Everything Wrong With 5x5 Workouts (Honest Opinion)

First, I should say I like the concept of a 5x5 program, and it’s straightforward and trackable system of progressive overload. Currently, I’m doing a dumbbell version and enjoying it.

But everything has pros and cons. Some of the criticisms against 5x5s are unfounded, and others are valid. We’ll review these today to help you decide if this training system is right for you.

The critique I hear the most is unbalanced volume—too much leg work and not enough upper body. Rows, bench and overhead presses are done 3 times in 2 weeks, whereas squats are done 6 times.

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There’s a little crossover between the overhead press and bench—mainly front delt and triceps.

For the back, you should have both a horizontal and a vertical pull in your program. Stronglifts does have a couple of exercises you can add after the 8-week mark that help fix this problem.

They do it for a different reason, but we’ll get to these exercises in a bit. There’s nothing wrong with starting with 5 movements perfecting them first, then, once you have them mastered, adding in more exercises.

I’ve heard that it’s too intense for beginners, and this workout does get intense and isn’t easy. This is why it’s crucial if you are new to start light and perfect form; even videotape yourself to ensure you’re doing the exercises correctly.

Most new lifters don’t train hard enough. 5x5s have you increasing the amount of weight you lift every workout, so it’s inevitable as long as you keep adding weight, you will end up training hard and intense, making it essential to take de-loads as the program prescribes.

Joint pain can be a side effect of lifting heavy and a risk with 5x5s. This can be because our form starts to break down, and we end up moving out of the plain of motion we’ve developed our strength in. Adding accessory work to build strength in different plains will help. Increasing the number of warm-up sets is another option.

A couple of notes on exercise selection traditionally, Stronglifts are done with a low bar squat and Pendlay rows. I’d use different exercise variations nothing wrong with a high bar squat, and in my own dumbbell 5x5, I could see beginners starting with a goblet squat. Once they’ve outgrown that, move on to a bench squat and even go to a heel-elevated suitcase squat for a greater range of motion.

Occasionally changing the exercise variation can also help to protect us from joint pain.

With rows, doing a traditional bent-over row, maintaining your spine in the neutral position with less body English is easier for a beginner and reduces the risk of injury.

One of the strange criticisms I hear of 5x5s is, eventually, you’ll plateau, and the answer is yes. Find me a program where you never hit a plateau. Such a plan doesn’t exist. What you need is systems to help you get past these sticking points in your training.

Tracking your rest times helps with this; when you’re stuck, try increasing the time between sets. If typically you rest a minute and a half between sets, increase this to 3 minutes.

At some point, you have to work at shortening those rest times back down and realize that every time you reduce your rest by 30 seconds.

The second method when you hit a plateau is to deload, reducing the weight by 10% and gradually increase it again each workout.

The main focus of a 5x5 is to get you strong it will build muscle, but this is secondary to overall strength.

The exercises Stronglifts 5x5 initially add-in for arms are better back and chest exercises, at least the way I like to do them, and that’s chin-ups and dips.

You can also add in 2 sets of curls and skull crushers; these are effective arm builders. With each exercise you add, the workouts get longer, and Stronglifts does suggest adding a fourth day, making it a designated arm day doing pull-ups, dips, curls and skull crushers.