5x5

[LordGrover]

I prefer to think of it as following the programme, which is proven to work.

[ORD]

LordGrover said:

I prefer to think of it as following the programme, which is proven to work.

Sure, but the programme is for novices.

[LordGrover]

I've lifted on and off for 15+ years, never excelled but have decent technique. Didn't start until my forties.
After 18 months out I'm happier to start as a 'novice' to let my body relearn how to cope with the stresses imposed. The way my quads, glutes and back ached after the first session back I know I've made the right decision.

[ORD]

LordGrover said:

I've lifted on and off for 15+ years, never excelled but have decent technique. Didn't start until my forties.
After 18 months out I'm happier to start as a 'novice' to let my body relearn how to cope with the stresses imposed. The way my quads, glutes and back ached after the first session back I know I've made the right decision.

Fair enough. Bet your chests and triceps werent sore, though!

[CalNaughtonJnr]

I've been doing 5x5 3 times a week for the last 6 weeks now and starting to struggle with my OH Press and my form on Rows is not good!

I'm thinking of having a week off and then doing sets of 3x12 instead to mix it up - can anyone suggest how much to deload for the higher number of reps?

[chris watton]

CalNaughtonJnr said:

I've been doing 5x5 3 times a week for the last 6 weeks now and starting to struggle with my OH Press and my form on Rows is not good!

I'm thinking of having a week off and then doing sets of 3x12 instead to mix it up - can anyone suggest how much to deload for the higher number of reps?

It may be worth buying a set of fractional plates, so you can go up 0.5 or 1kg, rather than the minimum 2.5kg.

[768]

PapaJohns said:

I can’t stress how important good form is especially squatting .good luck and keep us posted

I suspect form is an issue with the squat for me. My back doesn't feel as rigid as I'd like through the whole movement. It's fine with just the bar and lower weights as I warm up, but even dropping back to 90kgs this morning it feels as though my shoulders are coming up faster than the rest of me.

My wife reckons it's having a weak core, IDK. Did have surgery on a disc 10 years ago so I may be a bit paranoid.

[PapaJohns]

768 said:

I suspect form is an issue with the squat for me. My back doesn't feel as rigid as I'd like through the whole movement. It's fine with just the bar and lower weights as I warm up, but even dropping back to 90kgs this morning it feels as though my shoulders are coming up faster than the rest of me.

My wife reckons it's having a weak core, IDK. Did have surgery on a disc 10 years ago so I may be a bit paranoid.

Describe your form or post a video do you use a belt to help with abdominal tension

[PapaJohns]

Having maxed out my squat @ 315lbs coupled with not being able to recover/fatigued iv decided to move onto madcow 5x5. Iv just finished the first week and Christ I’m glad of the deload .

Anybody else doing or tried madcow 5x5

[V8mate]

PapaJohns said:

Having maxed out my squat @ 315lbs coupled with not being able to recover/fatigued iv decided to move onto madcow 5x5. Iv just finished the first week and Christ I’m glad of the deload .

Anybody else doing or tried madcow 5x5

I know life's a bit slower up North, but are you muthafkers really still lifting pounds?

[PapaJohns]

V8mate said:

I know life's a bit slower up North, but are you muthafkers really still lifting pounds?

Pmsl, that’s nigh on near enough 142.5kg for you uneducated southerners


To be honest I’m trying to get my head around lbs.

[LordGrover]

PapaJohns said:

Having maxed out my squat @ 315lbs coupled with not being able to recover/fatigued iv decided to move onto madcow 5x5. Iv just finished the first week and Christ I’m glad of the deload .

Anybody else doing or tried madcow 5x5

Did you progress to 3x5 or stick to 5x5? Click.

3pps is pretty good going for a beginners' programme anyway. Probably time to switch things up a bit. Well done.

[PapaJohns]

LordGrover said:

Did you progress to 3x5 or stick to 5x5? Click.

3pps is pretty good going for a beginners' programme anyway. Probably time to switch things up a bit. Well done.

After failing 3x at 142.5kg I deload more than the recommended 10%, I took 20kg off the bat as I felt my form needed work too, so I introduced a pause at the bottom instead of relying on the bounce out of the hole. I worked back up to 130kg and then switched to 3x5.

I did that for a week whilst I did some research and asked the 5x5 SL Facebook community who was actually still making linear progress above 140kg(answer was nobody) the more I read the more I come to the conclusion I might be ready for a intermediate program like madcow/Texas method .

Part of me says I should of stuck to program and switched to 3x5 etc etc but after 7_8mth of 5x5 fatigue had well and truly set in,its far too much to be squatting that heavy 3x a week (for me at least) and when I asked the question on FB most if not all said they only squatted that kinda weight and more once a week.

Iv just completed the first week of madcow and my body doesn’t feel as fatigued on a whole.so I’m happy about that, and should see gains after about 5wks across the board.

I’m happy for now

[LordGrover]

Nice one. I switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 when I plateaued on 5x5. It was fun but slow progress.
Good luck with madcow.

[Desiato]

PapaJohns said:

To be honest I’m trying to get my head around lbs.

Are you learning ancient American at the same time as they're the only lot using such quaint old units

[PapaJohns]

LordGrover said:

Nice one. I switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 when I plateaued on 5x5. It was fun but slow progress.
Good luck with madcow.

When I’m finished with madcow, 5/3/1 is on my list next I think.

Progress will be slow on madcow at 2kg per week instead of SL’s 7.5kg

[jogger1976]

I've just started Stronglifts after many months of being a lazy sod.
I started off with the bar, which I was a little self conscious about as the gym I've recently joined is a no nonsense old skool boxing/Muay Thai/weightlifting place.

However, the reality was that everyone else was far too focused/ sweaty/ knackered to pay attention to little old me doing my thing. So for anyone who feels anxious; Don't be!
I did feel a bit light headed briefly on finishing, but considering I've done nothing active bar the odd brisk walk for months, I felt good.

The only issue is that the gym has two flights of stairs, which I can't imagine will be much fun once the squats start to get heavy.

[Challo]

jogger1976 said:

I've just started Stronglifts after many months of being a lazy sod.
I started off with the bar, which I was a little self conscious about as the gym I've recently joined is a no nonsense old skool boxing/Muay Thai/weightlifting place.

However, the reality was that everyone else was far too focused/ sweaty/ knackered to pay attention to little old me doing my thing. So for anyone who feels anxious; Don't be!
I did feel a bit light headed briefly on finishing, but considering I've done nothing active bar the odd brisk walk for months, I felt good.

The only issue is that the gym has two flights of stairs, which I can't imagine will be much fun once the squats start to get heavy.

Its a strange experience just using the bar, and you do feel a bit self conscious but that quickly goes when your racking up the weights. I loved stronglifts and always recommend it to people getting involved in weightlifting.

[jogger1976]

Challo said:

jogger1976 said:

I've just started Stronglifts after many months of being a lazy sod.
I started off with the bar, which I was a little self conscious about as the gym I've recently joined is a no nonsense old skool boxing/Muay Thai/weightlifting place.

However, the reality was that everyone else was far too focused/ sweaty/ knackered to pay attention to little old me doing my thing. So for anyone who feels anxious; Don't be!
I did feel a bit light headed briefly on finishing, but considering I've done nothing active bar the odd brisk walk for months, I felt good.

The only issue is that the gym has two flights of stairs, which I can't imagine will be much fun once the squats start to get heavy.

Its a strange experience just using the bar, and you do feel a bit self conscious but that quickly goes when your racking up the weights. I loved stronglifts and always recommend it to people getting involved in weightlifting.

Thanks.
Well I had my 2nd session today and my first failure. This was the OHP, in which I could only do 5 reps twice; first and last. I'm not surprised as I have the upper body strength of an arthritic sloth.

However, I'm going to plod on and keep trying as I want to keep getting stronger.

[jogger1976]

Well that's my first week out of the way.

I had my second failure today on the BOR at 32.5kg.
I managed only two full sets (got up to 4 reps for the last 3) but wasn't too disappointed as I feel strong with my squats and bench press.

I'll keep turning up though, as I know I have poor upper body strength and quitting won't remedy that.

And somewhat surprisingly, I'm actually enjoying being in the gym.