Stronglifts???

JessieNeutronGirlGenius
JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
in Fitness and Exercise
I just read Strong Curves, a book designed for Women lifters...however, I wasn't very impressed by it whatsoever. It was all Barbie exercises for lack of a better term and I've heard Strong Lifts is a great program.

I don't mean to sound ignorant but I'm not sure how to even get the program or read it, I go to the website and I guess you could say I'm stumped. Also, has any other women been following it and seen success?

Here are my stats:

Age: 20
Height: 5 ft
Weight: 145lbs
Fat %: 28%


I'm pretty active..I like to hit the gym 4-6 days a week and I do cardio and lift.

If anyone could help that would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I just read Strong Curves, a book designed for Women lifters...however, I wasn't very impressed by it whatsoever. It was all Barbie exercises for lack of a better term and I've heard Strong Lifts is a great program.

    I don't mean to sound ignorant but I'm not sure how to even get the program or read it, I go to the website and I guess you could say I'm stumped. Also, has any other women been following it and seen success?

    Here are my stats:

    Age: 20
    Height: 5 ft
    Weight: 145lbs
    Fat %: 28%


    I'm pretty active..I like to hit the gym 4-6 days a week and I do cardio and lift.

    If anyone could help that would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

    I'm assuming you are newer to lifting... which means ANY progressive lifting program will benefit you.

    New Rules of Lifting (For Women)
    Strong lifts
    Starting Strength
    Strong Curves.

    They are all good programs.

    If you stick with it you will see growth and progress.

    Lots of womiz here lift the above programs and have been VERY successful.

    Do you have some more specific questions that you are confused about? What are you stumped on? I can't answer questions if I don't know how you are confused. :)
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Stronglifts is a great program.

    Workout A
    Squats 5x5
    Bench 5x5
    Rows 5x5

    Workout B
    Squats 5x5
    OHP 5x5
    Deadlifts 1x5

    I do T, Th, and Sat. It's designed to have three workouts a week, so week 1 will be A, B, A - Week 2 will be B, A, B. Very simple, start with the bar and increase by 5 pounds. I actually prefer this to 5/3/1, but that's just my opinion.

    Edited: I read this as you couldn't find the program. It's all over the internet, but you can sign up on the site and get a PDF sent to you.
  • Safiyandi
    Safiyandi Posts: 151
    Deadlifts and hip thrusters are barbie exercises?

    There's a link to download the Stronglifts package on the main page of the website. If you know your forms, though, you don't really need to buy anything, just follow the schedule posted above.
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    I've read the NROL I lift heavy I'm not new to lifting...I guess I'm just looking for more of a structured plan rather! I should've been more specific sorry! :-P
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    Deadlifts and hip thrusters are barbie exercises?

    There's a link to download the Stronglifts package on the main page of the website. If you know your forms, though, you don't really need to buy anything, just follow the schedule posted above.

    I guess the "Barbie" aspect of it for me was some of the body weight exercises and I wished there was an intermediate program rather than beginner and advanced because I didn't fit in beginner but advanced was well....too advanced.
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    Stronglifts is a great program.

    Workout A
    Squats 5x5
    Bench 5x5
    Rows 5x5

    Workout B
    Squats 5x5
    OHP 5x5
    Deadlifts 1x5

    I do T, Th, and Sat. It's designed to have three workouts a week, so week 1 will be A, B, A - Week 2 will be B, A, B. Very simple, start with the bar and increase by 5 pounds. I actually prefer this to 5/3/1, but that's just my opinion.

    Edited: I read this as you couldn't find the program. It's all over the internet, but you can sign up on the site and get a PDF sent to you.

    I'm new to some terminology so what exactly is 5/3/1 ... 5 reps/3 reps/ 1 rep??
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Stronglifts is a great program.

    Workout A
    Squats 5x5
    Bench 5x5
    Rows 5x5

    Workout B
    Squats 5x5
    OHP 5x5
    Deadlifts 1x5

    I do T, Th, and Sat. It's designed to have three workouts a week, so week 1 will be A, B, A - Week 2 will be B, A, B. Very simple, start with the bar and increase by 5 pounds. I actually prefer this to 5/3/1, but that's just my opinion.

    Edited: I read this as you couldn't find the program. It's all over the internet, but you can sign up on the site and get a PDF sent to you.

    I'm new to some terminology so what exactly is 5/3/1 ... 5 reps/3 reps/ 1 rep??

    If you know your 1 rep max for lifts, this site will do all of the work for you. http://www.strstd.com/
  • PrimalGirl
    PrimalGirl Posts: 148 Member
    I'm doing SL and I've gone from squatting 20kg to 50kg in about four months. Today I deadlifted 90kg for four reps - nearly at that magical 5 rep status! Again in about 4 months.

    I freaking love it!

    Oh, and I wasn't a lifter before I started it. I did cardio and lots of bodyweight, HIIT, circuits etc but never really pushed my strength training. Totally give it a go. I do 3 times a week and 2 times HIIT to change it up and work my endurance.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Stronglifts is a great program.

    Workout A
    Squats 5x5
    Bench 5x5
    Rows 5x5

    Workout B
    Squats 5x5
    OHP 5x5
    Deadlifts 1x5

    I do T, Th, and Sat. It's designed to have three workouts a week, so week 1 will be A, B, A - Week 2 will be B, A, B. Very simple, start with the bar and increase by 5 pounds. I actually prefer this to 5/3/1, but that's just my opinion.

    Edited: I read this as you couldn't find the program. It's all over the internet, but you can sign up on the site and get a PDF sent to you.

    I'm new to some terminology so what exactly is 5/3/1 ... 5 reps/3 reps/ 1 rep??

    Google Wendler 5/3/1 and you will see the programing. essentially each day focuses on one main compound lift, week 1 working set has a goal of 5 reps, week 2, 3 week 3, 1 week 4 is a delaod, then do it all again with heavier weights.
  • Safiyandi
    Safiyandi Posts: 151
    I gotcha! SL is great for beginners, but it can be useful for a while when you start getting into the intermediate range.

    5/3/1 is a true intermediate lifting program that follows a periodic wave structure, unlike SL's linear progression - if you think you have any "novice curve" still left in you, (that is, if you're still making pretty rapid strength gains or have been lifting for less that 7 months or so), you'll want a linear program like SL, since that'll help you get the most rapid results at that time. Once you start hitting a point where you need to deload more often than you're making progress, 5/3/1 is a good choice.
  • Healthy_4_Life2
    Healthy_4_Life2 Posts: 595 Member
    Bump!
  • jhc7324
    jhc7324 Posts: 200 Member
    Stronglifts is a great program.

    Workout A
    Squats 5x5
    Bench 5x5
    Rows 5x5

    Workout B
    Squats 5x5
    OHP 5x5
    Deadlifts 1x5

    I do T, Th, and Sat. It's designed to have three workouts a week, so week 1 will be A, B, A - Week 2 will be B, A, B. Very simple, start with the bar and increase by 5 pounds. I actually prefer this to 5/3/1, but that's just my opinion.

    Edited: I read this as you couldn't find the program. It's all over the internet, but you can sign up on the site and get a PDF sent to you.

    I'm new to some terminology so what exactly is 5/3/1 ... 5 reps/3 reps/ 1 rep??
    5/3/1 is a good intermediate program by Jim Wendler (google him, his book is worth reading if you're already beyond a beginner level).

    The program is designed to lift 4x/week, each day focusing on one of the big 4 lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press), and works each of them in 4 week cycles to progressively load the amounts you're lifting. I've been using it for the past 8 months (after a few months of Starting Strength) and have made very good progress.
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    I gotcha! SL is great for beginners, but it can be useful for a while when you start getting into the intermediate range.

    5/3/1 is a true intermediate lifting program that follows a periodic wave structure, unlike SL's linear progression - if you think you have any "novice curve" still left in you, (that is, if you're still making pretty rapid strength gains or have been lifting for less that 7 months or so), you'll want a linear program like SL, since that'll help you get the most rapid results at that time. Once you start hitting a point where you need to deload more often than you're making progress, 5/3/1 is a good choice.

    I'm sorry...Deload means what exactly lol!? Again I am somewhat new with the terminology...I appreciate all the help!
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    I gotcha! SL is great for beginners, but it can be useful for a while when you start getting into the intermediate range.

    5/3/1 is a true intermediate lifting program that follows a periodic wave structure, unlike SL's linear progression - if you think you have any "novice curve" still left in you, (that is, if you're still making pretty rapid strength gains or have been lifting for less that 7 months or so), you'll want a linear program like SL, since that'll help you get the most rapid results at that time. Once you start hitting a point where you need to deload more often than you're making progress, 5/3/1 is a good choice.

    I'm sorry...Deload means what exactly lol!? Again I am somewhat new with the terminology...I appreciate all the help!

    Means you are lifting around half of the weight. I think with 5/3/1 you go to about 40-50%.
  • Safiyandi
    Safiyandi Posts: 151
    Oh sorry, haha. Basically you're going to hit a point where your programming asks you to lift more than your body really can, or you've become fatigued over a period of time and need to go lighter for a bit. It's actually counterproductive to keep banging your head against the same weight for a long time, so what you do is deload. I'm not sure what SL recommends in particular, but for a general linear progression deload I would reset my weight for that one failing lift to about 65%, and then work back up just as I had been before.


    5/3/1 has a deload worked into it once a month, with sets at 40/50/60% for everything that entire week.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I really liked strong curves :/

    I did starting strength first - similar to Stronglifts but 3x5 instead of 5x5 - which is a great programme. I've moved on to wendlers 5/3/1 with exercises from strong curves as my accessories on legs day.

    If strong curves is too Barbie for you, I'm sure you'll enjoy SL as a lot of guys do the programme too and it's dead easy to follow (NROLFW was a great read too but the programme was just too footers for me).
  • JessieNeutronGirlGenius
    JessieNeutronGirlGenius Posts: 268
    Thank you all so much for all of your help! Please feel free for anyone to send me a friend request! I'd love some lifting friends.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    I ran SL for nearly 7 months followed by some Nia Shanks programming and now I'm in week 10 of the advanced Strong Curves program and I will tell you that there is NOTHING "Barbie" about any of the programming or any of the lifts and the results I have gotten from the program are absolutely crazy ridiculous.

    Judging from the questjons you are asking here you are best to start with a program like SL or SS anyway and get your basic lifts down. You are far from intermediate and honestly 5/3/1 is too advanced for you right now. NROLF would also be a great read for you although I have a suspicion that you won't care for that programming either.
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
    OP, I am wondering what sort of program you have been following so far, and what kind of weight you are lifting. Have you been doing a specific program, and is it comprised of mostly isolation exercises, or more compound lifts? How many sets and reps do you normally do, that kind of thing.

    Just because everybody has a different definition of "lifting heavy."

    Even if you're not a total newbie, you may still enjoy and benefit from a program like stronglifts, particularly if you have been doing a different style of programming. And if you're more advanced, you will progress really quickly, feel like a badass, and then you can move on from there to something more intermediate.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I ran SL for nearly 7 months followed by some Nia Shanks programming and now I'm in week 10 of the advanced Strong Curves program and I will tell you that there is NOTHING "Barbie" about any of the programming or any of the lifts and the results I have gotten from the program are absolutely crazy ridiculous.

    Judging from the questjons you are asking here you are best to start with a program like SL or SS anyway and get your basic lifts down. You are far from intermediate and honestly 5/3/1 is too advanced for you right now. NROLF would also be a great read for you although I have a suspicion that you won't care for that programming either.

    agreed- this sounds about right.

    Also- if you think body weight workouts are barbie- you're doing them wrong. seriously- I can whip anyone's *kitten* into almost puking stage in 10-15 minutes with body weight only.

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