It’s December 14th. In about two weeks, a predictable cadre of novice lifters – new year resolvers – will inundate gyms worldwide. Maybe you’re one of them.
If that’s the case: let’s talk about something you may overhear while you’re there: “Stronglifts.”
Developed as a blog by a man simply named “Mehdi” in the late 2000s, Stronglifts made fast and loyal fans of internet-savvy fitness professionals, quickly becoming one of the more popular and prescribed lifting plans of the last decade. It’s an aggressively-simplified, full-body strength training program centered around fundamentals. You’ll do full-body exercises with more sets of fewer repetitions to develop the correct form and strengthen the essential muscle groups. In this case, that looks like:
Workout A: Squat, Bench, and Barbell Row
Workout B: Squat, Overhead Press, Deadlift
Both workouts follow an exclusively 5×5 scheme: meaning five sets of five repetitions for each exercise. The basic rules are:
- Three workouts a week.
- Alternate Workout A and Workout B each time you train.
- Never two days in a row, or twice in one day.
- You must keep written track of progress.
Its simplicity and ease make it ideal for those with decent baseline athletic ability who lack discipline and experience with pure weightlifting. Maybe you were naturally talented at sports and only sort of fooled around in the weight room. Perhaps you’re military or law enforcement, looking to build upon the calisthenics and conditioning you got in training. Maybe you’re a less-traditional athlete, like a dancer or golfer, looking for a way to build size and strength.
In any case – it’s not hard to see how and why the program became so popular. It follows that there’s no shortage of resources for the program online. From Medhi’s own site to an entire subreddit dedicated to the topic, you don’t need to hear it from me: Stronglifts works.
…But only for a little while.
Stronglifts’ main selling point is also, unfortunately, its downfall: that it’s a workout for the true novice. Like training wheels on a bike, it can be extremely helpful – even necessary – at first, but inhibiting and restrictive once the behaviors begin to “click.” Because, after 12-24 consistent weeks in the gym – you’re just not a novice anymore. Your body certainly isn’t. By then, it will have adjusted to the rigors of training and require different kinds of stimulation, in different quantities, to continue to grow. Unfortunately, those who manage to stick with Stronglifts often stick with it for too long. Consequently, they develop unhealthy mental habits. Adherents of Stronglifts who continue longer than a year often assume – incorrectly – that their progress will remain linear. That x amount of effort will continue to yield y+1 gains in weight indefinitely. What actually happens, though? One of two things:
In the first case: the trainee was too novice to exercise in general. Many total beginners will Google: “easiest lifting program,” come up with Stronglifts, and spend a few weeks floundering, before quitting in disgrace, blaming genetics, blaming themselves. After all, progress will never come if you’re having difficulty dialing in passable technique with even the lightest weights. You still need baseline athleticism to succeed at this. It’s a fact frequently taken for granted by fitness writers: you should be able to run a mile, touch your toes, pull yourself up – even badly – before starting a weightlifting program. Unfortunately, many novices – a fairly-large portion of the Stronglifts target audience – cannot do these things.
Or, in the second case: the trainee gets too comfortable with Stronglifts. It’s enthralling at first, seeing and tracking real progress. But after a year of grinding out set, after set, after set of five; the concept of “training” becomes… pretty myopic. You began the program focusing solely on form and the weight on the bar. But six months in, and… that’s still the focus.
Stronglifts is fantastic for building a base and getting you in the habit of going to the gym – but my main complaint with the program is that there’s just nothing to look forward to. And look: if I could give Stronglifts another name? It’d be, like, the Anti-Vanity Workout. It has so little effect on body aesthetics that it doesn’t make sense for virtually anyone’s long-term fitness goals.
So this New Year, when you’re in the gym, and someone inevitably pitches you this program: remember it for what it is. You can’t build a house without a strong foundation, and this is the strongest one. But nobody really wants their entire house to look and feel like a basement.