Stronglifts 5x5 vs. Starting Strength

[hoosier21]

Hey everyone,

First off I'm brand new here on the forums, excited to get involved and learn a lot from everyone in the community.

Now onto business... I have been looking for a workout routine to do over summer and into next school year when I go to college. I heard about stronglifts 5x5 from my brother, and have been reading up about it. But I came on here and starting seeing a lot about Starting Strength. I was wondering what everyone thinks is best? Is it simply up to preference or are there specific pros and cons? Here are my stats to give you a better view of me and what I'm going for:

Height: 6 feet, 3 inches
Weight: 175 pounds

Bench Press Max: 225 pounds
Squat Max: 300 pounds
Power Clean Max: 215 pounds

Goals: Gain strength and gain weight(mass).

Haven't deadlifted in awhile but should be over 300 I did it in the winter. Anyway, I'm a tall and lean kid, used to be very skinny but got into lifting this past year for football. I need a program to keep me going after my in school lifting class is over. I'm open to discussion and all comments, all help is appreciated. Any other stats or things you want to know I'd be glad to answer too. Cheers.

[Kirra]

Both work.

But let me say this, if you can progress with 3 sets, why do 5?

[hoosier21]

Both work.

But let me say this, if you can progress with 3 sets, why do 5?

Point taken, I guess its just higher volume = more work? I'm just struggling to decide which to do. I also know I'm impatient and don't want to start with the bar etc. like Stronglifts wants you too. I plan on researching more into Starting Strength. Thanks for your input.

[rdferguson]

There's only really one pro and con to SL over SS, and it's the same factor: volume.

The pro of higher volume: Potentially adds more training stimulus/overload.

The con of higher volume: Significantly higher recovery needs and reduced ability to progress session to session.

The SL defence for doing 5x5 is that Reg Park did 5x5; but AFAIA Reg Park's 5x5 only had 3 sets at the heavy weight, so it was really more like SS with less warm ups. If you only did 5x5 sets across 1-2x/week, I think it'd be easier to recover from.

[hoosier21]

There's only really one pro and con to SL over SS, and it's the same factor: volume.

The pro of higher volume: Potentially adds more training stimulus/overload.

The con of higher volume: Significantly higher recovery needs and reduced ability to progress session to session.

The SL defence for doing 5x5 is that Reg Park did 5x5; but AFAIA Reg Park's 5x5 only had 3 sets at the heavy weight, so it was really more like SS with less warm ups. If you only did 5x5 sets across 1-2x/week, I think it'd be easier to recover from.

Good points also. Only working out 3 times a week should be okay for me volume wise. I recover quickly, and will be taking whey protein to help recovery and such. I am thinking I'll try out Stronglifts first and see how the higher volume treats me once i get to heavier weights. Then if it is plateauing too much I can always change it. thanks for your input its much appreciated. Trying for PR 315 pound squat tomorrow in my last max out of the year for lifting class at school. Looking forward to possibly making a log for the summer..

[Moe4546]

I guess ALOT of people don't know this since i see this question all the time... If you actually read the entire SL 5x5 program (the article or w.e) it actially tells you that after a certaing amount of time, when the weights get heavy, you should switch to 3x5. Therefore these two programs are basically the same only SL is like the stepping stone to SS. Start by doing 5x5 and start LIGHT. This will give you plenty of time to perfect your form and build up your strength, then when 5x5 is too much switch to 3x5 like the SL program recommends. Hope this helps, good luck bro.

[MichaelCJ]

Therefore these two programs are basically the same

I see what you're saying, but there's also the minor(?) detail, where SS has Power Cleans (and typically Chinups too), and Stronglifts has Pendlay Rows.

But yeah, they're very similar indeed; no denying that. And when the first cutdown happens for SL... hm, looks a lot like many people's version of "SS", in that they're doing rows instead of cleans anyway, lol.

[pumplikecuming]

Madcow 5x5. My fav 5x5 that will get you so fuking strong. I even tampered with some exercises...and the heavy, light, medium setup even works for *gasp* barbell curls.