So, my goal is to lose about 10kg. I’ve been training hard at the gym 1,5 years. I first did Arnold’s golden six a few months and then I’ve been doing 5x5, madcow and 531. What program would you recommend for losing weight and maintaining muscles and strength? I now losing fat is mainly a diet question but I’m also wondering how to continue at the gym.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been posting their amazing videos and providing advice. I have learnt a lot and it’s amazing seeing everyone working towards getting better, bigger and stronger. It’s truly inspiring. Amazing community 💪

I was doing Greek yogurt , and switched to cottage cheese. But I don't think stomach likes it

5'7", male, 180 pounds

Been doing stronglifts consistently for about 2 months, and inconsistently for 5. Have made consistent progress in everything except overhead press. Went from 95 to 140 pounds on my bench press, but over the same time period went from 35 to 55 pounds on overhead press. Spent like a month on 45 and have finally made a little more progress. I've never seen or heard of someone with such a severe gap between ohp and their other lifts. AFAIK my form is ok, only thing I notice is that my elbows always want to flare out sideways and I really have to focus to control them. Wat else can I do??

So how much force does your lift generate?

It would be calculated using:

weight × (acceleration + gravity).

Would you interesting to track how much force you apply in your lifts?

I'm thinking about building a free little web app which uses a phone's accelerometer to measure it. We'd would need to attach the phone to the bar, but one of those elastic holders used for bike handlebars would work.

Anyone else interested in tracking the force of your lifts? Any thoughts on the usefulness of this idea?

It might make an interesting addition to the 5x5 app.

video

The Internet isn't helping so I'm posting to ask. I'm new to 5x5, but not new to lifting; however, I've always focused on hypertrophic and isometric for asthetics over strength (and due to fear of bulking - I know, I know... Edit: too many women are under the assumption that heavy weights means bulk - we are misinformed throughout our lives - I now understand the mechanics). Now that I'm in my 40s my focus is 100% on strength so that I can lift dead bodies when I'm in my 80s because that's my retirement plan.

The only exercise I'm new to is the deadlift. I get the functionality of doing 1x5, but as a 5'0 woman new to lifting heavier, my 1RM at 85% is 85lbs. I can do 3x5 of these with a warm-up. Because 85lbs is relatively light, and until I can lift heavier, would it be better to A) continue to do, say, 3x5 at 85% with a 2x5+ warm-up or B) follow the guide and do a calculated warm-up followed by 1x5 (and if so, what % of my 1RM should I be doing the 1x5 at)?

Edit: I should also mention that I'm doing Romanian deadlifts for now because of knee issues.

Edit: Got some excellent answers. Thank you 🌻

https://youtu.be/ZEhA-4sS08A?si=nTOuYn128dzMt667

Trying to follow this video as close as possible and have ended up with this plan:

Monday and Wednesday: Normal warmup and then 3x3 for all workouts at 100% of last week's weight

Friday: Normal warmup and then 3x3 at 50% of the weight I have been lifting from Monday and Wednesday's workout.

Would that suffice? When it comes to the week after the deload is where I don't know how to proceed.

Do I continue with the same weight I was lifting with from the week before the deload or do I need to add a 10% deload to my weight since I technically did not do 5x5 for an entire week?

Any insight/opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time!

I have some minor lower back problems and if we are being honest I'm a pretty round guy. I have been having trouble with form and lower back pain specifically from pendalay rows and I was wondering if there was any machine alternatives. I tried a leverage row machine today and it felt way better on my back. My gym is pretty anti video taking so I haven't really been able to send in my form for critique either.

Currently 35 M 230 Pounds. 4 months into program Squats 290 Deadlift 275 OHP 105 Bench 180 BB row 190

I just started going to the gym this monday and i’m pretty sure i have been using the bathroom more often could starting the gym and going really hard weaken my bladder? i drink maybe about like 2 liters of water including the water bottle i take to the gym. i also do drink a celsius at the gym help ?

As per the title, I want to discuss changing the rest period between sets.

I experienced my first failure this evening on overhead presses (5, 5, 4, 5, 5).

I normally rest for theee minutes between sets.

However, in hindsight I realise that when set 3 had begun, I felt like I hadn't rested enough. Then when it came about, I struggled and almost didn't make the fourth (that took everything I had). There was no way I was making a fifth.

Then, after resting for five minutes, I smashed through set 4 and even set 5 wasn't too bad (in that I had no problems).

I now wonder whether I should rest as long as I feel is necessary between sets because I'm pretty sure that had I rested for five minutes after set 2, then I wouldn't have had any problem with set 3.

If I had done that, then I would be able to progress the weight next time but instead I'll have to repeat the same weight again.

As such, because I failed one rep, I'm going to have to repeat it and won't be able to increase the weight. If I'd rested longer, however, I'm confident that I would have managed the set with no problems and progressed accordingly.

Does extending the rest period affect the program at all?

Is it down to personal preference?

Something else?

Any thoughts and/or experiences around this would be interesting.

Thank you, guys! 💪

I can feel my chest doing most of the work some days, but I don’t know how to consistently stop my shoulders from taking over. Any tips/hints or links? Thank you.

Hello, I am currently not making a lot of progress because I can't decide which program to stick to, 5x5 or Plus. My main concern is strength but I also want some growth on top of that, maybe those two wishes go against each other. Strength is my top priority but I want more muscles, too. Which program is best for me?

What would be the best way to convert the existing Ultra program to a Lite version of it while keeping it to a 4 day U/L split? Or is it best to jump to the existing Lite program already included? I am planning on incorporating Stronglifts while running 4-5 days a week. Thanks.

Edit: title should be “…..after deadlifts”, not squats

Hey y’all first time poster here.

I’m having some lower back and hip pain after squats and wondering if I should change up the rep scheme just for that lift or deload? I’m using a belt and I think my form is relatively decent. I’m one of those who have been working out for 10 years but with extended periods of inconsistency, and deadlift is the one lift I never really incorporated well into my routines.

Been doing 5x5 standard for around 2 months after about two years of very little to no gym time. Currently at 230 lb squat, 170 bench, 100 lb shoulder press, and 135 lb barbell row. I’m 5’5” and 178 lbs; I’ve got fairly decent genetics and have never looked overweight, just stocky and I tend to get strong rather quickly (for my height of course).

Also, I am warming up per the routine on the app (two sets of 5, one at 135 lbs one at 215 lbs). My lift deadlift yesterday was 240 lbs which I hit but my back is definitely feeling it today.

I’m not really sore from my other lifts.

Hi,

Apologies if this gets asked often, but I did the first beginner workout today and felt it was far too easy. Is it permissable to start a new plan that's intermediate?

I was looking at the 5x5 Ultra

My knees are taking a beating with doing squats every workout. My job also requires lots of standing and pretty labor intensive. I'm gassed when I go work out. Mainly I can feel it in my knees. Is it too soon. I'm also 39 and haven't worked out in about 9 years. I don't get sore. My died is really clean with a surplus of 500 to 1000 calories. I'm trying to get to. 160lbs, currently at 153 and 5"10