StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Strength Training Program
Oct 1st, 2007 by Mehdi Posted in Strength Training
Image credit: Mike’s Gym
I give StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program to anyone who want to gain strength, build muscle or lose fat. I’ve seen skinny guys gain 5kg & overweight guys lose 5kg in 4 weeks using this strength training program & the right nutrition.
But this program isn’t for beginners only. If you’ve done bodybuilding routines until now or if you’re unfamiliar with barbell exercises like the Squat, Overhead Press & Deadlift, this program will get you results fast.
Benefits of StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program. This weight lifting routine takes 3 x 30mins/week. You probably think that’s not enough, you’ll change your mind once you try it. Here’s what you can expect in less than 4 weeks:
- More Strength. You’ll start light, adding weight every workout. You’ll get stronger as the weight on the bar increases.
- More Muscle. The stronger you become, the more muscles you’ll have. Your muscle mass will increase as you lift heavier weights.
- Less Fat. Muscle burn calories. The more muscles you build, the more calories you’ll burn. Your body fat will decrease.
- Better Health. Increased testosterone levels, increased cardiovascular fitness, increased flexibility, stronger joints, etc.
Success Stories. Example of readers doing StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program. Read their training log to check their progress.
- Korsair. Gained 2.5kg weight in 2 weeks: from 66 to 68,5kg.
- Mutt. Lost 8lbs in 4 weeks, going from 208lbs to 200lbs.
- Dwayne. Increased his Squat from 5×5 145lb to 5×5 230lbs in 4 weeks.
Why This Works. Key to this program is the Squat exercise which works your whole body. You’ll Squat 3x/week, adding 2.5kg/5lbs each time. The stronger you get on the Squat, the more muscles you’ll have & the more fat you’ll burn.
This is an old way of building strength popularized by Bill Starr in 1976. Several variations have been released since: Starting Strength, Madcow & this one. All use the same approach: sets of 5 reps with 3 Squat sessions per week.
StrongLifts 5×5 acts motivating. You have plan: exercises & weights. Weights increase each workout. You look forward to this. You see and feel your body change. You build the exercise habit. StrongLifts 5×5 is a long-term approach.
What Do You Need? Gyms like Fitness First don’t have the equipment you need. Building a home gym might be the only solution if your gym has no:
- Power Rack. Or Squat Rack or Squat Stands. No smith machine. You need to stabilize the weight, not the machine.
- Olympic Barbell. 2.2m long, 20kg in weight with 50mm sleeves. Grip section of 28mm & knurling.
- Bench. A standard upright support bench or one you can use in the power rack. Again: no smith or bench press machine.
- Plates. 50mm plates with increments as low as 1.25kg/2.5lbs. Bigger increments won’t work with the Bench Press & Overhead Press.
The Exercises. StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program includes 8 exercises. You’ll do 4 of these every workout to hit all muscles.
- Squat. Squats are key to the program. You’ll do them 3x/week. You’ll quickly experience they work your whole body, not just your legs.
- Bench Press. The most popular exercise in the gym. The Bench Press works your chest & triceps muscles.
- Overhead Press. Push weight overhead while standing. The Overhead Press works your shoulders, triceps, back & abs.
- Deadlift. Besides working the legs, the Deadlift builds a strong back by teaching you to keep your spine rigid against a load.
- Barbell Row. Pulling weight from the floor against your lower chest. The Barbell Row works your back & biceps.
- Pull-ups & Chin-ups. Pull-ups are done palm facing away, Chin-ups palm facing you. Both work biceps & back muscles.
- Dips. Last one, Dips work your triceps & chest muscles.
Program Template. StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program takes 3×30mins/week. Most train Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Tu/Th/Sa or Su/Tu/Th works too. Always keep at least 1 day rest between 2 workouts.
Alternate between workout A & B every session. Week1: A/B/A, week2: B/A/B, week3: A/B/A, week4: B/A/B, etc.
| Workout A | Workout B |
|---|---|
| Squat 5x5 | Squat 5x5 |
| Bench Press 5x5 | Overhead Press 5x5 |
| Barbell Row 5x5 | Deadlift 1x5 |
| Dips 3xF | Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xF |
- 5×5. 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight after you have warmed up properly. 5×5 60kg means 5 reps with 60kg on all 5 sets.
- 1×5. One set of 5 reps after you have warmed up properly.
- 3 x F. 3 sets until failure. Do as many reps as you can do with proper technique. Try to do more reps the next workout. Once you can do 10 reps on the first set, switch to weighted Pull-ups/Chin-ups/Dips doing 5×5 & adding 1.25kg every workout.
- Pull-ups/Chin-ups. Alternate Pull-ups (palms away) with Chin-ups (palms facing) every workout B. If you can’t do 1 rep: increase your Pull-up strength first.
- Rest Between Sets. Take 1min rest between sets. When the weight gets heavier & you struggle to get 5 reps, try 2-3mins rest between sets.
- Lift Tempo. Once your technique is ok, lift fast. Apply maximal force to the bar while controlling the bar. Control the bar on the way down, but don’t make it slow.
Choosing Your Starting Weight. If you’ve never done these exercises before, you first need to learn correct technique before thinking about heavy weights.
- Squat, Bench Press & Overhead Press. Start with an empty barbell.
- Barbell Rows. Start with 30kg/66lbs including the barbell.
- Deadlift. Start with 40kg/88lbs including the barbell. Put small plates on the floor for Deadlifts to get the correct bar height.
- Pull-ups, Chin-ups & Dips. Start with your own body-weight.
If you’ve done these exercises before & your technique is ok: do workout A the first day working yourself up to one heavy set of 5 reps on all exercises. Do the same for workout B two days later. Start the next week with 30% less weight.
You can also use bigger increments. If your technique is good & the weight feels too easy: increase the weight by 5kg/10lbs per workout on the Squat & 10kg/20lbs on the Deadlift. Go back to smaller increases when this gets heavy.
Progression. Add weight every workout. Even if it’s only a small increment, it adds up. Start with an empty barbell on Squats & you’ll lift 50kg/110lbs 1 month later, 80kg/175lbs 2 months later.
- Squat. Add 2,5kg/5lbs each workout. 5kg/10lbs if it’s too easy & your technique is ok. Go back to 2.5kg/5lbs increments when this gets hard.
- Bench Press & Barbell Rows. Add 2,5kg/5lbs every time you do them. You can try 5kg/10lbs, but won’t be able to keep that pace for long.
- Overhead Press. The toughest exercise of all. Starting with an empty barbell & adding 2.5kg/5lbs will be ok for most.
- Deadlift. You can lift the heaviest weight on the Deadlift. Add 5kg/10lbs every time. Switch to 2,5kg/5lbs increases when 5kg/10lbs gets hard.
- Pull-ups, Chin-ups & Dips. Switch to weighted Pull-ups/Chin-ups/Dips when you can do +10 reps on the first set with your own body-weight.
Stalling. You won’t be able to add weight every workout indefinitely. You’ll stall on the Overhead Press first. Next the Bench Press. Then the Squat. And finally the Deadlift. There are the 3 scenario’s for stalling:
- You didn’t achieve 5×5. Retry up to 3 times. Bad days happen.
- You didn’t achieve 5×5 for 3 workouts. Perform a soft deload.
- Achieved reps regress as workouts go by. Fatigue sets in. Hard deload.
Keep doing StrongLifts 5×5 until you can Squat 1-1.5x your body-weight for 5×5. You’ll have to deload 2-3x on your Squat to reach these numbers. Then you can switch to StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced.
Download StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program. The file is 9kb & takes less than 1min to download. Unzip the file using WinRAR & view it with Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice. Weights are prefilled in kg & lbs for 10 weeks.
Click here to download StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program (right click - save as).
Nutrition on StrongLifts 5×5 Beginner Program. In general you’ll need your body-weight in lbs x 18kcal daily. Add/remove 500kcals from there if you want to gain weight or lose weight.
- Protein. 1g/lbs daily. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, whey, etc.
- Whole Grain Carbs. Oats, rice, pasta, breads, yams, potatoes, etc
- Fruits & Veggies. All kinds. Eat veggies and/or fruits with every meal.
- Fat. Fish oil, flax seeds, olive oil, etc.
- Water. 1 liter per 1000 calories you expend. 1US gallon a day will do.
Questions. StrongLifts eBook answers 47 questions you might have about this program. Click here to get the eBook for free. Or you can also read the FAQ online. If you don’t find the answer to your question, ask it in the forum.
Great article, Mehdi! I am looking forward to reading and re-reading every one of the new articles. It’s almost like finding your website for the first time all over again. I love your approach to weight lifting and your website. Keep up the good work on both!!
Are you supposed to back squat 3 days a week or is one of the days a front squat?
Why aren’t their any power cleans?
@Adam
Three days/week Back Squat, no Front Squat.
@Flying Fox
Power Cleans are tricky to learn. I feel a total newbie does better first learning how to deadlift & squat (plenty of work on those), before learning the Power Clean.
If you have experience and get on the program: alternate Deadlifts & Power Cleans each workout B. One workout Deadlift, one Barbell Rows, one Power Cleans.
A few Mark Rippetoe quotes:
“Usually, people just feel intimidated by anything that resembles a technical exercise and just would rather not do them. This is just being a pussy, and sets a bad precedent for the management of both training and life.”
Face it Mehdi, you’re a pussy :p
”
Okay, you don’t need a coach to learn power cleans, because we fixed things up so that you can learn them out of the book. And what exactly is the downside of trying to learn them and failing? Firing squat? The fucking bodybuilders making fun of you from the safety of the dumbbell rack? Loss of wages? Just try them before you decide you can’t learn them without a coach.
As for pullups/chinups being a necessary pre-strengthening movement for the clean, what does a movement that is primarily a jump with a barbell in the hands have to do with a bodyweight pull in the opposite direction? They are both very important exercises, neither of which depend on the other for anything.
There is no danger from doing rows. I just consider them an intermediate level assistance exercise that should be done long after cleans are mastered. Power cleans are a terribly important exercise because they develop skill, explosion, and a better deadlift. Barbell rows are a moderately useful assistance exercise. That’s why cleans are included as one of the Five exercises in SS and rows are not.”
I’m quoting Rippetoe because he explains it better than I ever could.
Note that I’m not Mark Rippetoe, neither do I intend to copy Rippetoe. This program is based on _MY_EXPERIENCE_ in coaching people offline & online. If you want Mark Rippetoe’s approach, you can find the link to his book in the sidebar, under the products I recommend.
To answer your question. This is a quote from StrongLifts 5×5 eBook:
StrongLifts 5×5 has a different approach than Bill Starr 5×5 for 1 reason: I deal with beginners. Beginners who a) never lifted barbells b) never followed a program c) are out of shape and/or weak d) don’t have a coach to judge if their technique is right so they can add weight.
Power Cleans. You need hamstring flexibility, you need to keep your chest up/shoulder back down & you need wrist flexibility. All that is prior you even think about doing the actual power clean technique.
I find it much easier to let a _total_beginner_ first learn how to deadlift & (front) squat. That builds the necessary flexibility & learns correct position. If you have flexibility in hams/wrists & now basic stuff like pushing from the heels/keeping chest up/etc it becomes much easier.
If you want to do Power Cleans: please do them. Don’t hold back. I love seeing people who want to try to Power Cleans anyway. From my experience, most don’t have the patience to learn how to Power Cleans, and that kills the purpose of StrongLifts 5×5 program which is to build the exercise habit.
Read my last sentence again, I quoted Mark Rippetoe because that is what I wanted to say, only he said it better. I’m not expecting you to be him. Perhaps next time I’ll find someone else to quote.
To answer your answers:
1) squat is a technically difficult exercise as well, so without proper coaching, you shouldn’t be squatting either
2) for a proper squat, you need some hamstring flexibility (same with deadlift). You might even need to build some shoulder flexibility
3) if people don’t have the patience to learn a powerclean, how can they ever have the patience to learn a good squat
4) I respect your experience, but I can’t take that argument into account, since it is impossible to discuss it. And I just enjoy discussing too much.
5) I do understand that there is a large number of great exercises, and that you cannot teach them all to a beginner right away. But by leaving out the power clean, you no longer have a nice fullbody explosive lift.
6) this is just my opinion
7) thank you, I will do power clean if my hip ever heals
I have a question about the dips and chins. It seems to me that the bench press lays more stress on the triceps and pecs than the OH press, so it would be logic to me if I did dips on OH press day and chins on bench press day. Yet again I understand why chins are assaistance on deadlift day rather than on bb row day.
@Flying Fox
Totally agree that you have no explosive lifts withoutpower cleans & that you need flexibility for Squats/Deadlifts/all exercises.
No offence taken I hope?
The easier we can make it for beginners, the better. Power Cleans: you have the patience, you have the flexibility: add it. From my experience those trainees are scarce, but then again I might be wrong, I’m often wrong.
@Koef
I don’t think it matters much. I’m thinking more at what you have done at the end of one week. You could do dips after the oh press following your logic, but then you have bb rows followed by chins/pull-ups, getting the same problem. Knowing beginners have problems doing 1-3 pull-up/chin-ups in a row at first, it’s better to do these on deadlift day so the arms have more strength left.
Looks very much like the madcow variation of Bill Starrs 5×5 I used summer 2005. It worked awesome, until I where going to start another round and started with to heavy weights =p
I’m currently doing Rippetoe’s gym version of SS:
Monday
Squats
Bench Press/Press
Chin Ups( I changed this to barbell rows instead)
Wednesday
Squats
Bench Press/Press
Dead lift/Power Clean
Friday
Squats
Bench Press/Press
Chin ups
However, according to the advice from this thread dedicated to the program:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224&page=2
VI. Routine-Specific Questions, Part 3
Question - How long should i rest between sets, exercises, and during warmups?
…..If you are poorly conditioned, you may require several minutes between sets, especially on the squat, deadlift and power clean, as these are particularly taxing exercises. Once you are “in shape”, you can probably get by with no more than 2-3 minutes between sets. However, once the weights start getting heavier, you may take upward of 5 minutes between sets, especially when you are setting PRs (personal records) in the squat, deadlift, row and/or power clean…..(extracted)
As such, i am currently into my 3rd week of restarting SS and squatting 70kg x 3x 5( low bar, below parallel, medium stance)
benching 45 x 3 x 5(medium grip)
pressing 30 x 3 x 5
deadlifting 80 x 3 x 5( alt grip, conventional style)
pull-ups- 3 x BW poor form
However, i feel that i’m very weak as I have squatted 70kg for 3rd time but i don’t think I can increase weight like i’m supposed to. I’m thinking of switching to your program as it seems more realistic. Should i start with the same weights? And do u think this program can help me achieve my goal of swimmer’s physique(lean, muscular, ripped with broad shoulders & sixpack) by new year?
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l154/ArchAngelz7/ross_edgley2.jpg
Here are some of my stats
1.74m ( 5 ft 9 ) 69 kg age 16 asian (singapore) ectomorph
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l154/ArchAngelz7/DSCN1270.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l154/ArchAngelz7/DSCN1272.jpg
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l154/ArchAngelz7/DSCN1246.jpg
Thanks a lot for your advice. I really hope to try out your program as iit seems better than westside for skinny bastards, SS, or max-ot.
edit: sorry the deadlift is 80 x 1 x 5 not 3 sets
Ryan: Noone can add 2.5kg/week all the time, people start at a lower weight than max and go up but when you can’t put on more weight you can’t.. Just start with a lower weight the next time (however considering your current stats you can probably improve your strength quite fast so that may not be necessary, and also since your weights aren’t so high to begin with 2.5 or 5kg makes a much bigger raise in percent than for someone which lift a lot more. Maybe you can add 1 or 1.25 kg if you have weights for it? Or just those things you hold the weights with.
It’s not realistic to expect a whole new body in a fucking month =P, you could lose some body fat and raise your definition and you would look more like him, but he have probably 10 or maybe even 15 kg more muscle. You could probably look something like that in 3 years or so. (Someone will probably say “omg but I added 4kg in a month on this program!! It will take half a year, max!” well, that’s how they see things .. They probably get very fat in that half year aswell..)
I don’t know westside for skinny bastards but I would assume they know their stuff. MAX-OT are just the regular stuff which most people do. Personally I’m doing http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1696844 atm but no program will do magic. Just do serious training + serious eating + time and you will reach your goals some day in life (if they aren’t to look like ronnie..)
(Not that it matters but yesterday I googled for some Brad Pitt information for fun, and it seems his weight for fight club was 70.6 (but he’s small there, the “swimmer” on your image is bigger than Pitt was in fight club), anyhow for Troy they mentioned that he added 4.5kg in a year, and then you have to remember that he probably got much time, motivation (atleast from others and for the role), help with food and so on.)
Hi
Why the decision to update the beginner program? Can you give your thoughts for the changes? thanks!
@Tammy
Just changed things to what I was doing offline for some time now. Those I coach train like that & getting results. I have a similar training program too. Try it Tammy, you’ll see it works great.
[...] Last year at this time I was a 200-pound weakling. O.K., not really. But my strict adherence to the Stronglifts 5X5 Program for the past 6 weeks has made me stronger. But I didn’t know the real difference until [...]
Thanks for compiling this program and the useful site Mehdi!
I’ve been doing your Beginner 5×5 twice a week instead of the recommended three. My reason is that I get only about 5 hrs of sleep Mon - Fri and usually do get to sleep as late as I want on weekends. Right now these are circumstances I can’t change — you know, life balance type stuff: fiance works evening shift, I work day shift, I leave for work around 8:30am, she comes home around 1am, etc. Despite the twice a week training limitation, I’ve used your program to work my squats up from empty bar till 5×5 of 170lbs and my overhead press from empty bar to 4×5 of 110 (first time at this weight this Saturday, so going to make 2 more attempts before deloading). For instruction on excercise form, I read the 1st edition of Starting Strength, largely because your recommendation and a recomendation from some local Crossfit people. Again, thank you for the great work on this site.
Two workouts/week works too Tamudjin, progress just takes longer. Your results are proof it works with 2 workouts/week. Continue the good work & thanks for the motivating words Tamudjin.
Yeah so Im 5′9″, about 150lbs. I’m not in real bad shape, but I have more fat than I want to in the stomach to hip area, people say im skinny, true, but then also not true. So should I start the anabolic diet and the 5×5? Will that trim the fat out of the thigh, glute, ab area with time? I plan on doing the post workout cardio, but eating that many calories, I just want to make sure I should be doing that. I have the discipline to change my diet (I eat low fat high carb currently), and do the workouts. Right now I just run but dont like doing it at all. Thanks for the help and the site.
You could use some 5-10lbs extra at your height. I’m 5′8″ & weigh 155lbs & I’m considered a light weight.
Anabolic Diet is not necessary. Just eat clean food as described & focus on getting stronger. You also don’t need cardio with your stats. Weight lifting will build a base of endurance/cardiovascular fitness. Get stronger, you’ll build more muscle, more muscle is more calories burned, couple that with healthy food = no more fat in thighs/glutes/ab area. And running is no fun at all indeed. Try the program, make a log in the forum Ryan. Good luck.
Hi Mehdi. Came across this site about a week ago and it’s been the most useful resource I’ve found. Solid information without all the crap you find on other sites. A question regarding the 5×5. Me and a friend have been going to the gym for about 4 months now, basically just doing our own thing using a variation of the pyramid for the following excercies — Benchpress, lat pull down, EZ bar bicep curls, tricep pull and some abdominal work. In the last four months, we’ve seen a good improvement, but I felt a routine was important and to keep track of our weight progression.
So tonight, we’re going to start on the 5×5. We’ve never done squats before or any real leg work. I know! I can hear you gasping already. Want I would like to know is, seeing as though we’re not completely out of condition, should we start squats with 10kg or an empty bar? Only reason I ask is how would this work with our other exercises as we can easily do 3 sets of 10 reps of 40kg on bench. Should we therefore add weight more weight to squats to keep up with the bench or should we decrease weight on bench? Basically, our upper bodies are pretty good and our legs are weak.
Also, as we’re still trying to make more time for the gym, we can only do 2 days a week which is usually Monday and Thursday. I know you say the 5×5 should be done 3 times a week, but is OK if we continue to do 2 times or would this seriously be a waste?
Thanks for all the hard work you’ve put into this site. It’s an excellent resource.
Hello Taz,
I’m not Mehdi, but I’ve been on Stronglifts for a while now (over 4 months) so maybe I can answer your questions.
1. Start the squats with the empty barbell. You need to get the technique down before you get to stressful weights. If you feel like your technique is good, progress faster (add 10 lbs. per workout) until it gets heavy. It will start to be real hard very soon. Any imbalance you have between upper and lower body will disappear in a couple of months.
2. Do the program two days a week. Do workout A on Monday and B on Thursday. Not a problem. This is how I train. Progress will be a little slower but it is basically just the same. Once you have more time (or more desire to train, seeing the results you get on StrongLifts 5×5) you will add another workout.
Good Luck with your training. Visit the StrongLifts forum and start a training log if you want feedback from like-minded lifters.
@Taz.
Thanks for the motivatings wors on the blog. Glad to read you like it. Bentzurm has given you perfect advice: technique first on squat, then weight. Two days/week works too, Bentzurm does it, just takes longer.
Hi Bentzurm. Thank you for the tips! Well, last night we completed Workout A and I can’t tell you how sore my legs are; they hurt even just sitting down. Anyway, we squatted 25kg, benched 50kg and barbell rowed 30kg all 5×5.
Even though I’m sore now, the squats were pretty easy although the barbell row was a real effort. Should I decrease the weight now or add the 2.5kg as recommended until I begin to fail? I guess what I’m trying to do is make sure that I’m using roughly the same effort for all exercises. Right now it feels like I’m using about 70% effort on squats, about 85% on bench and 110% on barbell row. Also, considering what we’re currently capable of, what should we be starting at for the deadlift and overhead press next workout?
Other than that, me and my friend both agree that this was one heck of a workout. We felt so good both during and after the session it was amazing. We also utilised the 2 x 5 empty bar, then the 3, 2, 1 warmup and it was fantastic. Definitely the most fun session we’ve had and a first total body workout. I can now see why cardio on recovery days isn’t so important.
Thanks again Mehdi, this is a brilliant program you’ve put together.
@Taz.
Make sure you read StrongLifts 5×5 Faq. A lot of these questions have been asked before, you’ll get a faster answer by reading the faq.
Add weight every workout, you’re body quickly adapts to the weight. You’ll be able to add weight indefinitely for 4-8weeks without stalling. Add 2.5kg every workout. And yes you should alternate between workout A & B every workout.
Don’t worry about balancing the effort across lifts. Stick to the program and sooner (overhead) or later (squats) you will get to 100% effort on all lifts. You are very sore because you are not used to these movements. From my experience this goes away after a week or two if you continue to train regularly.
Regarding the weights on the Overhead press and Deadlift. Same advice as the squat - start low and focus on technique. I would say start with 40kg on the DL and empty bar on the OH. Make sure you understand the technique involved in these very technical lifts. Read the relevant posts on Stronglifts and watch these videos and any other you can find on crossfit.com:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipPressReviewCLT.mov
The deadlift videos on this page (powerlifts section)
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html
I started the 5×5 on Monday. All the weights were good for me except this morning I had trouble keeping my back straight on the deadlift. Should I lower the 85lb weight until I can do them with perfect form? Or do I want to keep the weight so that I am not unbalanced with respect to the other exercises and muscles I’m developing?
You must focus on technique first Tammy. If you can’t do an exercise correctly, lower the weight if necessary to do them right first.
Keeping your back straight on deadlifts: look forward/45° angle before you, keep your chest up, shoulder blades back.
Hi. Thanks for your quick answer on my last question. I have one more pesky question. I read in Starting Strength (great recommendation by the way, thanks), that you should not use a mirror when lifting. I am wondering if you agree with that view? I find a mirror helpful for form in yoga and also weights. Sometimes I think I am having correct stance and then I look in the mirror and notice I am slightly off kilter. I think having the mirror helps me to learn to sense more true as I correct, and then later I can do this without a mirror for feedback. I realize the point that a mirror is only 1 dimension and I know it won’t help me with all my form awareness. What are you thoughts on the strict “no mirror” stance?!
You’re welcome Tammy.
Mirrors. I trained for about 5 years in commercial gyms with mirrors. Then I bought a home gym, thought about buying mirrors at first. But it was such a hassle I eventually didn’t do it. When I now go to a commercial gym, I turn my back to the mirrors & face the walls. Using mirrors is confusing, you must “learn to listen to your body”. If you look at videos of olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman,e tc. They don’t have mirrors. And you can already do it if you want: when you do the bench press, you don’t have a mirror.
If form is your concern, my advice:
* ask someone who knows his stuff to give you info on your form.
* tape yourself using a video camera & check between sets (what I do as I train alone)
Great question btw
Hey Mehdi..
Thanks for the response and your answer regarding me training the beginning strength program using the Anabolic diet. I will just progressivesly add more weights to my core lifts(squat, flat bench, military press, barbell rows) everyday of the week until I stall..Then I might utilize the midday carb refeed..or just switch to the texas method..which is more suited for people on the Anabolic diet… I just finished working out half hour ago and I did the beginning strength program except that I paired squat, military press, **barbell rows** (all 5×5) and dips 3×8..kinda like the beginning program 2… do you think that is ok or should i just stick to squat, military press,**deadlift* and pullups as the program 1 suggested? today is the last day of week before i carbload tomorrow until sunday for 48hours..funny thing is i dont crave the carbs as I did last week…
one thing i noticed with pairing the squat, military press, and barbell row is that once I finished my 5×5 sets with the military press..I felt good cause my shoulders still get a decent pump from the low reps and the indirect effect from the squat..the problem is once I start doing my 5×5 sets for barbell row the pump is gone and I feel droppy..I have the opposite feel when i pair the squat, bench, and barbell rows…it makes me feeel pumped throughout the workout even after I left the gym…think maybe I should just stick to the beginning strength program (BSP)1 since I felt a better pump(weird huh) from that particular combination instead of the combos from BSP2 ….
Peter. I recommend you to start a log in the forum to share you workouts & nutrition. It’s more effective than posting multiple questions in reply to multiple posts.
[...] and I built a home gym in the garage! It’s awesome. I’m doing the StrongLifts workout [...]
[...] I will be working out in the gym 2 - 3 days a week focusing by using a modified 5×5 plan (provided by Mehdi at stronglifts.com) and then embarking on a walking program and tracking my [...]
Have been checking out this site for the past couple of weeks. Great site!
I have been lifting moderately dedicated (i.e. more on than off since I was about 15 (am 40 now) but realized a couple years ago that I was doing way too much often being so sore most of my waking moments. I have always been tall and skinny and really just focused on what the scale said .
Since I hit the big 4 0 that has changed I have been really focusing on increasing my strength and staying lean and trying to feel younger as time marches on . Mass will come along with that right?
I checked out the beginning strength plan and curious how i can adapt it, if at all to my situation, since my current weight ranges (except for the squat which I have always avoided -trying to change that now) are higher than the week 6 totals on 5×5 BSTP .
Currently I am rowing 140lbs 5×5,/ DB incline press 57.5lbs( ea. db) 5×5
DL 200lbs 5×5/DB OH press 50lbs (ea db)5×5 /body weight +20lb weighted pullups 3x 5 and dips . I am 6′2 175 lbs btw, I want my poundages )squat and presses) especially , to increase significantly without injury as the year progresses . At least that is my goal for 2008.
Should I start at the week that is closest to what I am currently lifting and then try and progress from there?
@RJ
Thanks for the motivating words on the blog. You’re doing a lot of the exercises on this routine already, so that gives you an advantage. You will have to learn how to Squat, and get used to squatting 3x/week however.
Best is to start with lighter weights (like 30% less than you’re 5 rep max) & add weight every workout from there. If it is too easy, you can use bigger increments like in the examples in the post (choose your starting weight paragraph).
Don’t fear starting too light. It takes longer, but you can better focus on technique, and it also takes longer before you’ll stall.
Thanks for the tips. I find I can deadlift more frequently with less soreness than squat. I also enjoy them as one of my favored lifts. And no spotter needed. Are they as good , or is doing them 3 times a week asking for back trouble?
How to deal with the soreness that squats bring? Rest an xtra day between?
Are goblets an acceptable variation to back squats? Are front squats ? When I force myself to squat I often do dumbell squats since I do not have a power rack .I have a weider olympic bench with a squat rack on the back of it, you stand in front of to get the weight off , and I do not have a spotter when I lift since its in my basement. Would love to have a power rack but need one that will fit in the low ceilinged basement I have . (anyone knows of one that is 75″ high ?
@RJ
Squat & Deadlifts work same muscle. It gets hard once the Squat get heavy, to combine them with 3x Deadlift sessions. If your Squat goes up, your deadlift goes up anyway.
You’ll get used to Squatting 3x/week by Squatting 3x/week. Soreness will decrease as weeks go by.
Front Squat are the best replacement for back squats. You can try Squat stands if a power rack doesn’t work in your basement. Squat stands don’t have safety pins, but they make it easy to get the bar in proper position.
I am thinking of starting the 5 x 5 programme. However, I have had my cruciate ligament ruptured and repaired through surgery and am concerned whether squats would cause any problems. I can squat about 40 lbs at the moment without any problem but if I start to increase the load do you think I will have cause for concern?
simple and straight. impressive !
@Adam
Goal of surgery & rehab should be to make your knee fully operational again. If that’s the case: start light, add weight progressively. If it doesn’t hurt, continue. Got a post coming up on training after a knee injury next week.
@Abhishek Gupta
Thanks
hi, i saw this program and was interested, but i have a question regarding my age (16). Is it safe to follow a strength program like this ( with proper form of course ), as im not ”fully grown” yet ??
@Stan
Safety depends on technique. Start light, add weight gradually. 16y is ok, look at olympic weigth lifters, they start much younger than you.
hi
1. can you tell me about the breathing pattern required for squat, overhead press,deadlift and rowing. i know that while benching, one should inhale and expand the chest while lowering and exhale while pushing the bar up. so, what is the pattern to be followed for the lifts mentioned above?
2. what about my warm up sets? eg: i end up squatting 50kgs today, so, in the next squat workout, i would be aiming for 52.5kgs. so, what percentage of my current lifts should my warm up lifts be so that i do not tire myself out?? and how many warm up sets to be exact?
its really great to see that you helping us out.. it really is. most people do not take out time to reply to so many queries, but you reply to each and every person. thats so nice of you
thanks a million
i do not have a weight strapping belt in my gym. i have really improved on my pull-up strength following the “grease the groove” program by pavel. i manage 11 to 12 straight reps when i am fresh. now i want to progress to weighted version. but i find it very difficult to hold the dumbell between my legs and perform the pull up. any alternative way out???
@Abhishek Gupta
1. This isn’t running, this is weight lifting. Don’t pay attention to breathing. Let it happen naturally. Your body knows how to breathe.
2. Read the post on how to warm-up
3. Use a belt. Take a look at the pull-up article, it has pictures.
Read also the FAQ completely, and visit every link in the article, those are relevant links that I think will answer most of your questions. And download StrongLifts 5×5 eBook. It’s free & gives you the most important information at once.
Thanks for the kind words.
hi, am about to start your 5×5 routine, but i was thinking of trying the excercises in a different order each time i do the workout, what do you think?
@Bob
Stick to the routine as it’s laid out. You have no reason to switch the order of the exercises. Make sure you read the FAQ.
although the 5×5 prog incorporates exercises which work the abs, i want to know if i can do ab work on my rest days? i mean if lift on mon/wed/fri, can go for ab work on tue and thur? will it hamper my recovery or something like that? ab work includes weighted crunches, leg lifts, oblique crunches. is it ok?
@Abhishek Gupta
Same answer as for Bob: stick to the routine as it’s laid out. Make sure you read the faq.
Ok…back to overtraining on the 5 x 5 program. I agree, it’s better to undertrain then overtrain. But why is the regular 5 x 5 program set-up for variation in intensity, but the beginners is not? Can you use the Light - Moderate - Heavy with the beginning program? I would think that a beginner could stay on it much longer this way. I’ve always believed in proper rest and recoop.
Also, when do you switch from the beggining program to the regular 5 x 5?
Again, great site. Love it!
John
Hey Mehdi!
Great site! Im just curious though. Do you suggest altering your workout in any way for a 16 year old?
Thanks
my current maxes are:
squat: 53kg+bar (4 reps)
deadlift: 83kg+bar (4 reps)
overhead press: 30kg+bar ( 5 reps)
bench: 72kg+bar (2 reps)
row: 50kg+bar (3 reps)
1. i am planning to start beginner 5×5 and take my increase my lifts significantly. looking at my maxes, what amounts of weight should i start off the program with??? can you please specify exactly.
2. while doing overhead presses, i experience pain in the region below my left rhomboid. the right side feels absolutely alright though idea why? and how to overcome this?
thanks
@John
Sign up for a free account on StrongLifts.com forum & ask all your questions there at once. This is getting off topic.
@Chris
No difference for a 16y old. Train like the rest.
@Abhishek Gupta
1. You’re not that strong yet, so just start with an empty barbell like in the example.
2. Are you left handed? Do you control your mouse with your left hand? Any injury you had in the past? If you technique is ok, it could be bad posture. Make sure you look forward during the oh press & work on your posture if necessary.
hi, this may sound stupid but i just want to check, am hopefully joining the royal marines in the summer. i weight 61kg and could do with putting on weight. i think this program will be perfect for this, but when i do the fitness tests for the marines recruitment, it’ll involves doing high reps of push ups and sit-ups. now i know that this program hits all the muscles, but because its low reps with heavy weight will that help me with high reps of body weight excercises like the push up, or will my muscles become used to the low rep range.
if i was to do push ups say before i went to bed or on rest days would that affect recovery and strength?
thanks, this website has been a great help
@Bob
If you want to get good at high reps, you’ll have to do high reps. If you need to be able to do like 30, 50 or more pull-ups, yes you’ll have to work on that. Just keep doing the pull-ups at the end of your workout, and go for maximum amount of pull-ups, without adding weight. Go for sets of 10 & more.
thanks for that. one more thing sorry, my bench press and barbell row for 5×5 is 50kg, as i progress to heavier weights, should i make sure that these two excercise use the same amount of weight as each other so my chest and back are balanced. for example, when i add 2, 5kg to my bench press should i make sure that i add the same to the row. and if for example say i don’t make the same weight for the row as i do the bench press on one workout should i wait for my row to catch up before progressing my bench again? hope that makes sense
thanks again
Hey, when I do the 5 rep sets should I be almost at failure during the last rep, or should I feel like I could do 3-4 more reps..Rest, and do another 5 within a minutes rest.
I feel that when I’m almost at failure during the 5th, that I’m basically struggling through the entire set. Since 5 reps go quick.
However, lowering the weight a bit and banging out 5 with good timing then stopping feels alot better form wise, however, I feel even better if I were to do 8 reps this way.
Would I benefit the same if I were to do 3×8 instead of 5×5?
@Bob
No keep it simple. Just add weight every workout, don’t hold back.
@Justin
The goal is eventually that the 5×5 get hard to achieve yes. But not during the first weeks/months. Start light, focus on technique, add weight gradually. Easy the first weeks, harder after 6-8weeks. Your goal is always to get the 5×5 while adding weight every workout.
Thanks Mehdi.
I switched from my old routine. Mon / Wed / Fri : Chest|Triceps / Back|Biceps / Shoulders|Legs to this one just last week. I was used to doing 2-3 different exercises at 2 sets per muscle group at ~8 reps.
I decided to switch because when I was looking for technique on squats/deads I read alot of other webpages, and your page provided the best form and description, so I naturally stumbled across the 5×5 and liked the idea of working the same muscle groups more often during the week then once.
Keep up the good work, thanks for the help, you’re awesome!
@Justin
Good luck with the routine.
Thanks a lot. Be sure to recommend the blog to friends
My first comment was wrong and Mehdi pointed out to me that weight lifting stops you from growing is a myth. I am now on the stronglifts 5×5 routine.
I did my first 5 x 5 session two days ago to test it out and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite my body being very sore the next morning. I concentrated on technique and performing the exercises correctly and followed the advice that has been given on this site. I am totally convinced that this programme is better than training with muscle isolation methods which I see people doing in the gym and which leads to some muscles being disproportionate in size to their whole body. I am going away on hoilday next week for a month so I won’t be able to start until I get back but I am determined to try the 5 x 5 programme and get into proper shape. Keep up the good work Mehdi and keep the new articles coming!
@Adam
Agreed on the disproportionate physiques. You’ll get used to the soreness after a few workouts. Enjoy your holiday, keep us updated in the forum when you get back.
hi , i want to start the 5×5 program next week, but i just realised the gym i go to hasnt got 1.25 kg plates, which means i have to add 5 kg every workout.
I know i wont last long with these increasements, so what can i do ?? The dumbbels arent available in heavy weights ( 20-30 kg or smthing ), and i dont have the space, money, permission to get a home gym.
man this sucks, i was really looking forward to beginning this program
I started this program with my girlfriend at the start of the week. The girlfriend is actually enjoying it! She just got into dirtbiking with me(I’m lucky right?) and she needs more strength to be able to pick the bike up when it goes over. We’re still sort of working out how to be able to have her do dips and pullups without using a machine, but lat pulldowns and holding on the pullup bar and slowly letting her down are good enough for now.
Thanks for the great info!
@Stan
You can buy some light chains & wrap it around your bar to get a 1.25kg weight on every side.
@Greg
Make sure you check the dips/pull-up article for ideas to do these exercises when you lack the strength.
Hey guys,
I am only a newbie to the 5X5 program but I have a simple question. My wife has also joined me with this workout program although it took a little convincing that she wouldn’t get huge - just fit. Anyways, I am curious what alternative there is to doing the dips? I spent my budget on a good power rack, selection of weights, bar, and bench. I don’t have any extra cash now but I don’t want to keep missing out on that portion of my workouts. I figured I could do close grip bench or skull crushers? Are these good choices or is there a way to do dips? Some people say use my washing machine and dryer for dips too.
Special thanks to this website! It has given me a lot of inspiration where I have failed to find else where.
@Shawn
Check out the article on dips. You could use two chairs or get a pair of rings.
Mehdi, I’d like to say that this website of yours, is a big time inspiration, to better my training in general. Thank you for that brother. By the way I have a question, I used to do engage in bodybuilding, also I’m quite experienced in bodybuilding. However, thats not the point…I wanted to know why big muscles are trained on the same day on the stronglifts 5×5 program? Still I’m looking to use this program soon and see how it goes. Thanks for everything and keep it up! I visit this website on a regular basis!
@Iron Soul
Thanks for the motivating words on the blog. Squats are the highest stressor, 5×5. Oh press/bench press work small muscles. Deadlift only 1 set of 5 because you work similar muscles with the 5×5 Squats. Other exercises are purely accessory. Try the program, you’ll like it.
Ok so I have been using this for about 3 weeks now.
I find that I am still sore from the previous workout when it comes time to go again. Should I take an extra day? Or lighten my loads? or suck it up and push through and hope it gets better?
I have found in the past with other routines that whole-body ones kick my butt recovery wise . Plus now being 40 the recovery sure isnt what it was when I was 20 or 30 . Have found in the past I tend to recover better doing splits. Can you split the 5×5?
@RJ
Suck it up & push through. You’ll get used to it. It’s a question of endurance. Make sure you eat well, and sleep well that will help recovery. If you take a look at the training log of guys in their 40s (forum), you’ll see others can manage this. Make sure you didn’t start to heavy with the weights (I advised starting with empty barbells).
i just did my 5th workout on stronglifts, it was workout A today. on the bench press i stalled on the third set on the 4th rep. i took a extra 30 seconds on the rest and tryed again, got the first 4 reps but the 5th was only a half rep, the same went for the 5th set. i was using 55kg, that was a 2kg increase from my last workout which went fine. i did the 3×5 dips at the end with 10kg and they went fine too, which was and increase of 2.5kg. should i increase on the bench press on the next workout A or repeat the same weight?
forgot to mention, i did fittness test 3 hours before the workout, which was a mile and a half run in under 10mins, could that of affected the workout in anyway? energy wise
@Bob
If you don’t get the 5×5, you have to retry with the same weight the same workout. The run could have tired you out yes.
I’d appreciate if you post upcoming questions in the forum in order to keep the comment section on topic.
Hey Mehdi,
I have been doing 5*5 for nearly a month, and I find it great. I have one small question. If I am unable to complete 25 reps in 5 sets, can I use an extra set? I mean if I miss 1 rep in 4th set and 2 reps in 5th set, so can I do one more set to complete 25 reps in total?
Any ways great site man……Great effort…
@Harry
Thanks. No you go for 5 sets of 5 reps. If you miss reps in one or more sets, you try with the same weight the next workout, up to 3 workouts.
I am finding as the weights get heavier that after the squat (and particularly the day with DL) I am pretty much wiped. I have not much left for upper body stuff. Going to do uppers on a diff day , but same quantity . Has that worked for anyone?
Hi, I love the article, I just got one question.
I train MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) from Monday to Friday and I’m planning to do intense Cardio Exercises like sprinting and heavy bag routines to lose weight, and I read in several sites that the first 20 minutes of the workout the body only uses glycogen for energy and not fat, so you should do a weight lifting routine before the cardio workout so you use the glycogen and raise your metabolism and I would love to do this routine but you definitely can’t alternate workout A & B 5 times a week, mainly for the squats I suppose.
So is there another workout I can do in between those 2 ? for Tuesday and Thursday? Or should I try a complete different routine?
The thing is that the cardio exercises are so intense that I’m afraid I will burn the muscles If I don’t do weight lifting everyday, and theres that glycogen thingy that totally sucks IMO, haha.
Thank you for the help.
@RJ
Make sure you eat well & sleep well.
@Omar
Start with StrongLifts 5×5 3x/week, coupled with MMA. That will burn enough calories to start with. Adding more cardio/more weight lifting sessions is too much if you just start out with all of this. Learn to walk first, then running.
So splitting it up is ok?
The other thing I didnt mention is due to having my own business and 2 small children , time for workouts can be tough , so shorter more frequent ones tend to allow me to stick with them better than having to carve out an hour or so .
I guess the weights will tell me whether or not I am improving or over training /under training.
Would it be OK to add 20min or so of cardio, say rowing at the end of the workout.? Or is this not reccomended.
I’ve already been training MMA for 1 and a half gear, I lost about 20 pounds (after another 45 one year before that), but then I started to get careless about my weight, I didnt eat healthy and anything so I never lost anymore but I never gained because I was doing a lot of exercises, but now with the holidays I gained about 5 pounds and I freaked out, haha.
I been training 2 hours a day in the past 9 months or so, I’m in great conditioning but I’m a little fat, I just want to strenght training routine to my program.
I diceded to not sprint anymore because I don’t think I’ll be good for my legs.
So is there another thing I can do for atleast about 20 minutes before doing my cardio on Tuesdays and Thursday?
Thank you.
@RJ
No you don’t split this routine up. Unless you’re already lifting 1.5x your body-weight for 5×5, you’re feeling whipped because you lack endurance/lack quality sleep and/or nutrition. First one you’ll get used to it by training more, second one you know how to fix.
@Andy
Yes you can add cardio.
@Omar Mtz
Just do cardio if you want do do cardio. You don’t need to do weight lifting before to empty glycogen stores, it’s nitpicking. Focus on eating healthy and burning calories, that will do.
Is this a complete body workout?
Mehdi,
Grreat site…keep it up.
I’ve been on bill starrs 5×5 for about six months and love it, however, I do have a question.
I’m a 5″4, 180 pound, ectomorph who is extremely weak. In fact, I dropped a 140 pound bench on myself today (strained neck)(I had just switched to a high rep program and just couldn’t do it)….I have seen gains in all aspects of my lifts, from rows to squats to deadlift, but my bench does not go up….
With the 5×5 program, is it fine to add extra arm work to assist? What would you reccomend to increase bench?
^ oh yeah, I should include my lifts…..they’re very odd in that most people don’t row more than they bench.
Bench - 140 x 5
Deadlift - 315 x 5
Squat - 245 x 5
BB Row - 185 x 5
@Malik
Full body workout yes.
@Abraham
StrongLifts 5×5 increases strength on all lifts. You already get arm work from pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bench press, oh pres, rows.
I have a question:
I have recently started my 5×5 program and am almost three weeks in. I love the program and feel I am starting to get back into decent shape rather quickly. However, my gym recently started a Group Power program which is similar to Body Pump. The program is much different where you do a large number of reps with a smaller weight working out all area’s of the body. I was wondering what your opinion of such a program is and if there is a way to fuse it with your program? Thanks
greg
@Greg
I think it’s a waste of time. If you want to work all area’s of your body, do Squats. But feel free to experiment with the program of your gym to see for yourself what you like best.
Just some background info bout myself. i was 49kg in the past and pushed it up to a maximum of 74kg through max-ot(in like half a year). However, my body was BADLY improportional.(height was 175cm)
Due to exams, i stopped lifting for 6 months and my weight slided off to 66kg. I’m kinda like an ectomorph.
Here comes the main question: Is there anyway ur program can help me gain FATS as well as muscles?or maybe some way where i can put on fats( on the face ), and muscles proportionally throughout the body. When i was at 74kg, my frens told me that my head was too small for my body…my butt was getting a tad too huge…and i do realise that i need to try to convince myself that i’ve gained by flexing.if i dun flex, it seems as though i’ve gained nothing on the arms. my calves were small despite having done numerous amount of calve excersizes. Is there anyway u can help me out? Now that i’ve slided down to 66kg and looking more proportional.
so i’m sorta like trying to start anew..(sorry-_- left this out earlier)
2 questions:
I just read Practical Programming (great recommendation btw, thanks) and I am wondering why you chose 5×5 versus the 3×5 sets across recommended in the book.
If form suffers on the last set of 5, should I count that as “missing a rep” or push forward? I can’t help but cheat by pulling my knees in on my last few squats. I have no spotter and really to need to rerack the weight
@Johnson
This as a full body workout. You’ll get proportionate muscle development everywhere. The rest is self-acceptance.
@Tammy
5×5 is 2 extra sets to work on technique. This works better for beginners who need to learn how to lift correctly.
Failure is technical failure. Meaning if you can’t finish your set with correct technique, it’s a failed rep. So you should try again with the same weight next time getting all reps on each set.
o thanks. to put it simply, i wanna ask if i gain muscles..my weight shoots up…will my head/face join along with the progression?i mean it’s just odd for a buffed fellow to have a really skinny face.
i’d seen lots of sites showing “before” and “after” pictures of skinny guys growing to become buffed.( and their face do grow fatter) But the thing is most of the time, we are cutting down on fats, and going on for muscle gains.let’s say if they gained 50lbs of muscles, would their face still grow fatter? Obviously i know fatter ppl WILL have a fatter face because fats are distributed evenly around the body. But what if the gains are all MUSCle gains?
@Johnson
Your neck/jaws will get thicker from exercise stress. But you’ll never gain much muscle in your feet/hands/face. If you see a guy becoming buff in his face, he has gained weight/gained fat/holding water. All of that is diet. Just get stronger & eat healthy, you’ll be ok.
squating 3 times a week is a bit much isnt it? to me it seems like ull be overtraining very quickly
Hi, I’m 15 and am strength training to get ready for track&field. I’ve heard that weight training exercises like the deadlift and squat can stunt your growth. Is this a myth or is there truth behind this?
Also, how long does it usually take to see results from working out?
Thanks.
@Joe
You have to grease into the program: start with empty barbell, add weight every workout progressively.
@Bob
It’s a myth. You’ll see your body change within the first 8 weeks. Muscle gain, fat loss, increased strength/stamina, etc.
Hey man, I have some lower back problems when it comes to barbell rows. It’s not the form, but the movement itself I think. I was wondering if I could replace barbell rows with bench supported rows or supine rows?
Hey Mehdi, I am facing the same problem as Michael. While doing rows, I feel pain in my lower back. I try to keep my form good, still I feel pain between back and glutes. Any suggestions??
Also I read an article “http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/catback.htm” about lower back pain while doing rows. It suggests using a bench. What are ur views about it ???
Mehdi,
Is there exercises I can’t substitue for the Squats? I understand the squats is the core of the 5×5, however, I injured my left knee a couple months back doing squats. Since then, everytime I began doing med-to heavy weight, the knee begins to hurt which prevents me from finishing. I love the concept of stronglifts 5×5…just having trouble doing squats. Thanks!
Is this program good for women to use? I’m needing to lose 45-50 lbs. and alot of it is fat! I know most of my work will come from an overhaul on my eating habits, but would also like to start up a cardio and weight/strength training program. Any advice is welcome. Oh, and I’m 35 and other than being overweight I am very healthy.
squating 3 times a week is a bit much isnt it? to me it seems like ull be overtraining very quickly I agree
Are the sets done all at once, or do we alternate exercises in between? For instance, do I do five sets of squats, then do five sets of bench presses, or do I rotate through the exercises like a superset until I reach five sets in all exercises?
Hi Mehdi,
I just wanted to say thanks for putting together the 5×5 programme. I have been strength training for about 18months now, and started 5×5 in the last 3 weeks to try and boost my gains - and boy what a difference! I have seen my strength improve even in this amount of time, and am becoming visibly more defined.
Thanks Mehdi!
Hi there,
my name is Alex and i´m from Cologne Germany. I was surfing around when i found you.
Great articles!!!!!
The exercises in the 5×5 workout are the most effective ones to grow strength and muscle. At the gym i see skinny guys doing horrible workout routines week by week, month by month and they dont grow.
And its always the same. The dont ask for deadlifts or squats! They ask for supplements and which one works best. *lol*
They are trying to increase weight at the multi-tower… Only a few people are doing chin ups or dips… and noone is doing weighted chinups or dips.
The handfull guys who are doing this most important excecises know why… and these guys who REALLY want to gain will find informations like these on your side.
I´ve told it so many guys… “You have to learn just 5 exercises!!! You have to train like a lifter, get strenght and you will get muscle…”
They said:”Alright….”…. and then? They are doing butterfly, situps und smithcurls again…. *lol* Its a silly game…
So keep your work… The barbell-community needs people like you. Ive stopped praying the same again and again… But of course… I will give peolpe with real interest and will web-links like this and they can get all they need….
Good work…!
Greetings from f****** germany
Alex
@James & Alex
Thanks.
@Other posters
You’ll find the answers to your questions in the FAQ.
hey i been working out for 3 weeks andn soem small improvements when do u think i will get bigger and stronger? im 15, i do every thing take prtein and creatine
thanks
im 16 here and gained about 30 pounds in 4-5 months(different programs) but if uve only been lifting for 3 weeks u should use light weight and just really get your form down and get comfortable with it
Hi, I have two questions:
My first question is that I hate doing body-weight excercises. Would the program still be effective if I drop the Chin-ups/Pullups and the dips?
My second question is that if I already know how to perform the squats and the other excercises then can I start out with weight on the barbell?
What rep/set range should I use for weighted dips/chinups/pullups?
I love the 5×5 program, but a few sources mention lunges and jump squats. Is there any benefit to adding that to a routine? Or is the 5×5 more than necessary already?
I have a few questions.
Firstly, I am a rower, I train 6 times a week but because of the busy schedule and switching between actual rowing/time on the rowing machine/jogging/weights, I can’t actually do this workout 3 times a week. Is there any alternative for this workout, maybe doing it twice a week but still getting the same effects? Shall I add more reps?
Also, I’m 15, is it suitable for someone my age to be packing on loads of weights as I’ve heard I shouldn’t.
Hi, Started this program about 2 weeks ago.
I started my Squats at 100kg, I’m at 120kg already. Really like this program and I feel like its making a big difference.
I’m a fairly heavy guy and want to lose a bit of weight aswell as getting stronger, will this program help me?
John…..
any ideas how to mix it with cardio 3x a week? to avoid overtraining?
Hi first of: great site. So I have question.
First of, some stuff about me: I am 90kg now at 178cm height and am obviously overweight. I wanted to do something about it, and since I had tried many things unsuccessfully, this time i went for weightlifting with the beginner program - and its working. I lost like 4kg now (was 94 when i started) and feel much better and muscular. The thing is that I dont do 5*5 but 3*8, since I want to put the focus more on muscle size + I dont want to train with the heavier weights of 5*5, since I train alone at home. Latelly I am beginning to stall (at the benchpress at 53.5 and overheadpress at 37.5; my squat is 55 now).
What I am asking is: can I actually continue to do the 3*8 instead of the 5*5? Or should I alternate? Or should I do something like 2*8 + 2*5? As I said, my primary goal is to lose the fat > then to gain some muscle > and only then to be strong. And I train alone at home and nobody can really spot me.
Would be thankful for suggestions.
And - keep up the good work man. I also read rich dad poor dad - and investing in your body is a good investment indeed…
Mehdi,
I am 6′3″ 153lbs. and trying to put on 10-15lbs. of lean muscle. I’m starting your beginner strength training workout routine tomorrow and i have been eating 5 meals a day with around 560 calories and 40-45g of protein(each meal). How long will it take to put on these 10-15lbs.? Also i train in kick boxing every day would it be good to do your workout then train or would i be tearing down muscle this way. If so what is a alternative to where i can workout just as hard in your workout and train
Hello! I have been training for years and I am anxious to try your program. My question is this. I am 43 years old. Would you recommend any modifications to the plan based on my age?
Thanks for a great site!
If you wanted to, could you do 5 sets of 5 on the deadlift? I really like doing deadlifts, and I would like to do more than the one set the program delivers.
hello. I’m new here been looking at your site which is very good.
can you tell me how it takes 3 x 30 mins a week to do this workout?
Am i doing something wrong surly it takes longer to do 5×5? 5 sets of squats bench barbell row and dips I’m not sure how this only takes 30 mins. even with a mintue rest for each set would take longer than 30mins.
I agree that it takes more like an hour plus when you consider warm ups and stretching.
I have the squat portion down to about 20 minutes . When time pressed I split it am/pm
@Jim
Dips/Chin ups and pull ups are compound exercises that work triceps, Biceps and latissimus dorsi respectively. If you drop these exercises these muscles will not be challenged to the extent they would have been.
@Michael
Same rep ranges for unweighed dips/chin ups and pull ups that being 3 sets of reps until failure.
@Jon
More exercises would make it more complicated and may take away from the exercises stated in this program. It has all the necessary exercises.
@Mike
Weight training with proper form, nutrition and rest whether you are starting out with an empty bar or you have worked your way up to 400lb squats will not cause any trouble for you. Weight training stunting growth is a myth if that is what you were asking.
@aaa
Low intensity exercise such as walking use fat as energy and spare your glucose stores for weight training (they take around 48 hours to replenish).
@Ken
As long as you are using proper form and with weights that you can handle then you will be fine at any age.
@Don S.
Doing 5×5 on dead lift and squat would be a little bit over kill.
@david and RJ
A minute rest for each set is 18 minutes all up and the exercises for week A (1 second up 2 seconds down) take 2:15 minutes that leaves 9:45 minutes for the reps of dips. 3×30 minutes a week sounds about right to me.
Give it a try you will be surprised.
Hi Mehdi,
I have spent years trying to build strength and listened to ‘experts’ advice of all sorts…. most of which has been complete rubbish.
Thank you very much for posting this routine, it has had an immediate impact on my strength and confidence in the gym.
Current stats:
Squat 140kg 5×5
Deadlift 160kg 5×5
MilitaryPress 50kg 5×5
Bench 90kg 5×5
Pull-ups BW 3×5
Dips BW + 12.5 3×5
Row 70kg 5×5
BW = 100kg
Everything is still building progressively but starting to slow.
Are there any additional exercises for biceps and bench as these are traditionally my weakest points?
Cheers