Stronglifts 5x5

[Ignite]

Hi Guys - i'll be starting the Jnr-Smolov bench routine next week and am looking for a program to bring up my lagging squat and deadlift(after i complete the smolov-jnr program).

I have done some research into differnt routines and this one definatly seems to catch my eye for a beginner, im the typical gym junkie who always puts off leg days and rarely deadlifts. Is this something you would recomend for a begginer (bearing in mind i am cutting after i complete this Smolov Jnr)!?

Goals for 2012 are;

120kg bench

160kg squat

180kg deadlift

80kg military press

Currently 82kg FAT!

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

it's a great program but you must be willing to be consistent, you can't be 'typical gym junkie' any more, putting off leg day etc. obviously because squats are in every workout session with this and its 3x a week at that.

i'm not sure though that this is the best thing to go on for a cutting phase, it's surely useful for building up strength though

[Hitro]

Just finished 10 weeks of 5x5 and really enjoyed squatting 3 times a week. Was good fun. Keeps you committed and forces you to keep progressing so can have its benefits.

Moved on to a 5/3/1 now and enjoying this too. Doing my first deload now and can see myself repeating a fair few cycles.

[drizzt]

5 x 5 is fine for cutting, and good to get your squat and dead moving, just keep the rest periods short, and maybe lessen your maxes a smidgen (when you enter them into the spreadsheet) to compensate for the increased tempo. It'll be good for all 3 lifts (IME anyway).

I used to be the same (hated squatting), 5 x 5 got me starting to enjoy it a bit more, a couple of years later, it's my strongest lift :nod:

Couple of questions; what are your current lifts? If your squat is lagging, why are you doing a Smolov Jr for bench? (serious question) Why not do it for Squat?

What are you going to do for squat and dead while you're benching? (assuming you want to get all 3 up)

[Ignite]

5 x 5 is fine for cutting, and good to get your squat and dead moving, just keep the rest periods short, and maybe lessen your maxes a smidgen (when you enter them into the spreadsheet) to compensate for the increased tempo. It'll be good for all 3 lifts (IME anyway).

I used to be the same (hated squatting), 5 x 5 got me starting to enjoy it a bit more, a couple of years later, it's my strongest lift :nod:

Couple of questions; what are your current lifts? If your squat is lagging, why are you doing a Smolov Jr for bench? (serious question) Why not do it for Squat?

What are you going to do for squat and dead while you're benching? (assuming you want to get all 3 up)

Good info there^^

yeah im going to really build my Squat and Dead up from the ground, would probably start the program with 100kg deadx5 and 50 or 60kg squat5x5 :oops:

Maxes are probably around 100kg squatx3 :oops:

140kg dead?

and 105kg bench, will nail 110kg this weekend hopefully.

will just be squatting and DL once per week each while running Jnr-Smolov.

Main reason behind running it for bench is because i seen Bench as the easiest goal to reach? plus it would help me get that 80kg military press.

[Ignite]

it's a great program but you must be willing to be consistent, you can't be 'typical gym junkie' any more, putting off leg day etc. obviously because squats are in every workout session with this and its 3x a week at that.

i'm not sure though that this is the best thing to go on for a cutting phase, it's surely useful for building up strength though

Mhmm main reason for wanting to do it would be to build up my lagging squat and DL, if i have to squat every gym session then ill squat every session=]

plus it would be a good break from my current routine, alot less volume.

[two_phat]

Main reason behind running it for bench is because i seen Bench as the easiest goal to reach? plus it would help me get that 80kg military press.

Easiest doesn't always mean best.

It seems it would be beneficial to start hitting DLs and squats in a more consistent fashion to get those numbers. There's no way your bench should be rivalling your squat.

[Ignite]

Main reason behind running it for bench is because i seen Bench as the easiest goal to reach? plus it would help me get that 80kg military press.

Easiest doesn't always mean best.

It seems it would be beneficial to start hitting DLs and squats in a more consistent fashion to get those numbers. There's no way your bench should be rivalling your squat.

Hence the reason im looking for a way to increase my deadlifts and squats? I think it would be nice to tick off the 120kg Bench early on, this will give me more time to focus on my squat and deadlift and work on them consistently.

DrizzyT, do you have a copy of the 5x5 template i could have bro?

[M.T]

5 x 5 is fine for cutting, and good to get your squat and dead moving, just keep the rest periods short, and maybe lessen your maxes a smidgen (when you enter them into the spreadsheet) to compensate for the increased tempo. It'll be good for all 3 lifts (IME anyway).

I used to be the same (hated squatting), 5 x 5 got me starting to enjoy it a bit more, a couple of years later, it's my strongest lift :nod:

Couple of questions; what are your current lifts? If your squat is lagging, why are you doing a Smolov Jr for bench? (serious question) Why not do it for Squat?

What are you going to do for squat and dead while you're benching? (assuming you want to get all 3 up)

Good info there^^

yeah im going to really build my Squat and Dead up from the ground, would probably start the program with 100kg deadx5 and 50 or 60kg squat5x5 :oops:

Maxes are probably around 100kg squatx3 :oops:

140kg dead?

and 105kg bench, will nail 110kg this weekend hopefully.

will just be squatting and DL once per week each while running Jnr-Smolov.

Main reason behind running it for bench is because i seen Bench as the easiest goal to reach? plus it would help me get that 80kg military press.

Squat you have 100 x3 so what's your 1rm? doesn't make sense to list your 1rm for Bench and Deads but not Squats or are they all 3rm?

I also was in a postition where bench was reaching dangerously close to Squats so had to focus more on Squats and figure out why I wasn't getting the gains I should be. As above in no way should your Bench catch Squats work on that don't ignore Bench but it will still grow as your other 2 lifts come up.

Then you know your a bawse when Squats catch deads.

[Ignite]

5 x 5 is fine for cutting, and good to get your squat and dead moving, just keep the rest periods short, and maybe lessen your maxes a smidgen (when you enter them into the spreadsheet) to compensate for the increased tempo. It'll be good for all 3 lifts (IME anyway).

I used to be the same (hated squatting), 5 x 5 got me starting to enjoy it a bit more, a couple of years later, it's my strongest lift :nod:

Couple of questions; what are your current lifts? If your squat is lagging, why are you doing a Smolov Jr for bench? (serious question) Why not do it for Squat?

What are you going to do for squat and dead while you're benching? (assuming you want to get all 3 up)

Good info there^^

yeah im going to really build my Squat and Dead up from the ground, would probably start the program with 100kg deadx5 and 50 or 60kg squat5x5 :oops:

Maxes are probably around 100kg squatx3 :oops:

140kg dead?

and 105kg bench, will nail 110kg this weekend hopefully.

will just be squatting and DL once per week each while running Jnr-Smolov.

Main reason behind running it for bench is because i seen Bench as the easiest goal to reach? plus it would help me get that 80kg military press.

Squat you have 100 x3 so what's your 1rm? doesn't make sense to list your 1rm for Bench and Deads but not Squats or are they all 3rm?

I also was in a postition where bench was reaching dangerously close to Squats so had to focus more on Squats and figure out why I wasn't getting the gains I should be. As above in no way should your Bench catch Squats work on that don't ignore Bench but it will still grow as your other 2 lifts come up.

Then you know your a bawse when Squats catch deads.

Dead and bench are 1rm squat is approx 3rm, never really tried 1rm squat, whenever i do i always chicken out and don't hit depth!? And if i don't hit depth i dont count it.

OK think i better clear this up! Im looking for a good program to bring up my deadlifts and squats lol. I will still complete the Jnr-smolov for bench program and then will put all my focus into upping my squats, rows and deadlifts (while maintaining/improving bench). Would stronglifts 5x5 be the prgram to do this?

[drizzt]

Hence the reason im looking for a way to increase my deadlifts and squats? I think it would be nice to tick off the 120kg Bench early on, this will give me more time to focus on my squat and deadlift and work on them consistently.

DrizzyT, do you have a copy of the 5x5 template i could have bro?

IMO, you should start squatting and deadlifting more frequently. It sucks because it's hard, but we don't train because it's easy. If it was, everybody would do it.

I'm not gonna preach to you though, if you really value your bench that much that you don't mind benching more than you squat? Then go for the Smolov Jr for bench.

However, I think you'd be better served just flat out starting a 5 x 5 template. Don't be embarrassed by the numbers, everyone starts somewhere. You'll likely find that as your squat and deadlift improves, your bench will go up as well.

Here's a novice-intermediate 5x5 spreadsheet I've got (credit to Stronglifts for it I believe):

[two_phat]

What I was hinting at before was why are you continuing with all the bench, sorta seems like you're almost delaying the inevitable for no apparent reason - not hating btw, just something to think about.

Stronglifts is definitely one route you could head down, but there are countless others for strength you could choose. Just depends on how on all those little things like how often you can/are willing to train, for how long, what you like/don't like. Have a look a quick research and you should find a few. Good luck and let us know what you decide

[Ignite]

Cheers DrizzT - One more question! It looks as though the weight goes up with everyset!? I thought 5x5 was about completeing all 5 sets at a certain weight and increasing the weight once you complete the 5 sets!?

Appreciate everyones advices!

What I was hinting at before was why are you continuing with all the bench, sorta seems like you're almost delaying the inevitable for no apparent reason - not hating btw, just something to think about.

Stronglifts is definitely one route you could head down, but there are countless others for strength you could choose. Just depends on how on all those little things like how often you can/are willing to train, for how long, what you like/don't like. Have a look a quick research and you should find a few. Good luck and let us know what you decide

Mhmm have invested abit of time in researching different programs and thought this was about right for what i want to achieve. Currently training 5-6 times a week;

Monday - Chest and Tris

Tuesday - Back width & Bis

Wednesday - Legs

Thursday - Shoulders & tris

Friday - Back thickness, traps & Bis

Saturday - Legs

And would gladly welcome the heavy compounds and training 3 times a week.

[Ignite]

Two_phat - Yeah mate i know were youre coming from, i guess it would look abit ridiculous to people.

ie; 3 sets of 88kgx8 for bench compared to 3 sets of 79kgx8 for squat=/

Have definatly taken what youve said onboard!

[drizzt]

Cheers DrizzT - One more question! It looks as though the weight goes up with everyset!? I thought 5x5 was about completeing all 5 sets at a certain weight and increasing the weight once you complete the 5 sets!?

Appreciate everyones advices!

I agree with you in part, I would rather one day (at least) was 5 x 5 at the same weight, and 1 or 2 of the others ramped up - but this is just one template, and there are many different 5 x 5 versions as I think two_phat was alluding to.

In my experience, the first day was 5 x 5 at the same weight, 2nd was 5 x 5 at a lighter weight, and the third day was a ramping 5 x 5 to finish on the weight you'd attempt the next week. e.g.:

Monday = 5 x 5 @ 100kg

Wednesday = 5 x 5 @ 80kg

Friday = 5 @ 70kg, 5 @ 80kg, 5 @ 90kg, 5 @ 100kg, 5 @ 110kg

Then the following Monday would be 5 x 5 @ 110kg etc...

There are also ones that have you doing an:

"A" session on Monday (squat/bench)

"B" session on Wednesday (dead/row)

Then the "A" session on Friday (squat/bench)

... then the next week, it'll go:

"B" session Monday (dead/row)

"A" Wednesday (squat/bench)

"B" Friday... etc (dead/row)

And it will keep alternating like that, with all weights at 5 x 5 (although I'd be tempted to make the deads 3 x 5). The weights increase by a set amount each week. You don't need a template for this, but I know how you feel, I like to have one to visualise what I'm doing.

Sorry, I didn't investigate that one as much as I should've before putting it up (I just saw the novice-intermediate part in my folder full of templates!).

Here's another one, although I don't like the layout of the spreadsheet, I think it's more what you're thinking of:

[Ignite]

Ok people, have put together a 5x5 program for myself. Critique the attached as you see fit. Trainings will be Tuesday, thursday and saturdays with light cardio completed on tuesday & thursday.

Starting weights are yet to be decided, will evaluate before and input after completeing Smolov-Jnr

5x5 Template week Two..doc

5x5 Template week one..doc

[Phedder]

Why so much assistance work on Sat? If you want to do that much assistance, give it it's own day, or split it up across all 3 days. If you only have those 3 days, I'd put Tricep dips on Tuesday, Biceps on Thursday and add a hamstring movement too after deadlifts, and leave the pull ups and push downs for saturday.

Also is that straight working sets, or ramping the weight up? What's your increment each week? 2.5kg for Bench and Press, 5kg for squat and dead?

[tomleegolf]

I did SL 5x5 for about ten weeks back in May last year when my squat was about 110kgs? It was good, I liked squatting three times a week.

Just read your clen thread, why do you intend to take clen when you're not even sure about your training? Do you want to be like Zyzz?

[Ignite]

Why so much assistance work on Sat? If you want to do that much assistance, give it it's own day, or split it up across all 3 days. If you only have those 3 days, I'd put Tricep dips on Tuesday, Biceps on Thursday and add a hamstring movement too after deadlifts, and leave the pull ups and push downs for saturday.

Also is that straight working sets, or ramping the weight up? What's your increment each week? 2.5kg for Bench and Press, 5kg for squat and dead?

[Ignite]

I did SL 5x5 for about ten weeks back in May last year when my squat was about 110kgs? It was good, I liked squatting three times a week.

Just read your clen thread, why do you intend to take clen when you're not even sure about your training? Do you want to be like Zyzz?

[drizzt]

i think it would be hard to diet down from 25%.

goal; fat - skinny - massasive

[Ignite]

Lifting for a year lol. diet is relatively in check - probably in between 14-18% BF atm. getting calipre done after smolov jnr.

I want to cut down to a reasonably low BF before really putting on some size, read my clen thread bro. will be cutting for a couple weeks before i start on the clen anyway so should hopefully be around 12% when i start. Ill have to log some pics so you know what im looking like.

What i was saying is that i dont want to bulk to 25% bodyfat and then diet down.

(o and i understand the diet aspect of training, this will be on complete lockdown when i start my cut)

[drizzt]

Lifting for a year lol. diet is relatively in check - probably in between 14-18% BF atm. getting calipre done after smolov jnr.

I want to cut down to a reasonably low BF before really putting on some size, read my clen thread bro. will be cutting for a couple weeks before i start on the clen anyway so should hopefully be around 12% when i start. Ill have to log some pics so you know what im looking like.

What i was saying is that i dont want to bulk to 25% bodyfat and then diet down.

(o and i understand the diet aspect of training, this will be on complete lockdown when i start my cut)

[Phedder]

Why so much assistance work on Sat? If you want to do that much assistance, give it it's own day, or split it up across all 3 days. If you only have those 3 days, I'd put Tricep dips on Tuesday, Biceps on Thursday and add a hamstring movement too after deadlifts, and leave the pull ups and push downs for saturday.

Also is that straight working sets, or ramping the weight up? What's your increment each week? 2.5kg for Bench and Press, 5kg for squat and dead?

Main assistance work is all on saturday to provide more recovery time!? i thought this was the more practical approach to allow maximum recovery? ie dips on Tuesday "may" hinder my overhead press thursday? biceps thursday "may" hinder my rows. If i do them all on saturday it gives me an extra day of recovery. Thoughts?

This is my first time doing a full body split so am a complete noob.

Yeap you got the increments correct!

Assistance should never hinder the main movements. If it does, you're going too heavy. On full body strength templates like this, the assistance is more there to keep the body in balance and maybe provide a little boost to lagging muscle groups whether it be in strength or size.

Trying to fit everything on Saturday, I think you'd be setting yourself up to skip exercises. If you're doing it properly, you should be pretty wiped after the main lifts. No chance you'd get through 4 assistance exercises after that.

[Ignite]

Lifting for a year lol. diet is relatively in check - probably in between 14-18% BF atm. getting calipre done after smolov jnr.

I want to cut down to a reasonably low BF before really putting on some size, read my clen thread bro. will be cutting for a couple weeks before i start on the clen anyway so should hopefully be around 12% when i start. Ill have to log some pics so you know what im looking like.

What i was saying is that i dont want to bulk to 25% bodyfat and then diet down.

(o and i understand the diet aspect of training, this will be on complete lockdown when i start my cut)

Ah ok, I misunderstood the 25% part. 14-18% is a big spread though... but good to hear you are confident with diet. (lifting for a year is generally considered newb too )

I'm still not entirely convinced with the way you're going about it bro - maybe it's the benching more than squatting... but still trying to improve bench part, haha - but each to their own.

I'm interested in seeing how you get along, should start a log up. Good luck to you.

Watch this space=P