Strong lifts 5x5 question

Apip99

Afternoon all,

I've been doing the Strong Lifts for a few months now and the gains have been more than I would have hopped for. But I'm at the stage where its getting a bit repetitive. And I'm thinking of making changing the work out but not sure what i would change it to.

How long did folks who did the 5x5 keep at it for, or are you still doing it?

I don't want to stall on the gains I'm making, so to keeping at the 5x5 isn't the end of the world.

Squats and dead lift will alway be in my workout though

Any thoughts/experience on this one.

Thanks

FTA69

I also made very good gains doing this program and have gotten bigger and stronger as a result. My totals on the squat and deadlift have gone up substantially. I'll stick at it for a while at least for another three weeks. Then I'd consider lowering the volume maybe.

Apip99

Cheers FTA69. I see the gains you making. 100kg Squat this week????

I got up to 110, but then moved away from the smyth machine and now doing it free.

I may give it another few weeks until I start to stall and then have a change for a little while. I can alway come back if my gains drop.

optimistic_

There's a lot of reasons to stay away from a smith for squats but one that only dawned on me when i was doing inverted rows on the bar of one the other day, the machine is taking an awful lot of the weight, at least the weight of the bar, once i removed the weights to adjust the bar height for rows, it's light as a feather with the spring / elastic holding the bar up. Apart from it being a support and resulting in you not balancing yourself, it's reducing your lift.

I'd definitely stick with the programme you're on until you get your lifts up with a squat rack / power rack

Apip99

Cheers optimistic_,

did you mean you get your lifts up with OUT a squat rack / power rack??

I think another 2 weeks and I would have been on 5x5 for 3 months. So I'll see where I'm at then.

Mind you with the new go go juice, I may well get back in to it again.

optimistic_

Oh no, not without a rack or anything!

I dunno how i'd even get a squat lift going without a rack.

I just meant try get your squat rack lifts up to where you had your smith lifts up to.

d'Oracle

optimistic_ wrote: »

I dunno how i'd even get a squat lift going without a rack.

Steinborn lift.
Not for the feint of Heart.

chadmustang

if you're gettin a bit bored give 5/3/1 a shot!

d'Oracle

If you were to be strict about it, you would continue progressing from workout to workout untill you physically couldn't any more. So after about 3 resets you still can't make the 2.5kg increase on your squat (for example) a session, you move on to something else.

Personally I think boredom is a pretty poor reason to change, but cardio, shoot me gave up his linear progression cos he was bored went on 5/3/1 and grew like a frickin' weed. I guess if you are willing to lift hard it doesn't really matter what you do.

Scuba Ste

I think boredom is pretty good reason to stop tbh. If it means changing to different program but still keeping up your training then it's all good, it's better than having crap training sessions and possibly stopping training. Plus any reason to stop stronglifts is a good one imo :P

d'Oracle

Scuba Ste wrote: »

it's better than having crap training sessions

They are gonna happen no matter what you do.
Unavoidable fact of life.

But crap sessions can make you feel like you are bored with the programme, even though a great session the next day can make you feel like its the best thing ever.
Also I'm talking about the broader scheme of novice linear progressions.

Scuba Ste

d'Oracle wrote: »

They are gonna happen no matter what you do.
Unavoidable fact of life.

But crap sessions can make you feel like you are bored with the programme, even though a great session the next day can make you feel like its the best thing ever.
Also I'm talking about the broader scheme of novice linear progressions.

True but that doesn't sound like it's the case here, he's still seeing gains he's just finding it repetitive. If you want to get stronger quickly and are serious about it, follow a good program (is SL even one?) til it's exhausted its usefuless. If your just looking for something to do in the gym that will give good gains, theres no harm in changing things every once in a while and having some fun too.

People post about SL or SS and the gains they've made like its some magic program, it's not, beginner's will progress on any decent program.

AFAIK, and you'd know better than me but d'Oracle, but doesn't Rippetoe say that but he time your coming to the end of SS you should know what way you wanna go with your training whether that's for field sports, bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting etc.

It's ok to stop a beginners program after a while, the internet won't mind.

d'Oracle

Scuba Ste wrote: »

People post about SL or SS and the gains they've made like its some magic program, it's not, beginner's will progress on any decent program.

Yes, but people are attracted to catchy names and it doesn't mean that its not an effective method. The reality is that they are both Linear progressions. The point is that they are efficient ways of gaining strength when you are a novice. They work off the logic that you can adapt much more quickly to increasing loads at the beginner and novice stage of your training.

If you are gonna drop the linear progression because you are bored before its run its course, what is the point of doing it in the first place? Just start on 5/3/1 and take longer to get what the Linear progression will give you in less time.

Scuba Ste wrote: »

It's ok to stop a beginners program after a while, the internet won't mind.

I'm not sure what you are implying there.

Apip99

Cheers for the input guys, really appreciated.

I just don’t want my work outs to be come a chore. I love going to the gym and I loving work out and gains I’m getting, (which of course have slowed a little)

I added in a couple of new exercises last night, as still had a bit more to give after my 5x5. And really enjoyed them. I think that any new work out will still include Squat, dead lift and bench press.

I’ve made great progress and really happy with the 5x5, but I see no reason why a change for a while would do any harm. I’ll still be squatting and dead lifting, but just moving things a little. Now if I was saying I was leaving the gym as bored full stop, then yep, feel free to lay into my laziness. But I’m not quitting here, just changing to keep things interesting.

Thanks for your input though.

And as you say, sure the internet wont mind….

Scuba Ste

d'Oracle wrote: »

Yes, but people are attracted to catchy names and it doesn't mean that its not an effective method. The reality is that they are both Linear progressions. The point is that they are efficient ways of gaining strength when you are a novice. They work off the logic that you can adapt much more quickly to increasing loads at the beginner and novice stage of your training.

I know what linear progression is and it's effectiveness. And just because your doing a program that doesn't have a name and isn't by rip or someone else doesn't prevent you from benefiting from linear progression.

That's not my point anyway, I'm talking about what to do after you've done a novice program for a while. The OP has gotten some decent gains, now he wants to do something else. Is that ok? yes it is. You pointed out cardio's porgress on 5/3/1. It was obviously something he enjoyed, enjoying your training is the best way to motivate your self in the gym, if the OP don't enjoy it anymore, he should do something different.

If you are gonna drop the linear progression because you are bored before its run its course, what is the point of doing it in the first place? Just start on 5/3/1 and take longer to get what the Linear progression will give you in less time.

The point is to get from A to B. To go from squatting nothing to body weight or more, I think that's a good point.

I'm not sure what you are implying there.

That's ok, the OP did.

Scuba Ste

BTW OP I wouldn't just add in extra exercises to SL. I'd swap some out for the new ones your doing or split the program slightly. Actually I'd just do something other than SL.