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StrongLifts 5×5 doesn’t work endlessly. Once you can Squat close to 1.5x your body-weight, your body can’t handle 3 weight increases per week anymore. The weight becomes too heavy for your body to recover in time.

The solution is to switch to weekly increases and include light days. Add weight each week instead of each workout. Include a light mid-week Squat day to help recovery. This is how StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced works.

Who’s StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced For. It doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, man or woman. As long as you’re an intermediate this program works.

• 1.5x BW Squat. You progress faster when increasing the weight each workout. Do StrongLifts 5×5 if you can’t Squat 1.5x your body-weight.
• Proper Technique. StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced includes top sets and sets of 3 reps. Only do this if you have proper technique and are injury free.
• Squat Plateau. You’ve done StrongLifts 5×5 and stalled at least 2 times on Squats. You can Squat close to 1.5x BW with proper technique.

Benefits of StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced. The 9 week programs revolves around the Squat. You’ll Squat at least 2 times per week. The Squats stress your whole body and forces it to adapt.

• Increased Strength. Gains on Squats & Deadlifts of about 10kg in 9 weeks. Gains on Overhead Press & Bench Press of 5kg in 9 weeks.
• Increased Muscle Mass. More strength is more muscle. Expect to gain weight on StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced by week 3-4.
• Decreased Body Fat. More muscle means more calories burned. Track your body fat weekly using a fat caliper.
• Proportionate Physique. The 8 compound strength training exercises work all your muscles. StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced is a fully body routine.

How StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced Works. StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced is inspired by Bill Starr’s program described in The Strongest Shall Survive and the writings of weight lifting coach Glenn Pendlay.

• 4 Weeks Volume. Sets of 5 reps. Weight increases weekly. By week 4 you’ll be in a state of overreaching. Attempt records in week 3/4.
• 1 Week Recovery. Sets of 3 reps. Same weight as in week 4. Only 2 Squat sessions per week. This gives you 1 week active recovery.
• 4 Weeks Intensity. Sets of 3 reps. Weight increases weekly again. 2 Squat sessions per week. Attempt records in week 8/9.

Preparing Yourself for StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced. You’ll get sore legs if you’re not used to Squatting more than once per week. Prepare yourself.

• Do 4 weeks StrongLifts 5×5 starting with 60-70% of your 5 rep max
• Add 2.5kg/5lbs 3 times per week for 4 weeks
• Switch to StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced after 4 weeks

Example: your 5RM is 100kg. 1st Monday 60kg for 5×5, 2nd Monday 67,5kg, 3rd Monday 75kg, last Friday 90kg. Don’t worry if the first weeks feel light. The goal is to build leg endurance while improving technique.

Download StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced Program. The file is 13kb & takes less than 1min to download. Unzip the file using 7-Zip and view it with OpenOffice or Microsoft Excel. File works using pounds & kilograms.

Click here to download StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced Program (right click – save as). Enter your current repetition max in B8 to C15 (yellow fields).

StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced. Workout on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Tu/Th/Sa or Su/Tu/Th or Sa/Mo/We works too. Workouts take about 45 mins. You’ll find 3 versions of the program in the excel sheet.

• Bench Press Version. If you care most about increasing your Bench Press, do this version of StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced.
• Overhead Press Version. If you don’t care about the Bench Press at all, you can even do the Seated Press on Wednesday.
• Barbell Row Version. If you can’t Power Clean, learn it before doing this program. If your gym doesn’t allow Power Cleans, do Barbell Rows.

Choosing Your Weight. Your goal is breaking PRs in week 3/4/8/9. It’s better to start lighter to build momentum. Use the excel sheet as a guideline the 1st time so you understand the program. The 2nd time go by feeling.

Put current PRs in week 3. Week 1 is 80% of week 3. Week 2 something in between. Week 4 smallest increment on top of week 3. Increase Wednesday’s Squat from 10% of Monday in week 1 to 15% in week 4.

Always increase the weight if you achieve all your reps on all your sets. If you don’t, use the same weight the week after. Again the excel sheet is a guideline. Adapt the weights manually if you miss reps.

Sets, Reps & Intensity. Use as much rest as you need between sets to get all your reps. This is between 1 and 5 minutes. If you just struggled to get all your reps, go for 5 mins rest on the next set.

• 5×5 and 3×3 are more stressing than 1×5 or 1×3. That’s why you combine 5×5 Squats with 1×5 on other exercises.
• Although Wednesday is a light Squat day, the weight can feel as heavy as Monday. This is normal: your legs aren’t fully recovered yet.
• By now you’ve got proper technique. Lift as fast as you can on the way up. Control the way down, explode on the way up.

Diet, Recovery & Cardio. Although StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced isn’t as hard as Smolov, diet & recovery are important. If you need to lose a lot of fat, focus on that after this program. 1 goal at a time works best.

• Diet. Apply StrongLifts.com’s 10 nutrition rules. Especially eating your BW in lbs x 18 kcal daily. Excess calories works better for strength.
• Recovery. Make sure you get quality sleep. Don’t overdo cardio, you already have the heavy Squats several times per week.
• Cardio. HIIT is superior to aerobic training but also more intensive. Stick to 30mins moderate intensity cardio post workout 1-2x/week.

Common Mistakes. Only do StrongLifts 5×5 Advanced if you can Squat 1.5x your body-weight for 1 rep with proper technique. Apply the program as laid out. Avoid the same mistakes as for StrongLifts 5×5.

• Starting too Heavy. Aim for PRs in week 3/4/8/9. Avoid missed reps during the other weeks because you started too heavy.
• Starting too Light. You underestimated yourself and didn’t hit PRs in week 4. Do a 5th or even 6th volume week if you feel you can do more.
• No Preparation. If you never did Squats 3 times per week before, avoid soreness by doing 4 weeks StrongLifts 5×5 first.
• Working with Percentages. Follow the excel file the 1st time on the program. The 2nd time go by feeling, aiming for PRs in week 3/4/8/9.

I recommend you read Lessons from Glenn Pendlay in the Forum. It will give you background information on the program.