at caloric deficit.)

For details on the kinds of routines in SL5x%, check out this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary .

(Starting Strength is excellent as well. The only reason I chose SL5x5 over SS is because, in my very humble opinion Power Cleans" are truly too advanced for novice [and even some intermediate] lifters. SL5X% eliminates the Power Cleans, and adds Bent Over Row and Overhead Press, which are far more manageable, in my view. Again, this is just my personal opinion. Others may disagree.)

Cheers!

Huffdogg

I started doing Stronglifts 5x5. It's free, and you get what you pay for.

Picked up Starting Strength about a month into doing Stronglifts, and while the programs are close to the same, the amount of detail that Starting Strength goes into leaves Stronglifts in the dust. One of the best $30 I've ever spent (and the Kindle e-book edition is only $10, if that floats your boat).

Plus, Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts) is annoying as hell, but that's my personal opinion.

... what did Starting Strength give you that SL5x5 didn't?

*NOT TROLLING*

Have you seen the SS book? It's an exhaustive explanation of the biomechanics behind the main compound lifts, detailed and illustrated descriptions of setup, bar paths, optimum stances and grip widths and the reasons behind every variation, and lots of info for troubleshooting common problems with the lifts.

Also, it doesn't do the whole "start with just the bar!!!" nonsense that SL does (which is purely a marketing stunt so that he can say "Joe Blow added 200 lbs to his squat in just 16 weeks!!!"). Rip tells you how to decide what point to start the weights at so you are not wasting your time for weeks just because you did the program as designed.

And unlike Javacafe, I believe that the Power Clean is a great addition to a beginner program. Learning to generate power from the floor is a great stimulus to fast-twitch muscle fibers (which women already get screwed on and can use all the help they can get, incidentally), and carries over wonderfully into other lifts. It's also far less isolated in its effects than the barbell row. Overall, the difference between the row and the PC is the smaller of the issues, though. The SS book is worth every penny, whether you decide to do the other program or not.

timbrom

I started doing Stronglifts 5x5. It's free, and you get what you pay for.

Picked up Starting Strength about a month into doing Stronglifts, and while the programs are close to the same, the amount of detail that Starting Strength goes into leaves Stronglifts in the dust. One of the best $30 I've ever spent (and the Kindle e-book edition is only $10, if that floats your boat).

Plus, Mehdi (the guy behind Stronglifts) is annoying as hell, but that's my personal opinion.

... what did Starting Strength give you that SL5x5 didn't?

347 pages of very detailed descriptions of the five major lifts. What common problems are, how to correct them, how to compensate for different anthropometry, the precise mechanics of barbell training, much more information on programming. Essentially, so much more detail it's frankly embarrassing to the Stronglifts program.

With stronglifts you get a marketing blurb and a 20 minute video of Mehdi telling you to keep your knees out when you squat and hit parallel. Both of which are important, but that's a kindergarten level of understanding of the squat. Starting Strength reads like a very good textbook.

Stronglifts is a solid program, don't get me wrong, but I had all sorts of form problems that I didn't know about until I read starting strength.

FrnkLft

Ok thats what I was looking for. The routines are the same, and the book is helpful for all the information it provides. SL5x5 does have enough resources and videos on the site to get someone going, and they are good.

It's mostly just a preference for how you're getting your information. You're good to go with either one actually. You'll see your gains with both programs.

timbrom

Ok thats what I was looking for. The routines are the same, and the book is helpful for all the information it provides. SL5x5 does have enough resources and videos on the site to get someone going, and they are good.

It's mostly just a preference for how you're getting your information. You're good to go with either one actually. You'll see your gains with both programs.

I think that the most succinct way to put it is that Stronglifts is good, but it is not complete.

MityMax96

@timbrom

Love your avatar.

Got you a little lifting dude waiting in the wings. :happy: :happy:

FrnkLft

Ok thats what I was looking for. The routines are the same, and the book is helpful for all the information it provides. SL5x5 does have enough resources and videos on the site to get someone going, and they are good.

It's mostly just a preference for how you're getting your information. You're good to go with either one actually. You'll see your gains with both programs.

I think that the most succinct way to put it is that Stronglifts is good, but it is not complete.

There's nothing incomplete about SL 5x5... Starting Strength just goes into a lot of detail, where SL 5x5's resources tell you just what you need to know.

That said, a narrative from an experienced lifter like Rippetoe (Starting Strength's Author) can be very valuable for a new lifter. Setting an example for how to responsibly train and think about weight lifting can be very helpful.

The programs are the same and have great fundamentals. If you also want a book to read into things more, Starting Strength is the standard. Although for that matter Wendler's 5/3/1 is excellent also, but that book features a different program to this one, meant for more advanced lifters, and one that I'm using now (still focused on the main lifts though).

For the record, I find Rippetoe to be off putting. He carries himself like a fat slob lol And yeah I kinda like Medhi, but there is something about him that seems a bit arrogant...

timbrom

Ok thats what I was looking for. The routines are the same, and the book is helpful for all the information it provides. SL5x5 does have enough resources and videos on the site to get someone going, and they are good.

It's mostly just a preference for how you're getting your information. You're good to go with either one actually. You'll see your gains with both programs.

I think that the most succinct way to put it is that Stronglifts is good, but it is not complete.

There's nothing incomplete about SL 5x5... Starting Strength just goes into a lot of detail, where SL 5x5's resources tell you just what you need to know.

That said, a narrative from an experienced lifter like Rippetoe (Starting Strength's Author) can be very valuable for a new lifter. Setting an example for how to responsibly train and think about weight lifting can be very helpful.

The programs are the same and have great fundamentals. If you also want a book to read into things more, Starting Strength is the standard. Although for that matter Wendler's 5/3/1 is excellent also, but that book features a different program to this one, meant for more advanced lifters, and one that I'm using now (still focused on the main lifts though).

For the record, I find Rippetoe to be off putting. He carries himself like a fat slob lol And yeah I kinda like Medhi, but there is something about him that seems a bit arrogant...

Speaking as someone who has done both programs, Stronglifts didn't give me everything I wish I had known when I started. I really wish I had started with Starting Strength over Stronglifts. Stronglifts may be ok if you just want the bare minimum of information to get going, but there's a lot of detail about performing the lifts properly that is left out. Granted, a lot of it may not be necessary for your particular situation, but especially as I talk about lifting with people on these boards and in real life, Starting Strength gives me a much firmer foundation of knowledge than Stronglifts did.

As to the personalities, I can certainly see why someone may find Rip off-putting. Both he and Mehdi have strong personalities that will rub some people the wrong way.

Edited to add: Starting Strength isn't complete either. I don't think any single resource can be a complete guide to strength training, especially since there are different views on a lot of topics. Starting Strength is, however, a much more complete guide to the five major lifts than Stronglifts is.

JNick77

It's a basic and well structured strength building program. While on it, don't try fix it up or change it in any way. Follow exactly what it says you're meant to do.

It's designed by professionals, so leave it that way.

You can do it at the gym, yes. You do NOT need to buy it, you can get it free if you search for it, or head over to www.jefit.com and find it there. The only way to get 'lean muscular' is to have a small surplus of your daily calorie intake, or by bulking up and then going on a cut in the future.

The word "professional" is used a little too loosely here but I do agree with you in that you just do it is as is. The program was basically hijacked from a true professional and re-marketed by a douche'-bag that has a little muscle.

FrnkLft

It's a basic and well structured strength building program. While on it, don't try fix it up or change it in any way. Follow exactly what it says you're meant to do.

It's designed by professionals, so leave it that way.

You can do it at the gym, yes. You do NOT need to buy it, you can get it free if you search for it, or head over to www.jefit.com and find it there. The only way to get 'lean muscular' is to have a small surplus of your daily calorie intake, or by bulking up and then going on a cut in the future.

The word "professional" is used a little too loosely here but I do agree with you in that you just do it is as is. The program was basically hijacked from a true professional and re-marketed by a douche'-bag that has a little muscle.

Rofl, who did he steal it from?

JNick77

Edited to add: Starting Strength isn't complete either. I don't think any single resource can be a complete guide to strength training, especially since there are different views on a lot of topics. Starting Strength is, however, a much more complete guide to the five major lifts than Stronglifts is.

There are workout routines and then there are training systems, SL5x5 is a routine. In it's regular form it's too rigid to be adjusted to an individual's weaknesses. One might say to get better at squatting to just squat more and although that's a valid point there becomes a point in everybody's training where the diminishing returns kick-in and you need to do other work to continue improving in the squat.

Plus, it's focus is on linear growth and of course that only lasts for so long and will vary by individual. A goood training system can be adjusted to one's goals, fix one's weaknesses, and be used forever. Examples of a good training system are, Westside, Cube Method, Juggernaut Training Systems, and 5/3/1. I'm sure there are others but that's the short-list that comes to mind.

I like SL5x5 for a true beginner that does not have an experienced individual to help them learn something better. If that's you, then start with SL5x5.