Stronglifts

Stronglifts is a website and powerlifting program created by Mehdi Hadim. All credit is to him, and I strongly encourage you to visit his website stronglifts.com. He offers a FREE pdf book that explains his program in its entirety, as well as where it came from and some additional motivation. He asks for nothing in return, but he does offer an inner circle that you can sign up for (for $19.99 per month). There, you can log workout info and have the support of other powerlifters. You get the push of others who have gone through the same thing as you and it's one of the reasons I was able to stick with powerlifting early on. I am a believer in this program because I've seen the results, and I can't thank Mehdi enough for creating that program and website.

Alright, so what is it? It's called Stronglifts 5x5 because you'll be doing 5 sets of 5 for most of the main lifts. As Mehdi explains, the program can trace its roots to a program that Reg Park did back in the 70s, although much lighter in volume and number of exercises. The Stronglifts version utilizes just five different exercises, and workouts that can be completed in under an hour, just 3 times per week. No cardio. No situps. I gotta say I was a fan from day one.

The five lifts are the back squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, and barbell row. This program takes advantage of a well-documented principle called progressive overload. Progressive overload means incrementally increasing stress (weight) over time as a way to stimulate strength gains. In Stronglifts, it means adding five pounds to the bar each time you squat, for example. Your body is surprisingly efficient at adapting to this additional stress. It is a mark of most strength training programs. Add weight, add volume, decrease rest time, etc. It's proven that your body will adapt.

The program is laid out as follows:

As you can see, you will add five pounds to your squat each time you workout, and you will squat three times per week. I promise you, squatting 3x/week is in no way overtraining. And adding five pounds each workout is very doable. With this schedule, you'll add approximately 65 pounds each month to your squat. This is the fast track to a BIG squat. If you're a beginner, start with the bar (45 pounds). If you're not a beginner, but your form is a little suspect, start with the bar. It's better to start too light and have perfect form, than to start too heavy because you feel embarrassed about squatting an empty bar. I can't emphasize enough: START WITH THE EMPTY BAR!!!

You will bench every other workout and add five pounds each time. Again, I, (and Mehdi, and everyone who has ever tried this program) recommend starting with the bar. You'll add about 35 pounds each month to your bench. Enjoy the program while the weight is light because you will soon long for the days of 45 pound squats.

After benching, you'll move to barbell rows. All of the workouts you see here are an integral part of this program. A bigger barbell row means a bigger bench. A bigger squat means a bigger deadlift. It's important, especially early on, to do all of the exercises. Every rep. You're only cheating yourself if you cut rows because squats wore you out. After barbell rows, you are done with the workout. All in all, you can complete this workout in under 45 minutes.

Day 2 begins with squats again. Always do the workouts in the order listed above. Squats should always be first. You will need all of your strength on most days to complete the squats. After squatting, you will overhead press. This will be important for benching and deadlifting, so don't skip it. Finally, you will deadlift. Unlike the other exercises, you will add 10 pounds to the bar every time you deadlift. This will make sure your deadlift keeps up with your squat. Also, you will only do 1 set of 5 reps.

"What happens when I miss reps?"

You should only add weight to the bar if you completed all five of the sets from the previous workout. If you failed a rep, then repeat the weight at the next workout. If you fail it again, repeat it one more time. If you are successful, then you can continue adding weight again. But, if you fail this weight a third time, then take 10% off the weight and work your way back up. For example, if you fail squatting 5x5 at 200 pounds three workouts in a row, then take 10% (20 pounds) off and squat 5x5 at 180 pounds next workout. You will add weight from there. Early on, you should feel rejuvenated and blow through that wall. But, if you get back to 200 and fail three more times, then follow the same procedure and take 10 % off and try again. If after three deloads, you can't work past a weight, then 5x5 changes slightly.

You will switch to three sets of five (3x5). You should be able to progress further because you are able to recover better. Once you deload with this program three times and fail at the same weight three times, it's time to switch to three sets of three (3x3). Following the progression of 5x5, 3x5, and then 3x3, will take you months. I can't speak for everyone, but it's not unusual to be squatting 250, 300 or more. On 5x5 alone, I hit 365 in a short amount of time. This program is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep your eye on the prize, and you will soon draw crowds when you squat at the gym.

That's it. That's the program. Just follow the progression above and you will notice surprising gains in your strength. Without cardio and situps, you will also lose fat. I have seen before and after pictures of guys who completed this program and the results are incredible. Personally, I stopped looking like a 15 year old boy and actually grew a chest, so that was great. Again, go check out stronglifts.com. Mehdi will lay out everything I said and much more. Good luck!