5x5 Routine

[djbmc]

safe you two.

[A Bit Better]

Very upset to see man say don't squat with a smith machine. This is what I have been doing. Very upset.

[carpedeum]

if you only have a smith machine by all means use it. i rarely use it unless i want good high reps or have no spotter but if thats all you have you can still build strong quads.you can do one leg squats to change things up

[A Bit Better]

I have no spotter and don't trust my form. That's all.

[NO SUNSHINE]

Deadlifts scare me.Everytime I do them I feel like my form is completely off.

[djbmc]

On squats it tried lowering the bar a bit, definately helped, did it without smith machine as well, i thought i'd better switch now before i get too used to using it. Done them monday, legs been hurting ever since!

[Guillermo Rigondeaux]

Deadlifts scare me.Everytime I do them I feel like my form is completely off.

sameaint been injured yet tho so f*ck it loldl f*cks me tho

[Black Casper]

first time im reading this thread proprly and im gonna give it a try todayGonna start with theBench Press (can already lift very heavy, but gonna ty more)Push UpsOverhead pressReverse CrunchesMaybe squatsand see how it goes

[Guest M12 Part 2]

first time im reading this thread proprly and im gonna give it a try todayGonna start with theBench Press (can already lift very heavy, but gonna ty more)Push UpsOverhead pressReverse CrunchesMaybe squatsand see how it goes

fam there are muscles on the back of your body too ya know!pullups, rows and deadlifts FTW

[Black Casper]

first time im reading this thread proprly and im gonna give it a try todayGonna start with theBench Press (can already lift very heavy, but gonna ty more)Push UpsOverhead pressReverse CrunchesMaybe squatsand see how it goes

fam there are muscles on the back of your body too ya know!pullups, rows and deadlifts FTW

lol,sounds goodwill take ammend my original routine

[NO SUNSHINE]

I can't do squats, even with the Smith machine.My left knee is in agony, everytime it heals and I try a weight I can lift fairly easily it gets injured again. Not sure if it's my form or just my knee.

[Guillermo Rigondeaux]

I can't do squats, even with the Smith machine.My left knee is in agony, everytime it heals and I try a weight I can lift fairly easily it gets injured again. Not sure if it's my form or just my knee.

what weight? does it hurt when u do it with no weight and just the bar too? if theres no weight and it hurts then u need 2 get ur knee checked out, somethings wrong. bad form wont cause problems in ur left knee.

[djbmc]

might be tendonitis or sum sh*t.

[NO SUNSHINE]

I can't do squats, even with the Smith machine.My left knee is in agony, everytime it heals and I try a weight I can lift fairly easily it gets injured again. Not sure if it's my form or just my knee.

what weight? does it hurt when u do it with no weight and just the bar too? if theres no weight and it hurts then u need 2 get ur knee checked out, somethings wrong. bad form wont cause problems in ur left knee.

It feels uncomfortable with just the bar. Like the movement isn't natural.then when i throw weight on, even just 10kg on either side, it actually hurts to crouch. my thighs aren't even having to work to lift it, but my knee feels like it's gonna pop out

[carpedeum]

you'll need to get it checked, theres a variety of things that could be wrong, all could be minor

[Roscoe]

squats are the oneif u dont squat ur a p*ssy

[carpedeum]

im moving on to an 8x8 routine similar to this, just that its more endurance focused. its a bit like doing high intensity cardioand requires that you reduce the weights by about 30%. in the end though a few weeks down the line im expected to come out stronger.. im seeking to get that 60kg DBs

[Guillermo Rigondeaux]

i sweat more doing this 5x5 than i do when i box/cardioon the last few squats i have sweat dripping down my face and my shirt is soakedgetting nuff funny looks

[Michel Kane]

Back to doing this again...Gonna stick with 5x5 till the pre-season starts & go from there.When I started this, I began with just the bar (Olympic) & added the 1.25KG every session.Making SURE the tekkers is on point because I'm aiming to squat 1.5X my body weight (130KG) in about 3-4 months.

[YFSD]

Same, was discussing it with my boy wondering if it was just us.I'm DLing more than bigger guys at my gym though so they're prolly not used to pushing themselves.

[Em Dott]

I'm not going to lie I'm scared of doing deadlifts and the overhead press. How difficult are deadlifts to do and is there another exercise I can replace the overhead press with? I saw these were the exercises in the link in the OP.Also, I haven't been gym in a while and I'm a slim guy so I'm pretty sure my strength is lacking somewhat. Do I need to build up strength before I attempt the 5x5 routine? Realistically I need a realtively quick program as time isn't always on my side.

[Skenghis Khan]

5x5 is a good strength building program ime, u start low but weight goes on the bar very quickly, i think a program like stronglifts is good for ppl who are new or been out the gym for a long time.learn to love shoulder press and deadlifts they are sick. get sumone who knows to check ur form doing both, dont be scurred.

[Michel Kane]

Yeah, if you're that worried about your strength being low, start with just the Olympic Bar on all the exercises apart from deadlift (40KG).The aim is, you do 3 sessions a week & you add weight for every session. So you may start thinking you're barely doing anything but sooner than later, things get more challenging.Don't substitute any exercises. Stick with the overhead press & deadlifts. Those are the vital compound exercises.Can you do pull-ups/chin-ups? Those are what I find most difficult TBH.

[Em Dott]

Safe you man.I can do chin ups but not a lot. Haven't tried pull ups but I heard they are harder than chin ups, but I do definitely want to be able to do more of each.

[A Bit Better]

About to go do 5x5 for the first time. Can't squat to save my life but figure it's about time I learn. Don't wanna be one of those big dudes with tiny legs. Wish me luck.Edit: Went well. My squat game is so dodgy but I think I'll get the hang of it over time. Glad I started with no weight as instructed though. Will sort my form. Noticed from reading the link in the OP that Carpe gave me bad advice before. Said something about doing some stupidly high percentage of your one rep max as your weight for 5x5. I almost killed myself on the bench that day. Then when I read the link it actually says do 70% of your 5 rep max. KMT.