The Strong Lifts 5 by 5 Thread

jordan282 · 26 Mar 2012 at 22:05

Thought this would be a cool thread to see how people get on with this work out to compare, share common practise/techniques etc. I will start

Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Inverted Rows 3xF
Push-ups 3xF
Reverse Crunch 3x12

Workout B
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF
Prone Bridges 3x30se

Now I know there are many variations of this. This is the 'official' 5 by 5 however I have my own interpretation and improvements for me. I always do 5 sets, if its to fail i do 5 to fail. Core is varied body weight core exercises.

Yesterday A

Leg press 190kg
Bench Press 70kg
Rows Single Arm 36kg
Pulls ups -20kg from body weight

Sit ups and reverse crunches to failure

p4radox · 26 Mar 2012 at 22:31

If you're not squatting then I think you're missing the point. Mehdi has always been quite clear that it's all about the squat. You'd also benefit from doing barbell bench and barbell rows - in SL it's all about lifting the most you can with linear progression.

I used SL 5X5 for about a year and got good results with it. I went from complete beginner to:

Squat 180kg
Deadlift 180kg
Bench Press 92.5kg

(all 1RM).

booyaka · 26 Mar 2012 at 22:43

I started 6 weeks ago on doing this but due to time constraints was going for 3 x 5 instead of 5 x 5 and adding in some cardio.

I'm sticking to Mehdi's workouts , alternate A & B each workout - 3 times a week.

So A is

3 x 5 Squat
3 x 5 Shoulder Press
1 x 5 Deadlift

Workout B

3 x 5 Squat
3 x 5 Benchpress
3 x 5 Bendover row.

Going ok so far but since the lighter nights are here I can get out on my bike for the cardio so going to go for 5 x 5 from now on.

Currently @

Squats @ 52.5 kg
Shoulder press 32.5kg (struggling already)
Deadlifts @ 70 kg
Bench @ 35kg
Bendover Row @ 45kg

All completed sets so far with no failures yet - shoulder press will be the first to fail i suspect.

booyaka · 26 Mar 2012 at 22:45

p4radox said:
Squat 180kg
Deadlift 180kg
Bench Press 92.5kg

(all 1RM).

Some huge numbers there! I can't imagine even holding 180kg on my shoulders/back - let alone squating!!!

icecold · 26 Mar 2012 at 23:02

jordan282 said:
Yesterday A

Leg press 190kg
Bench Press 70kg
Rows Single Arm 36kg
Pulls ups -20kg from body weight
Sit ups and reverse crunches to failure

As p4radox says, you need to be squatting. It's completely missing the point otherwise.

Also, don't do sit ups.

Begbie · 27 Mar 2012 at 06:15

booyaka said:
Some huge numbers there! I can't imagine even holding 180kg on my shoulders/back - let alone squating!!!

I said that about 120kg when I first started lifting, but I done a 120 squat when doing stronglifts.

180kg to me still seems a long way off!

hurfdurf · 27 Mar 2012 at 06:20

icecold said:
As p4radox says, you need to be squatting. It's completely missing the point otherwise.

Also, don't do sit ups.

lolin at the OP of the 5x5 thread not squatting, truly ironic.

Deception · 27 Mar 2012 at 06:23

icecold said:
As p4radox says, you need to be squatting. It's completely missing the point otherwise.

Also, don't do sit ups.

As above. After all, the squat is in both sessions. I'm quite enjoying getting back in to Stronglifts. My current stats are:

Squat: 70kg while im working on form
Deadlift: 120kg
Bench 85kg
OHP 60kg
Barbell Row 67.5kg

I also add in weighted chin ups and powercleans if I get the chance too

Begbie · 27 Mar 2012 at 11:32

Acctually quite liked doing strong lifts, may do another 5-6 weeks of it.

Elixir · 27 Mar 2012 at 11:47

I'd be doing SL if my gym had a squat rack. :mad:

RobSmith · 27 Mar 2012 at 12:04

On SL too - roughly 5 weeks now.

Squat - 60KG (Probably could push that a lot more)
Bench - 50KG
BBR - 50KG
Deadlift - 80KG (Tempted to drop these since it's only one set and tend to hurt my back)
OHP - 40KG

Normally get a workout completed within 30-45 minutes so have extra time to kill so I've started to work on a few isolation pieces afterwards.

Deception · 27 Mar 2012 at 12:54

Hi Rob

If Deadlifts are hurting your back (im guessing the lower back). Then you may want to get a video up of your form as it sounds like you're lifting with your back instead of using your legs.

Also, might be worth while to post up a video of squat form too, as if these are wrong, then these will just make your lower back worse.

All this from experience of me doing the exact same and trust me, you dont want to end up like me

icecold · 27 Mar 2012 at 14:03

^ yep get videos up, pain is not normal and should not be ignored.

RobSmith · 27 Mar 2012 at 14:55

Squats are alright now, it was a case of working on my flexibility.

Deads however, I think you're right - I am lifting with my back, but rarely do them so it's not so much pain but a little soreness which sticks for a couple of days afterwards. Are there any decent alternatives to DLs?

Nonetheless I'll try my best to make a recording of my form, gym is usually empty in the morning so I won't look like a complete nutter at least

icecold · 27 Mar 2012 at 14:59

There is no direct alternative to deads (powercleans/trap bar deads aside), but more importantly there is no alternative that isn't likely to induce a similar fault.

Deception · 27 Mar 2012 at 15:17

RobSmith said:
Squats are alright now, it was a case of working on my flexibility.

Deads however, I think you're right - I am lifting with my back, but rarely do them so it's not so much pain but a little soreness which sticks for a couple of days afterwards. Are there any decent alternatives to DLs?

Nonetheless I'll try my best to make a recording of my form, gym is usually empty in the morning so I won't look like a complete nutter at least

http://stronglifts.com/deadlifts-lower-back-pain-injury-technique/

Do you do any of the above?

Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8jgCFXYTU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

Participant · 27 Mar 2012 at 15:21

Starts new thread about SL 5x5

Doesn't do SL 5x5

Deception · 27 Mar 2012 at 15:23

Robbie G said:
Starts new thread about SL 5x5

Doesn't do SL 5x5

Yea, his should just be 5x5

MG42Maniac · 27 Mar 2012 at 15:27

Started this at the start of the year and am now in my final week. Have stalled on the Overhead Press and Squats. At first it was boring as the weights were stupidly easy and each workout would take about 30 minutes but now they take a lot longer and I don't actually enjoy squatting heavy (for me) three times a week. I've got some good strength gains though. These were roughly the weights and reps I put into the spreadsheet at the start:

Squat: 120kg 3 x 4
Bench: 100kg 3 x 6
Deadlift: 195kg x 1
Row: 75kg 3 x 6
Press: 65kg 3 x 4

Now:

Squat: 132.5kg 5 x 5
Bench: 105kg 5 x 5
Deadlift: 180kg x 5
Row: 82.5kg 5 x 5
Press: 67.5kg 5 x 5

Am happy with the gains, would recommend if anyone wants to get stronger. Would have liked a bit more on my squats but I think my form has got a lot better and I've made progress so can't complain really. Bench didn't have much progress but I was told it was already to heavy when I put it in. I did get 130KG for one rep which I'm certain I wouldn't have been able to do before. Make sure you stick to it at the end though, squatting 3 times a week at a challenging weight really puts you off going to the gym!! Can't wait to get back to working my biceps 4 times a week!!

RobSmith · 27 Mar 2012 at 15:53

MG42Maniac said:
Can't wait to get back to working my biceps 4 times a week!!

Bicep monkey

Good job on the progress though mate