[Manatee]

I'm looking to increase strength. One catch though, since I compete in Judo, I would like to stay at 73kg, which I am at right now. I have fat to lose, so I think I can maintain weight while gaining strength as long as I lose fat too. After reading through the FAQ, I noticed the 5x5 idea which was appealing. This is the program I am currently using. It's a variation of the 5x5 from stronglifts.com. The program has alternating workouts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.


Workout A is:
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5
Dips 3xFailure


Workout B is:
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Pull-ups/Chin-ups 3xFailure

I'm going to start adding weight to the Pull-Ups and Dips when I can do 3x10 no problem. I was just wondering what you guys think of it. Should I add more exercises? Should I be doing more sets of deadlifts? I'm not too sure.

[BabyPhenom]

don't do dips and chns to failure. Just keep your diet in check so you won't gain weight

[Urban]

Squating three times a week can get old in a hurry, other than that, I don't know that I would call it ideal, but it's certainly in the realm of tolerability.

[Manatee]

Originally Posted by Urban

Squating three times a week can get old in a hurry, other than that, I don't know that I would call it ideal, but it's certainly in the realm of tolerability.

It does, I was considering maybe alternating a lighter front squat instead?

[theNuge]

I agree with not doing chins and dips to failure.

If you're doing Rippetoe's Starting Strength routine then you don't need to add deadlift sets. Rip's reasoning is the deadlift is so taxing on the CNS that working up to one heavy set of deadlifts is sufficient.

[Urban]

There is certainly a plethera of squats to choose from:
back squats
front squats
zercher squats
hack squats
cambered bar squats
hip belt squats
overhead squats

not to mention the unilateral possibilities, or inclusion of band.chain variations. but... uhh... yeah, front squats could be a good way to go. I say just pick something and go with it, when you stop progressing, rotate it out. repeat until you die.

[DrBdan]

I'm not sure how often you are training Judo but from my own experience doing the stronglifts 5x5 I find that doing it twice a week (instead of 3 times), plus Muay Thai twice a week and hockey once a week is a lot to handle. Your results may vary but all the squatting is pretty hard on my body combined with the extra stuff.

To Urban and theNuge: I'm curious as to why you say not to do chins/dips to failure. Is it not needed after doing the main lifts?

[SocraticMethod]

I'm doing Stronglifts right now (started in May). I'm doing it now because (1) I wanted to improve my squat; and (2) I'm not training MMA for the summer, so I thought I'd be able to handle squatting 3X per week. If you're training judo several times per week, all the squats could get really taxing.

Generally speaking, and all other variables considered, I'm very glad that I picked this routine right now.

Edit: Also, my understanding of Stronglifts was that it's intended for beginners, because you're adding 5 pounds to each lift in each workout - so you're starting low to ensure proper form and steadily building strength. For example, when I started the routine, I did so squatting 135 5X5. If you're squatting 400 and deadlifting 600, this might not be as good a choice.

[dank ken]

sqatting is overall a waste of time just dont do it and youll be on the right track

[Slowboy]

I was doing the Stronglift 5x5 for a while at a BW of 150, I am now up to 160-165lb. But I was doing Jui-jistu 3 days a week and it completaly burned me out. I had a problem with using a closed guard because my legs got so tired. So I stop for about 2 months and because I stoped I also stoped my good food diet and gained most of that weight in fat. I currently started again but only do it 2 times a week and it is working alot better for me.