Comparing 5 Strength Philosophies – Part 3!
Welcome to Comparing 5 Strength Philosophies – Part 3 and the conclusion to my articles Series. Part 1 looked at a couple of the 5 strength philosophies, and then in Part 2, we looked at the remaining systems. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far, so next up is a direct head to head comparison of these 5 strength philosophies, nutritional suggestions, and finally supplement guidelines. If you’re ready, let’s get to it!
The Ultimate Head-to-Head Matrix
When you analyze these 5 strength philosophies, it becomes clear that there is no single “best” program—only the correct program for your current goals and recovery ability. For ease of comparison, I chose to list these 5 strength philosophies head-to-head to clearly show training information.
| The Program Comparison Framework | ||||
| Program | Primary Training Focus | Main Driver of Progress | Primary Muscle Group Emphasis | Biggest Technical Risk |
| Stronglifts 5×5 | High Volume | Linear Weight Increments | Quads, Glutes, Spinal Erectors | Lower back rounddue to squat fatigue |
| Starting Strength | High Intensity | Linear Weight Increments | Posterior Chain (Glutes,Hips, Hamstrings) | Over-extension orshifting weight to toes |
| Pendlay 5×5 | Concentric Speed | Undulating Weekly Load | Upper Back, Lats,Hips, Hamstrings | Torso rising out ofstrict parallel position |
| Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 | Volume + Densityvia AMRAP | Submaximal Repetition PRs | Highly BalancedTemplate Dependent | Ego-driven overestimationof Training Max |
| Westside Barbell | Velocity + Max Effort | Specialty Lift Rotation | Triceps, Hamstrings, GlutesUpper Back | Structural injury duringsolo 1RM testing |
Direct Match-ups: Choosing Your Philosophy
Absolute Beginners: Stronglifts 5×5 or Starting Strength?
- The Volume vs. Fatigue Battle – Stronglifts forces you to complete 25 working reps of squats per session, while Starting Strength caps it at 15 working reps. Early on, Stronglifts builds more rapid muscular endurance. However, Starting Strength preserves your lower back far better as the weights move up to and past body weight.
- The Upper Back – Stronglifts builds thickness through the Barbell Row. Starting Strength completely ignores rowing movements in favor of the Power Clean (a great exercise, btw). If your goal is explosive, athletic “hip snap” for sports, Starting Strength is ideal. If your goal is more powerlifting oriented and a thicker upper back, Stronglifts is your choice.
Bridging the Gap: Pendlay 5×5 or Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1?
- The Timeline of Progression – Pendlay requires you to hit a brand new 5-rep or 3-rep max every single week. On the other hand, Wendler’s 5/3/1 looks at it a little more long term: you’re adding weight just once every four weeks.
- Rep Performance – Pendlay is inherently an explosive, athletic program with roots in Olympic weightlifting concepts. Every rep must be fast. 5/3/1 is a little different. On your final AMRAP sets, you are often brutally pushing heavy weights slowly (because you can’t move the bar any faster) through long, high-tension sets.
Advanced Strength: Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 vs. Westside Barbell
- Submaximal Safety vs. Maximal Strain – The Wendler approach looks to protect your nervous system by ensuring you almost never lift more than 85-90% of your 1RM. On the other hand, Westside forces you to lift 100% to as much as 105% of your max capability on your Max Effort days every single week.
- Equipment and Environment – Wendler’s 5/3/1 can be executed in a home garage or basement gym or in a commercial gym. All you really need is a standard barbell and a power rack (which is perfectly fine – I trained that way for decades). Westside requires an entire collection of specialty bars, heavy chains, calibrated bands, and an experienced crew of spotters to ensure you don’t fail under a heavy weight and splat yourself to the bench or the floor.
The Lifter Lifecycle Pipeline
To maximize your strength potential over your entire lifting journey, you should look at these programs not as permanent programs, but as a sequential approach that you could move through as you become more and more advanced over a multi-year training career.
| Training Phase | Ideal Timeline | Recommended Program | Primary Focus |
| Phase 1 | 0 – 6 Months | Starting Strength or Stronglifts | Potential Rapid Progress |
| Phase 2 | 6 – 12 Months | Pendlay 5×5 | Undulating Recovery |
| Phase 3 | 1 – 3 Years | Wendler’s 5/3/1 | Submax “Wave Cycles” |
| Phase 4 | 3+ Years (Advanced) | Westside Conjugate | Velocity & Varied Effort |
- The Beginner’s Launching Point (Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5×5): Once you’ve spent a few weeks learning the exercises, and learning proper form as well as execution, start here to milk your immediate “newbie gains”. The 3×5 or 5×5 structure gets you strong fast without burying you in junk volume. If you prefer low-fatigue technical precision (which a beginner should learn) and explosive lifting, choose Starting Strength. If you prefer higher-volume and building upper-back thickness through heavy rowing, choose Stronglifts 5×5. Both will promote good gains in your first 6 months.
- The Jump to Intermediate (Pendlay 5×5): The moment you hit a wall and can no longer recover properly from session-to-session, move to Pendlay 5×5. This introduces your body to heavy/light/medium undulating training and explosive pull mechanics.
- The Submax Approach (Wendler’s 5/3/1): Once weekly progress stalls, move to 5/3/1. This is where you could potentially spend 1 to 3 years building volume, setting rep PRs, and building dense muscle mass without injuring your joints.
- The Elite Specialization (Westside Barbell): When you are highly advanced, possess exceptional technical mastery, and need to smash through stubborn, lifelong plateaus, adopt the Westside approach to train absolute speed and maximum effort simultaneously.
- This is a long-term blueprint that is yours to follow as desired. I have to be honest and say that I wish I had something like this when I started. I literally wasted years with little guidance. You’re far better off following a plan instead of mindlessly jumping to the latest “fad” program. This approach above is flexible, you could spend less time or more time with any one of the 5 Strength Philosophies.
Nutritional Suggestions
It Begins With Protein!
Every lifter, hardcore or weekend warrior, should be consuming at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight – minimum! I advise spreading your intake out over 5-6 meals, snacks and shakes. This is a simple yet classic approach. It’s convenient, fairly easy and allows you to work your protein intake into your normal meal schedule. Plus, this approach can be adjusted based on your lifestyle demands.
From there, and this is important, I advise a post-workout shake when you’re done training. With workouts like these, you will need it!
As a side rant, pay no attention to those “experts” and “coaches” who claim you don’t need to consume protein until hours after your workout. When you’re done lifting, you’re most likely drained and hungry. I know I am. Your muscles have been damaged, and your glycogen levels have been drained. You need to start recovering! There’s absolutely no good reason to wait – so have that shake!
Your Protein Intake at Night
Roughly 30 minutes before bed, I recommend consuming a protein source that contains slow digesting sources. This can be a protein shake, or a serving of low-fat cottage cheese, or a serving of Greek yogurt. By following this simple tip, you stay in a state of positive protein balance at bedtime, which is when your body will eventually move into a state of negative protein balance. You don’t want that!
What About Carbs?
Let me make this clear – don’t be afraid of carbohydrates! Of course you need to keep your intake clean and under control, but you should be eating a little more around your workout days. I advise focusing on clean complex carbohydrates with some simple carbs in the hours around your workouts only. By this I mean begin ingesting extra carbs the night before all the way to your post-workout shake and eventual meal. The night before, think an extra 20-30 grams. On your workout day, think 50% of that day’s total carbs.
Don’t Forget Healthy Fats
Healthy fats such as salmon and other fatty fish, seeds, nuts, seeds, and olive oil should work out to be about 20% of your diet. Be sure you avoid saturated fats and trans fats (fried foods, fatty red meat, full fat dairy).
Supplement Guidelines
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NutraBio Base
Here’s a pre-workout from the new “Core” category – a value-minded, streamlined formula that gets the job done without breaking the bank.
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Don’t look past a multi! VITASTACK makes sure you’re covering all your basic nutritional needs by featuring 7 complete nutrient complexes – you can call it natural health insurance!
Here’s a high quality EAA powder that contains all 9 essential amino acids (your body can’t make these). EAA Pure works well as an intra-workout, or you can add it to your Pre.
This is a product I would suggest for any of the 5 programs in this Series. Taken pre-workout, it helps you quickly load fast-digesting carbs for optimal ATP energy when you train – and there are no insulin spikes. Believe me, it will make a difference in your workout!
Summary
Well we have reached the end of Comparing 5 Strength Philosophies – 3-Part Series! No doubt there’s a lot of information here. So take your time, digest it all, and then decide if there’s an approach in here that fits your goals. While you’re at it, don’t forget to stop by illpumpyouup.com and stock up!