Newbie questions

karensoxfan

Hi girls,

I'm new to SL5x5, and have a few questions on my mind:

1. Is 2 days/week enough? I had been lifting 3x/week with NROLFW, but since I'm still obese @ 184 lb. (5'5" tall), I thought I might change things up and do cardio (mostly treadmill & elliptical) 3x/week and try lifting 2x/week. Do you that that can be effective for strength gains and muscle maintenance/gains (assuming I eat enough protein)? Or do you think SL5x5 must be done 3x/week to be effective?

2. Bench Press - for this lift, do you use a flat bench or an incline? In NROLFW, I did some barbell bench press with an incline, and for my SL 5x5 first workout, I used the flat bench. Today, both flat benches were occupied, so I used the incline bench. Which do you use and why?

3. With only 5 lifts, how do you keep from being bored on this plan? I'm only 3 workouts into it, but I think this might be an issue for me. I'm thinking of giving it 8-12 weeks before I decide, but it's a thought I'm already struggling with.

xidia

1) you'll probably do better off 3, but I've been doing just fine on 2
2) flat. Mehdi's book does mention incline benches but I can't remember what he says
3) I treat it like meditation. No, really.

tameko2

Hi girls,

I'm new to SL5x5, and have a few questions on my mind:

1. Is 2 days/week enough? I had been lifting 3x/week with NROLFW, but since I'm still obese @ 184 lb. (5'5" tall), I thought I might change things up and do cardio (mostly treadmill & elliptical) 3x/week and try lifting 2x/week. Do you that that can be effective for strength gains and muscle maintenance/gains (assuming I eat enough protein)? Or do you think SL5x5 must be done 3x/week to be effective?

2. Bench Press - for this lift, do you use a flat bench or an incline? In NROLFW, I did some barbell bench press with an incline, and for my SL 5x5 first workout, I used the flat bench. Today, both flat benches were occupied, so I used the incline bench. Which do you use and why?

3. With only 5 lifts, how do you keep from being bored on this plan? I'm only 3 workouts into it, but I think this might be an issue for me. I'm thinking of giving it 8-12 weeks before I decide, but it's a thought I'm already struggling with.

1. 3 is better. If you are worried about more fat loss, I'd look at food before I added cardio. Especially because you ARE still obese (although, barely!) you probably have enough room to cut calories rather than increase cardio. Also, why do you think you need to change what you are doing at all? Are you not losing?

2. Flat bench. Incline bench is an assistance exercise. You may do it later, when you move on.

3. I don't get bored personally but I know others that found SL boring. Different strokes for different folks. I'd certainly give it at least 6 weeks as right now its probably not heavy enough to be interesting, but if you prefer to do lots of exercises rather than lift as much weight as possible, you should probably go back to NROL or set up a different program. Because, really, SL is a powerlifting program, and what powerlifters care about is moving as MUCH WEIGHT AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN. That's where we find our fun. If you can't find fun in that then its probably not the right fit for you. Actually a lot of ladies here did hte first stage or two of NROL and found it overly complicated with too much moving around the gym, and conversely they love stronglifts. And some people find they like both.

You can add some assistance to the end of your workouts if you would like to. But you may find you are too tired for that later.

karensoxfan

1. 3 is better. If you are worried about more fat loss, I'd look at food before I added cardio. Especially because you ARE still obese (although, barely!) you probably have enough room to cut calories rather than increase cardio. Also, why do you think you need to change what you are doing at all? Are you not losing?

Thanks! I'm definitely going to stay with it for at least 8 weeks to decide whether I like it enough to stay with it or try something else. Also, my scale has stopped moving. With NROLFW, I went from 190 --> 183, but since July, I've been hovering between 183-185. My diet could use some improvement, but burning more calories seems easier than cutting the # of calories I eat. I probably need to find the right balance between both.

As for boredom, I did like the variety in NROLFW, but after stage 1, I really missed classic squats & DL's for most of the plan. There were variations in stages 2-6, and both classic moves were back in stage 7, but one of the things that drew me to SL is that I get to do these ALL the time and see how strong I can get on them.

ahviendha

1 ) Sometimes I can only go 2x a week, but I strive for 3x a week and hit that goal 80-90% of the time.
2) answered already
3) I actually LOVE the simplicity of it. I love how easy it is, how I'm in and out in 45 minutes or less. So I'm the opposite of bored. I'm excited. I've been at it for about 6 weeks.

I agree that if you want to lose weight faster or get more definition, attack your diet and clean it up. Doing a lot of cardio can increase your appetite for carby foods, or just more food in general.

I have gained weight while lifting, but am the same body size. I'm up to 159lbs since my pre christmas weight of 154.

tameko2

1. 3 is better. If you are worried about more fat loss, I'd look at food before I added cardio. Especially because you ARE still obese (although, barely!) you probably have enough room to cut calories rather than increase cardio. Also, why do you think you need to change what you are doing at all? Are you not losing?

Thanks! I'm definitely going to stay with it for at least 8 weeks to decide whether I like it enough to stay with it or try something else. Also, my scale has stopped moving. With NROLFW, I went from 190 --> 183, but since July, I've been hovering between 183-185. My diet could use some improvement, but burning more calories seems easier than cutting the # of calories I eat. I probably need to find the right balance between both.

As for boredom, I did like the variety in NROLFW, but after stage 1, I really missed classic squats & DL's for most of the plan. There were variations in stages 2-6, and both classic moves were back in stage 7, but one of the things that drew me to SL is that I get to do these ALL the time and see how strong I can get on them.

As opposed to 'improving' your diet or adding cardio (yet), I would just commit yourself to logging your food diligently for 4 weeks. Weigh anything that can be weighed, and especially measure out your fats (butter, oil, nuts). Just be really really sure you're eating as much as you think.

Then weigh yourself and evaluate your calories from there.

*edited to add* because at your weight and activity from just lifting (and assuming you do things like coffee breaks, meetings, cooking, and cleaning) your calories shouldn't need to be that low, even without any cardio. So if you feel like they re low and you aren't losing, first step is to check that you're really eating as much as you think (that means no unlogged cheat days or meals either), second step is to decide based on those results.