Stronglifts 5x5? Pros? Cons?

Good program.
I'd reccommend that or starting strength.

Run that for a good year and you should see some results.

I wish I would've went that route when beginning. Spent too much time ****ing around with bodybuilding type workouts and got nowhere until I switched to a good barbell routine.

I'm doing it and I think it's working well. Don't be an idiot like me though and try to start heavier than you should. Start light and focus on form before adding weight. You really don't want to hurt yourself doing squats or deadlifts. I'm finally getting to a place where I feel like my form is better and I can start upping the weight. Watch video tutorials for any workouts you may not be familiar with.

And don't be afraid to ask questions if you see someone in the gym doing the same lifts. I saw a guy yesterday doing overhead presses and I realized how bad mine have been. All part of learning.

And good luck.

I see. So you can pack on some mass with Stronglifts, then cut later?

5x5 is a strength building routine, not a hypertrophy routine. You will build strength, and dense, heavy muscles, but you won't build body builder type large muscles. Pretty much you'll be able to bench press a Buick, but throw a shirt on and you'll just look like a regular guy, you won't have huge muscles bulging out of your shirt.

I see. So you can pack on some mass with Stronglifts, then cut later?

5x5 is a strength building routine, not a hypertrophy routine. You will build strength, and dense, heavy muscles, but you won't build body builder type large muscles. Pretty much you'll be able to bench press a Buick, but throw a shirt on and you'll just look like a regular guy, you won't have huge muscles bulging out of your shirt.

It depends on how you eat. Lifting heavy doesn't mean you build dense heavy muscles.

To the OP, yes you'll put on some muscle mass from this. Eat big and lift heavy, then you can cut later if you want.
Simple barbell routines will pack on mass, and you can look like you lift even with a shirt on. I've never seen a 600+ pound deadlifter that didn't look like he lifted. If you're hitting heavy compounds, you're gonna get big.

thanks everybody! i've been looking for more info on this!

bump

I agree with all the pros listed above. The only criticism I have is that 5x5 might be a little too much volume for someone trying to get stronger while in a calorie deficit. 3x5 would potentially allow for superior progression, in my opinion.

... Pretty much you'll be able to bench press a Buick...

Sign me up! What is the web site?

What program should I use if I want to be able to bench press a different model of car? Say, a Ford?

I love SL5x5 myself. That, along w/MFP and biking on my off days, I managed to drop 30lbs and 6% body fat in about 6 months. I dropped off for the (extended) winter and gained back 18lbs and 4% body fat. 4 weeks back in and I've dropped 5lbs and lost 2% body fat. Right now I'm looking to maintain wait and drop about 5% more body fat.

If you lift a lot of weight it can be tough, particularly deadlifting and squating on the same days 3x per week, but I think the program addresses this.

I tried it for a month or so, and the lifts in it are absolutely the cornerstone of any strength training routine.

I still do the lifts, but I just don't do them as often as 3x week.

This is incorrect. Bodybuilder before the steroid era used 5x5 routines to build impressive physiques. This is a body builder routine. It's definitely not a power lifting routine. Added strength will add mass.

?? 5 rep sets are exactly in the range most often recommended for pure strength improvement, as is rapid periodization.


I did SL for 12 weeks, and think that it was good for me. That having been said, I wish I'd done SS instead. I believe that the Power Clean is a superior exercise when compared to the BB row for overall strength and athleticism, and I think 3x5 @ a reasonable weight determined by bar speed after learning form is a way better and more useful, sustainable format than 5x5 starting with an empty bar.

TBH, I fully believe that Mehdi uses the "start with the empty bar" gimmick solely so that he can show emails from people saying "I increased my squat by 100 pounds in x weeks!!"

Lastly, and I can't believe I'm the first to bring this up, but Starting Strength is a full, highly detailed book, quite possibly the best you will ever read on the topic of the biomechanics of barbell compound lifting, with excellent pictures, diagrams, detailed explanations of proper form and WHY one form tweak is more desirable than another. I still go back and read sections of that book to this day.