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Wore my vibrams today and I switched back to back squats. Very noticeable difference. Was able to keep my weight on my heels without any problems, and I could definitely feel the activation in my posterior chain.

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I use my Merrill Vibrams also, and the best weightlifting shoe for the money, the Converse Chuck Taylor, Hi Tops!

Anyone have a warmup calculator they like?

Up until today I have been incrementing by ~45

So for 290 I would end up with something like
2 x 5 x 45
5 x 90
5 x 135
3 x 180
3 x 220
2 x 255
5 x 5 290

By the time my dumbass got to my working weight I was dead.

http://corw.in/warmup/

2 x 5 x 45
5 x 105
3 x 170
2 x 230
5 x 5 290

This little change should be what lets me break through 300 on my squat.

Did some more digging and found one I like a bit more. http://warmupreps.com/#program-2

I paid the $2 for the warmups from the 5x5 app. Squat 290lbs gives the following warmup:

5x45
5x45
3x95
3x135
3x185
2x225
1x265

5x5 290

Not a lot different from your first one, but a few less reps.

2x225
1x265

vs

3x200
2x255

Seems like a pretty significant change. Did the $2 purchase also unlock 3x5? Thoughts? I am getting close to needing to shift and would like to keep using this app or something similar.

$2 only got me the warmups.

For $10, you get the Power Pack (warmups, plate calculator, 3x5, 3x3, 1x3, and pro backup)

I think they're each $2, the Power Pack gives you one for free. It's supposed to include the additional arm work that is in development. It looks like it will discount the price of any add-ons you already purchased if you buy it later.

Is that for Android? Everything except warm up sets (which I already have) shows up as "Coming Soon" on my iphone.

It is for Android, sorry, I should have specified.

No problem. To the technologically uninitiated, it doesn't make sense why the Android app always seems to come out several months before the iphone app, but my understanding is that the interfaces are the same, and nothing else is the same --- more of an IT board issue, I guess.

Was kind of glad to see the plate calculator as an option. Seems sily at first to spend $2 on it, but my inability to do determine the correct plates has sometimes left me stumped and expecting to be asked "Do you even math, bro?"

I find I keep going back to the warmups page, where it says, "Now go do your workout with XX lbs on each side of the bar." I can figure plates from there - but for some reason, subtracting 45 from the total and then dividing by two is damn near impossible once I cross the threshold of the gym doors.

I ruined my legs for a week by miscalculating and bumping my weight too much once. Plate calculator is great.

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No problem. To the technologically uninitiated, it doesn't make sense why the Android app always seems to come out several months before the iphone app, but my understanding is that the interfaces are the same, and nothing else is the same --- more of an IT board issue, I guess.

Was kind of glad to see the plate calculator as an option. Seems sily at first to spend $2 on it, but my inability to do determine the correct plates has sometimes left me stumped and expecting to be asked "Do you even math, bro?"

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Not to derail, but I think Apple vettes apps more thoroughly than Android does for security porposes.

Been there done that on the 2nd paragraph....

security porpoises?

Nice.

How have you guys dealt with being on the road while doing Stronglifts? I can't say I've ever seen a hotel gym with a barbell and plates.

If you weren't able to lift, how did it affect your workout when you got back?

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security porpoises?

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Dammit! I looked all over for that!

Before today, I never would have guessed that an image search for "armed dolphins" would have returned so may results.

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How have you guys dealt with being on the road while doing Stronglifts? I can't say I've ever seen a hotel gym with a barbell and plates.

If you weren't able to lift, how did it affect your workout when you got back?

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Vacation tips

I've missed a week here and there and I haven't noticed much of an impact when I returned. After a 9 day break I deloaded just to be certain I'd be ok.

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How have you guys dealt with being on the road while doing Stronglifts? I can't say I've ever seen a hotel gym with a barbell and plates.

If you weren't able to lift, how did it affect your workout when you got back?

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I pay by the day or do cardio or something to keep the momentum going. Hate paying by the day for gyms, but I travel roughly two weeks a month.

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I paid the $2 for the warmups from the 5x5 app. Squat 290lbs gives the following warmup:

5x45
5x45
3x95
3x135
3x185
2x225
1x265

5x5 290

Not a lot different from your first one, but a few less reps.

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The warmup itself looks like quite a workout.

The warm up is 22 reps and the working sets are 25 reps?

For my warm ups I usually just do some reps with the bar or body weight(10-20) then toss some lighter weight on depending on the lift and bang out another 10-20 then so the lift.

All of the changing weight seems a bit over board. I feel like the warmup should just get the blood flowing and the muscles stretched out a bit. Then lift.

I've somehow managed to let my squats get out in front of my deadlifts. And now that squats are getting so difficult I am too gassed when I get to deadlifts.

Squat 320
Deadlift is at 310

I will likely fail for the third time on both next workout. Should I adjust my deadlift any to get it at least even or above squats?

I wouldn't. Just deload and switch to 3x5 for both of those. 320 on squat seems well into intermediate lifting.

Interesting that your squat passed deadlift, though. I had deloaded squats to fix a form issue, and for a couple of workouts, my squat was the same weight as my bench.

I already switched the squat to 3x5 and Deadlift is 1x5 from the beginning.

I think the switch is actually what allowed my squats to jump beyond the deadlifts. I had already deloaded twice on squats and as about to deload a third time when I realized I needed to switch.

After that, I was making gains in squat again but really burning my legs out before I'd get to deadlift so it plateaued.

You're right. I misremembered/misstated what I meant to say about deadlifts. I think after deloading on deadlift 3 times, the move is to 1x3 after warming up.

I had a hip issue which kept me from squatting for a few weeks, but I continued on OHP, bench, rows, and deadlift. My deadlift took off when I wasn't already smoked by squats.

On an unrelated note....

I had an injury that forced me to sit out for 2.5 weeks, and I realized when it was time to get back in the gym that I was really bored with stronglifts. Not that I wasn't seeing gains, I was just bored of the routines.

So I started 5/3/1. I just finished deadlifts on week 2, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm sure the program is outlined many places online, but I found it here: 5/3/1 Program - Strength Standards. I've been doing the Dave Tate's Periodization Bible for the assistance work; it's been a long time since I've been so sore! What I really like about the DTPB assistance work is that it basically allows for an endless variety. As long as you're hitting the right muscle groups, you can do whatever you want.

This bodybuilding.com thread has a great spreadsheet that I've been using to keep track of everything.

I've been following this thread since the beginning. I'm interested in starting this workout, but I'm wondering whether it is a good fit for me. I'm 6'1 and about 185 lbs. I have very little fat on me primarily due to frequent heavy weight workouts 3x / week and a high protein/fat, low carbohydrate diet. If I had my drothers, I'm probably prefer to weigh 5 - 10 lbs more, but tweaking my diet is problematic for me as I'm also a type 1 Diabetic that is insulin dependent. Monkeying around with my diet to increase caloric intake is not something I want to mess with as I have very good control of my disease today. Drinking milk is also out of the question due to the sugar content of milk. Is there something I can get out of this workout given the parameters I've written?

Also, I press 75 lb dumbells 3x9. Right now I deadilft 250 lbs 4x10. My squat is really weak; hence, I only can muster 4x5 of 165 lbs (admittedly with 7-9 minutes of rest in between sets and in questionable form). What weight should I start with if I do this workout? I've downloaded the ap to my phone, but I didn't see any guidance on what weight to start with.

I used to do a lot more weight, but I found due to my diet restrictions that going heavy for strength gains was inconsistent with my diet. At my peak, I was bench pressing 3x6 225 lbs. I figured that a hypertropy workout was probably more consistent with my diet restrictions and so reduced all of my weights down to a level that I could rep at least 10x. Not sure if that was the right decision or not. I'm open to feedback. My main complaint with this approach is the wall I seem to hit with my legs. It seems no matter how much time I put into it, I simply cannot budge from 165 lbs. Can't figure out why my legs are so weak...

Help is appreciated.

It is definitely worth pursuing. BUT good form is essential as these lifts can be dangerous without proper form.

Just out of curiosity, why are you doing so many reps for deadlift? 4x10 deadlifts is ALOT of volume. Before 5x5 I was deadlifting around 185, and my formed sucked so I kept wrenching my back. After fixing my form and increasing weight each time, my deadlift has shot up to 390 (x3) in a matter of a few months.

Same thing with squats. I started with the bar so I could make sure my form was A+, and now my squat max is 330. Regardless of your fitness goals (strength, mass, weight loss, etc) stronglifts is a fantastic routine. It provides a simple structure and you're only lifting thrice a week, so it's very easy to stay committed.

I would highly recommend it.

Matt, you ask why I deadlift as much as I do? Here is my answer from above explaining why I went to a routine of 10 reps from the 4-6 reps I was doing.

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I used to do a lot more weight, but I found due to my diet restrictions that going heavy for strength gains was inconsistent with my diet. At my peak, I was bench pressing 3x6 225 lbs. I figured that a hypertropy workout was probably more consistent with my diet restrictions and so reduced all of my weights down to a level that I could rep at least 10x.

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I use to do the Max OT workout that stressed 4-6 reps with very heavy weight, but that seemed to me to be geared more towards strength gains. This made no sense for me to pursue given the fact that my total caloric intake is just enough for me to maintain weight, not gain. From what I understand, unless you can bring in more calories, you won't get much stronger.

Given my diet restrictions, and my unwillingness to try and eat more, my primary objective was to get bigger, not stronger (granted, wanted to get stronger up to a point where my strength was porportional to my caloric intake); hence, the more hypertrophic workout of lighter weight, more reps.

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Given my diet restrictions, and my unwillingness to try and eat more, my primary objective was to get bigger, not stronger (granted, wanted to get stronger up to a point where my strength was porportional to my caloric intake); hence, the more hypertrophic workout of lighter weight, more reps.

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To get bigger, it's low rep high, weight to force the size to get the strength for burst. You are training for endurance with high rep, low weight. Also you need more calories, especially protein to feed the growth.

As mentioned above, FORM FORM FORM, did I mention FORM?

Start with the bar and be 100% focused on FORM on all of them but especially squats. My rule is if the form is not spot on, then I don't count the rep. If you want to know the perfect form for a squat, look at this link:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_thirdworld_squat

From your posts, I suspect you are not getting your hip joint below parallel, if you are not your squat will not go up as fast and you are at more risk of injury.

As for the calorie issue, I'm no doc, you are probably going to have to find a way to get the calories up, maybe when you plateau on the squats, then add calories as you deload so you are only adding calories when you need to burn them. As I understand diabetes, the issue is carbs, you need the carbs for instant energy in the workout, you need the protein to add muscle, and if you have the carbs managed, the fat is a wash.

I emphasize form, because I'm coming off a 3 month recovery from an elbow injury in the program. How did it hurt it, BAD FORM!

So in short, I'd clean up the form and see how far that takes you before you start messing with diet since it is an issue for you.

Hope that helps.

Hit my first incomplete set last night, workout 16, on - you guessed it - the OHP. 100 lbs, 5/5/5/5/3

Frankly, I'm surprised I made it this far on the OHP, considering my rotator cuff surgery 16 months ago. Oddly enough, it wasn't shoulder pain that stopped me - I hit muscle failure.

Hoping I can put it up next time and keep moving forward.

I'm going to give this a try. Any women care to share their experiences? I'm a bit worried about how quickly I'll reach failure on the OHP and row since those will be new for me and given how quickly the weight is added. I've been through NROLFW and most of NROL. But this may be just what I need to get past my deadlift plateau.

Question for your medics out there.

When I OHP, I feel a strange sensation in my right shoulder... almost dead center at the joint. The sensation is almost a weakness, but I don't lose control or anything. It's like it needs to "pop" or something, but never does. After I finish the exercise, it hurts slightly (a 1 or 2 on a 10 scale) then stops hurting within 30-45 minutes. There is no tingling, and I don't feel it anywhere else. Just at the joint, sort of on top (as in, away from my armpit and closer to the top of my shoulder). I am convinced it's something at the joint, as I cannot touch the source of the pain despite pocking and prodding from all directions.

I have seen a sports medicine doc, but he thinks it's bursitis at worst. I'm not so sure. I rested the arm about 3 weeks then did my first 100 lb OHP yesterday and the pain was still there, no worse but no better than before. Thoughts?

Not a doc, but maybe you are not quite seated right in the joint and it is hitting a nerve. I have been reading "becoming a supple leopard" and it talks about getting your skeleton and muscles set up for the various exercises as it does the exercises, maybe more.

I had similar shoulder pain for a lot of years - mine got progressively worse, ending up with rotator cuff surgery last year. I didn't have an actual tear, but the both ends of my rotator cuff were frayed, and had caused an impingement, which inflamed the tendon, which caused more impingement, which inflamed the tendon... you get my point.

Ice, lots of stretching, and anti-inflammatories.

If you need them, I can dig out my stretches that they suggested before we put surgery on the table.

Using the spreadsheet 5x5 provides, I am doing the 5x5 workout for squats, deadlift, ohp, rows, but it is telling me I need to do 3x5 for bench press. Has anyone ever done 3x5 and 5x5 at the same time? How does that work? Does one interfere with the other?

From what I understand, people naturally transition from 5x5 to 3x5 per lift, not necessarily as a whole workout transition.