Can You Gain 20 Pounds of Muscle With 5x5 StrongLifts?

StrongLifts is a workout program that focuses on basic barbell exercises. It comprises two workouts -- workout A and workout B -- that you perform alternately, training three times per week. Workout A involves five sets of five repetitions on barbell squats, bench presses and rows, while workout B is five sets of five squats and overhead presses and one set of five on deadlifts. With the right approach to training, a structured diet and patience, you can gain 20 pounds of muscle and possibly even more following StrongLifts.

  1. How Muscles Grow

    • Your muscles grow when they're exposed to a stimulus and then given adequate time to recover. When you work your muscles hard, they become damaged and break down, then rebuild bigger and stronger after you rest. This change is relatively slow, however, notes the IDEA Health and Fitness Association and can take months to become apparent.

    Progressive Overload

    • For muscle growth to occur, you need to be constantly pushing for progressive overload, which means increasing the weights you lift, your number of sets or reps, your total training volume or decreasing rest times. In 5x5 StrongLifts, the sets and reps don't change from workout to workout, but in each workout, you try to lift 5 pounds more on each exercise. This means you're always challenging your muscle fibers and breaking them down, leading to muscle growth.

    Factors Influencing Muscle Growth

    • Weight training and progressive overload and only part of the puzzle. The 5x5 StrongLifts workout is designed as a muscle- and strength-building routine, but it will only lead to muscle gain if you always push for improvements in the gym, increase your caloric intake so you're eating enough to build muscle and resting when you're not in the gym. According to nutritionist Leigh Peele, a man new to weight training can expect to gain around 1.5 pounds of muscle per month, while intermediate and advanced lifters may only gain 0.25 to 0.5 pound of muscle a month. For women, these figures drop to 0.75 to 1 pound for new lifters and 0.1 to 0.4 for intermediate- and advanced-level trainers.

    Considerations

    • Gaining 20 pounds of muscle with StrongLifts is certainly possible, provided you put the work in. It may take you three to four months as a beginner or the better part of a year if you're more advanced. StrongLifts is generally considered more of a beginner program, as it only includes a few basic lifts, so at some point, you may wish to choose a more advanced bodybuilding-style workout.