StrongLifts 5×5 vs Starting Strength (and Where 5/3/1 Fits)

StrongLifts 5×5 and Starting Strength are the most well-known beginner strength training programs in the world. Millions started with them. But the r/Fitness wiki — one of the most widely read training resources on the internet — no longer lists either in its recommendations.

What’s wrong? This article compares both programs and examines their core elements.

The Programs

StrongLifts 5×5

Created by: Mehdi Hadim (2007), based on Reg Park’s 5×5 system.

3 days/week, alternating Workout A and B:

Progression: +2.5 kg per session on success. After 3 failures: deload by 10%.

Starting Strength

Created by: Mark Rippetoe (2005), now in its 4th edition.

3 days/week, alternating Workout A and B:

Progression: +2.5 kg upper body, +5 kg lower body per session.

Head-to-Head

The Volume Problem

Reps over 2 weeks in StrongLifts:

150 squat reps vs. 15 deadlift reps. A 10:1 ratio. No vertical pull. No biceps work. No lateral delts.

Starting Strength has no pulling movement in the early phases (no rows, no chin-ups). The result: disproportionate leg work, underdeveloped upper body and back.

Where Research Disagrees

Frequency Asymmetry

Training each muscle group 2×/week is better than 1× for hypertrophy. Both programs train squats 3×/week — that’s fine. But bench and overhead press only 1.5×/week (alternating), deadlift even less.

Upper Body Volume Too Low

10+ sets per muscle group per week produce more hypertrophy than fewer than 5. Bench press in StrongLifts: 1.5×/week × 5 sets = 7.5 sets/week. That’s at the lower end of Minimum Effective Volume — well below the sweet spot.

Compounds Alone Aren’t Enough

“Beginners only need compounds” — true for legs. For arms (biceps, triceps), research shows no meaningful difference between compounds and isolation. Biceps, lateral delts, and rear delts in particular get insufficient stimulus from compound-only programs.

What They Get Right

Despite the criticism — these programs have real contributions:

• Made barbell training accessible to the masses — millions started because of SL/SS
• Focus on compound exercises — squat, bench, deadlift as the foundation
• Progressive overload as core principle — a little more each session
• Simplicity — the low barrier to entry helped many people start

The problem isn’t that they’re bad — they were good for their time. There are now programs that offer the same simplicity while avoiding the known weaknesses.

The Alternatives

Basic Beginner Routine (Greyskull LP) — 3 days/week

Pulling in every session, open last set for feedback, more balanced volume. More →

GZCLP — 3 days/week

Three tiers: T1 (heavy, 5×3+), T2 (moderate, 3×10), T3 (accessories, 3×15+). Every lift 2×/week, accessory work built in, multi-stage failure instead of immediate deload. More →

Full Body (Fierce 5) — 3 days/week

An A/B rotation like StrongLifts, but with accessory work for rear delts, arms, calves and abs from day one. Available in three equipment variants: gym, barbell + pull-up bar, or dumbbells. Recommended for 4–6 months.

Comparison

5/3/1 vs StrongLifts vs Starting Strength

This three-way comparison gets searched a lot, and it has a problem: the three programs don’t belong to the same stage. StrongLifts and Starting Strength are linear progression — you add weight every session. 5/3/1 works in three-week cycles and adds weight every cycle.

Run the arithmetic on the squat:

So picking 5/3/1 over an LP while the LP still works means giving up roughly four to nine times the rate of progress. That’s not a subtle trade-off.

The catch: linear progression has an expiry date. Nobody adds 7.5 kg to their squat every week for a year. Those are the programs’ starting rules — both shrink the jumps as you go, and for most people the whole linear phase lasts a few months. When you start missing reps, deloading, and missing them again, the LP is done. That’s the moment 5/3/1 was designed for.

Which one, then

5/3/1 also costs more effort to run: 4 main lifts on 4 days (or a rotation across 3), percentage work off a Training Max, and assistance you pick yourself. An LP is three exercises and one rule. If you’re not stalled yet, that extra complexity buys you nothing.

Making the switch

The Training Max is where people get this wrong. It’s 85–90% of your 1RM, not your 1RM. Take your best recent set, estimate a 1RM from it, take 85–90% of that, and start there.

Wendler’s own instruction is to start too light. If the top set in week 3 (95% of TM) gives you fewer than 3 reps, the TM is too high — drop it by 10%.

→ Calculate your Training Max · How 5/3/1 works in detail

Bottom Line

StrongLifts 5×5 and Starting Strength brought a generation to the barbell. They deserve respect for that. But the core problems are clear: volume asymmetry, missing pulling movements, no accessory work.

If you’re currently running one of these programs: you don’t have to switch immediately. But if you’re stalling or notice your upper body isn’t keeping up — now you know why. And the alternatives are just as simple, just better designed.

Sources

• Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy. Sports Medicine, 46(11):1689-1697.
• Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass. J Sports Sciences, 35(11):1073-1082.
• Gentil P, Fisher J, Steele J (2017). A Review of the Acute Effects and Long-Term Adaptations of Single- and Multi-Joint Exercises during Resistance Training. Sports Med, 47(5):843-855.