Strong Lifts 5x5 advice

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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Hey guys,

    Now that I'm two months into the program I run into an issue. Doing shoulder press standing up is becoming increasingly difficult for me. During the training session this morning I was shoulder pressing with 90 lbs. On 4th and 5th set I really had a hard time balancing myself to stand up straight in one place. I completed sets 1 through 3 but couldn't do more than 3 reps on the last two.

    My core seems to be very weak. Especially the lower back. I'm starting to feel discomfort there while doing shoulder press and deadlifts. I realize that my form is probably wrong. I'm doing my best to keep my back straight but I'm not a small percentage of the time. I feel like the weak lower back is preventing me from doing the workout with better form.

    So my question to SL 5x5 users is what do you do when shoulder press is becoming difficult? I'll try to do a few extra exercises to make my lower back stronger until it's able to keep up.

    As always thank you guys. I really appreciate the advice.

    P.S. Does the 3rd version of SL5x5 really have inverted rows instead of barbell rows? That exercise is also tough for me because of the lower back so inverted rows are probably better for me now anyway. Have a great day.

    Don't play around with your back. If your lower back is sore or unstable, you need to work on that before you wreck it. Don't just keep ramping up the weight. Might be time to take a rest from deads and OHP.
  • Mateo1985
    Mateo1985 Posts: 153
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    Yeah I was thinking of deloading the weight by 20% and focusing on my lower back muscles for the next few weeks and then once I feel good about it I'll proceed to increase the weights again.

    Thanks man
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Think about dropping the volume too. Stronglifts is fairly aggressive. Fewer sets, only once a week. Give time for recovery. If you're sore now, take a week off.
  • akindc
    akindc Posts: 84 Member
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    I've been doing my own A/B split at the gym for a couple of months now with dumbbells, but not really getting anywhere. I just bought a half rack with barbell + weights, and thinking about doing the 5x5. Is this routine enough for weight loss 3x a week too?
  • Mateo1985
    Mateo1985 Posts: 153
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    Hey Akindc.

    this program is definitely giving you good results. Just as noted a little above I gotta take it a little easier.

    When it comes to weight loss it's hard to tell. I've only been doing it for two months now. My weight is about the same it used to be. But I definitely feel more muscular.
  • ssaraj43
    ssaraj43 Posts: 575 Member
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  • samfrancisco88
    samfrancisco88 Posts: 8 Member
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