Stronglifts, Adding Farmer's Walk/Calf Raises

hey, been doing strong lifts for about a year now and currently on a cut as of a months ago. the 5x5 stuff was just way to much for me at the time so i upped the weight and dropped to 3x3 and actually still getting stronger and losing weight while cutting where i was stalling and dying by the end of the workout doing 5x5 on this diet. my question is can i add farmers walk and calf raises? and if so which day would be best suited for each exercise

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
hey, been doing strong lifts for about a year now and currently on a cut as of a months ago. the 5x5 stuff was just way to much for me at the time so i upped the weight and dropped to 3x3 and actually still getting stronger and losing weight while cutting where i was stalling and dying by the end of the workout doing 5x5 on this diet.[/quote]

Sounds like fairly heavy training for my taste… 3x3 is too heavy for dieting, IMO. But If you’re seeing progress, it’s OK I guess.

What do you expect from them? generally, yes; however, I wonder why you reduce your core programme because it’s too much and then ask if you can add some fluff.

With 5x5, it doesn’t really matter since the training days are so similar. I wouldn’t do farmer’s walks more often than 1x or 2x a week, though. you can train calves as often if you like - time and recovery constraints are the limiting factor. If you can’t squat because your calves are sore and tight like hell, you’re doing too much. But again: why add them in the first place?

I’m confused also.

Most people would have switch to Madcow after a year of SL5x5.

Also, are you following the SL diet?

And to re ask from nighthawkz: 5X5 was too much for you, so you went to 3x3. Now you want to add more because 3X3 is not enough?

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
hey, been doing strong lifts for about a year now and currently on a cut as of a months ago. the 5x5 stuff was just way to much for me at the time so i upped the weight and dropped to 3x3 and actually still getting stronger and losing weight while cutting where i was stalling and dying by the end of the workout doing 5x5 on this diet.[/quote]
So this routine was, what, just theoretical?
http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_beginner/does_my_routine_look_decent

There was no mention of you currently doing 3x3 in that last thread. Keep your story straight and tell all the full details, and you’ll get better advice without wasting peoples’ time.

What does your current training look like exactly - the days, exercises, sets, and reps?

What are your goals? In this thread, you’re cutting, in that previous thread, you’re training for muscle and strength.

You’ve been doing strong lifts for a year now, so I’m going to assume you’ve only been seriously training a year now, are you even big enough to be cutting?

[quote]Young33 wrote:
You’ve been doing strong lifts for a year now, so I’m going to assume you’ve only been seriously training a year now, are you even big enough to be cutting? [/quote]

i sure am fat enough. and to the person that said keep my story straight. there is no story to keep straight! i did SL for a year and now I’m just messing around with stuff changing from day to day. and yes 5x5 was to much volume and 3x3 gave me enough energy left over for farmers walk. sheesh, some nazis man

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:

[quote]Young33 wrote:
You’ve been doing strong lifts for a year now, so I’m going to assume you’ve only been seriously training a year now, are you even big enough to be cutting? [/quote]

i sure am fat enough. and to the person that said keep my story straight. there is no story to keep straight! i did SL for a year and now I’m just messing around with stuff changing from day to day. and yes 5x5 was to much volume and 3x3 gave me enough energy left over for farmers walk. sheesh, some nazis man[/quote]

I would say instead of doing a “cutting” phase, just focus on getting stronger and adjust your diet a little and add in some cardio. Yeah I would farmers walk would be great. Maybe also try sprints or weighted vest walks. But, I’m not sure I would throw all my energy into just cutting and lose a whole bunch if strength in the process, make sense?

[quote]AbsuM- wrote:
now I’m just messing around with stuff changing from day to day[/quote]

Don’t. Pick something and stick to it. Failing to plan = planning to fail.

You know, a couple of problems I have with Stronglifts 5x5 and Madcow 5x5, is that the program says that you don’t ever need to use isolations to improve your overall strength and muscle mass. Additionally, neither of the programs have you utilize dumbbells.

I suppose that one could get away with not using isolation and dumbbells exercises for about a year, but eventually that trainee will need to incorporate dumbbells and isolation movements into their weight training regimen in order to make further significant progress in strength and muscle mass gains, to bring up a specific weak point that’s due to a muscle imbalance, and/or to prevent any muscular imbalances from happening.

[quote]Bull_Scientist wrote:
I suppose that one could get away with not using isolation and dumbbells exercises for about a year, [/quote]

That’s because SL 5x5 is designed to be run for months, not forever and ever into infinity. If you’ve actually done SL 5x5 by the letter, you’ll notice that it’s quite difficult to keep the same amount of workload up for longer than 6 months at most, especially for things like the squat.

As for Madcow 5x5, by the time you’re doing this you can afford to add in fluff, so long as they remain fluff.

And you should always be doing rehab stuff as necessary. That the works do not mention them is irrelevant. You got a winged scapula caused by weakness in the muscles that work the scapula? You fix it by using dumbbells and light weight.

I love farmers walks! Do them! I really feel like they improved my strength overall. I just started doing them this past summer and I have made some great progress, but interestingly enough virtually no change in my forearm size. One tip: as the weights get heavier using dumbbells becomes a big bitch for a few reasons. Some of which are mentioned below:

  1. they get hard to balance in each hand, which resulted in some bruising on my wrists as the weight slid when I walked.

  2. They are a pain in the ass to deadlift from the ground, considering you have to grab them from an awkward ass to grass stance otherwise risk hurting your back. A solution is to set the weight on a bench, and when walking in a loop around the gym make sure to start and end on this bench. As the weight gets higher I recommend switching to a trap bar.

  3. You cant progress in them like you can in a conventional 5x5. Unless you have a buddy to time you or know the exact distance you are walking and have access to the exact same walk path every workout, there will be some guesswork each time you perform the exercise. This is, of course, purely from my experience. Try to be as consistent as possible.

  4. Read the farmers walk article on this website and keep a good form. Stand up straight and dont lean your head forward like your’e about to suck a dick lol.