Stronglifts 5x5

cushman5279 wrote: »

I feel great today. Not sore at all

I'm jealous haha. I'm totally sore today. (but in a good way)

collegenerd20 wrote: »

I found this post on the forums and I just finished my first week of this program myself and so far I think it is great! Just wondering if the people who were doing this program are still doing it and how they are progressing? My starting weights this week were squat 65 lbs/bench 65 lbs/OHP 45 lbs (just the bar)/deadlift 65 lbs/barbell row 55 lbs! Also, for those doing this and new to lifting (like me), did you watch a bunch of videos as well to learn form and try to mimic it?

Do you have the app on your phone? You can watch videos of Medhi doing all the moves and showing good form. I also watch lots of YouTube videos of the different lifts. I really enjoyed Stronglifts but I have now moved on to Madcow. I changed when I got close to my upper weight range. The aim of stronglifts is to fail at a weight several times then lower the weight then up it again (or reduce the number of reps to 3 then go up to 5 again). I was very nervous about attempting to lift a weight that I knew I was likely to be unable to lift. I didnt feel comfortable failing and/or dropping a weight on myself so I found myself not increasing the weight when the programme said I should. I also found my form was suffering.

As my goal is hypertrophy rather than strength I decided that I wasn't going to continue to try and increase my maximum weight so moved to madcow which brings the weight down to a percentage of my 1RM. I will still make strength gains eventually and am still seeing gains (mostly in my shoulders)

I'm finishing my 2d week of SL and I really love it so far. My only challenge has been that I have what kind of feels like a pinched nerve where I think the barbell hits for squats (upper back, lower neck). It's not painful enough to go to a doctor but I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong? Since I'm new to the barbell, will my body get used to it? I squated 70lbs yesterday so still pretty light. Not really sore, just that nerve thing.

I started doing SL about 8 weeks ago. Its a great routine, that you can complete in a short period of time. If I dont have to share a rack, I can get it done in about 35-40 mins, including warmup sets. I have no complaints.

I started at the minimums, even thou I had been lifting on isolation machines for months prior. I wanted that extra time to make sure my form was proper, and the ancillary/supporting muscles had time to catch up to the primaries before the weight got heavy.

The strength gains and body comp changes have been clearly evident. I would recommend this program to anyone new to lifting, or returning from a long layoff.

@sistrsprkl - I would guess that youve got the bar far up on your neck ( high-bar position), instead of down on your shoulder blades ( low-bar position ) where it belongs.


Much safer ( for your neck ) and more comfortable in the low position, which most trainers will recommend for an unpadded hold.

@pmm3437, thanks, I think you're right. I tried holding it lower yesterday but think it's still high. That diagram is really helpful, thanks again.

pmm3437 wrote: »

According to the app, my 1st day was Apr 25th, so 9 weeks actually so far.

I started with recommended start weights from the app, and my last lift weight for each is below also:

- Start - Current
Squat - 45 - 170
BP - 45 - 105
BR - 65 - 125
OHP - 45 - 105
DL - 95 - 215

I haven't had a lost rep yet, so no re-lift or deloads. There have been a couple times where it was a slight struggle, because I tend to only rest about 30-40 sec between sets. I'm going to have to slow down here soon, to about 90 sec between sets, to get full recovery.

I also expect to plateau soon, cause I am noticing my supporting muscles are not progressing as fast as the primaries, so I feel less stable at the bottom of a squat, for instance.

Wow, that is definitely some awesome progress in 9 weeks @pmm3437 great job man! You only rested 30-40 seconds? Right now I do it for about 60-75 seconds but I know once it starts getting heavier I will probably need more rest time. Is there any exercise besides the squat you are starting to struggle with?

My starting numbers are: squat 65, BP 65, BR 55, OHP 45, DL 65.

sistrsprkl wrote: »

Another question for you guys. What do you do on your rest days? I'm finding it hard to take breaks since I really enjoy working out and going to the gym (my break from the kids). But I don't want to burn out. I'm going to run today and do some HIIT at the gym but hope it doesn't affect my lifts tomorrow.

I used to do cardio but now I just rest

you'll get used to it eventually

if you are trying to build muscle then recovery (rest) is king

DawnEmbers wrote: »

It is good to at least have a day or two off but you can do other activities on your non-lifting days. It doesn't have to be do nothing 4 days a week. I have been training for 5k's because I have goals based on doing them. I am going to start 10k training on 3 days a week and lift weights 3 days (one of them overlap). It's all in your schedule, what works for you and making sure to be aware that you don't push too far.

you also don't need to necessarily follow the MWF schedule

you can accelerate imo and not have so many rest days

I started Madcow recently and am considering doing A/B/rest/C/rest (repeat)

or even just do A/rest/B/rest/C/rest (repeat)

it's messier that way since you aren't working out on the same calendar day every week but personally I don't find that to be very disconcerting

sistrsprkl wrote: »

I'm finishing my 2d week of SL and I really love it so far. My only challenge has been that I have what kind of feels like a pinched nerve where I think the barbell hits for squats (upper back, lower neck). It's not painful enough to go to a doctor but I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong? Since I'm new to the barbell, will my body get used to it? I squated 70lbs yesterday so still pretty light. Not really sore, just that nerve thing.

Take video and post it