Strong Lifts 5x5 question

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wutaday1
wutaday1 Posts: 45 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This looks like just the program I need to change up my routine. I have never heard of before checking out the message boards. I currently go to a group fitness class that does full body circuit training for 45 minutes two days per week. Can I add this to that? I want to be able to do both and not injure myself. Any thoughts on you experiences 5x5 people? Thanks!! :smile:
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Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    In the beginning, probably. If warn that if you're not used to lifting, it may hurt for the first week or so more than you're anticipating.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I love it. If you are new to lifting, I would focus just on 5X5s with some light cardio on your off days until you get used to it. Have you checked out the website at stronglifts.com? You can download the app there to track your progress at the gym, as well.
  • CChen8520
    CChen8520 Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm by no means experienced... started this program 2 months ago and i love it. It's 3 days per week so i think it can fit in your current routine perfectly. make sure you learn proper forms!
  • wutaday1
    wutaday1 Posts: 45 Member
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    I have done Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer in past and Labrada's Lean Body trainer. Thanks for the tip. I will probably stick with my group fitness training until my lifting gets heavier. :smile:
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    wutaday1 wrote: »
    I have done Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer in past and Labrada's Lean Body trainer. Thanks for the tip. I will probably stick with my group fitness training until my lifting gets heavier. :smile:

    I didn't mean to discourage you, you can start with any weight. It's just different to do a free weight squat or deadlift, and when you hit parts you've not hit before the next few days can hurt. It just depends which you'd like to dedicate more to as SL is a 3 day a week program. If you do the circuit on the rest days it might be rough for both workouts.
  • ArmyofAdrian
    ArmyofAdrian Posts: 177 Member
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    You should not do both. Strong Lifts is a lot for your body to take and will require significant recovery.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    i say do both, but in your group class just go easier and make it more of a cardio workout. Most group fitness classes i've been in are just a fancy cardio / general fitness class anyways, Even if they call them selves a strength class, the strength portion is only as much as you make it. its just a lot of jumping around and having fun. and you are only going 2 days a week, i say do both. If in a few weeks you think its too much you can cut back.
  • Yisrael1981
    Yisrael1981 Posts: 132 Member
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    Everyone's body is going to be different, I personally need a lot of time to recover between workouts and if I did anything else I would probably not recover properly. The only thing I do to increase calorie burn is add in a bit of walking
  • luciroo
    luciroo Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2016
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    For a little over a year I have been doing a group class sort of like you describe - Knockout Fitness - which has circuits and boxing 2 X per week for an hour, and I do Stronglifts 3 X per week - but not on the same days. I could not lift heavy when I started. I improvised the moves with dumbbells and the smaller weighted barbells at my gym until I got strong enough to use the barbell, then I started adding weight to the barbell.

    Edited to add I was 50 years old when I started lifting and had only been doing the fitness class for a couple of months. I was not extremely active before that and had never lifted weights. Haven't hurt myself yet :)
  • kirstinethornburg
    kirstinethornburg Posts: 300 Member
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    I would talk to a professional.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    This is going to depend on your ability to recover and how you are fueling your body as well. 5x5 is a great program, and it's going to be about everything you need to help with your body composition during weight loss, and even in maintenance (though some added assistance work in maintenance would be beneficial as well). I personally would NOT run the other class.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
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    Glad to hear what luciroo said. I am 54, any thoughts on the 5x5 for this age group? I did not see it addressed on the website and I am going to err on the side of caution since so many of these workouts are geared to younger quicker recovery people. I have always done free weights and machines, treadmill and playing high level tennis, never any of the boot camp or group things. Well, I did boot camp for awhile until one morning I yanked something trying to keep up with the 20 somethings throwing kettle bells around like they were ping pong balls. We were the oldest two people in the class, which should have set some warning bells off in my gut.....
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    im 49, and provided you dont have any major physical limitations, i think 5x5 is great for any age. you just modify the weight to what is appropriate for your strength level, even if its just a lightweight bar.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Glad to hear what luciroo said. I am 54, any thoughts on the 5x5 for this age group? I did not see it addressed on the website and I am going to err on the side of caution since so many of these workouts are geared to younger quicker recovery people. I have always done free weights and machines, treadmill and playing high level tennis, never any of the boot camp or group things. Well, I did boot camp for awhile until one morning I yanked something trying to keep up with the 20 somethings throwing kettle bells around like they were ping pong balls. We were the oldest two people in the class, which should have set some warning bells off in my gut.....


    I've run SL 5x5 on and off for the past several years. I'm 46 now and finished a cycle of 12 weeks about 1 month ago.
    As long as you follow the program by starting off WITH JUST THE BAR, following the program to a T, and understand how a reset works there's nothing stopping you from running it. Know 2 guys on another site that just started lifting last fall with SL5x5 and they are both over 50.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    @donjtomasco I don't run 5x5, I run All Pro which is also a progressive compound programme. It increases reps before weight so suites my age size and ability.

    I am a 62yo female and weigh between 100-104 lbs. I lift what is heavy for me not what is heavy for someone half my age and twice my weight.

    The day I can use the 45lbs bar for all lifts is far away, just the dead lift at the moment, but that does not negate that I am progressing and improving my muscle strength and bone density. Just wish I could actually build some muscle.

    I either swim or use the rowing machines on 2 of the off days and rest at the weekend just doing a yoga class for flexibility.

    I am maintaining my weight and make sure my protein levels are quite high (1g per lbs bodyweight), and if I am feeling tired will drop a cardio for a week and up my calories.
    Just listen to your body and make sure you get enough food and recovery time.

    Cheers, h.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
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    piperdown44 wrote: »
    As long as you follow the program by starting off WITH JUST THE BAR, following the program to a T, and understand how a reset works there's nothing stopping you from running it.

    The Olympic barbell might be too heavy in the beginning. I know it was for me. I started off with a smaller, lighter bar. It only weighs 5kg or 6kg.
  • mreichard
    mreichard Posts: 235 Member
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    I'm 48 YO man who has lifted off and on for years without much success (and without knowing what I was doing) . My pattern previously was that I would get up to the same (low) weights that I could lift in college and plateau. I could keep lifting at those weights, but if I tried to increase, I would get injured. Usually, I was also running 5-6 days per week (sometimes up to 50 miles per week).

    At this point I'm the least active I've ever been and only doing SL (and playing a little basketball on off days). Been doing SL for about a month. I am already stronger than I have ever been on on one lift, doing squats with better form than I ever did previously, and the shoulder that I injured years ago is not tweaking in the way it always has before when I lifted.

    I really think that the off day built into SL is key for me, as is the higher weight, lower reps and higher number of sets. So, OP if it were me, I would be careful doing any resistance training on off days. You may be younger, fitter and better at recovering than me, so YMMV.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    There's a Stronglifts group here:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    You start SL light, so you may be able to do both for a few weeks, but it will get too hard later..
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
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    trjjoy wrote: »
    The Olympic barbell might be too heavy in the beginning. I know it was for me. I started off with a smaller, lighter bar. It only weighs 5kg or 6kg.

    yep, me too. I started off lifting a mere 15lb bar to focus on my form and just get used to the movements before pushing myself too hard.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Glad to hear what luciroo said. I am 54, any thoughts on the 5x5 for this age group? I did not see it addressed on the website and I am going to err on the side of caution since so many of these workouts are geared to younger quicker recovery people.

    In addition to what others have mentioned (I'm 55, BTW, starting lifting at 53):

    (1) You'll add muscle slower than a kid in his early twenties. I'm lucky to put on 1/2 pound per month.
    (2) You'll recover slower than a younger kid. 3x a week was the most I could handle once I started hitting my limits.
    (3) A corollary of #2 is that the volume will start to get to you sooner than a younger kid. As you go up in weights in SL, you need to drop to a 3x5 at working weight, and then to a 1x5. But even with that, by the time I'd been running SL for a year, I was feeling beat up all the time and had to switch to an intermediate program where the weight increases were less frequent.
    (4) Since you heal slower, technique is everything. Tweeking your lower back due to rounding or trying to push through shoulder or knee pain is just setting you up for a long, long deload and recovery cycle.

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