Moving from Stronglifts to a 6 day a week program?

kopmom

I really love the simplicity of Stronglifts (not too many lifts to worry about form and tracking lb/weight stats) BUT I really feel lazy only working out 3x a week. I was running 3x a week because I was training for a half marathon I ran last weekend. I would now like my primary focus to be lifting vs cardio for the next couple months. So........

Any good but basic 5-6 day a week lifting programs I could follow or would it be ok to add additional lifting 3x a week while doing Stronglifts 3x a week ?

jcam222

Out of curiosity what are your goals from lifting? I think the actual goal will have a large bearing on the type of program you want to follow.

kopmom

Out of curiosity what are your goals from lifting? I think the actual goal will have a large bearing on the type of program you want to follow.

Lower body fat/Tone

crystalflame

This article includes a 6-day training program. 4 days of lifting, 2 days of HIIT. Look around on the website for other ideas if that one doesn't sound appealing.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/best_intermediate_training_split.htm

Another option would be to follow a split plan like these and choose the exercises/# of reps you want to do:

2-Day Upper/Lower Split Routine

Day 1: Quads, hams, calves, abs
Day 2: Chest, back, triceps, shoulders, biceps
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Quads, hams, calves, abs
Day 5: Chest, back, triceps, shoulders, biceps
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Repeat

3-Day Push/Pull Routine

Day 1: Back, biceps, abs
Day 2: Hams, quads, calves
Day 3: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Back, biceps, abs
Day 6: Hams, quads, calves
Day 7: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Day 8: Rest
Day 9: Repeat

DavPul

Personally I prefer a 4 day routine (2 on, 1 off, repeat). Gives me enough time to recuperate. I've tried 6 day routine (3 on, 1 off) and it Damn near killed me. The only type of 6 day routine I'd recommend to anyone is a 1 bodypart per day, 6 days on, 1 day type. But that's usually for advanced or older lifters. They blast one bodypart and give it a week to recuperate.

Neither type of 6 day routine is something I'd recommend for someone coming off SS/SL. It's much too much an increase in work. Find a suitable 4 day routine would be my advice.

Admiral_Derp

Personally I prefer a 4 day routine (2 on, 1 off, repeat). Gives me enough time to recuperate. I've tried 6 day routine (3 on, 1 off) and it Damn near killed me. The only type of 6 day routine I'd recommend to anyone is a 1 bodypart per day, 6 days on, 1 day type. But that's usually for advanced or older lifters. They blast one bodypart and give it a week to recuperate.

Neither type of 6 day routine is something I'd recommend for someone coming off SS/SL. It's much too much an increase in work. Find a suitable 4 day routine would be my advice.

/thread

JNick77

A lot of bodybuilding splits may hit 5 or 6 days. I have to ask... What benefit do you think you're getting from doing 5 or 6 days versus the 3 from SL5x5? If you feel like you need an extra day then just add a 4th day and focus on some weak points that support the main lifts in 5x5 (bench, squat, row, ohp, DL)

1. Traps and Deltoids: Shrugs (DB or BB or Trap Bar), Lat Raises (DB, BB, or KB's), Lat Raises (help with shoulder health)
2. Triceps
3. Chin-Ups / Pull-Ups
4. Posterior Chain (Hamstrings & Low Back)
5. Calves
6. Ab's

A sample workout might look something like:
- a. Shoulder Shrugs 3 to 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps
- b. Chin-Ups / Push-Ups 3 to 4 sets of max reps
- c. Parallel bar Dips: (if less than 20 consecutive reps) 3 to 4 sets of max reps, else 3 to 4 sets of 15 reps
- d. Romanian deadlifts: 4 sets of 8 - 10 reps
- e. Back Hyperextensions: 3 sets of 15 reps
- f. V-situps x 100

Or other days can be some kind of plyometrics, varied jump squats, push-ups that push yourself off the floor or bench, medicine ball slams, throws, etc.

DavPul

At the risk of getting kicked off of MFP for suggesting anything other than SL/SS, here's a five day routine that might be worth a try. It's very similar to my 4 day routine actually. My heavy day is M-Tu and my light day is Th-F. I just move the legs into one of the days instead of a 5th day.

http://directlyfitness.com/store/layne-norton-hypertrophy-routine/

I repeat my earlier advice in that it's a lot of work for someone that's only been doing Stronglifts. I'd cut the hypertrophy Th-Fri work down by 30-50%. Even better, cut the hypertrophy leg day by 50% and pack it into Friday. But if you want to do a 5 day plan I'm not going to tell you that you can't.

kopmom

A lot of bodybuilding splits may hit 5 or 6 days. I have to ask... What benefit do you think you're getting from doing 5 or 6 days versus the 3 from SL5x5? If you feel like you need an extra day then just add a 4th day and focus on some weak points that support the main lifts in 5x5 (bench, squat, row, ohp, DL)

I guess I just see so many of the fitness women I follow who compete doing a 5-6 day program with great results,maybe I am feeling like I am cheating myself by only lifting 3x a week ??

jcam222

I have found in the past that HST weight training works well for toning and fat loss. While it is touted as being geared towards adding mass I find it equally effective for toning/fat loss. It may make you feel like you are not working hard enough but if you can conquer that you might find it very productive. At the very least reading up on it is educational.

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/about.html

There are plenty of other resources online around this type of training as well.

joybedford

Check out jamie easons programmes on bodybuilding.com I have done her live fit programme and liked it but it was hard I am looking at one for women over 40 of hers at the moment and it looks good but not as hard as live fit. The problem I had with live fit was trying to fit in running as well but that wouldn't be an issue for you.