1st day of SL 5x5. Do you agree with this advice?

armydreamers
armydreamers Posts: 175 Member
edited December 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I did my first day of Stronglifts 5x5 today with my trainer! It's MWF. He wants me to come in on T/Th also to do ab work and 30-60 minutes of cardio since one my goals is to lose 10 pounds. Do you agree with this advice? I had planned to use T/Th as rest days and not do that much cardio. And I hadn't planned on doing additional ab work yet. One thing he suggested was elliptical but I'm scared to do that because it's a lot of quad work which I'm afraid will make my squats even harder with no rest for my quads.

Anyway, curious what you thoughts are on this routine.

Replies

  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Why pay a trainer then ask strangers for free advice?

    Trust your trainer or fire him.
  • armydreamers
    armydreamers Posts: 175 Member
    edited April 2016
    I got a personal training package at my gym just to help me with my form during my lifts. He seems great but I'm not going to blindly trust all of his advice.
  • Unknown
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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I don't agree or disagree. I personally wouldn't do the cardio. And I don't do much ab work in a deficit either...But you could.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
    It is entirely up to you and will depend on your recovery and goals. You might want to try your lifting for a full 2 weeks to get a feel then decide what your body can handle for cardio on your rest days.
  • eugnl
    eugnl Posts: 5 Member
    Extra core work will be beneficial in maintaining your form as you progress with heavier weights. I wouldn't wait to start training your abs directly. If you don't want to hit the gym 5 days a week, tack on 20 mins of core work after your main program.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited April 2016
    I do cardio on my non lifting days...you are working different muscle fibers (type 1 vs type 2)...yes, you need rest but the notion that you can't or shouldn't do cardio between lifting sessions is ridiculous unless you're truly trying to maximize your strength gains for power lifting meets, etc. You would presumably have 2 rest days per week with this which is just fine and pretty normal.

    Also, yeah...you either trust your trainer or you don't...I wouldn't pay someone I didn't trust. I work with a trainer and trust him implicitly...certainly more than rando internet strangers.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I do cardio on my non lifting days...you are working different muscle fibers (type 1 vs type 2)...yes, you need rest but the notion that you can't or shouldn't do cardio between lifting sessions is ridiculous unless you're truly trying to maximize your strength gains for power lifting meets, etc. You would presumably have 2 rest days per week with this which is just fine and pretty normal.

    Also, yeah...you either trust your trainer or you don't...I wouldn't pay someone I didn't trust. I work with a trainer and trust him implicitly...certainly more than rando internet strangers.

    Agree with trusting the trainer or not and in this case it sounds like her first session with the trainer so it might be a tad early to trust completely. There are some rando internet strangers here that I trust more than any big box gym trainer.
  • armydreamers
    armydreamers Posts: 175 Member
    shor0814 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I do cardio on my non lifting days...you are working different muscle fibers (type 1 vs type 2)...yes, you need rest but the notion that you can't or shouldn't do cardio between lifting sessions is ridiculous unless you're truly trying to maximize your strength gains for power lifting meets, etc. You would presumably have 2 rest days per week with this which is just fine and pretty normal.

    Also, yeah...you either trust your trainer or you don't...I wouldn't pay someone I didn't trust. I work with a trainer and trust him implicitly...certainly more than rando internet strangers.

    Agree with trusting the trainer or not and in this case it sounds like her first session with the trainer so it might be a tad early to trust completely. There are some rando internet strangers here that I trust more than any big box gym trainer.

    Exactly. This was just my first day.
  • ashleyylo
    ashleyylo Posts: 101 Member
    I might try a week with just the weights to see how you feel, then add cardio on rest days.

    I am doing a (modified) SL and have continued with doing cardio. I don't think it would be detrimental as long as you aren't doing like hardcore sprinting or something every "rest" day.

    The cardio will help with the calorie deficient, which can help with the weight loss so long as it's not causing you to be so hungry you are eating back all the cals.

    *Shrug* take his (and our) advice with a grain of salt, play around with different routines, and figure out what works for you!

    PS-- SL is fun!!! I love the feeling of lifting heavy.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I'ts not a bad idea- lots of people do 3 days of lifting and 2 days of cardio.

    I see nothing wrong with it.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    I just started SL 5x5 last week. My plan is pretty much what your trainer suggested. Yesterday was my second day of sl's and today I went to the gym and ran 2 miles (would have been 3-4 per my norm but I'm sick and trying to take it easy). I would lower the resistance on the elliptical and just go faster, the squats have really gotten my quads burning, haha.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I don't think that 30-60 minutes of cardio twice a week is "that much cardio." Especially if you are not getting much activity in the rest of your life. I have no idea if you are or aren't but I do think think that makes a difference.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    I don't think it is a bad plan at all, but it is all personal preference and goals, I think the trainer made a good plain knowing you also wanted to lose weight while learning to lift. I run after everywork knowing that I might not advance my strenght as quickly, but knowing that this is the easiest way for me to lose weight, and I enjoy running. If you want to get as strong as possible as quick as possible, then you should stick to losing the 10lbs with your diet, and cut out the cardio if you don't want to do it.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I think it sounds like a great set up. Also, your lifts will be better if your core is stronger.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    I'm coming into this pretty late, but if you're following standard SL you're starting with minimal weight so the T/Th cardio shouldn't be an issue. Just starting out, not so sure about the additional ab work (I say additional, since the compound lifts work your abs pretty well on their own), but I doubt it would hurt anything (for example, Ice Cream Fitness does the big-4 lifts, same as SL, but with quite a few other accessory exercises...only bad thing I've heard about that program is the time involved).
  • BalletAndBarbells
    BalletAndBarbells Posts: 334 Member
    I've been doing SL for 3 months and I still do cardio on the other days. It might mean you can't progress the weights as quickly because you're cutting the recovery time but unless you want to be a pro lifter that doesn't really matter too much. My schedule looks like this:

    Mon - ballet
    Tues - spinning and circuit training
    Weds - SL +/- spinning depending how I feel
    Thurs - circuit training
    Fri - SL +/- spinning depending how I feel
    Sat - double spinning sometimes with a little lifting or accessory work
    Sun - SL plus spinning and circuit training

    I also occasionally go for a run outside!

    I got into certain classes that I enjoy and don't want to drop so yes my progress might be slower than some in my SL because of the extra cardio work but that's fine with me.

    I'm not advocating either way as better because it's up to you - what you enjoy and what your goals are!

    Personally I totally get that you don't trust the trainer fully yet but I also think a trainer is a bit superfluous for a beginner as you can watch the form videos online and work it out for yourself. If you have a trainer as part of a package and it works for you then fine but I think you're right not to take everything he says as gospel - I've heard some absolute sh#t spouted by trainers when I've been in the gym!

    Good luck x
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    My guess is that he wants you to do cardio so you lose weight more quickly, thus seeing more results, thus crediting him with the results and continuing to use him. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. It's really up to you.

    A personal trainer angling to get his client faster results? He sounds terrible
  • mathi000
    mathi000 Posts: 3 Member
    I also think you also need to take into consideration the weights you are using for the 5X5. If you are starting at a lower weight (one which you don't fail on any of the exercises), you probably have a little more flexibility when it comes to accessory exercises on your 'off' days.

    However, if you are using a challenging weight which causes you to fail any of the 5X5 lifts, you may want to minimize the additional work you are considering on performing as your body needs that time to rebuild.

    Not to be overly cliche, but listen to your body. You will realize quickly if you are overtraining (preventing you from sleeping well, not recovering as quickly, etc.).
  • Maggieba
    Maggieba Posts: 47 Member
    Do what feels good for your body. I found I feel best when I do a 15-20 minute HIIT workout after I lift. I'm less sore the following day. Plus I have 2 young kids and committing to 3 days a week was manageable. I lost 25 lbs in 5 months with very little cardio, mainly lifting, and tracking calories.
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
    I found that when I had just started a lifting program, my nervous system etc. needed time to adjust to the new weight and extra activity. I don't think it could hurt to take rest days until your system has had time to acclimate. Kinda like with running. When you're new, you're body needs to be conditioned to handle the running. Otherwise you can get hurt...
  • raimax63
    raimax63 Posts: 1 Member
    With it being your first day, your most likely going to feel *kitten*...we all did in the beginning. Persistence is the key so commit to the program, as a beginner you will see results.
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