Friday, June 20 — 🏋️ StrongLifts 5×5 · Workout A, Session 9
StrongLifts 5×5 Workout A, Session 9 — three new personal bests: Squat 90 lb, Bench Press 70 lb, Barbell Row 90 lb (each 5 lb heavier than Session 8). Complete session guide includes a quick-reference lift table, Kaleigh Cohen dynamic warm-up, lift-by-lift warm-up ramps and form cues with Alan Thrall video demos for all three movements, a rest-interval decision table, a beginner/intermediate/advanced scaling chart, MadFit full-body cool-down, and a Nicole Kowalski DPT progressive overload explainer. Next session: Saturday 2.5-mile easy run (Hal Higdon Week 5 Day 3).
Three new personal bests land today: 90 lb squat, 70 lb bench press, 90 lb barbell row — each up 5 lb from Session 8. 1 Workout A pairs squats with the two upper-body horizontal movers, giving your lower back a relative break compared to Workout B's deadlift. Total bar-to-ground time: about 45–50 minutes.
Today's session at a glance
| Lift | Sets × Reps | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 5 × 5 | 90 lb |
| Bench Press | 5 × 5 | 70 lb |
| Barbell Row | 5 × 5 | 90 lb |
Rest 90 seconds between sets if the previous set felt smooth. Push to 3 minutes — and up to 5 minutes — any time a set was a genuine grind. 1
Warm-up (5 min)
Open every session with a dynamic warm-up before loading a single plate. Kaleigh Cohen's 5-minute sequence works through the hips, shoulders, and thoracic spine — all three get loaded heavily in Workout A.
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Barbell warm-up sets: once you're moving, run two sets of 5 reps with an empty bar (45 lb) at the start of each lift. No rest between warm-up sets — keep moving until you reach your ramp-up weight. 1
Squat — 5 × 5 @ 90 lb
Squats open every StrongLifts session because they demand the most from your nervous system. Your legs are freshest right now, and the squat rewards that. 1
Warm-up ramp
| Set | Weight | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 2 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 3 | 65 lb | 5 |
| Work sets (×5) | 90 lb | 5 |
Form cues
- Low-bar position: rest the bar across the rear deltoids, below the spine of the scapula — not on the traps. The lower shelf shifts the center of mass back and brings your hips into the movement.
- Hip hinge first, then knees: push the hips back before bending the knees. This keeps the shins close to vertical and loads the posterior chain.
- Knees track the pinky toe: shove your knees outward, in line with your outer toes, through the entire descent and ascent.
- Break parallel: the hip crease must drop below the top of the kneecap. Any higher and you're leaving range of motion — and posterior chain strength — on the table.
- Drive through the floor: on the way up, think "push the floor away." Squeeze the glutes hard at lockout.
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Bench press — 5 × 5 @ 70 lb
At 70 lb, the bench press is no longer a bar-management drill — it's a loaded press. Shoulder-path discipline and leg drive start to matter at this weight. 1
Warm-up ramp
| Set | Weight | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 2 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 3 | 55 lb | 5 |
| Work sets (×5) | 70 lb | 5 |
Form cues
- Grip just outside shoulder-width: place the bar in the heel of the palm — not the fingertips. Keep wrists neutral and stacked over the elbows throughout the press.
- Arch and leg drive before unracking: set your upper-back arch and drive your feet into the floor before you touch the bar. This full-body tension stays locked in for the entire set.
- Bar path: mid-chest to lockout over the lower pec line: touch the bar at the nipple line (roughly), press it back and slightly toward the face — not straight up — so it ends stacked over the lower pecs at lockout.
- Elbows at roughly 45–75°: not flared wide (shoulder impingement risk), not pinned to your sides (power loss). A moderate angle protects the joint while keeping force on the pecs.
- Pause at the bottom if you stall: a brief 1-second pause at the chest eliminates stretch-reflex bounce and forces your chest to generate the press from a dead stop. Useful any time a set feels shaky.
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Barbell row — 5 × 5 @ 90 lb
The barbell row closes Workout A and brings the total to 15 sets on the session. Your upper back, lats, and biceps are all on call here. StrongLifts programs the Pendlay-style row — bar returns to the floor between every rep, no momentum carry-over. 1
Warm-up ramp
| Set | Weight | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 2 | 45 lb (empty bar) | 5 |
| 3 | 65 lb | 5 |
| Work sets (×5) | 90 lb | 5 |
Form cues
- Hip-width stance, hip hinge to a nearly horizontal torso: your back angle should be roughly 45° or lower. A more upright torso turns this into a shrug, not a row.
- Overhand grip, hands just outside the knees: pull from a position where the bar hangs directly over mid-foot at the start of each rep.
- Bar returns to the floor between reps: set it down fully, reset your brace, then pull again. This is the Pendlay distinction — it eliminates the sloppy bouncing-row pattern that hides form breakdown.
- Drive elbows toward the ceiling, not behind you: think of pulling the elbows up and back rather than biceps-curling the bar. This engages the upper back rather than the arms.
- No shrugging: shoulders stay packed down throughout. If the bar isn't reaching your sternum without a shrug, the weight is too heavy.
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Rest intervals
| Set difficulty | Rest |
|---|---|
| Easy — all 5 reps, no grind | 90 seconds |
| Moderate — last 1–2 reps were hard | 3 minutes |
| Hard — any rep was a true grind | 5 minutes |
The 90-second default keeps the session under an hour. Use the longer windows any time technique starts to slip on the later sets. 1
3-level scaling
| Level | Squat | Bench press | Barbell row | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner (weeks 1–4) | 45–70 lb | 45–55 lb | 45–70 lb | Follow program as written; add 5 lb every session; miss any rep → repeat the same weight next time |
| Intermediate (weeks 5–12, ~this session) | 70–120 lb | 55–85 lb | 70–120 lb | Continue linear progression; use 2.5 lb micro-plates when bench or row stall; rest 3–5 min between hard sets |
| Advanced (post-linear, ~3–6 months in) | 120 lb+ | 85 lb+ | 120 lb+ | Transition to Madcow 5×5 weekly periodization when adding weight every session is no longer possible; deload 10% and rebuild after 3 consecutive misses on the same weight |
Progression rule: complete all 25 reps on all three lifts today → add 5 lb to each on the next Workout A (Session 11). If one lift falls short, repeat that weight on the next occurrence while the others continue to climb — each lift progresses on its own track. 1
Cool-down (7 min)
After 15 sets across squats, bench, and rows, your hips, hamstrings, chest, and upper back all need attention. MadFit's 7-minute stretch hits every muscle group you just worked.
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Why adding 5 lb every session keeps working
Each time you load the bar 5 lb heavier, you're asking your nervous system to recruit more motor units — that's the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) at work. The weight increments feel small, but across a full beginner cycle they compound fast: a 5 lb-per-session squat progression adds 130 lb in 26 sessions.
Nicole Kowalski, DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy), breaks down the six levers of progressive overload that most people never use beyond just adding weight — including tempo, range of motion, and training density. Worth 12 minutes before the next plateau hits. 2
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Next session: Saturday, June 21 — Hal Higdon Novice 5K, Week 5 Day 3
Saturday's session is a 2.5-mile easy run — the longest Saturday distance yet in Week 5. Keep the pace conversational (Talk Test: you should be able to speak in full sentences throughout). This completes the Week 5 run schedule.
Cover photo by Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels
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