21 Days into Stronglifts 5x5

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jcsummers
jcsummers Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just finished my 21st day, and am loving it!

I have been working on my weight and health for the past three and a half months, and still have a log way to go. I have went from ~280 to ~260, although I know I was above 300 but refused to step on a scale. I know I haven't lost tons of weight, but I have dropped 6 inches in my waist! I NEVER thought I would enjoy exercising. I started with a boot camp my county did as a fitness challenge, and even though I did not "enjoy it" I did get inspired by it to join a gym. A friend showed me Stronglifts, and for someone who was scared of the free weights it seemed so simple! I have been working my way up in the weight, and have not failed or had to deload yet.

Current Weight Level
Squats: 120
Bench Press:85
Ovrhead Press:85
Barbell Row:85
Deadlift:120
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Replies

  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Great job! Keep up the good work!
  • TravelsWithHuckleberry
    TravelsWithHuckleberry Posts: 955 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Awesome job! I'm in my second cycle of 5x5 and am still loving it. Finding that thing you look forward to every day makes all the difference! :)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    What did you progress from jc?
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
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    Keep it up! Finishing up my second 3 month cycle this week. I never touched weights before my first round and I've loved the last 6 months. Just keep it up and you'll be amazed at what your body can do. And don't be afraid/ashamed of the deload. Your body needs the break to recover sometimes. I felt the strongest when I deloaded everything after my first round and when I got back up to where I was (took about a month) the weights that I was struggling at the first time a round I breezed through.

    Good luck and have fun with it!
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Good for you...nice work.
  • Old_Man_McGucket
    Old_Man_McGucket Posts: 310 Member
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    Great work. I'm a little over a month into it. Question for those refering to "cycles": How do you know when to stop and start a cycle?
  • mcblevins
    mcblevins Posts: 74 Member
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    Congrats on finding a routine you enjoy! I honestly look forward to going to the gym to see if I can throw the new weight every time!

    Also, like what has been said, don't be scared/ashamed of a de-load. It is much better then hurting your self and getting to work on your form is always good!

    Keep up the good work!!!
  • smittybuilt19
    smittybuilt19 Posts: 955 Member
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    crabada wrote: »
    Awesome job! I'm in my second cycle of 5x5 and am still loving it. Finding that thing you look forward to every day makes all the difference! :)

    Hey how are things in Claremont?

  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Old_Man_McGucket wrote: »
    Great work. I'm a little over a month into it. Question for those refering to "cycles": How do you know when to stop and start a cycle?
    When you finish a particular program...they run certain lengths. When complete you can choose to either start another one of the same exact program, if you are experienced enough you can bastardize it to fit your needs'goals better, or you can move onto a higher set program.
  • ZombieKillaPrincess
    ZombieKillaPrincess Posts: 404 Member
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    Great job! Keep it up! :smile:
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    Old_Man_McGucket wrote: »
    Great work. I'm a little over a month into it. Question for those refering to "cycles": How do you know when to stop and start a cycle?

    SL 5x5 is meant to be run in 12 week cycles. It's somewhere on that d-bag's website (sorry, I really dislike Medhi)
    Other programs have cycles of different lengths - like NROLFW. It has X amount of workouts per Stage and 7 stages. So if you do 3 workouts a week, instead of 2, the stages are shorter.
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
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    I love it when people discover Stronglifts. It's the best thing I've ever done and has taught me so much about lifting and about myself.

    I agree with not being scared/ashamed of a de-load. I realised I was losing my squat form recently so decided to drop my weight by about half and go back to basics. I was so excited to discover that 40kg felt like nothing. And this from the girl who first started squatting a broom!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    jcsummers wrote: »
    I just finished my 21st day, and am loving it!

    I have been working on my weight and health for the past three and a half months, and still have a log way to go. I have went from ~280 to ~260, although I know I was above 300 but refused to step on a scale. I know I haven't lost tons of weight, but I have dropped 6 inches in my waist! I NEVER thought I would enjoy exercising. I started with a boot camp my county did as a fitness challenge, and even though I did not "enjoy it" I did get inspired by it to join a gym. A friend showed me Stronglifts, and for someone who was scared of the free weights it seemed so simple! I have been working my way up in the weight, and have not failed or had to deload yet.

    Current Weight Level
    Squats: 120
    Bench Press:85
    Ovrhead Press:85
    Barbell Row:85
    Deadlift:120

    You won't have to deload for quite a while, I'd guess. Just keep doing what you're doing, focus on great form at these lower weights and you'll know when it's time to deload.

    Great job, keep up the good work!
  • jmc0806
    jmc0806 Posts: 1,444 Member
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    Nice work, I've been doing stronglifts for 6 months now, I didn't bother to stop, I just kept going and increasing the weights when I could and dropped most down to 3x5. The iphone/android app is great if you don't already have it
  • jcsummers
    jcsummers Posts: 7 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    What did you progress from jc?

    I started from nothing :p I started with a 45lbs bar except for on the deadlifts and rows which I started at 10lbs.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Very well done. In such a short period that increase is impressive. Keep it up.
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
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    Good job! We have some similar weight stats. I started at about 290 and am now down to 241. I have to admit that I don’t like going to the gym so for Sept-Nov I worked on my running doing the C25k program.

    I was finally able to save up the cash and got my home gym set up. I am now on week two of the stronglifts and have to admit that I love lifting again.

    It is funny that Bernadette mentioned starting with a broom because that is what I did as well. Somehow before I started last week I had hurt my right shoulder and I couldn’t get my hand behind my head to hold the bar. So I did three warm-up sets with just a broom handle to help me stretch then did my 5x5 with the Olympic bar, it was painful last week, now just slightly uncomfortable.
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,382 Member
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    jcsummers wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    What did you progress from jc?

    I started from nothing :p I started with a 45lbs bar except for on the deadlifts and rows which I started at 10lbs.

    GREAT JOB! Keep up the hard work! I've had some of my best "gains" using 5x5 programs. You are getting the most "bang for your buck" in my opinion for burning calories and building strength, as well as, lean muscle. Compound exercises are the way to go!



  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
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    StrongLifts program does not run in cycles as some have suggested. I think they are confusing the Madcow 5x5 program that Mehdi references as a continuing program once you are done with the StrongLifts program. You run the StrongLifts program for as long as you possibly can as written till you cannot complete the required reps even after programmed deloads. The Madcow program he references is definitely a good viable program to continue on with, but there are many others and really starts coming down to what your goals are at that time.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
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    I loved doing StrongLifts, but am so ADD that I got kind of bored with it. Sometimes, I would do as much weight as I could do five reps of, but still not feel terribly fatigued after five sets. I started changing up weights (higher, lower), number of sets / reps (more reps with low weight, fewer reps with high weight, etc.) and stances / positions (sumo squats, legs close together; for bench I would widen my grip or make it more narrow) and have found great success with that. As much as I love programs, I like keeping my body on it's toes, so to speak, as it is much more interesting for me and I find I make greater gains with it. Good for you and keep it up!

    Last word of advice: especially with higher weight in your squats, keep PERFECT form and pay close attention to it. I started hitting PRs with my squats until I totally tweaked my back. Keep the grip close in and a little lower on your neck / back than you'd expect and that helped me tons.

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