5x5 Stronglifts - The Workout to get stronger and powerful - Shortcut to strength

If you are a little bit of interested you might have heard this workout or atleast these words - 5x5 Stronglifts. This workout is mainly for beginner powerlifters. I will surely suggest this workout to a person who wants to develop raw strength.

I have been doing stronglifts for over 3 months now. Stronglifts is one of the best workout you can do to build initial strength, to build that initial strength, to get you started with power lifting. Moreover it is very simple. It is the simplest whole body workout. No need to remember those lengthy workout you just need to remember five exercises. Moreover, you do not need any special equipment .You will only need a barbell and some weights. You don't even need dumbbells for this workout. This workout can be used to loose weight, gain muscle, transform. It is complete workout.

5x5 Stronglifts

It is a simple workout involving 5 compound movements that is Bench press, Barbell rows, Overhead Press (aka Military press), Squat and Deadlift. Doing only these 5 exercises you can build your whole body. The workout is divided into 2 parts - Workout A and Workout B. You have to do this workout 3-times a week. You have to do each exercise for 5 set and each set must be of 5 reps. You only do 1 set of 5 reps for deadlift and you do the squats daily. Note: The weight of the five sets must be same. If you are able to do the exercise at a particular weight you increase weight by 5lbs/5kg the next time. But if you fail to accomplish 5 set, you do the same weight again.

Here are the workouts:

Workout A

Squat - 5 sets of 5 reps at same weight

Bench Press - 5 sets of 5 reps at same weight

Barbell Rows - 5 sets of 5 reps at same weight

Workout B

Squat - 5 sets of 5 reps at same weight

Overhead Press - 5 sets of 5 reps at same weight

Dead Lift - 1 set of 5 reps

Note: Regarding warm up, I recommend that you gradually increase your weight till you reach your lifting weight.

My Review

According to me, it is one of the greatest whole body workout moreover it is pretty simple. But these are very compound lifts and you need to keep your form right no matter what. You need to do each and every exercise right and complete the whole range of motion. I had pretty bad form in the initial month or so. But I lowered the weight and worked on improving my form.

One more thing I think it can involve some arm work. It practically has no arm work. So, I think you will not be able to build that big arm everyone expects of a bodybuilder.

Tips and Suggestion

1. Start light and initially work on form, doing the exercise right.
2. Watch the videos on internet regarding the right way to do exercise. I recommend watching the videos of Layne Norton regarding how to do Bench press, Squat and Deadlift.
3. Incorporate some arm workout at the end of workout. I suggest doing triceps exercise mainly dips at end of workout A and bicep exercise like curls or chin ups at the end of workout B.
4. Also, put in some abs and core workout. They help you look amazing.
5. Remain consistent.
6. Take a complete day off after each workout. Actually it is quite taxing workout. You will be completely drained of that energy stores. So, take a day off.
7. Build lower back and core, believe me you are going to need it.
8. Eat right. Eating is one of the main part of bodybuilding, so eat right things. Go for those lean protein sources (meat, whey, milk); eat complex carbs (fruits, oats, pulses) and healthy fats (fish, nuts). Eat your salad also.
9. Eat more. Eat more complex carbs. You need energy and you will get it from carbs only.
10. Take all the important minerals and vitamins. You can also get them from vegetables and fruits.
11. Work your butt of.

So, this is my review of the 5x5 Stronglift workout. So, tell me in the comment section what do you think of this workout.