Stronglifts 5x5 not for beginner females?

My money says, the percentages of people (male or female) sticking with lifting, after STARTING with 5x5 strong lifts will be extremely low. That is, if you going heavy enough where you are fighting rep number 5! Most will be so sore out of the gate, they will be done with it.

Its bad advise telling a beginner to push that hard. Learn how to lift and develop form and control first.

The 5 core exercises are exactly what you need. BUT, do more reps. And cycle your workouts based on your recovery and the way you feel, and not what day it is.

My advise is, learn to have fun with it vs trying to 5 rep "kill it" out of the gate.

Usually more reps is what leads to soreness.....
Where as the 3 - 5 rep range should not result in a lot of DOMS.....

Except for newbies....where doing the exercises for the first time will be sore regardless of reps

:noway:

A person who hasn't lifted has weaker tendons and ligaments. That is what gest newbies with 5x5`s, and why I advise against it. They are hard on your joints, out of the box, their joints are ready. And muscle and strength develops faster. So I stand firm with doing more reps.

BUT, I`m saying this as if, a person was actually driving that last rep or 2! But most in the gyms just go through the motions and don`t push hard anyway.

Have you actually taken the time to read through the program, and how he advises starting out?

Yes I have, and I disagree. Is that ok with you? Sorry I didn't run this by you first.

I stand behind what I have said. To gain from a 5x5 you have to push those last reps hard and go heavy. If not, your wasting your time, and will gain nothing. I do 5x5`s and have done them for years. I cycle through them when I want my strength up.

Well, that's your opinion... and it is incorrect.

Agreed. I'll take my own and others results as proof that it does actually work.

Wow, thank you to everyone for your answers! As many have suggested, for the first two weeks (through Workout A and Workout I was planning on just using the bar/minimal weight to get my form down (and if I need more practise then so be it) before I start actually adding plates. Slow and steady, right? But at least I know this is suitable for my level now.

I do have one more question: (Exercise and number increase just using as examples.) If I increase my OHP weight from comfortably doing 50lbs to 60lbs but find myself struggling on the third set to the point where I drop the bar, do I not do the other two sets that day or do I do the other 2 sets at 50lbs? Also, due to that failure at 60lbs, should I continue with that same 60lb weight the next workout and every workout onwards until I complete the 5 sets, then increase, or should I decrease back down to the comfortable 50lbs and increase to 60lbs when I feel like I can manage it?

It's been a while since I read through the SL site so I think I may have to do that again soon... |D

Not sure as it's a while (and I actually did starting strength which is similar) but I think you'd go from 50 to 55.

If you failed on the third rep, you'd take your break and go on to the next set, still at 55, maybe you'd get 4 this time and so on and so on. Next workout, you'd stick at that weight till you got 5x5. If you failed that workout,you'd try one more time then deload if you didn't get it.

(I add 10 legs and 5 lb upper body)

Tell your friend I'm on my fourth week of SL and I'll be thinking of him and his little 5 lb dumbbells while I deadlift my body weight on Friday. Then kick him in the crotch.

My money says, the percentages of people (male or female) sticking with lifting, after STARTING with 5x5 strong lifts will be extremely low. That is, if you going heavy enough where you are fighting rep number 5! Most will be so sore out of the gate, they will be done with it.

Its bad advise telling a beginner to push that hard. Learn how to lift and develop form and control first.

The 5 core exercises are exactly what you need. BUT, do more reps. And cycle your workouts based on your recovery and the way you feel, and not what day it is.

My advise is, learn to have fun with it vs trying to 5 rep "kill it" out of the gate.

Usually more reps is what leads to soreness.....
Where as the 3 - 5 rep range should not result in a lot of DOMS.....

Except for newbies....where doing the exercises for the first time will be sore regardless of reps

:noway:

A person who hasn't lifted has weaker tendons and ligaments. That is what gest newbies with 5x5`s, and why I advise against it. They are hard on your joints, out of the box, their joints are ready. And muscle and strength develops faster. So I stand firm with doing more reps.

BUT, I`m saying this as if, a person was actually driving that last rep or 2! But most in the gyms just go through the motions and don`t push hard anyway.

Have you actually taken the time to read through the program, and how he advises starting out?

Yes I have, and I disagree. Is that ok with you? Sorry I didn't run this by you first.

I stand behind what I have said. To gain from a 5x5 you have to push those last reps hard and go heavy. If not, your wasting your time, and will gain nothing. I do 5x5`s and have done them for years. I cycle through them when I want my strength up.

He mentioned this because Medhi recommends starting with just the bar which is heavy for almost no one. There's no reason to get snarky with him. Especially considering the fact that he was correct.

To gain from a 5x5 you have to push those last reps hard and go heavy. If not, your wasting your time, and will gain nothing

this is so far from right it isn't even funny.

NO time spend under the bar is waste of time.

I have been lifting for almost 2 decades at this point- and I still do bar only work- and very light work- and it's NOT a waste. You're doing it wrong if you feel that ever session you gotta walk out after you literally scrapped your sorry busted a** off the floor.

but killing yourself every time is the only way to get dem gainz, brah

To gain from a 5x5 you have to push those last reps hard and go heavy. If not, your wasting your time, and will gain nothing

this is so far from right it isn't even funny.

NO time spend under the bar is waste of time.

I have been lifting for almost 2 decades at this point- and I still do bar only work- and very light work- and it's NOT a waste. You're doing it wrong if you feel that ever session you gotta walk out after you literally scrapped your sorry busted a** off the floor.

but killing yourself every time is the only way to get dem gainz, brah

I won't quote the big quote but the OP of the "big quote" is so wrong sorry.

I started SL Sept 9th 2013...still doing but switched down to 3x5 for the summer

I started out heavier than recommened because I had been doing a lot of body weight exercises

I was not sore ever (except for one day after taking 8 days off for vacation)
I have yet to see many people stop lifting after starting 5x5...usually switch to 3x5 or 5/3/1 etc.
I built strength

Bench 45lbs - 130lb
OHP 35lbs - 93.5 lbs
Squat 60lbs - 180 lbs
Row 45lbs - 125lbs
DL 90lbs - 210lbs

Now tell us again how it's not a good program for beginners? How we get sore? How we will Quit?

Visit this group http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women and tell us again how it won't work....

Can you do this program with dumbbells? I know it's not ideal but for me that's all I have at the time and I really want to lift.

To a certian point yes but you do get to the time when you just can't get enough weight to progress in strength...

I have a couple standard bars, a bench and a homemade squat rack and have purchased plates as I went a long...it doesn't have to be a big investment all at once nor does it have to take up a bunch of space..I do my entire workout in a 8x16 ft space and my equipment doesn't interfere with the room much...I keep it neat and tidy.

Thanks for the advice! That's kind of what I was thinking is start with the dumbbells and then progress from there. Plus it will be easier to convince the bf to make space for more once I've stuck with it!

Thanks for the advice! That's kind of what I was thinking is start with the dumbbells and then progress from there.

you've had lots of encouragement already, but on the dumbbell thing yeah, that worked for me. not that i think it's necessary, but i didn't have the nerve to go for the real bars at first and probably wouldn't have been able to handle them right away anyway. so i was okay with dumbbells for a while.

i can see your friend might have had a point if he meant it in the sense of 'you need to learn the right form for the sl lifts, so you can stay safe as it gets heavier.' but if he's one of those people who don't think noobs should do compound lifts at all until they've paid some kind of dues doing other stuff first . . . well, i kind of ran into a trainer like that when i first got interested, and kept hearing the same kind of thing. in the end i got tired of her and just jumped the gap on my own.

still don't see how 3 months of doing her silly little things for one muscle group at a time had anything to do with preparing me for anything i'm doing now. 3 months of not being taught how to do a deadlift or overhead press didn't teach me how to do a deadlift or overhead press . . . put it that way.