Squat bar is starting to bruise/hurt my shoulders - tips?

Also The reason my hands were slightly wider grip was because of the other shoulder pain I was having before, everyone recommended widening my grip to reduce that pain. LOL

I would watch "So You Think You Can Squat" on YouTube. It's the very best video I've ever seen on teaching squat form and I've watched a few.

I would stay away from gadgets that make squatting more comfortable. It really comes down to form and bar/hand positioning. Also, one of the downsides of SL5x5 is that there is no assistance work which can eventually cause some lagging body parts. I would suggest doing some shoulder shrugs for like 4 sets of 15 reps. That will help develop the traps and should help a little with your issue.

Other intermediate programs:
- MadCow 5x5: Not bad but very similar to SL5x5, I would recommend going with something different first and then come back if you find you like the 5x5
- 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler: Very good method, well thought out and gets to the heart of the matter and also introduces assistance work which is pretty key to getting stronger.
- Westside for Skinny *kitten* Part 1 or Part 3 by Joe DeFranco: Don't let the "Westside" scare you, it's a very simple program that excludes chains and bands. It's a really good method if you still play sports. Part 1 is a 3-day split and Part 3 is a 4-day split.
- The Cube by Brandon Lily: I'm just starting this myself and so far it's a lot of fun, hard work, but fun.

Thanks! I've seen some of those videos too, they are great.

Yeah I kind of consider anything on the bar cheating so I'm not intending on using it. I don't have a ton of flexibility issues in my shoulders as someone else pointed out, although putting my arms back has become more difficult as I've gone up in squats. I think there are a few things making my shoulders hurt
1) I think the bar is a little bit too low. Maybe a little higher will be better
2) I think the weights I'm at now are too high for a beginner program like SL5x5. I actually didn't know until today that I was supposed to go down to 3x5 when I started getting to higher weights, and that's actually what I did yesterday, only 3x5 for squats bc I just couldn't do more!
3) I think squatting 3x per week (ie every workout) is too much at this weight. I think it's time for a new program that has accessories and only does back squats 1x per week. Thank you for all the suggestions! I'm leaning towards Wendler's 5/3/1 so I can start doing assistance work.

I've decided on this (based off the options in 5/3/1)
Day 1:
OHP 5/3/1
DB Shoulder Press 3x 8-10
Lat pulldowns 3x8-10
triceps 3x8-10

Day 2:
Deads 5/3/1
Leg Curls 3x8-10
hack squats 3x8-10
abs

Day 3:
Bench Press 5/3/1
Dips or pushups 3x8-10
Bent over rows 3x5
Triceps 3x8-10

Day 4:
Squats 5/3/1
Good Mornings 3x8-10
Leg Presses 3x8-10
Abs.

His program that is like the one I'm aiming for recommends 5 sets of 10-20 reps for the accessory work but I'd rather do higher weight and do 3 sets at 8-10.

Anyone have any thoughts on this set up? I'm excited to hit some PRs for my 1 reps I think this is the right choice for me. I tried to balance the accessory work and choose ones that I like to do, but any suggestions on moving things around to better days is greatly appreciated!

That's cool. Yes, squatting 3-times a week caused some problems for my hips so it does get a little strenuous at time.

RE your 5/3/1: I would really just do things as he lays them out, i.e. 5 sets of 10, as there's a reason for the volume. Once you get a feel for the program you can adjust to your liking.
A. Day 1: For your DB OHP either do the 5 sets of 10 or you can use a DB that you can press for a minimum of 15-reps on the first set and you basically do a rep max-out for two sets. When you can do like 25 reps on the first set it's time to increase the weight a little.
- Chin-ups / Pull-ups in-place of lat pulldowns if you can. You can always get bands to help assist you on those.
- You could add DB or BB Rows

B. Day 2
- Romanian Deadlifts or Good Mornings in-place of Leg Curls. Maybe use the leg curls at the end of your workout for like 3 sets of 20 reps just to exhaust the hamstrings.
- Split Squats, Lunges, or even high-rep barbell squats in place of the hack squat. Although the Hack Squat isn't horrible I guess, just better alternatives.
- Add back hyperextensions, hold a DB if you can

C. Day 3
- I would say dips over push-ups
- Bent over rows are good but increase the reps. Checkout a video on YouTube called Kroc Rows, basically high-rep rows with the heaviest DB you can manage. Awesome for upper back and grip strength, plus it helps with your bench.

D. Day 4 actually looks pretty good I think.

But as I mentioned above, would just do things as he lays them out for at least the first cycle or two and then make adjustments. The good thing about 5/3/1 is that it is flexible enough to accommodate change whereas the SL/MC5x5 are a little too rigid.

Form breakdowns happen. Once and a while I have to take a step back and say WTF am I doing wrong and spend a little extra time in warm-ups sets to make sure I'm good.

Thanks so much for your input!

I guess I can try to do the 5x10-20 like the suggests, I just prefer low volume higher weight work but yeah you're probably right that I should try the program as designed before altering.

Per Day 1, I have bent over barbell rows on Day 3, would it be bad to do it both days? I chose to put it on the same day as bench because that's what I did in stronglifts and I like having a big pull exercise with a big push exercise on the same day.

I can only do about 3 pull ups at this point, but as soon as I get my lat pulldowns up to body weight (I'm close, I can do 100 lbs for 2x10 right now, need to get to 130 or 140) then I will start replacing with pull ups. The reason I chose lat pulldowns was actually to hopefully get better at pull ups

Per Day 2: Again, I put the good mornings on Day 4 (it said you could choose which day you wanted to do them on) so that's what I had chosen. Could I put in barbell hip thrusts instead of leg curls? Those work some hamstrings too right? I'm a little embarrassed to do them in the gym but I think that they'll really help with glutes/hamstrings so I could do those instead of leg curls?
I like the suggestion to add back extensions. I will do that.
I don't want to do back barbell squats more than one day per week as that is the basis of the problems I've been having. Front squats or hack squats would be fine. I really loathe lunges so I'm trying to avoid them.

Per Day 3: The reason I had put the reps lower for bent over rows was because I do those in stronglifts 5x5 and I wanted to keep doing the same weight as I was doing before. But I guess I can do 5 sets of 10 or something. I will watch that video when I get home later. I think my back has been lagging behind my chest so it probably is a good idea to do higher reps for rows.


I don't want to stray too far from the suggestions he makes for accessory lifts, most of the ones I chose I chose because they were given as options ... here's the options:

Day 1
Overhead Press - 5/3/1
Shoulders or Chest - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (DB bench, DB Incline, DB Military, Incline press, Dips, Pushups)
Lats or Upper Back - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (DB rows, Bent Over Rows, Chins, T - bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Face Pulls, Shrugs)
Triceps - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Triceps Pushdowns or Triceps Extensions)

Day 2
Deadlift - 5/3/1
Hamstrings - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Leg Curls, Glute - Ham Raise)
Quads - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Leg Press, Lunges, Hack Squats)
Abs - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Sit - ups, Hanging Leg Raises, Ab Wheel, DB Side Bend)

Day 3
Bench Press - 5/3/1
Shoulders or Chest - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (DB bench, DB Incline, DB Military, Incline press, Dips, Pushups)
Lats or Upper Back - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (DB rows, Bent Over Rows, Chins, T - bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Face Pulls, Shrugs)
Triceps - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Triceps Pushdowns or Triceps Extensions)

Day 4
Squat - 5/3/1
Low Back - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Reverse Hyper, Back Raise, Good Morning)
Quads - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Leg Press, Lunges, Hack Squats)
Abs - 5 sets of 10 - 20 reps (Sit - ups, Hanging Leg Raises, Ab Wheel, DB Side Bend)

ETA: I just looked up what a glute-ham raise was and it is apparently a lot like a back extension like you had suggested to add to Day 2 anyways, so I will definitely do those.

How long have you been lifting for? What level are your lifts?

(sorry, may have missed the answer).

I've been lifting about 13 months now. My squat and dead are at 122% of my body weight, my ohp at 56% and my bench and barbell rows are at 74%. Everything is poised to continue going up except squats bc of my shoulder pain which is what lead me to consider changing programs to one where I don't squat every workout. I was hoping to change to a different program that is 4x per week and includes accessory lifts over the summer bc I have more time, so I'm only pushing the switch up about a month.