Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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Cardio + SL?

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acarpenter
acarpenter Posts: 12 Member
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I'm a newbie to SL5x5... I just started Monday. I'm trying to lose about 20lbs and develop/tone my (pretty much nonexistent) muscles.

I started with SL because I think it's 'simple' enough for me to grasp as a newbie and not quite as overwhelming as some of the other programs out there.

I was planning on doing SL on M-W-F and about 30 minutes of treadmill cardio on T-Th-S, but I read in the SL info that I'm not supposed to do cardio on my days off from SL.

So I guess my question is, will doing cardio every other day really impede my SL progression? What have y'all done as far as cardio goes?

Thanks in advance for your help & advice.

Replies

  • bluefish86
    bluefish86 Posts: 842 Member
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    I've always done cardio on my non-lifting days.... actually I do a small amount of steady state cardio on my lifting days as well. I haven't noticed an impact on my performance, but then I don't really have much to compare it to. I can only say that it can be done.
  • BLifts38
    BLifts38 Posts: 248 Member
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    I do SL MWF plus 30 minutes of cardio.... and about an hour of cardio on non lifting days. I'm on week 7 and haven't had any difficulties thus far.
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
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    When I started I did SL T,Th, Sat and had derby practice Sun, Mon, Wed. No big issues.

    The thing with Mehdi is that he is all about the massive gainz. He assumes all his readers are young males who only want to get as strong/big as possible in the shortest period of time. Sure, cardio on your rest days may slow your progress a bit on the lifts or keep you from reaching your max as fast, but you will still progress. If you find you are too tired to lift after doing cardio on your rest days, then you can cut back. But you may as well try it and see what you can do! 30 minutes in the treadmill isn't excessive.

    Another option that some people do is move their cardio to after the SL session to give their bodies more rest time. Just don't do the cardio before lifting, or they will suffer because you will already be tired. Just a bit of a warm up then lift.
  • awkwardsoul
    awkwardsoul Posts: 222 Member
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    You certainly can cardio, though as SL goes on the sessions get longer and harder. I was doing 2 hour sessions at one point with the long warm up sets, thus more calories burned. Same advice goes for people wanting to add in accessory work.

    Be sure to watch your eating closely and getting lots of rest to be sure you aren't overworking yourself.
  • acarpenter
    acarpenter Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks y'all! Good info.
  • andylllI
    andylllI Posts: 379 Member
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    SLbis set up for guys who want to get strong as their primary goal. If your goal is fat loss and lean body mass retention, feel free to add as much cardio as makes you happy. When cardio starts to impede recovery so that your lifts are stalling than you can decide what is more important to you - or decrease cardio and focus on lifting or continue cardio and switch to a weight training program with more recovery time like an upper lower split or push pull split or even just having two rather than a single rest day between lifting sessions.
  • mandyrene21
    mandyrene21 Posts: 215 Member
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    I've been doing 30 min of running after SL. I just started combining them last week (I had done 2 weeks of just SL prior) and while I'm definitely more tired overall it has so far been working well. I chose this method because I work full time, take classes part time, and have a small child so it's better for my schedule to have 3 days at the gym vs 6.
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
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    I'm doing SL and training for a half marathon, with no issues. (In fact, the reason I lift is to improve my running and biking).

    Listen to your body, and if you need to take a rest day then do it. Pay close attention to your eating, doubly so if you're trying to lose weight (I have another 20 to go). Don't do a long run the day after lifting. :smiley:

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