5x5 Stronglifts - do people nearly 50 survive this? LOL...

[LowCarbDiabetic]

So I'm working on gaining strength/mass (mostly to recover from atrophy due to 5 years of bed-rest), and decided to start a 5x5 stronglifts program... I'm impressed with the gains I've made so far since switching to nothing-but free-weight compound lifts, so a stronglifts program seemed the way to go...

Workout A) Squats, Bent-over Rows and Bench Press ... 2x warmup sets then 5x5 at weight (started reasonably light).
Workout B) Squats, Overhead Press and Deadlift (1x5 for DL) again with light weight to start.

Thursday I did Workout A) Squats @ 115, Bent-over Rows @ 95 and Bench Press @ 95... Today I did workout B) Squats @ 115, Overhead Press @ 60 and Deadlift @ 135... Oh Good Lord, I don't know if I've ever been so tired, LOL.

Honestly I'm surprised I could do squats again after doing them Thursday - I had a good bit of DOMS still, but it turns out that didn't affect my strength - which surprised me.

Monday is supposed to be workout A) again . . . but wow this is exhausting work for every two days...

So the questions are:

1. Has anyone around my age (47) that's done this had PROBLEMS with it, and needed to adjust anything?

2. If I need to is there any issue with adjusting this to 2 workouts a week instead of alternating A/B every two days? Or is it better to use less weight per workout than less workouts per week?

3. If I DO adjust to 2x a week instead of every two days, will the strength/mass gains be noticeably less doing so? (If anyone has experience in that area)

4. If I DO adjust to 2x a week, should I supplement with some isolation exercises too on the days I'm not doing one of the SL workouts?

Thanks folks, great info here... Just couldn't find much about adjusting a SL 5x5 program when I did my forum search...

[UndesirableNo1]

1. Has anyone around my age (47) that's done this had PROBLEMS with it, and needed to adjust anything?

...

You might want to switch over to All Pro's beginner routine. It's 3 days a week but the third day is essentially a deload. It was better for my joints and tendons. I was doing Starting Strength for 6 months before I switched over. I did All Pro's for nearly a year without any problems.

GL.

[Jrob69]

Your a low carb diabetic with 5 years bed rest and the atrophy that goes with it. You might want to check out the nutrition forum.

[Coach_P]

It's well worth it. If you feel like you just can't go, take a week off, but not until you've given it about six weeks. I've done about four cycles of this and the intermediate 5x5. You'll make great progress.

[LowCarbDiabetic]

Your a low carb diabetic with 5 years bed rest and the atrophy that goes with it. You might want to check out the nutrition forum.

Thanks for the tip - fyi though I spent two years researching/self-testing and working on nutrition, and fine-tuned it constantly since I started exercising. I need to stay low-carb for glycemic control. I'm quite keto-adapted (not just in ketosis) but I DO take in roughly double the carbohydrate on lifting days to fuel the anaerobic activity. Nobody human can fuel anaerobic activity with fatty-acids.

Being keto-adapted is great for say riding a bike, but as much as I wanted to (because some people CLAIM you can) neither I nor anyone else can fuel a heavy weight-training session without some carbohydrate...

I'm sure as I get more involved in lifting heavier and build some muscle I'll need to change/tweak the diet here and there a bit more, too, and I'll be sure to check good sources like the nutrition section for advice.

[LowCarbDiabetic]

It's well worth it. If you feel like you just can't go, take a week off, but not until you've given it about six weeks. I've done about four cycles of this and the intermediate 5x5. You'll make great progress.

Thanks. I figure if anything will put some strength and mass back on, this program will. When I first stepped into the gym I was in such sad shape, LOL. I literally couldn't do more than a few bodyweight-only squats, couldn't plank at all or do a single push-up, and I had trouble with 20lb e-z bar curls... I've come quite a way since then, and if I'm smart and take good advice and information to heart, I hope I can progress to a point where I'm at-least normal strength for my size. That's the goal, anyway.

[DwightEvanlivt]

Give it 6-8 weeks before you think about "adjusting" anything -- you'll probably surprise yourself by adapting to the workload in the meantime. What you're experiencing has more to do w/ coming from a previous untrained, sedentary state rather than age. We share a few similarities -- about a year +half ago, I jumped into a 5x5 strength program (not SL but similar) near 47, previous inactivity level and nearly the same starting lift numbers. My 48th is next month and closing in rapidly on a 3-plate DL, 200lb bench, already repping 120 OHP, at 165 bodyweight.

Just keep at it. If you need to adjust something after a fair trial, do a "-20%" day as the last wkout that week -- take 20% off the planned lifts for that day. Start the next week as normally planned. A "lighter" day is better than completely chopping a day, because at your present stage weekly per-part frequency is a more important variable.

[FraterBovious]

1. Has anyone around my age (47) that's done this had PROBLEMS with it, and needed to adjust anything?

2. If I need to is there any issue with adjusting this to 2 workouts a week instead of alternating A/B every two days? Or is it better to use less weight per workout than less workouts per week?

3. If I DO adjust to 2x a week instead of every two days, will the strength/mass gains be noticeably less doing so? (If anyone has experience in that area)

4. If I DO adjust to 2x a week, should I supplement with some isolation exercises too on the days I'm not doing one of the SL workouts?

Thanks folks, great info here... Just couldn't find much about adjusting a SL 5x5 program when I did my forum search...

Hello - here is a little history on me and my experience over the last three and a half months. I am 63, 6'3", 250 pounds, type 2 diabetes, and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July of 2017. Following removal of prostate I have been on testosterone suppression for the last 2 years. I recently had my last 6 month shot, suppressing my testosterone until at least April, and if it comes back, it will be June or July before anything measurable, so I'm told.

I started the Stronglifts 5x5 on 8/3/2019 with an empty bar. In my younger days I studied a martial art and worked out very regularly, but that ended about 20 years ago. I had been sedentary until August.

I began only doing squats, bench, OHP, and only went on Tues and Thurs. after about three weeks I went to 3 days a week and added the Row. After 5 weeks I added the deadlift. I only went up on squats on A workouts (Squat, Bench, Row). about 8 weeks in I started adding 5# to squat every workout.

Currently I Squat 155#, Bench 135#, OHP 95#, Row 155# and DL 170#. I have a son-in-law who did my initial training. He is an MD and has been lifting for 20 years. I hit a brick wall with OHP at 95# and my doctor-in-law put me on a different progression using % of 1 rep max and next week I test my 1 RM on OHP. The rest I am still in the linear progression.

I think my progress has been great, all things considered. But, I make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, I have a pre-workout whey protein shake 30 minutes before workout and a post workout whey protein smoothie immediately after workout. I actually do the pre-workout shake every morning. 12 oz water, scoop of ON brand Whey (pretty affordable at Costco) a scoop of creatine, and a teaspoon of Metamucil (doctors orders as protein can block you up.) I think the emphasis on getting plenty of protein had made a difference in my ability to keep exercising. I exercise the same time every workout (5:30 am Tues and Thurs, and 9 am Saturday.) Consistency, sleep, diet. And I feel amazing. It's the freaking fountain of youth.

Sorry if this was too long.

[HanleyTucks]

Hello - here is a little history on me and my experience over the last three and a half months. I am 63, 6'3", 250 pounds, type 2 diabetes, and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July of 2017. Following removal of prostate I have been on testosterone suppression for the last 2 years. I recently had my last 6 month shot, suppressing my testosterone until at least April, and if it comes back, it will be June or July before anything measurable, so I'm told.

This makes your training a medical problem, not a training problem. Ask your doctor.

[OldFartTom]

You have bumped an antique thread but your post is great so I'm sure people won't mind.

Some doctors (e.g. Dr John Sullivan from "greysteel training") use something very like Starting Strength (and similar to Stronglifts) to rehabilitate patients. So unless you're advised otherwise by your docs you're definitely going the right direction. Very good to hear it's working for you.

The video below is partly a sales pitch and he has something slightly creepy and vampire about him that freaks me out a little, but what he says is good content. Enjoy...

[drudixon]

When you reset just reset a bit lighter. Resetting is natural and healthy.