5x5 Stronglifts = Poor body aesthetics?

[steve_1251]

I was was reading through the stronglifts 5x5 pdf file and I noticed that the vast majority of the people held up as examples for the success of the program don't have aesthetically pleasing bodies. I mean they have gained a lot of strength as shown in their lift records(for example bench press 100kg, deadlift 190kg, squat 140kg). But none of them would get on the cover of a fitness magazine. Has anyone else noticed this? Is this because of the use of only low reps in the program or because their body fat percentages just aren't low enough?

 

[miked8c]

I noticed that to, what Mendhi did was take the pictures of a bunch of average Joes and throw them on the pdf.

If you read the success stories many of them are written by guys who made serious improvement, however their end program numbers are still unimpressive. Hell, I am stronger than the author of SL 5x5, or at least the numbers he claims to lift.

Its not that the program produces poor aesthetics, its just that the author of SL 5x5, Mendhi, chose to represent the program with pictures of the demographic he was trying to appeal to. The relatively unathletic, untrained, average yak.

Short answer: SL 5x5 is a great program that will produce both great aesthetic and numerical results. Don't go by the success stories. Numbers don't lie, if your under 200lbs. and can bench, squat and deadlift 315, 405 and 500 respectively you'll look good.

Makes me think Mendhi should make me the 5x5 posterboy

 

[steve_1251]

Ah cool. It just that the examples he uses really don't look as strong as they say they are. There seems to be very little muscle development considering the weights they claim they can lift. I mean I'd like to think I'd have a pretty damn impressive chest if I was able to bench press 120kg. However a lot of them look like I do already and I'm a weakling (after several years of marathon training)!

 

[training700]

I guess I thought funny cus they all seemed week a 120kg bench isn't impressive really.. he just wanted average guys that got good results in a short amount of time

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[joh]

I think diet makes the aetherics more than anything else. One could probably grow on that program but if your fat there is no aethetics

 

[moya]

seen my pics? i dont do high reps with low weight...

 

[mohdgame]

Because the guys on magazine are on steroids. Mehdi is prolly natural that's why he is not as strong as some of you. What determines body shape is two factors more than anything else: Diet, Genetics.

The guys on the magazines has both amplified by the use of steroids.

The guys on Mehdi's book are all natty weight lifters with no experience on dieting.

 

[steve_1251]

Mendi looks pretty good, and so do a couple of the others but the vast majority look like they may as well not have bothered training. I don't think think it's fair to say every guy on a magazine or anyone who has a good body is on steroids.

 

[mohdgame]

Steve, in order to get to that level (to appear in magazines) you have to use steroids. Yes, you might have a decent body as a natural athelete but not to the level that you will appear in magazine.

 

[steve_1251]

Yeah but what about someone like Cristiano Ronaldo who looks both ripped and strong. He obviously isn't on steroids due to the fact he get drug tested every week. It's just that I have started this 5x5 workout and I'm in my 5th week and haven't noticed any physical difference. And when I look at the pictures of people who have been following the program for 2 years and yet look pretty much as they did before (just a little slimmer) it doesn't fill me full of confidence. I have two months from today to get into shape before I head away for the summer. Do you think I'd be better off doing a more intense routine to see quicker results?

I have designed this routine inspired by a science journal I read called "A Comparison of Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Programs with Equated Volume and Intensity for Strength". It concluded that varying rep range during the week lead to more rapid muscle gains compared to doing the same rep range every workout (e.g. 5x5 stronglifts).

Monday
A 3x15 Barbell squat
B1 3x15 Single leg standing dumbbell calf raise
B2 3x15 Barbell bent knee deadlift
C1 3x15 Dumbbell jump squats
C2 3x15 Crunch

Wednesday
A1 5x5 Incline dumbbell bench press
A2 5x5 Barbell row
A3 5x5 Standing triceps extension
A4 5x5 Barbell shoulder press
A5 5x5 Standard grip dumbbell curls

Friday
A 3x10 Barbell squat
B1 3x10 Single leg bent knee calf raise
B2 3x10 Sumo deadlift
C1 3x10 Dumbbell jump squats
C2 3x15 Leg lowering – reverse crunch

Saturday
A1 3x15 Flat bench press
A2 3x15 Barbell row
A3 3x15 Standing triceps extension
A4 3x15 Barbell shoulder press
A5 3x15 Standard grip dumbbell curls

The rep ranges in the program will be changed every 8 weeks. So instead of 5x5, 3x10, 3x15, 5x5 the routine will be 3x10, 3x15, 5x5, 3x10, and then after 8 weeks of that it will change to 3x15, 5x5, 3x10, 3x15. I think that changing the rep ranges every 8 weeks will enable the body to continue to progress by changing the focus between slow twitch, fast twitch and "medium twitch" muscle fibres.

 

[miked8c]

5x5 is simple but one of the most effective programs around, you are adding 5-10lbs. to each lift per week. That is as good as it is going to get, even considering newbie gains.


I would stick with it, look at the numbers you are projected to be moving by week 12 and use that to motivate you. There is no way you will be able to lift those end program numbers without having had some aesthetic changes.

 

[joeblow12345]

I was was reading through the stronglifts 5x5 pdf file and I noticed that the vast majority of the people held up as examples for the success of the program don't have aesthetically pleasing bodies. I mean they have gained a lot of strength as shown in their lift records(for example bench press 100kg, deadlift 190kg, squat 140kg). But none of them would get on the cover of a fitness magazine. Has anyone else noticed this? Is this because of the use of only low reps in the program or because their body fat percentages just aren't low enough?

Body composition has nothing to do with exercises. Diet and cardio determines how lean you will be.

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[Iron Warrior707]

5x5 is for strength not bodybuilding..
You want a bodybuilder body, you train like a bodybuilder, high volume 8-12 reps is bodybuilding, anything below 5 reps is strength.. Also diet plays a role in how you look..

 

[mohdgame]

Yeah but what about someone like Cristiano Ronaldo who looks both ripped and strong. He obviously isn't on steroids due to the fact he get drug tested every week. It's just that I have started this 5x5 workout and I'm in my 5th week and haven't noticed any physical difference. And when I look at the pictures of people who have been following the program for 2 years and yet look pretty much as they did before (just a little slimmer) it doesn't fill me full of confidence. I have two months from today to get into shape before I head away for the summer. Do you think I'd be better off doing a more intense routine to see quicker results?

I have designed this routine inspired by a science journal I read called "A Comparison of Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Programs with Equated Volume and Intensity for Strength". It concluded that varying rep range during the week lead to more rapid muscle gains compared to doing the same rep range every workout (e.g. 5x5 stronglifts).

Monday
A 3x15 Barbell squat
B1 3x15 Single leg standing dumbbell calf raise
B2 3x15 Barbell bent knee deadlift
C1 3x15 Dumbbell jump squats
C2 3x15 Crunch

Wednesday
A1 5x5 Incline dumbbell bench press
A2 5x5 Barbell row
A3 5x5 Standing triceps extension
A4 5x5 Barbell shoulder press
A5 5x5 Standard grip dumbbell curls

Friday
A 3x10 Barbell squat
B1 3x10 Single leg bent knee calf raise
B2 3x10 Sumo deadlift
C1 3x10 Dumbbell jump squats
C2 3x15 Leg lowering – reverse crunch

Saturday
A1 3x15 Flat bench press
A2 3x15 Barbell row
A3 3x15 Standing triceps extension
A4 3x15 Barbell shoulder press
A5 3x15 Standard grip dumbbell curls

The rep ranges in the program will be changed every 8 weeks. So instead of 5x5, 3x10, 3x15, 5x5 the routine will be 3x10, 3x15, 5x5, 3x10, and then after 8 weeks of that it will change to 3x15, 5x5, 3x10, 3x15. I think that changing the rep ranges every 8 weeks will enable the body to continue to progress by changing the focus between slow twitch, fast twitch and "medium twitch" muscle fibres.

All soccer pros are on steroids, and if you believe otherwise then you're naive. They're not strict on steroid testing because you can't reach a pro level in sport without anabolic steroids.

Read around. All those pro athletes wouldnt be able to make it to that level without perfomance enhancers.

 

[zedhed]

5x5 is for strength not bodybuilding..
You want a bodybuilder body, you train like a bodybuilder, high volume 8-12 reps is bodybuilding, anything below 5 reps is strength.. Also diet plays a role in how you look..

Ok I basically agree with the above BUT
you must have a strong foundation to get the good out of high volume with lower weights. Without the kind of strength that the SL 5x5 can and will produce your just gonna be spinning your wheels if you start out with high volume low weight programs.

 

[gatemoney]

Ok I basically agree with the above BUT
you must have a strong foundation to get the good out of high volume with lower weights. Without the kind of strength that the SL 5x5 can and will produce your just gonna be spinning your wheels if you start out with high volume low weight programs.

^^^this!
Must build the foundation before putting up walls and this is where 5x5 shines.

 

[Iron Warrior707]

Ok I basically agree with the above BUT
you must have a strong foundation to get the good out of high volume with lower weights. Without the kind of strength that the SL 5x5 can and will produce your just gonna be spinning your wheels if you start out with high volume low weight programs.

Agreed my man.. i guess you misunderstood me, or i was an idiot and dint explain properly..

I never said curling 30lb dbells for 12 reps will get you 20" arms.. You definatly have to be strong in order high vloume to work for you.. If you're a begginner lifting less than a year, you damn right need to do strength training to get big, but if you been training for 2+ years, have the strength and know your body, then high volume is needed for a bodybuilder..

 

[steve_1251]

Cheers guys. I'll stick with it but I'm going to add a tricep exercise (3x10) to the deadlift day to hopefully speed up the process.

 

[miked8c]

Squat

 

[steve_1251]

Something likea this...

Workout A
5x5 Barbell squat
5x5 Flat bench press
5x5 Barbell row
3x12 Calf raises
3x15 Reverse crunch

Workout B
5x5 Squat
5x5 Overhead barbell press
1x5 Bent knee deadlift
3x10 Standing tricep extensions
3x10 Dumbbell curl

 

[thuglife247]

Have you ever seen Christiano Rinaldo in person? Imagine a toothpick, with really good hair. Guy cant weigh more than 175 at 6'1''

 

[Myphic]

With what I've heard and seen, i'm sure with SL5x5 and alot of cardio to drop BF and the end results of the SL5x5 they'd look shredded, I'm currently starting the sl5x5 and I've done alot of cardio so I'm really defined, I'll stick before and after photos up for us to see my progress on strength training an mass gain from this program? I've got an under 10%BF and weigh 54kg, 120lbs atm and have just started the program, so in 6 weeks I'll do a check and again in 12 weeks or check my workout log if your curious, diets good and get full stats that way

But I'm up for guine pigging how it goes in terms of aesthetics/looks with low bf% not average Joe bf% lol

 

[TKDwarrior]

Just came across this site as I was doing a search on StrongLifts. I'm actually doing the program. I was forced to take a layoff from training due to neck surgery and recently got the go ahead to start working out again and continuing with taekwondo. StrongLifts is not a bodybuilding program as mentioned and focuses more on development of strength. More importantly, StrongLifts seems to be geared towards people who are just venturing into the weight training/strength training arena, and works well for guys like me just coming off an injury who want to develop a good foundation of strength to work with. If you look at Mehdi's program, he recommends starting with an empy bar...45 pounds for inexperienced people who have never weight trained and who need to learn how to use proper form. I trained for 30 years with a "bodybuilding style" routine of 8-12 reps, etc. before degenerative disc disease took over and to be honest, I'm wondering why I never started with a program like Stronglifts or Starting Strength. Again, the reason you don't see huge guys on the Stronglifts site is that most are drug free, and again, these pics are mostly of people before they started the 12-week program and after 12 weeks.

 

[Chucknate]

Fact of the matter is, most beginners are gonna look like shit for a while no matter what they do. It takes a long time to build a good physique and at least they definitely got stronger.

 

[mbag012]

most beginners dont know how to train so what theyll do is work out until they feel lactic acid building up in their muscles and leave the gym feeling they just finished the most productive workout session and take a smoke. they then come back next week to find that they havent increased in strength at all or they havent put on any muscle(its pretty hard to see the difference in muscle mass after 1 week but im just giving an example here so bear with me.) this goes on for months and maybe years, they get discouraged and blame their poor genetics or make excuses about how they are an ectomorph or whatever bullshit they can come up with.

SL 5x5 gives you a measure of your progress and builds the foundation upon which you can build your weightlifting career on. if you can lift 5 or 10 more pounds than last week then you made progress. do this every week and pretty soon you will be doing bigger numbers in no time. i was on the SL 5x5 program until i could squat 300lb at a weight of 160 i then moved onto the westside conjugate method and gained 2lb of weight every month until i reached 176. the 2lb of gains were mostly muscle as my bf% remained fairly constant.

so you see, SL 5x5 isnt the endgame training program that should be used throughout the rest of your life. its the very first basic building blocks. it lays a very solid foundation on which you can transition into any program. if you want to look aesthetic then do the SLs until you hit a reasonable weight in the squat and then transition into a body building program.

 

[ghnatuk95]

Yes lifting heavy doesn't swell up muscles. So therefore before you start 5x5 build a foundation of size then go to 5x5. Lifting heavy builds dense strong muscle not puffy muscle. It's all about what you train for, size, strength, endurance, aesthetics. You can still have a good looking body on 5x5 but it's all about eating right and staying lean

 

[H_T_]

That's why it's called Strong lifts and not "nice mirror muscles".

 

[Saiyan7]

Y'all definitely bumped an old thread lol. But I will say 3-4 months of Stronglifts gave me better results in the gym and in the mirror than a year and a half of bro splits did.

 

[FlexManning]

I don't think people are realizing that average people don't have nice aesthetics in general and never will no matter what program they're on or what they take. You can't compare a drug free 30 year old that's been lifting for 6 months to a anabolic drug using fitness model/bodybuilder who has absurd genetics and has been training for 15 years.

Are we supposed to believe the reason these folks aren't more aesthetic is because they're not doing enough leg extensions and bicep curls? Really? There are studies out there that suggest most lifters don't benefit from adding isolation work. Unless you're very advanced or using anabolic drugs I personally don't see any reason to not stick to low volume workouts built around the basics.