StrongLifts 5x5

hroush

Found a new interesting place to build up a little lactic acid, in my right forearm. Squats felt great last night and I think I went the lowest I ever have. Could definitely tell that apparel matters for how far you can go in squats.

ganesha303

So what, if any, supplementation are you guys using?

hroush

So what, if any, supplementation are you guys using?

I have EAS vanilla whey protein that I take with whole milk after my workouts. I also use this in a recipe for homemade protein bars that I use for my morning snack. Otherwise I usually have a cheeseburger or other high protein meat after my workout.

thkelly

So what, if any, supplementation are you guys using?

whey protein
creatine
fish oil
multi vitamin
joint supplement

those are pretty much the staples imo
sometimes i'll use a pre workout or just take a caffeine tab for a boost of energy

End6ame

So what, if any, supplementation are you guys using?

At Large Nutrition Nitrean Protein Blend (Breakfast and Evenings)
Muscle Milk 11oz RTD (Post-workout)
GNC Mega Men Sport Multivitamin
GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil

ganesha303

I use creatine pre-workout and glutamine post-workout. I did a little research that seemed to suggest these are good things to do, but honestly do not know a whole lot about it. I'd be interested in opinions on these.

I also take a plethora of vitamins daily, but most applicable to training is Glucosamine Chondroitin, which has been an amazing wonder for my joint health. I also take omega 3-6-9 oil complex, b-complex, A, E, C, multi, Slenium, Royal Jelly, and a few others. FYI, I get my vitamins through puritan.com, who have great quality and amazing prices. Once a year they do a 3 for the price of one sale. I usually just order a year's supply when they do that.

Lots of Whey of course and Casein every night before bed.

thkelly

I use creatine pre-workout and glutamine post-workout. I did a little research that seemed to suggest these are good things to do, but honestly do not know a whole lot about it. I'd be interested in opinions on these.

I also take a plethora of vitamins daily, but most applicable to training is Glucosamine Chondroitin, which has been an amazing wonder for my joint health. I also take omega 3-6-9 oil complex, b-complex, A, E, C, multi, Slenium, Royal Jelly, and a few others. FYI, I get my vitamins through puritan.com, who have great quality and amazing prices. Once a year they do a 3 for the price of one sale. I usually just order a year's supply when they do that.

Lots of Whey of course and Casein every night before bed.

I'm not a Doctor. i just play one on tv

Creatine is simple. buy creatine monohydrate. try to make sure is has a 'creapure' label on the product somewhere
take a teaspoon of creatine (approx 5g), put it in your mouth and wash it down with whatever drink you want anytime of day. the timing doesn't matter as long as you take 3-5 g a day and keep your body saturated it will work

there are a lot of glutamine haters out there. the consensius seems to be that glutamine supplementation has no effect on building muscle. i have heard that it helps your immune system but don't quote me on that. i've read a lot of people taking it because they want to keep from getting run down and sick.

End6ame

Creatine is simple. buy creatine monohydrate. try to make sure is has a 'creapure' label on the product somewhere
take a teaspoon of creatine (approx 5g), put it in your mouth and wash it down with whatever drink you want anytime of day. the timing doesn't matter as long as you take 3-5 g a day and keep your body saturated it will work

^^ This on creatine. I do not take it at the moment but have read a lot about it in preparation for taking it in the future. I want to get as far as I can get without it, on food alone, until I hit a wall, then I will supplement with creatine. No particular reason, I just prefer the most natural route.

ganesha303

there are a lot of glutamine haters out there. the consensius seems to be that glutamine supplementation has no effect on building muscle. i have heard that it helps your immune system but don't quote me on that. i've read a lot of people taking it because they want to keep from getting run down and sick.

What I read about it was it aids in muscle recovery. If it poses no risk, the cost is so minimal that if it does nothing, it is no big deal. The potential gain outweighs the absence of loss I suppose. Since I have pretty much used it since I started SL, I have no frame of reference without it. If it really is useless though, it would be good to know

ganesha303

Oh I also wanted to post this tip in case it would help anyone else. I have found certain areas of my body tend to be sore post-lifting. I especially had issues with my adductors. There were a couple days I skipped training because they were so sore. Even though I stretched them regularly, they still had a lot of issues. So I ran across this little cheap device:

http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx?ID=4404&CategoryID=363&img=247&kbid=1066

And just rolling it over my problem areas each day has created dramatic improvement in my challenge areas.

hroush

That's funny, I've never heard of these products and then I see them twice in two different threads in one morning.

I haven't had a problem with soreness (actually, I miss the soreness), but I'm thinking of getting the foam roller for my wife for her back problems.

koosdel

I am! I am!

Super workout.

thkelly

Creatine is simple. buy creatine monohydrate. try to make sure is has a 'creapure' label on the product somewhere
take a teaspoon of creatine (approx 5g), put it in your mouth and wash it down with whatever drink you want anytime of day. the timing doesn't matter as long as you take 3-5 g a day and keep your body saturated it will work

^^ This on creatine. I do not take it at the moment but have read a lot about it in preparation for taking it in the future. I want to get as far as I can get without it, on food alone, until I hit a wall, then I will supplement with creatine. No particular reason, I just prefer the most natural route.

not sure if you're still in a calorie deficit, but creatine is great in that situation because it will help with your strength while you're keeping your calories low. plus for what you get from it, it's one of the cheapest supplements out there.

just remember to drink lots of water.

thkelly

Oh I also wanted to post this tip in case it would help anyone else. I have found certain areas of my body tend to be sore post-lifting. I especially had issues with my adductors. There were a couple days I skipped training because they were so sore. Even though I stretched them regularly, they still had a lot of issues. So I ran across this little cheap device:

http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx?ID=4404&CategoryID=363&img=247&kbid=1066

And just rolling it over my problem areas each day has created dramatic improvement in my challenge areas.

i've seen a guy at the gym with one of those sticks. how different is it then a foam roller? does it work alot better?

ganesha303

i've seen a guy at the gym with one of those sticks. how different is it then a foam roller? does it work alot better?

supposedly it does, however I've never really used a foam roller...

rileysowner

I don't do this right now, but it looks good to me. I know that in the next 4 weeks I will have a week without access to weights, and come summer our vacation of choice is camping, so no weights then either. I will likely start it once I know I will have a good amount of weeks where I will be able to use my weights.

rileysowner

The only thing I have a problem with in this is the overhead press. There is not enough height to the ceiling were my weights are for any standing overhead presses.

thkelly

you could try seated although that's awkward and might not be the safest without a power rack/cage.

in some programs you can subsitute incline bench press for overhead press

or if you have dumbbells you could use them. it's not quite the same, but a decent substitute.

i guess the last thing would be how much room do you need? you could try shortening your range of motion on each rep.

rileysowner

I have a power rack, the problem is that there is just enough clearance for the top of the power rack. I could do it with an empty bar, but once plates are added they are going into the ceiling. This is one big downside to our house as we have low ceiling in both the basement and the upstairs. There only place I could set up and not have a problem is the kitchen or living room. I don't think my wife would appreciate either. Oh there is the garage, but living in Canada it gets too cold there in the winter and too hot in the summer.

thkelly

I have a power rack, the problem is that there is just enough clearance for the top of the power rack. I could do it with an empty bar, but once plates are added they are going into the ceiling. This is one big downside to our house as we have low ceiling in both the basement and the upstairs. There only place I could set up and not have a problem is the kitchen or living room. I don't think my wife would appreciate either. Oh there is the garage, but living in Canada it gets too cold there in the winter and too hot in the summer.

i know what you mean about the winter. i have a couple pair of dumbbells that i use in the backyard in the summer, but they got left out last wall and were frozen to the ground the entire winter.

what kind of plates do you have? what if you used smaller plates (like 10lb ones). would that give you enough room?

hroush

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

rileysowner

I have a power rack, the problem is that there is just enough clearance for the top of the power rack. I could do it with an empty bar, but once plates are added they are going into the ceiling. This is one big downside to our house as we have low ceiling in both the basement and the upstairs. There only place I could set up and not have a problem is the kitchen or living room. I don't think my wife would appreciate either. Oh there is the garage, but living in Canada it gets too cold there in the winter and too hot in the summer.

i know what you mean about the winter. i have a couple pair of dumbbells that i use in the backyard in the summer, but they got left out last wall and were frozen to the ground the entire winter.

what kind of plates do you have? what if you used smaller plates (like 10lb ones). would that give you enough room?

Nope, even the empty Olympic bar will be brushing the ceiling (it would hit the light fixtures if I stood under them. I really don't want to move the weights outside.

rileysowner

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

I think sitting would appeal to me more.

hroush

I had to rush my workout yesterday as I didn't get as much time to do it as I had planned. I ended up misreading my work out schedule and accidentally did over head press instead of row. I thought it was odd that I was doing 2 tricep workouts on the same day. My overhead press is my worst of the five anyway, oh well.

thkelly

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

I think sitting would appeal to me more.

do you have a flat bench? maybe investing in a bench that can be adjusted would be worth it.

i know i can do just as much on seated press as i can on standing so it's not like you'll be sacrificing any strength gains. it's just a bit harder to get the bar lifted intially off the rack because you're not using your legs.

rileysowner

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

I think sitting would appeal to me more.

do you have a flat bench? maybe investing in a bench that can be adjusted would be worth it.

i know i can do just as much on seated press as i can on standing so it's not like you'll be sacrificing any strength gains. it's just a bit harder to get the bar lifted intially off the rack because you're not using your legs.

For free weights I have plenty to work with. I have two adjustable benches one of which will go to a full upright position. I may try it seated.

End6ame

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

I think sitting would appeal to me more.

do you have a flat bench? maybe investing in a bench that can be adjusted would be worth it.

i know i can do just as much on seated press as i can on standing so it's not like you'll be sacrificing any strength gains. it's just a bit harder to get the bar lifted intially off the rack because you're not using your legs.

For free weights I have plenty to work with. I have two adjustable benches one of which will go to a full upright position. I may try it seated.

Seated (without back support) is a good alternative. The only downside is you lose the isometric contraction of your glutes and legs.

rileysowner

Might be awkward, and I don't know about safe either, but what about doing the overhead press from your knees?

I think sitting would appeal to me more.

do you have a flat bench? maybe investing in a bench that can be adjusted would be worth it.

i know i can do just as much on seated press as i can on standing so it's not like you'll be sacrificing any strength gains. it's just a bit harder to get the bar lifted intially off the rack because you're not using your legs.

For free weights I have plenty to work with. I have two adjustable benches one of which will go to a full upright position. I may try it seated.

Seated (without back support) is a good alternative. The only downside is you lose the isometric contraction of your glutes and legs.

I will have to try that. I would prefer standing, but you work with what you have. This is the limitation I have.

End6ame

I am moving on from StrongLifts. I am at the point where I cannot progress daily anymore and will be embarking on the Bill Starr/Madcow program on Monday using weekly increases. I am planning four 9 week rounds of Madcow and them moving to Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1, using monthly increases for long term gains. If all goes according to plan after my first round of 5/3/1 my 1RMs should be as follows:

Squat: 490lbs
Bench: 285lbs
Dead: 510lbs
Press: 195lbs
Time frame: 1yr, 9mo

All numbers are approximate and not accounting for stalls. Also since I have been out for a month on a shoulder injury (again) my first round of Madcow will be relatively light and I will begin actual progress in my second round.

hroush

This needs a little bump. I thought I would also report that I deadlifted my body weight on saturday (195 lbs. yay!). I haven't done it in squats yet as I had accidentally added more weight than I thought to the bar for deadlifts (was lifting with someone and forgot to take the weight they were using into account as well). I'm almost maxxed on over head press (105 lbs) :grumble: and having to take longer breaks. Everything else feels heavy, but still easily doable. That's what I get for not training my shoulders before starting this program :ohwell: