Compare NROLFW with 5x5?

AABru

Ok, I am finished with stage 1 of NROLFW, and my time has become severely limited. I am debating changing programs. Can anyone give me a comparison between these two programs:NROL and 5x5? I need to be able to finish a workout in 30-45 minutes. I work fast, and I'm willing to sacrifice rest time between reps (which ups your heart rate anyway).

Any comparisons? I made great progress with NROL stage one. My body has changed shape, and I am stronger than I have been in years. I'm even willing to not do any program, but stick with some big, compound lifts to maintain my strength until my time constraints ease a bit...

Anyone? anyone?

Bucky2BeBetty

Bump

AABru

Noone can compare the two?

Cinnamonie

bump

AABru

Hook a sister up here, will ya?

Cinnamonie

Hook a sister up here, will ya?

I'm slowly working my way through NROLFW but was interested in more info about 5x5....

ruststar

I made it through the first 5 stages of NROLFW before switching to StrongLifts 5x5. My main reasons for changing included the lack of barbell squats in the NROLFW program and the length of the workouts. I liked the simplicity of the 5x5 program and the fact I didn't have to constantly consult a book to remember what I was supposed to do that day. The speed of the workout was a nice bonus.

One of the challenges with the 5x5 program is I found adding 5 pounds every session just too much. My legs could handle the weight but my upper back couldn't; I was constantly stiff between my shoulder blades. I'm taking a break at the moment, but when I go back to heavy lifting i plan to take more time to increase weight. At the pace the program is set up for, you could go from squating just the bar to 240 lbs in just12 weeks, which I'm sure wouldn't have been actually posible - I made it 140 before I had to take a time out from lifting. I'm thinking I'll increase by every week, instead of every session.

Another challenge was the need to monopolize the squat rack. People are generall patient while you work through your 5 sets, but not so much when you move on to the two other lifts for another 2 rounds of 5 sets. When it's busy in your gym you might find there is a long delay between each type of lift, which can slow you down.

Determinednoob

IMO NR is kinda meh. The exercise selection is not always great, frequency\volume is so so, and it has you change what you are doing at arbitrary time intervals vs the real time to change which is when you have exhausted gains on a proper routine with a proper a progression scheme. At the same time stuff like Stronglifts\Starting Strength and other beginner strength routines are excellent, but are more geared for blasting strength levels very quickly in people willing to eat a surplus and gain a bit of fat. I would still pick one over NR, but below is a link for a really good routine fir beginners with slower strength progression and easier to handle on a deficit. Still buy the Starting Strength book though to learn lifts.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=147447933

meshashesha2012

i've done both and there are things i like about both and things i hate about them as well.

strength gains :NROL4W wins this hands down for me. i added weight with every workout (when possible with both programs). i think NROL builds more strength for me because the routine changes every 2-4 weeks depending on the stage.

ease of use : 5*5 wins this for me because it's essentially 3-4 exercises a workout and the exercises are fairly simple to remember. plus nrol4w starts to have too many cutesy moves where you need props and have to run all over the weight room. i dont like that. i like being able to stake out a section to go hard in rather than going from one place to another and hoping that someone else doesn't pop in my space. plus some of the NROL4w moves i just plain HATE. i lift for strength so stuff like 1 legged DB rows annoy me to HELL. when i want to work on my balance i do yoga and capoeira. when i'm in the weight room i want to lift heavy *kitten*. just like i don't want to be she-hulk in yoga class i don't want to make like a frigging tree when i'm doing weights.

time in the gym : i like to keep my workouts to around 60 minutes. 5*5 wins this for me, especially once you get to the later stages of NROL4w. the zillion moves + the body weight matrix led to me being in the weight room for 90-120 minutes. i swear once i was in the weight room for over 2 hours. i dont want to feel like i need to pack a snack for my workouts.

sexy moves you dont see anyone else doing : nrol4w wins this for me. i personally LOVE olympic style lifts and i never see anyone in my gym doing them. nothing gains you a "that badass girl who lifts" title like one armed DB snatches or push presses, especially if you do them right :laugh:

teaming up in the gym : this is easier for 5*5 i've found and this can come in handy when you need to train spots. i know in my gym there's usually about 3-4 of us who are doing strong lifts. it's easier to ask for someone to spot you when it's a familiar move they know how to spot.

overall i like them equally so i started doing starting a strength routine which is kind of a mash up of the two so there's stuff like deadlifts and bb rows, but also snatches and push presses.


also OP, i dont know how you'd be able to reduce rest time if you're doing a strength training program correctly and pushing yourself strength wise. i definitely need that 3-4 minute rest between sets when i'm working very close to my 1 RM


@ruststar: oh you're one of THOSE people who use the squat rack for deadlifts and BB rows :grumble: a fie upon your squat rack! :laugh: also you can also look for the 1.25 pound weight plates. if your gym doesnt have them, you can buy them for relatively cheap on craigslist and just carry in your gym bag.

ruststar

@ruststar: oh you're one of THOSE people who use the squat rack for deadlifts and BB rows :grumble: a fie upon your squat rack! :laugh: also you can also look for the 1.25 pound weight plates. if your gym doesnt have them, you can buy them for relatively cheap on craigslist and just carry in your gym bag.

That's where the olympic bar was, and all the plates, so that's where I did them. I always let someone work in between my sets if I sensed someone was waiting for the rack. It's not like I was doing curls in the squat rack!

sleepytexan

5 x 5 is much more efficient. You can be out of the gym in 45 minutes including warm up and stretch.

Also, only 4 exercises at a time, not 16. All combination exercises; what you really need: squats, deadlifts, overhead press, bench press, pendlay rows.

I do not see the point of breaking out everything separately and wasting so much time as NR starts to do in phase 2.

blessings.

meshashesha2012

@ruststar: oh you're one of THOSE people who use the squat rack for deadlifts and BB rows :grumble: a fie upon your squat rack! :laugh: also you can also look for the 1.25 pound weight plates. if your gym doesnt have them, you can buy them for relatively cheap on craigslist and just carry in your gym bag.

That's where the olympic bar was, and all the plates, so that's where I did them. I always let someone work in between my sets if I sensed someone was waiting for the rack. It's not like I was doing curls in the squat rack!

same thing

but hmmm this might be why people look at me strange when i move the bars out of the squat rack :laugh: i used to get dirty looks from the trainers because i think they thought i'd just leave stuff where i finished, but once they realized i put stuff back from where i got it from they let me do all kinds of crazy things. i've even taken an oly bar out of the weight room and into an empty classroom when i wnted to use that space for some circuit stuff