| I see stronglifts 5x5 recommended a lot on sites like reddit and generally disagree that beginners should start out with it. From what I've read online, the 5x5 structure often leads to quicker stalling in progression for some than doing 3x5 like starting strength has you do for squat, overhead, and bench. Also, some people really don't need to start as light as SL will have you starting on. Anecdotally, a friend of mine with an athletic background says when he starting weight training for college sports, he could bench over 200lbs for one rep having never seriously trained before. Starting with just the bar like SL recommends would be a big stall in his progress. On SL it'd take him about 53 weeks to bench 200 for 5x5 if starting with the bar and increasing by 2.5 pounds each bench exercise (1.5 times per week). Also, Mehdi has no proper training in the background. Someone like Rippetoe, author of starting strength, has years of experience in powerlifting and coaching. Quick article for further reading. http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/stronglifts-5x5/ It mostly looks at SL from a powerlifting perspective, but much of the criticism is still valid. |
For specifics, Mehdi doesn't insist everyone start at bar weight. From the site:
> If you’ve done the Squat, Bench and Deadlift before, with good technique, you can start with 50% of your five rep max.
It's worthwhile for any novice lifter (or someone getting back into lifting after a long hiatus) to start low in order to (re)develop form and strengthen support muscles. Mehdi describes what to do when you stall, and points out that once you're stalling with any regularity, then you're not a novice and Stronglifts is not really for you. If you stick with it, at some similar point neither 3x5 or 5x5 will work, and you'll need to switch to something like 5/3/1.