Anything I can add to Strong Lifts?

I am currently in week 9 of SL and just gotten to the point where I am sore after each progression....125# squat and 140# deadlift for me, not as hot with the progressions on the OHP and bench....row at 85 now. You will get there and you will need the recovery. With that being said, I have added a couple of things. I do light cardio on my rest days, leaving 1 or 2 full rest days per week. I also do abs after each cardio session as well as weighted glute bridges 2x per week.

Oh and darn right the compound lifts work your core....they heavier you get the more you will feel it. Make sure you are progressing as per the program. If you have an iPhone there is a great app.

So far I haven't had DOMS but I have had to struggle to complete the 5 sets of military presses on 70, 75 and 80 lbs. (Tonight I baaaarely finished the 5th set at 80.)

I changed some of the starting/progress things on the squats/deadlifts at the beginning... I lowered them because I want to be extra sure I have the form right before I get to real weights. I can't afford to have (or care for two toddlers with) a back injury. I'm only at 105 on squats/deadlifts tonight, so I'll see what I can do independently for my abs in the meantime. :happy:

If you are failing at the OHP at 70, 75, and 80 then work on getting down 5x5 at 70 before going up. Are you increasing weight with each set rather than each workout? Sorry I'm just a bit confused.

Ah, no what I mean is that I am completing 5 sets of 5 reps with the appropriate weight at each workout, but at 45 pounds in December I was practically throwing the barbell at the ceiling. When I was OHP 70 lbs a few weeks later, it took about 90% of "everything I got" to get the 5 sets of 5 reps done. The next workout I did 75 and it took about 96% of my all. Last night I did 80 and completed the 5X5 but it took everything I had, I really had to reach deep down to complete each rep, and there's no way I could have done a 6th rep in any of those sets. I can feel it today, in a good way. (I can also feel which new muscles are being recruited to help out as the main ones are hitting their current limits.)

In all honesty, I think your best bet is to do a good stretch of the program as it's meant to be done and then go from there

Yeah, agreed. My plan is to keep doing 5x5 of each lift until I fail, try 3 times, deload 10%, like he specifies, and see how far that process can take me on each of the lifts. I don't see it 'ending' at week 12, I'm just using a printout of the spreadsheet to track what I'm doing.

Yeah, agreed. My plan is to keep doing 5x5 of each lift until I fail, try 3 times, deload 10%, like he specifies, and see how far that process can take me on each of the lifts. I don't see it 'ending' at week 12, I'm just using a printout of the spreadsheet to track what I'm doing.

Keep doing that. It's how the program works. Failing is supposed to happen.

Yep, otherwise you could just add 5% each time and be lifting the space shuttle within a few years. LOL. But obviously you hit physiological limits. It doesn't mean that the first failure is as much as you will ever be able to lift in your whole life. But even so I'm sure there are diminishing returns at some point. That was what I meant, the progression doesn't stay linear for long and the slope gets flatter and flatter as you go. I dunno how curvy my curve will be.

Full body accessories to add to the strong-lift program.

Quite a bit of extra work.

http://youtu.be/feY6vi6ORXo

Cool, thanks. I've been doing the 5 core lifts along with barbell shrugs, calf raises, curls, and various dumbell accessory work for my tris and shoulders. Also chins (up to 7 now) and straight-legged hanging leg raises.