Bodybuilding > StrongLifts 5x5

Hey guys, for the majority of my lifting career I’ve mostly just fricked around with bodybuilding, but I think it’s time to get structured and make some targeted progress
I’ve never done powerlifting before, so forgive my stupidity
What do you guys think about SL5x5? Good program? Better options out there?
My goal is to get stronger while either looking the same or even getting bigger
So with that in mind, I have a couple of stupid ass questions about transitioning from BB to PL
>will I lose size?
>do I need to switch up my diet?
>how much progress can I make without becoming a powershitter?
>do I finally need to go buy a belt?

Ape Out, Gorilla Mindset Shirt $21.68

Rise, Grind, Banana Find Shirt $21.68

Ape Out, Gorilla Mindset Shirt $21.68

  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Surely after years of bodybuilding you are too strong for a beginner program for people who haven't been to the gym before

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Well like I said I’ve mostly fricked around, not very structured
      I don’t even bother counting reps, I just do what feels right
      I’ve also almost entirely ignored the main barbell lifts in favor of dumbbells

      SL 5x5 sucks because of it's unjustified focus on squats, low upper body volume and 5x5 takes too long.

      I’ve neglected my legs so I think that aspect is okay for me personally

      3x8 is superior to 5x5 in every way

      How come? I want to train specifically in a strength rep range
      I’ve made great progress doing 3x8ish already and I want to try something else

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >I want to start taking bodybuilding seriously
        >I want to train specifically in a strength rep range

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          *I want to take lifting seriously after fricking around in a general bodybuilding style
          To do so will require more structure and goals than I have previously set for myself
          I am pleased with how I look but bodybuilding has not given me the strength gains that I would have liked so I want to do a strength bulk over the fall/winter/spring and switch back to no rep counting hypertrophy frickery for the summer cut

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        SL 5x5 is fricking annoying because it makes noob lifters take up the squat rack for an hour, even though they would get exactly the same gains if they did 3 sets.

        https://i.imgur.com/7gfDSks.jpg

        *I want to take lifting seriously after fricking around in a general bodybuilding style
        To do so will require more structure and goals than I have previously set for myself
        I am pleased with how I look but bodybuilding has not given me the strength gains that I would have liked so I want to do a strength bulk over the fall/winter/spring and switch back to no rep counting hypertrophy frickery for the summer cut

        There's no meaningful difference in strength gains between sets of 5 or 8. If you can't gain strength with sets of 8, changing to 5 reps won't do a thing.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          For obvious reasons, you can lift more weight on sets of 5 than 8, even if there is no discernible difference at 1rm. It's just easier in terms of adding weight to the bar. And in any case, it's important for a novice to confidence under the bar at heavy weight, since 5lbs can feel like 20 when you starting getting into heavier weight.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Nah, I disagree with Rippetoe's views on this. Sets of 5 are fine, but sets of 8 are also fine. There's no meaningful difference between "confidence" at "heavy" weight when comparing sets of 5 to 8.
            But I was mainly reacting to
            >I am pleased with how I look but bodybuilding has not given me the strength gains that I would have liked
            which sets of 5 will not change. the problem lies elsewhere if you're not getting strength gains with sets of 8.

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    SL 5x5 sucks because of it's unjustified focus on squats, low upper body volume and 5x5 takes too long.

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    3x8 is superior to 5x5 in every way

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >What do you guys think about SL5x5? Good program?
    not good for someone with lifting experience. Its only for absolute noobs. Do a beginner power lifting program like sheiko, powerlifting to win, bbm, juggernaut, conjugate, norwegian powerlifting federation beginners.

    >>will I lose size?
    Probably not. You'll still make size gains.

    >do I need to switch up my diet?
    probably not. Diet for lifters is same.
    >how much progress can I make without becoming a powershitter?
    Look at Alex Destiny, look at Omur Isuf. Both have respectable lifts, both lift for both strength and hypertrophy
    >do I finally need to go buy a belt?
    ofc

    Go ask in the /plg/ but ignore when they tell you SS or texas method

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Some days I feel like an absolute noob 🙁
      I’ll check out those programs though, thanks

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Idiot butthole

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    One beginner program is generally as good as another, they're all roughly the same and tend to be only marginally different.
    Speaking generally, you won't lose size. You should eat at a calorie surplus, but obviously you don't need to down burgers into oblivion. Progress depends on what your lifts are and your capacity for increasing em in a straight linear fashion. You don't need a belt, you don't not need a belt. That's a personal choice.

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    my biggest complaint about 5x5 is it takes like 2hrs to complete. God damn I don't have that kind of time to spend in the gym anymore

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      5x5 takes too long because it has you doing sets across with the same weight as it goes up. This is solved by doing ramp sets by building up to one work set with the top weight of the day.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I just changed it to 3x5 right away. Takes about an hour now.

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >will I lose size?
    Probably not if you do accessory lifts for the muscles not hit well by major compound lifts, though I’m no expert on bodybuilding.
    >do I need to switch up my diet?
    Yes. Your focus should be eating at a moderate to large surplus until your lifts plateau.
    >how much progress can I make without becoming a powershitter?
    If you’re asking if you can become strong without becoming fat, yes, but only if you roid. Otherwise you will be doing bulk/cutting cycles at bf% higher than most bodybuilders are comfortable.
    >do I finally need to go buy a belt?
    Only if you squat 350+ or frequent plebbit.

    Also, like many others have mentioned, I’m not a fan of 5x5. 3x5 is more than adequate and there are other beginner strength programs that program them.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Do 5x5 programs even exist? You know, in the sense of 5 sets of 5 reps all at the same working weight. SL is, in fact, not that. Was that something Bill Starr actually did?

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >You know, in the sense of 5 sets of 5 reps all at the same working weight. SL is, in fact, not that.
        It was my understanding that that is exactly what SL says. I don’t see anything in the program about any of the sets being warmup or deload sets. In fact it specifies:

        >5×5 means five sets of five reps with the same weight. So Squat 5×5 90kg/200lb means you Squat this weight for five reps on all five worksets

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          As I mentioned earlier, SL has a series of volume drops as you deload. After 2 deloads at 5x5, you just switch to 3x5. SL is really only 5x5 for at best 2 months, probably just 1 for average folks.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            At what point do you deload on SL? On SS it isn’t until you’ve failed the same weight on a particular lift 3 times in a row. This shouldn’t happen until toward the end of the program if you’re getting enough sleep/eating enough.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              The same way, 3 times in a row.
              This happens much sooner on 5x5 since the extra 2 sets are pretty vicious, especially when you're basically maxing out every session. That's why most progress is made, surprise surpise, on 3x5.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                That makes sense. So 5x5 is just a bullshit name for mehdi to rebrand and sell SS himself.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                I mean that's something we all knew. Pretty sure the reason SL got pushed with SS is because it's ironically more accessible, just because the cleans are dropped for rows, there's otherwise not much reason.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                this, and because SL has a tailor-made app for running the program which is absolutely idiot-proof (it even shows the amount of weight on the bar as a visual diagram ffs)
                >t. been using the SL app for years (it used to be free, now it's like $30 a year, probably time to switch programs again anyway lol)

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                While Mehdi was admittedly one of the first into the game, there are now other apps that do what the SL app does for much less price. Starting Strength has an app now, and Perseus will do both + most popular intermediate routines, and its premium features ain't 30 bucks a month, it's 1.49 or 30 bucks one-time.
                SL is fine in the way that any basic beginner routine usually is, but Mehdi himself is fairly obsolete. he still can't even get Madcow working on android.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                While Mehdi was admittedly one of the first into the game, there are now other apps that do what the SL app does for much less price. Starting Strength has an app now, and Perseus will do both + most popular intermediate routines, and its premium features ain't 30 bucks a month, it's 1.49 or 30 bucks one-time.
                SL is fine in the way that any basic beginner routine usually is, but Mehdi himself is fairly obsolete. he still can't even get Madcow working on android.

                just use liftvault and get your own google sheets.
                filthy consumers.

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    A few things to note if you intend to do SL specifically
    -you don't *have* to start with just the bar. My memory is a bit vague, but if I recall correctly you're better off doing a set of 5 empty, throwing on 10lbs, doing 5, and then repeating this until you fail a set, of course taking rest between as you think necessary (for SL specifically, no more than 3 min is the general goal). Then 10lbs less than that is your working weight. Do this in 5lbs increments with OHP and instead go back 5lbs. I could be wrong on some of the specifics here, and others are quite welcome to correct me.
    -Don't be afraid to drop volume before the program actually tells you to. the last 5 in 5x5 in this case is really just mehdi marketing, once the weights get hard the warm-up sets increase and you end up spending an unreasonable amount of time on a single exercise or all of them. Most people who do SL will, in fact, spend most of it at 3x5. Then 3x3 and 1x5 hit, and those don't last particularly long. Instead of waiting to go through a second deload, take the initiative of dropping volume and working from there, so long as you hit the prescribed reps and weights for the reduced volume in the session you decide to switch. And also, you're well within your rights to skip the latter 3x3 and 1x5 entirely and just do some other program.
    -keep in mind with the rows that there's about a 5lbs window between doing them right and doing them wrong, and if you miss the top position well that's a good deal of the exercise missed. That's the part where the back really shines. The row isn't terribly important, so don't always feel compelled to throw on 5lbs as prescribed. Same with OHP, but largely because that shit just don't move quick.

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    1. No
    2. Calorie surplus is preferable but really depends on your situation.
    3. As much as you want, program is designed for like 6 months iirc.
    4. Yes.

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    To know, post body.

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Would it be a bad idea to do SL 5x5 3 times a week and do upper body accessories after?

    Whats a good app/program? I used SL before but I feel like it just wasn't enough. I need an app that tells me what to do, how many to do, and raises the weights for me based off my failure/success.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Mehdi actually has a variation with upper body exercises added. You can do it if you want, but you could also just add it as you feel. It's not like his word is sacred or even that well-informed, so you can modify freely. Just remember to drop to 3x5 right from the get go, ain't nobody got time for 5x5 plus accesories.
      The SL app will do that. However, he charges an absurd amount for the premium features, so if you didn't buy the premium back when it costed like 10 bucks lifetime don't bother. Perseus will do it at a fraction of the cost.

  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I made great progress on Greyskull after spending a while just on martial arts then messing around doing whatever unplanned but getting some gains.
    Just spend a few months on it, milk the linear progression (I went from ~70kgx8 bench to 120kgx5 bench and from 110 to 180kg DLx5 in ~5 months for reference).
    It’s got space to add a lot of accessories which you will definitely want to do, while still getting some LP and learning the big barbell lifts.
    A lot of powerlifting is stupid though, especially squats and bench, Strongman is better. Deadlift is great for overall bone density, longevity, and strength though.

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >bro just drink a lot of milk (to aromatize test into estrogen) then go to the gym squat heavy all day and make sure to have no upper body volume at all

    Riptoe is a mossad agent trying to give young male a chubby troony body. Frick this troll.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *