Let me say I work out, and have for years.  I typically do a few hours of cardio a week and the rest is a split routine of lifting.  My lifting is mostly BW and dumbbells.  I like having more endurance than strength generally speaking and I consider myself to have pretty good endurance. So I am apprehensive about this 5x5 thing.

Today I did my first 5x5 workout and I feel like it was a total joke for a couple reasons.
1. I can't squat shit for weight. - cause I haven't really ever squatted
2. 25 reps of any exercise seems like nothing.
3. I am not tired.  I am not even close to tired.  I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight.  I like being tired.

I feel like I would be better off just adding squats, and barbell bench to my normal routines.  I read the stonglifts stuff and in some ways it describes how I would feel, but it also says 'beginner', 'beginner', 'beginner' everywhere.  I consider myself a novice barbell lifter, but hardly a fat ass just getting off the couch.

Any thoughts?  Stick with it, add accessory exercises, keep cardio, abandon it?

Keep going.

You will get tired and you will fail.


It is a proven strength building system.

How long did you rest between sets?  What's the rest of your leg routine?

I used to do 5x5 on squats and then do 3 supersets of 12-15 reps on Leg Press, Hack Squat and Leg Ext.  No rest between exercises on the superset and only 60 seconds or less between the end of one superset and the beginning of another.  I had trouble walking up the stairs at the gym afterward and my overall strength and endurance improved.

Well in my normal routine I do 30 second breaks on sets of 8 or 45 on sets of 4-6.

this program calls for 90 seconds I believe.  I got pretty bored at 60 and did another set.

Try the 20 rep squat program.  Start with a weight you can do 20 reps with.  Add 5 lbs the next workout and every successive workout. You will make huge gains.

IMO, it's better to do a workout you enjoy, than one you don't. Since you feel like you'd be better off just adding squats and barbell bench to your normal routines, I'd suggest doing that.

If you find it doesn't give the results you want, you can always try the 5x5 program again at a later date.

You just started. It is supposed to be light and easy and you are supposed to get your form right.

No don't do any accessories or cardio, do the fucking program. You will soon be squatting enough for an adrenaline dump and you will be tired.

He did one workout that isn't enough to know shit. I'd give it at least six weeks of actually doing it without adding or changing anything.

First, how you feel is a lie.  A training program cannot be judged by how it makes you feel, but by how it makes you perform.

Second, a "beginner" has nothing to do with your fitness level, it has to do with your recovery advantage from strength training.  Beginners are blessed, be a beginner for as long as you can.

So you did a 5x5 workout, at what weights?

If you did the program with an empty bar as prescribed, but you are conditioned to a fairly high fitness level, then of course 25 reps at 45lbs didn't do shit.  It's written for a sedentary individual, but it's also meant to condition the body to a new stimulus while engraining technique.  I'd actually go with Rip's advice and take the weights up to technique degradation, and that's if you're really getting in some good volume, not some bro ego shit.

Don't take it to technique degradation, but to the point that the bar speed slows. Then add weight each session.

Otherwise I heart everything else in this post. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.

Not really.

Rest as long as it takes to be rested.

Strength improves more betterer when you follow proven strength programs.

I bought Mark's book a few weeks back when I decided to buy some barbell stuff for my house, but admittedly I am only about 1/4 or less of the way through it.  It is a pretty dry book after all.

So your suggestion may be to bump up the weight until I cannot perform a proper form and then start a bit below that?  That is what I take away from your comment anyway.  I would feel good about doing that.

I am not sure I follow the bro comment so much.


ETA: wow, a lot just got posted while I was typing.

I don't disagree. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion.

That's about how long I tried 5x5. Discovered that I just prefer a much greater volume than 5x5 gives.

I enjoy my workouts more, and the muscles feel like they're being worked harder, when using lighter weight at high reps, than heavy weight at low reps.

I may be in that boat also.  I want to gain about 10 pounds, but it feels crazy to not hammer on the rowing machine or run or work my core. For example my normal chest routine is probably 140 reps or so.  I know it's not making me much stronger with high reps, but it feels good and I like the endurance.

I am going to stick with it for a while, it's the unknown, it might grab ahold of me, I might like it, I spend $1k on a rack, barbell, and plates.....

The point of starting strength and/or SL 5x5 is to get you proficient with a barbell and get you to the point you can handle enough weight to move on to the next level. It is basic for a reason. If you start slamming around serious weight with poor technique you will break yourself. It is light for a reason. Strength is a long term goal. The longer you stick to actual strength programs and ignore the feel good advice the longer you will stay injury free, the stronger you will get, and the more goals you will accomplish.

I bet if you asked everyone who posted in this thread their totals, the guys who say stick with the program will be the strongest.

It is great you aren't starting from a point of complete nothingness. You will progress quickly. I'd use that extra energy to dial in your nutrition and recovery so you can hit your goals. Adding a 10lbs of muscle will take some work beyond picking things up.

There it is.  We really should have a thread dedicated to that subject to help give people in your (the OP) boat some encouragement.  The longer you stick to this program, even though at first it's crazy easy, the better results you'll have.  I was squatting 5x5 at 315 when I stalled out after 7 months of doing the program.

Did you use a barbell?

OP, my bro comment means be humble.  Perfect technique.  Don't 1/2 squat 315 for the sake of saying that you can squat 315.  Know your limits, but push them every session.

Once the weight gets up there you'll do about 45 reps counting warmup sets. If you finish the workout and are still chomping at the bit you can do drop sets, cut the weight to about 80% and do them till form failure, that or go do high intensity interval training after the lifts.

I think you will soon find out how important recovery is and skip any extra nonsense though.

Buy the book, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training 3.  Read it.  Do the program.  If you lift 3x/wk, it'll get heavy fast.  Remember you will be adding up to 30#/week to your major lifts until you stall out.

this. it wont take long and you will be thinking "I dont know if I can do this..."
everyone goes through this.

Yes.

Sounds like you're suffering from common lack of focus. Most of us do it, me included. Give it a lot more time and focus on the program. Then, after eight weeks, re-evaluate. 

Since you already have endurance this will be new. Personally I think lower weight endurance workouts are mentally easier and more enjoyable than strength workouts BUT I recognize the fact and I want and need more strength. If you finish the program and you decide to never do it again, did you lose or gain something? Patterns and familiarity are hard crutches to break precisely because it doesn't feel 'right' when were breaking them. For now, attack what you can and keep it up; you'll be glad you did. 

That's new.  Weren't you just doing some dumbbell lifts before.

Ha ya stick with the program, you'll be glad you did.  I did it, it was stupid light at first, but after a while it added up and really kicked in.

Keep with it, it gets heavy quick.

Consider it starting out with a BB gun...and every time you shoot you move up...so in a couple months you'll be rocking some full auto 50BMG stuff.  

After I got done with my first 5x5 workout I felt the same way.  "That was pointless..." but I kept with it and gains were quick.  I need to get back into it.  3 kids really reduced time to lift...

I strongly dislike training with 3x5 or 5x5, but it works.

I'm jumping right back into it once my work load slows down a little and I can eat and recover the way I need to.

I have certain (rather mediocre) strength goals I want to reach before I'm 35.

It's not at all new. For the last two and a half years, the main lifts in my workouts have been the seated press, incline press, and Romanian deadlifts (all with barbell), and bent over, dumbbell rows.

Perhaps you are thinking of the thread I started a month ago, asking for opinions about doing dumbbell laterals?

I do less volume than 5x5. And I am getting stronger.

Well it's a few weeks later.... I am still sticking with the program.  I downloaded the app on my phone which isn't that amazing in itself, but it is nice that it keeps track of what weight I am supposed to be doing. 

After my post above I sort of blended some of the opinions.  I made a 25lb jump or so from the first workout on the lifts just to get to where there was some weight on the bar, but I didn't increase my squats.  I am still hammering away from the bottom on squats.  I figured since I haven't really done barbell work before I would just get the technique down on squats and say 'fuck it' to how much weight I wasn't doing.  Therefore I just now crossed over the 1 plat mark.  Which is nice since it doesn't look so stupid when 'loaded up'.

I couldn't resist adding in accessories though. I still don't get much of a sweat going even with the warm-up sets it's now recommending.  I guess that will eventually change, but my current workout looks something like this.

A
5x5 Squat
5x5 Bench
5x5 Row
3x8 Dips - going to start weighting them
4x5 Kroc rows - going to move up in reps.
4x5 Incline DB bench
2x8 Chin-ups - going to start weighting them
2x8 Pull-ups - going to start weighting them

B
5x5 Squat
5x5 Overhead press
1x5 Deadlift
2x5 Arnold DB press
Core Workout
2x5 Seated DB press


I still row on off days for cardio.  All in all, I would say I am glad I stuck with doing the 5x5 lifts.  It's feels beneficial to get my body used to moving heavier weights.  It is a very slow progression though, especially since I didn't jump too much weight and just got familiar with the moves.  I am not impressed with my squat numbers at all, but to be fair, a few months ago I did crack my pelvis, stretch some groin tendons, and partially rip my dick off in a dirt bike wreck.  I haven't been able to run a mile without quitting from pain since I crashed and last week I ran 4 miles without hurting too bad.  I attribute that to the squats helping to stretch me out and recover.

I guess one should have a goal.  So maybe by the new year, I can cross 1000lbs.  Anyway, thought I would post this up to get some more criticism, get made fun of, the normal stuff the internet is for.

so you are at 135 right now?
how much do you weigh?

Keep at it!

Yep, 135.  Last october i trashed myself on a motorcycle.  I didnt break my back, but i lost feeling on the right side of my lower back.  Smashed some tissue and shed some tears if i twisted the wrong way.  Then i healed up in time for a springtime ride and tore up my front side in an endo, which put me down for a while longer.  For all intents and purposes i havent really worked my legs in 10 months or so before starting this 5x5 routine.

I guess that is most of my reasoning for not making a jump in weight and just starting at the bottom.  But now i am at the point where a big juml in weight probably wouldnt be possible anyway.

I am just under 200lbs.

well thats why you havent felt like youve done much work. just keep at it. the day will come where you say "I dunno about this...."

I agree, not much barbell weight being thrown around yet.  

I remember doing 135 and felt pretty proud. I did 300 a few months back @168 lbs body weight. These programs do work!