Get Stronger
StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice
The by-name novice barbell program — three sessions a week, squat every session, alternating Workout A (Squat/Bench/Row) and Workout B (Squat/OHP/Deadlift). Flat 5×5 on the main lifts, add 2.5 kg every session. 12 weeks of pure linear progression for true beginners.
- Category
- Get Stronger
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Frequency
- 3 days/week
- Est. session
- 55–75 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
StrongLifts 5×5 is the most-searched novice barbell program by name, and this is its canonical implementation: two alternating full-body workouts run three times a week (A/B/A, then B/A/B), squat trained every single session, five barbell compounds rotated across the two days. Every main lift runs a flat 5×5 — five work sets of five reps at the SAME load — except deadlift, which is a single heavy set of five because its fatigue cost caps weekly volume.
Built for true beginners (under ~12 months of consistent barbell training) whose goal is foundational strength. Equipment: barbell, rack, bench, plates (commercial or home gym; microplates strongly recommended for press progression). It differs from the Novice Linear Progression program on this shelf by its 5×5 work-set volume (vs 3×5) and its squat-every-session A/B structure. Skip it if you have trained consistently for over a year and the squat has plateaued — graduate to Madcow 5×5 or 5/3/1 BBB.
Linear progression is the whole program: clear all prescribed reps and add 2.5 kg the next time that lift is trained (deadlift jumps larger early, ~15 kg, tapering as load climbs). After three straight failures at a load on any lift, deload that lift 10% and re-climb. Per the Beginner Programming and Progressive Overload frameworks, novices add load session-to-session via neural adaptation and motor learning long before periodized volume is required; microloading presses keeps them progressing once standard jumps stall. Backed by Mehdi Hadim's StrongLifts protocol and the Rippetoe-lineage novice literature.
Get Stronger · 12 weeks · 3 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 3 days/week
- Per session
- 55–75 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- The by-name novice barbell program — three sessions a week, squat every session, alternating Workout A (Squat/Bench/Row) and Workout B (Squat/OHP/Deadlift).
- 02The commitment
- A focused two-to-three days a week
- 03The arc
- 12 weeks, one continuous block
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
12 weeks across 1 phase — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–1260Intensity
Phase 1 · Standard
Linear Progression
Same protocol every week — flat 5×5 on the main lifts, single heavy deadlift set, squat every session. Add 2.5 kg whenever you clear all reps; deload a lift 10% after three straight failures.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
Why your coach builds it this way
StrongLifts 5×5 is the most-searched novice barbell program by name, and this is its canonical implementation: two alternating full-body workouts run three times a week (A/B/A, then B/A/B), squat trained every single session, five barbell compounds rotated across the two days. Every main lift runs a flat 5×5 — five work sets of five reps at the SAME load — except deadlift, which is a single heavy set of five because its fatigue cost caps weekly volume.
Built for true beginners (under ~12 months of consistent barbell training) whose goal is foundational strength. Equipment: barbell, rack, bench, plates (commercial or home gym; microplates strongly recommended for press progression). It differs from the Novice Linear Progression program on this shelf by its 5×5 work-set volume (vs 3×5) and its squat-every-session A/B structure. Skip it if you have trained consistently for over a year and the squat has plateaued — graduate to Madcow 5×5 or 5/3/1 BBB.
Linear progression is the whole program: clear all prescribed reps and add 2.5 kg the next time that lift is trained (deadlift jumps larger early, ~15 kg, tapering as load climbs). After three straight failures at a load on any lift, deload that lift 10% and re-climb. Per the Beginner Programming and Progressive Overload frameworks, novices add load session-to-session via neural adaptation and motor learning long before periodized volume is required; microloading presses keeps them progressing once standard jumps stall. Backed by Mehdi Hadim's StrongLifts protocol and the Rippetoe-lineage novice literature.
The principles behind it
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice program?
StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice runs 12 weeks at 3 days a week. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice for?
The by-name novice barbell program — three sessions a week, squat every session, alternating Workout A (Squat/Bench/Row) and Workout B (Squat/OHP/Deadlift). It sits in the Get Stronger category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice progress over the weeks?
It runs as a single linear Progression block. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust StrongLifts 5×5 — 3-Day Novice to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight