Strength training on maintainance or caloric deficit

[Flying Fox]

Im not that clued up on the details, sorry.

Im doing stronglifts 5x5 which is based on madcow, but it has the same weight across 5 sets and uses a pure linear progression.

Ah, stronglifts. Can't help rolling my eyes and sighing everytime I read the word.

[BruteForce]

This is probably not the way to go. Cutting your calories, maintaining high intensity on the lifts, and adding in "cardio" for five days seems like a great way to regress on your lifts. If you want conditioning, consider one or maybe two short metcon workouts in a week. If you just want to stay the same weight, you will still need to eat for recovery. Only you will be able to figure out how much that is. Try cutting back on the milk first, but realize that your strength gains will almost certainly be slower than when you are eating lots of food.

When I say cardio, I'm talkin about "big man cardio." Walking on a treadmill and a decent incline at a reasonable pace for 30 mins or so. He shouldnt have to cut any calories really. Throw in 500 more in your first 2 meals of the day to replace the missing carbs from the end. The low intensity cardio shold accelerate his metabolism since he hasnt been doing it.

[zendefone]

Ah, stronglifts. Can't help rolling my eyes and sighing everytime I read the word.

Anything wrong with stronglifts? Can see that you are from Belgium too together with stronglifts.

[Flying Fox]

Anything wrong with stronglifts? Can see that you are from Belgium too together with stronglifts.

Well, stronglifts has made a lot of people around the world familiar with programs such as Starting Strength, something I can only encourage. It's definatly a vast improvement over the average website advocating bodypart splits and 5 curl variations.

But there are a few points that annoy me.
Take the stronglifts program for example. He took the starting strength routine, a carefully tuned program to suit the beginning lifter, changed things a bit and called it stronglifts. He could have just told people to read the book, or refer to a good online write-up for the program.
Instead, he added 2 sets per exercise, changed PC to inverted rows, and added stuff like pushups. Who is he to say his version is better? A guy that weighs 70kg and deadlifts 170kg after over a decade of training.
He seems to think he is some kind of internet training guru, and gets away with it.

I am being a bit of a hyopcrite, because I do have one article on the website myself, and I'm a know-it-all too. Nobody's perfect. Hes website is pretty succesfull, so kudos for him.




Ah, Medhi.

[Dastardly]

^^ Lol, thats actually pretty funny. I didnt realise there was meme's based on things as niche as power rack usage.

In his defense however, he runs a website giving advice to beginner trainee's. Offerring suggestions for warm-ups & mobility are part of that and stuff like leg swings are pretty damn effective.

I admit he does have a 'guru' ego about him, that goes for life-coaching as well as strength training.

But I dont think he ever set out to make a 'programme' . He just made a website with suggestions together based around Bill Starr/Madcow routine & Starting Strength. People started calling it 'stronglifts the programme' and it just became what it was. Purchasing starting strength is heavily suggested both directly by him and generally around the website.

Powercleans were originally replaced by Barbell Rows, just as is with the Madcow version. But eventually after so many newbie lifters were having problems with form it was replaced with inverted rows which have more of a fool-proof form.

In regards to accessory exercises like pull-ups, dips and ab work. Many people are going to do them anyway, they are good exercises and I think they fit in well around the main lifts.

Starr seems to also include tricep & bicep work into his 5x5 programmes, such as this version from SS wikia.

Friday - Medium
Squat – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8
Bench – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, 1 set of 8
Powercleans – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple
Weighted Dips - 3 sets of 5-8
Triceps and Biceps - 3 sets of 8 each

A lot of the mobility work & warm ups seem to be inspired by Eric cressey, who can deadlift 295kg while staying in the <75kg weight category so I think silly looking stretches does not automatically discredit someone as a serious lifter/coach.

[JCavin]

Heh, I laughed at a guy the first time I saw his stretches. Bunch of yoga type stuff.

Then he went to the rack and squatted 400+. I stopped laughing.

But, it still looks funny. I just wouldn't laugh where they could see me.

[Sal Webber]

Do ya'll actually stretch? I've heard (possibly urban legend) that it reduces the muscle's contractile force if you stretch prior to a weight session. I've been saving stretching for afterward if I needed it.

[JCavin]

Not me.

I've found that as I add weight to the bar it stretches me out automatically.

[PMDL]

^^ Lol, thats actually pretty funny. I didnt realise there was meme's based on things as niche as power rack usage.

In his defense however, he runs a website giving advice to beginner trainee's. Offerring suggestions for warm-ups & mobility are part of that and stuff like leg swings are pretty damn effective.

I admit he does have a 'guru' ego about him, that goes for life-coaching as well as strength training.

But I dont think he ever set out to make a 'programme' . He just made a website with suggestions together based around Bill Starr/Madcow routine & Starting Strength. People started calling it 'stronglifts the programme' and it just became what it was. Purchasing starting strength is heavily suggested both directly by him and generally around the website.

Powercleans were originally replaced by Barbell Rows, just as is with the Madcow version. But eventually after so many newbie lifters were having problems with form it was replaced with inverted rows which have more of a fool-proof form.

In regards to accessory exercises like pull-ups, dips and ab work. Many people are going to do them anyway, they are good exercises and I think they fit in well around the main lifts.

Starr seems to also include tricep & bicep work into his 5x5 programmes, such as this version from SS wikia.



A lot of the mobility work & warm ups seem to be inspired by Eric cressey, who can deadlift 295kg while staying in the <75kg weight category so I think silly looking stretches does not automatically discredit someone as a serious lifter/coach.

Some of you fellas need to catch up on your history. Most all of this 5x5-style training you're doing, all the stuff that's popular on the Internets right now, is coming straight from Bill Starr, after passing through Rip and Glenn Pendlay.

The "Madcow" 5x5 isn't a specific program and never was. Madcow adopted it from some comments that Glenn made online years ago. I can probably still point you to the original posts if I went and looked on Meso.

All that's happened is the usual Newbie Lifter Program Fever has made the rounds, and instead of realizing that the 5x5 isn't a "program" but rather a way of programming, yall have all started to assume that each tiny tweak to the weekly split is now patented as a separate program.

For fuck's sake. If I take out power cleans and put a spin class in the program, can I sell it as PMDLs High Intensity 5x5?

That Stronglifts guy set out with one goal - to build a big-ass website to get himself revenue. The 5x5 stuff just capitalizes on that, and he's SEO'd his site to hell and back to make sure he gets search hits. I don't care that he modified the program and added mobility drills (how innovative!); he's still using a program Starr made to get himself e-famous.

And that's just gay any way you shake it.

[banthafodder]

For fuck's sake. If I take out power cleans and put a spin class in the program, can I sell it as PMDLs High Intensity 5x5?

Yes. And between the book, the DVD, and the infomercial, you'll make millions.

See? This PMDL guy's catching on!