Do you find Workout B much more tough?

[22Alpha]

Not trying to switch stuff around, I've learnt my lesson.

However, do you guys find Workout B much tougher?

We take the exercises to compare. OHP is much harder than bench for sure. Most of us have the most issues with OHP. OHP is definitely the lowest lift amongst all as well.

Chin-Ups are definitely much tougher than doing push-ups.

Deadlifting is definitely tougher than Inverted Rows. After all, with Inverted Rows, you're only using a percentage of your BW, while DL will easily surpass your BW. Sure, you do 1x5 for DLs, but I think it's easier to do 3xF curls using a 5kg DB than 1x5 curls using a 20kg DB. (please don't crucify me for mentioning curls)

Comments?

[keeplifting]

I am still fairly new to SL 5x5. been doing it for about 6~8 weeks, seen some results but not very magnificent. but I'm persistent.

Workout B's may seem harder, only just before you get to the gym. (my observations)
After my squats, I seem to get a boost of energy which I did not and could not find prior to my warm-ups.
Another observation I made is that on days I do workout B, my pull-ups seems to be higher in reps and better in form.

My two cents worth.

[22Alpha]

Man, we do squats every workout, so what's the difference? o.o

[Munnings]

I just did B and i agree with you. DLs are tough. OHP is tough. Pulls and bridge (pulls especially) get hard when you start using extra weight.
I rekon you use shoulders more in B than A. Plus DL uses nearly every muscle in your body hahaha.

[ricepower]

I think B is actually easier for the following reasons:

Overhead Press is using a relatively small weight, although the lift is hard to progress at. I do not find it very strenuous to the body at all, probably because it is focused on small muscles.

I find inverted rows/barbell rows/power cleans all much tougher than deadlift. The form on all is tricky and it is hard to judge whether you cheated and quantify actual progress. They are also for me, quite unsatisfying to do because I often feel form/cheating prevented and focused intense training effect.

Deadlift is much simpler and much faster. I am not a 'natural' deadlifter but I really enjoy it. You pull only five times but you feel the strain & CNS/power demands in your whole body. It is a very satisfying lift, after only 5 pulls you feel like you really worked yourself hard. Even if your form sucked. It is also much much clearer to judge progress when you only have 5 reps to think about with such a simple technique. There is no such thing as cheating in a deadlift, thats what I like. Progress has been most steady if deads even though I struggled with form & flexibility.

Also lastly, I find dips/pushups both much much more demanding than pull ups/chins. With pulls/chins when you become fatigued thats it, you cannot complete another rep. But with dips/push ups, that agony much much more prolonged. You can carry on squeezing out reps long after you are fatigued. I also find them a lot more strenuous in general.

Of course, this is just my experience. Overall I think the programme is well balanced.

[Bman1]

For me, workout B is definitely more physically draining. I don't find the OHP so bad even though it takes for ever to progress, but the combination of heavy squats and deadlifts (and all of the warmup sets that go along with them) leave me near dead by the time I get to pull-up/chin-ups (which for me are definitely harder than push-ups). So yeah, I agree with the OP but it is clear that we all have different strengths and weaknesses.

[22Alpha]

Overhead Press is using a relatively small weight, although the lift is hard to progress at. I do not find it very strenuous to the body at all, probably because it is focused on small muscles.

I cannot agree with this statements. OHP may be using a smaller weight, but the weight, is still an amount which is your max/progressive max, just like your bench, squat or DL.

[rpaulson7]

I love workout B, I really look forward to the Deadlifts. Yea, it's hard as hell on the body, but man I love the sound of all that weight hitting the floor.

However, I dislike workout B because of the Overhead Press. My left shoulder gets a pinched muscle sometimes, but I pound thorugh the reps knowing that Deads are coming up.

B is very taxing yes, and probably moreso than A, so I agree on that point. But I still like it more.

[markg]

I always used to try to remember which workout included which exercises with acronyms.

For workout A, it was SBIPR and workout B, SODPP or SOD for short! I do like both workouts but I think B leaves me more drained generally. I agree with ricepower about dips really finishing you off in workout A though! Push ups weren't so bad in the early days but dips are a killer.

[mjh]

I find B to be quite tough on the lower back. I'm a tall guy so in the squat I'm fighting quite a long lever, even with low bar squats. Then immediately after that I'm doing the OHP which sometimes involves a bit of layback on the heavier weights. I try to avoid it, but it happens. Then it's deadlift time, and I generally take my time setting it up so as to give my lower back a bit of a rest.

[cripmeister]

For me it's workout A, reverse crunches are a bitch!

[iCookie]

I'd say workout B is the hardest...up until you finished the deadlifts. From there on, it's a piece of cake (I wish lol)

[cg26]

I prefer B over A mabey because of the DL.

[22Alpha]

It's not really preference-it's which is harder. Some of us, including me, are sadistic and like tougher workouts because after completion, you feel much more satisfied.

I have been doing chins every workout. I will try out dips starting the next workout. Push-Ups are kind of easy, honest.

[WhiteGorilla]

I agree with everything that ricepower said. He put it just the way the I was thinking of it.