My New Exercise Program: StrongLifts 5x5

For the next two months I have committed to the StrongLifts 5x5 program. I think it provides a good foundation to build some strength. I am a little worried that it is too much, especially too many squats, but on this program you're squatting three times a week. But regardless, I think it is fine to try this out for the next two months. If I feel it's too much or if I think I am overtraining, I will scale it back a little.

The program has two workouts, Workout A and Workout B, that you do three times a week, e.g. Monday-Wednesday-Friday.  The first week you do A/B/A, the second week B/A/B, third week A/B/A and so on...

Workout A:
Squat 5x5 (5 sets of 5 reps)
Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5

Workout B:
Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Deadlift 1x5 (1 set of 5 reps)

Lots of squatting in other words. In addition to this I am adding pull-ups and chin-ups on Workout B days.

So at the beginning of this program, here are the numbers:

Squat 5x5:  82.5 kg
Bench Press 5x5:  60 kg
Barbell Row 5x5:  32.5 kg
Overhead Press 5x5:  32.5 kg
Deadlift 1x5:  130 kg
Pull-ups: 3 sets of 9 repetitions

Some notes:
I should note that I just started the barbell row exercise and could probably do more weight. I seem to have some shoulder injury that makes overhead press pretty painful. So I might need to lower the weight or skip this exercise until I get better. I've been doing some squats and deadlifts recently so I have a good foundation there. My deadlift PR is 150 kg single rep.

Alexander Faleev’s Routine

There is another 5x5 program I read about that sounds interesting too. Tim Ferriss wrote about Alexander Faleev’s system that some Russian powerlifters are following.  On this program you deadlift heavy once  week and squat and bench heavy and light twice a week.  And the key to the program is doing less! This program looks pretty good as it allows for more recovery. I am thinking about moving to this program after two or more months on the StrongLifts 5x5.  The reasoning: I will have progressed to lifting heavier weights and need more recovery time in-between sessions.

Now why two months on StrongLifts 5x5? Well, that's May and June. July is vacation time with limited access to the gym, so at the end of June I will assess my progress and decide on whether to continue with StrongLifts 5x5 in August or switch to a program that is less intense. In July where I have limited access to the gym, I will try to pop in to the gym a few times for some very few and very heavy lifts. I will also try to do some travel exercise routine similar to what Steve at Nerdfitness suggests.