I have one hour, maybe a hair more, but my schedule is pretty tight at the gym.

My goals, to drop a moderate amount of weight, increase strength, improve appearance.  I want to be 200# or below and not look like a fat body.  

Here is where I am at-
Age 41
5'9" 208#
No health issues.  Working linear progression 5X5 on squat, bench, row, press, deadlift.  No real accessory work other than some pull ups.  Running a couple of days a week for 30 minutes at a steady pace.  I like 5X5, but with taking time to recover on squats it is pushing me past my time window (kids are at an activity at the same gym and it is the only nights I can go).

Where I am at on lifts-
Squat 185#
Press 85#
Bench 140#
Row 105#
Deadlift 215# 1X5

My weight picked up the past couple of weeks and I am not liking the look.  I know I need to take a hard look at my calorie intake.  Any thoughts on what to do at the gym to help the battle?

Some thoughts I had...
Go to 3X5 and continue linear progression, follow up with a little cardio or accessory work if time allows.  Keep the running.

Split up lifts and continue 5X5, follow up with a little cardio or accessory work if time allows.  This would eliminate my dedicated running days.

Something else?  I can't afford a crossfit gym so that is out.

Any thoughts, ideas, commentary or snickering at my puny lifts, please have at it.

Continue a 5x5 with HIIT on 2-3 of your off days. This works wonders for a long time.

Strong Lifts 5x5 is great for beginners and there's a very good app you can download. It will structure the workouts, track your weight as well as increase it, and there is a built in timer between each set. The timer really helps make this workout a quick one. I do this with a partner and we finish in well under an hour.

Also, try to walk for an hour every day. This burns fat very well.

keep lifting to build muscle.

eat less crappy carbs to burn the fat. I would look first at diet and then your program. you have a long way to go just adding weight each week.

your goals are too vague, and are what I consider broad goals.





What are your goals for the next 3 months-  Increase lifts and build muscle, or lose weight?   Pick one. WOrk towards that.  break everything you do down into 3 month blocks.  Weight loss, muscle gain, strength gain.



This is how you can build muscle and lose fat in a year...  you have weight loss and muscle gain waves...

Keep doing your 5x5 and eat lots of protein.

wear a heart rate monitor.  I know when its time to start next set when my heart rate is dropping and it hits 135.  The best Ive done for  just lifting, no cardio so far is avg of 144 for 51mins.  its not uncommon to hit 170 for periods of real exhertion during a set.

I did SS 3x5. It works too. When your squats start getting heavy it's easy to go over an hour too.

Now that I am doing 5/3/1 I can get in and out pretty quick if I need to. But I wouldn't start it yet because you have lots of room for growth.

Let me see if I can clarify.

I would continue 5x5 if time was not an issue.  The problem I am facing is I am out of time by the time I start my last lift.  I have tried less rest between sets but start missing reps.

Would I be better served to shorten rest between sets and go with the missed reps and deload sooner?

I would like to find a way to get my lifts into an hour as I can't get more time.

3x5

You should be resting as long as needed between sets.

You could also try 5/3/1 or Westside / DeFranco's Westside. I personally hate doing the same lifts multiple times a week.

Wasn't "strong lifts 5x5" created by some guy copying Starting Strength and adding 2 more sets to each lift?

I don't see how you're running out of time, unless you are doing all the lifts you mentioned in your first post on the same day.  Keep track of your hour and see where your time is going.

Maybe not directly related to your question, but as someone else mentioned above, don't ignore your diet.

Pretty easy. Let's say he doesn't rest very long; only 3 minutes between each lift. If he's doing 3 lifts for 5 sets each, that's 45 minutes of just rest for the session. That doesn't even include the warm-ups for each lift or the time it takes to complete each set.

That would be 45 minutes if he took three minutes between each set.  I wouldn't consider that a short rest; at least not at the weight he is currently moving.

The weight on the bar doesn't matter; how hard it is for you to move it does.

3 minutes rest is without a doubt short for hard sets.

I still think there's much better programs than 5x5. I dislike linear progression programs in general. Easy to get burned out fast on them.

I think I need to grow some balls and shorten the rest between sets and see how things go.

I like the way I looked and felt at 185# and I am going back to what got me there.

Lift three days a week, a little running two days a week, and a boot camp type class on Saturday.

I am also looking at my diet.  My weak points are breakfast and after dinner.  I have a tendency to crave something after dinner and need to figure out how best to fight it less I end up eating crap.  Speaking of which I need to clean the crap out of the house again.  Cookies and candy tend to trickle in with the kids.  Nothing breakfast related sounds good.  Right now I am having a half slice of bread with peanut butter, glass of milk, and a cup of coffee.

I just got off a week of vacation at home doing a lot of physical work and it helped.  I have a desk job and have added in 1/4 mile walk a few times a day to help the cause.

You could always just switch to 3 sets of 5 reps.

In the morning I have just been drinking a shake, I hate most stuff other people have for breakfast.  I throw 2 scoops of ON Rockyroad, 1/3 cup of oats, spoonful of peanut butter, a splash of honey and 16 ounces in a blender, you can add milk if you want more calories and protein. Keeps me full till lunch.

And after dinner if I am craving something I will just drink a scoop of protein.

Being very much a novice I have seen 3X5 and 5X5 recommended with 5/3/1 recommended well down the line after real progress stop using linear progression.

What other programs are out there?

Last night I was right at an hour with a short walk before hand and a little stretching afterwards.  The last set really sucked, but I got it all in.

As a novice (and even an intermediate), linear progression is the way to go. Those of us who have been lifting for a while would love to be able to just keep adding 5 or 10 lbs to the bar twice a week, but at some point it stops working.

Things like 5/3/1 and 1/6 PTP schemes are what you do because you've maxed your beginner gains. Take advantage of that capacity for rapid gain as long as you can. I would consider going to 3x5, though. For me at least, intensity trumps volume on the big lifts.

I've been drinking a shake for breakfast as well.   At one point I was also having some brown rice.  Also, if I have them, combat bars.  Man are they good, and really quick to eat.

CrossFit Football (if no bumpers)  or 531+ metcon.

If you have access to bumper plates and other CrossFit toys (think rings, KB's and plyoboxes), follow Invictus or another CF gym's wod that has a strength component.  Most boxes design their entire WOD to be completed in under an hour.

5/3/1, Westside for Skinny Bastards

You may add weight the quickest via linear progression; but that comes with more risk of injuries or getting burned out. I prefer consistency. So far Westside based programs have been my favorite. I like the variety. I only do the same ME exercise once a month and it improves every time.

Westside also can be combined more readily with other types of exercise. Like I do mostly endurance training; but I've still been able to lose fat, gain muscle mass, and increase strength while maintaining the same body weight and improving my endurance capabilities. With linear progression; you'll be hard pressed to do any other training along side it and you're more likely to add more fat along with muscle mass.

consider getting a power rack, flat bench, bar and some plates.  It's almost Christmas and the Amazon credit card is begging to get abused.  You deserve it.  I would go ahead and put a nice hot tub on there too for post workout.  This would help when life gets in the way of your gym time.  I would focus on lifting and putting on muscle over loosing fat.  Wait til May 1st then start cutting.  ( Atleast this is what i'm doing )  Thinking about looking into Carb back loading or Carb nite.

MuscleDriver already has their sale going; Again Faster, Fringe and Get Rxed will have theirs up soon, Rogue will have theirs on Black Friday itself.