So you have had a gym membership for a while now .. you've spent countless months or even years slogging away at various bodybuilding splits doing 'chest monday' 'back tuesday' etc etc and your progress in building strength and the physical appearance you desire has stagnated. You have tried adding in a load of low-impact isolation exercises for specific small muscle groups to enhance their appearance and have not had the desired progress yet. It may be time to get back to the basics and get down some heavy-ass compound lifts. This is where StrongLifts 5x5 could help you out. I have personally tried this programme out for over 9 months and I will give an overview of what is involved and my verdict of it.
Theory
StrongLifts 5x5 focuses on only five barbell compound exercises, the squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press and barbell row which work all main muscle groups in the body. The goal is to increase the weight by 2.5kg/5lbs each workout, which is known as the principle of progressive overload. This triggers the body to become stronger and promote hypertrophy (muscle building).
The programme uses two workouts which are done over three days per week alternated. Each exercise is performed for 5 sets of 5 reps each with rest times of 1:30 to 3:00 mins in between sets. the workouts and weekly routiune are as follows:
- workout A: squat, bench press, barbell row
- workout B: squat, overhead press, deadlift
Monday - Workout A (5x5 squat, 5x5, bench, 5x5 row)
Wednesday - Workout B (5x5 squat, 5x5 overhead press, 5x5 deadlift)
Friday - Workout A (5x5 squat, 5x5, bench, 5x5 row)
Monday - Workout B (5x5 squat, 5x5 overhead press, 5x5 deadlift)
... and so on.
The weight for every set is kept constant and as mentioned the goal is to achieve 5 sets of 5 reps of that weight for each exercise in a workout, then increase that by 2.5kg/5lbs the next workout. If you fail you can try again the next workout, increase the rest time, lower the reps and sets and work up to 5x5 over the coming sessions, or take a de-load week/s.
Warm up
The warm up for 5x5 StrongLifts is simply to perform the exercises you are going to perform for the workout but start with no weight (empty bar) and build up to your working weight. It is not recommended to do static stretching before heavy lifting as this can compromise power output.
Assistance exercises
As this programme works the whole body it is not a necessity to do extra assistance work, and if you are really pushing yourself with the weight you probably won't have anything left in the tank for more work. However some people may want to add some pull-ups, dips or ab exercises on at the end of a workout, but don't overdo it ..
My Review
Personally I found the StrongLifts 5x5 programme excellent for building strength and solid muscle. the progressive overload strategy enabled me to gain between 15-30% on the main compound lifts that are trained within over the course of around 3-4 months, which is pretty significant considering I have been lifting weights for around 13 years! I will add that my diet was clean and high in protein and fat throughout. Another side benefit of this programme, contrary to what some beliefs was that I found flexibility and range of motion in my legs, hips and shoulders actually improved. What I will say is that the workouts do get to a point where it is very difficult to break plateaus and they feel very taxing on the system, and this is where I would recommend de-loading about 10-15% of the weight and building back up to your max again slowly. All in all I would definitely recommend this programme to both beginner and intermediate lifters who are looking to build strength, power and physique or who are just needing a change of routine. The programme also has a handy app which is available for Iphone and android and a website with more information which I have linked below :)
Happy lifting everyone,
Kal.
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