What equipment should i use for stronglifts 5x5

What equipment should i use for Stronglifts 5x5 ?

The basic things to use for Stronglifts 5x5 are a gym membership, barbell, lifting shoes and a belt. I personally feel like the wrist wraps are optional. However you do not need any equipment to start apart from a gym membership to start.

I've discussed this topic on my blog in quite some detail before, so please see the other posts at bthe end of this article for more detail on the different options available. This will be short and sweet, so that you can get your bearings.

Free weight area

To do Stronglifts 5x5 you need free weights. These can be either at home or at a gym. Most likely you will not have the space or the resources needed to buy / build your own eqipment and place it somewhere at home. The most likely scenario will therefore be that you will go to a gym. You can see here how you can pick the right gym for your needs.

Barbell

Whether you do Stronglifts 5x5 at home or at the gym you will need a barbell to perform the necessary movements. Dumbbells are no supplement to do the movements. What kind of barbell you use is up to you, but it should live up to the standard of 20kg weight and should be sleeved.

Lifting shoes

These you do not directly need. When you progress to squatting your own bodyweight on stronglifts I would recommend to switch from a normal pair of runners to a pair of lifting shoes. This will ensure that you can develop force from the ground better as lifting shoes are designed for that purpose. Possible models are the adidas powerlift 2.0 or adipower shoe.

Belt

Same thing as for shoes I would also recommend for a weightlifting belt. Once you start lifting more than your own bodyweight progress to using a weighlifting belt. The Rogue Ohio belt and the Inzer Lever belt are both good options for that purpose. The Rogue Ohio belt is a all around weightlifting belt, while the Inzer Lever belt is more designed to the needs of powerlifting in my opinion.

Wraps

Wrist wraps are an option, but in my opinion not necessary for beginners. They can be useful once you start to do 100kg+ for repetitions on the bench press or 60kg+ for repetitions on the overhead press. Before that you can use them, but it will not make that much of a difference based on my experience.

Conclusion

You do not need any equipment to get going. Once you have progressed to move your own odyweight comfotably around I personally think it is time to gear up with shoes and a belt. Up from then you are sorted for many years of happy lifting. If you want to know more about Stronglifts itself check out my review of the 5x5 program.