I started Stronglifts 4 months ago, here are my results so far.
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2"
Age: 24 years old
| Starting Weight | Starting BF | Bulk/Cut | Ending Weight | Ending BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 0.20 | 9 wk Cut | 190 | 0.15 |
| 190 | 0.15 | 7 wk Bulk | 195 | 0.16 |
Body fat estimates are mostly guesses with some help from tape measures and calipers.
Here's the progress I've made on my lifts (all working weights, haven't tested 1rm)
| Lift | Week 0 | Week 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 95 lbs | 225 lbs |
| Bench | 95 lbs | 150 lbs |
| Deadlift | 95 lbs | 265 lbs |
| Overhead Press | 45 lbs | 100 lbs |
| Pendlay Row | 95 lbs | 145 lbs |
| Dips | Bodyweight | 27.5 lbs |
Progress has slowed down a bit the past couple weeks as I was shooting video at Spring Training in Arizona, which meant not enough sleep while spending 6+ hours a day in the sun.
I've been working back up from a deload on my squat (switch to 3x5 as well), I got up to 225 a few weeks ago but my core was too weak compared to my legs. It took me a while to get the necessary mobility to do good squats, but I'm pretty happy with where I am at this point.
My bench is probably the most slacking. I'm still working on getting the form down. I keep stalling for a couple workouts, then when I fix an issue with form things seem a lot easier. I've also been doing light 5x5s of close grip bench on B days to improve my tricep strength.
OHP is always a struggle, trying to work through 100 lbs for the past couple weeks. I've felt a bit better about rows the past few weeks as I've been able to engage my lats more. Deadlift has made big progress recently as I switched to sumo, which works a bit better for my height.
In order to mix things up a bit and get a bit more volume in, I'm considering combining the strength days of Stronglifts and the Upper/Lower Hypertrophy days used in PHUL. I want to keep squatting heavy at least twice a week and focus on compound movements for the hypertrophy days.
Goals:
Fun!
Strong
Aesthetics (Lean + Muscular)
I'm eating at maintenance this week and am planning on cutting for the next 8 weeks after that (ending in June) because I'd love to get down to 12-13% BF and my recent stalls have made me care a bit less about strength (stressing too much about the numbers hurts my form and makes things less fun).
So I may hold off on this routine if it would be too much during a cut. But while it may not have the same capacity for strength gain as doing straight Stronglifts, it would be more fun (#1!) and help more with Aesthetics.
| Monday | Stronglifts A |
|---|---|
| Low Bar Squat (Heavy) | 3x5 |
| Bench (Heavy) | 5x5 |
| Pendlay Row (Heavy) | 5x5 |
| Weighted Dip | 3x5 |
Tuesday: REST
| Wednesday | Stronglifts B |
|---|---|
| Low Bar Squat (Heavy) | 3x5 |
| OHP (Heavy) | 5x5 |
| Deadlift (Heavy) | 1x5 |
| Close Grip Bench | 5x5 |
Thursday: REST
| Friday | Upper Hypertrophy |
|---|---|
| Bench (Light) | 3x10 |
| OHP (Light) | 3x10 |
| Row (Light) | 3x10 |
| Dips (Light) | 3x10 |
| Bicep Curl 21s | 2x21 |
| Dumbell Shrugs | 3x10 |
| Lat Pulldowns | 3x10 |
| Dumbell Lateral Raises | 3x10 |
| Dumbell Reverse Flyes | 3x10 |
| Saturday | Lower Hypertrophy |
|---|---|
| Squat (ATG, Light) | 3x10 |
| Deadlift (Light) | 3x10 |
| Dumbell Lunges | 3x10 |
| Hyperextensions | 3x10 |
| Leg Extensions | 3x10 |
| Leg Curl | 3x10 |
| Calf Raise | 3x10 |
Sunday: REST
What do you all think of something like this? Anything unreasonable? Should I run my cut on Stronglifts, then switch to this, or would this work well during an 8 week cut?