Strong Lifts 5x5 question

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!!

Replies

LazSommer

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

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

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

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.

LazSommer

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.

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

You should not do both. Strong Lifts is a lot for your body to take and will require significant recovery.

SonyaCele

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

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

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

I would talk to a professional.

arditarose

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

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

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

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

@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

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

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

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

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

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.

BalletAndBarbells

I am nearly 40 year old female and I have been stronglifts and group circuit training class for a few months so it is possible to do both. It depends entirely on your goals, I want to increase strength and improve body composition but I'm not focused on competitively getting the weights up and up - if you are going ridiculously heavy then you won't be able to do your circuits on in between days because you will be sore and need recovery but if you go steady you can do both and increase your strength. My week looks like this:

Mon - ballet class
Tues - spinning class and circuit training class
Weds - Stronglifts +/- spinning
Thurs - circuit training class
Fri - Stronglifts
Sat - Spinning class x 2
Sunday - Stronglifts plus circuit training class

I was not fit when I started this program and I find it fine - occasionally if I'm feeling a bit tired I'll drop a spin class. I have also made progress on the lifts even with all the other classes. For example, I started SL squatting about 30kg and I'm now at 95kg (my body weight is near 60kg), my OHP has gone from the empty bar (20kg) to 35kg, bench from empty bar to 40kg, row from 25kg to 60kg and deadlift from 40kg to 100kg.

I love lifting and would encourage all women to try it - if you don't enjoy it then go back to the circuit training and look for something else you enjoy! I also enjoy circuit training class because I have pushed myself to do all sorts of things I never thought I could and met some great people. I love ballet because it makes me feel amazing! I enjoy spinning because it's short, sharp and to the point - fun but high calorie burn!

I didn't want to give up the other things I enjoy just to fit in stronglifts but I did want to try lifting heavier and see if I could increase my strength. Progress may be a bit slower than if I just did SL 3x per week and rested on the other days but I'm not trying to be a competitive weight lifter so it doesn't matter to me!

Good luck with your goals.

wutaday1

It has been a while since I looked at this! I appreciate all the advice everyone gave me. I ended up sticking with my group fitness class. I still want to try the this program, but I am going back to LiveFit trainer as I feel I am back to beginner weight lifting status since I pretty much fell off the workout wagon for over a year now. I am back at it now so hopefully after LiveFit, Strong Lifts will be my next program.

Mikkimeow

quiksylver296 wrote: »

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.

Yes, I use the app and love it. It gives you rest times between sets and tells me what I will lift during the week and when. The basic app is free. I pay for the upgraded version, which for me is worth it. The upgraded app has accessory lifts for each day for you and calculates what plates to put on the bar because I failed college algebra. lol

I have done four or five rounds of 5x5 and with deloads it has served me well for over a year. I just moved onto smolov and icecream fitness and would always recognize 5x5 for newbies.