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Comment by jpdbaugh | Hacker News Reader

Couldn't agree more with this. I have been having tremendous results from doing the Bill Star 5x5 program (bench, squat, dead lift, incline, barbell rows) in a shot amount of time.

I would like to incorporate some cardio into to this for heart health though. I was thinking of running on Tuesdays and Thursdays in between my lifting days. Do you think this is a good idea?

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No. There's no reason to introduce long slow distance running (granted, you didn't specify the type of running, but this is usually what people mean) into your training. It will interfere with your recovery from lifting, and really won't do a lot for your overall health.

Don't you feel your heart pounding after a heavy set of five squats? I'd say that's adequate for "heart health."

If you're worried about staying "fit," you might consider adding in one conditioning day of pushing a sled or running sprints. 5x5 is a lot of volume, though, so I'd be careful with adding in anything extra.

So, it would be better to play a sport of some sort on the weekend? Like some soccer or roller hockey? I am not a huge fan of running.

I have heard from atleast 2 sports orthos that squatting is bad for you knees. I guess it shouldn't matter when you are doing it the right way with adequate recovery period but nevertheless its easy to screw up your joints . One even said that squatting is a very unnatural moment for human body and is best to avoid it .

One even said that squatting is a very unnatural moment for human body and is best to avoid it

Then babies need to fire their personal trainers:

http://personaltrainerbath.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/BA...

http://www.malvernstrength.com/.a/6a00e553cfae8a88340120a4cb...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_X0yQkonFwHQ/SeINrYNoy9I/AAAAAAAAAU...

I think you're getting into the zone of training philosophy at this point (ie: no right answer, YMMV etc). Absolutely squats by definition are not bad for you, but it's very easy to hurt your knees (and your back) doing them if you aren't careful.

For what type of squats, and what does bad for your knees mean? Risk of acute injury? Risk of longterm damage? Are we talking half squats or full squats? Sets of 6 reps with heavy weight, or sets of 100 reps with light weight? With feet flat on the floor, or on an incline (with heels slightly higher than feet)? Does the damage occur at any weight, or at some threshold? What about jumpies?

Saying squats are bad for your knees doesn't really mean anything, and I doubt your orthos would actually know offhand. If you have a question, go look up the relevant studies from the academic literature, and then ask if you don't understand something.

You should read Starting Strength, by Rippetoe and Kilgore. It goes into a lot of detail on correct form in performing barbell squats, and it also goes into detail about what causes knee injuries. Short version: a full deep squat, with the top of the thigh parallel to the floor, is fine. Partial and incorrect squats are bad.

I'm not going to take the bait on the "squatting is bad for your knees" claim. There's plenty of literature and information out there that debunks this claim; maybe someone else wants to explain. . .

And sure, if you want to play sports on the weekend that's great. See how you feel. If it starts to affect your weight training, then you will have to evaluate it. If you don't care how fast you will make progress in your lifts, and you'd like to play some sports, there's obviously nothing wrong with that. Just understand that a program like Bill Starr's 5x5 is really a program for intermediate lifters, perhaps not intended for people who want to do other activities as well.

Whether or not it's a good idea to incorporate some kind of cardio depends on what you want to achieve - fat loss? strength gains? larger muscles? better performance on the soccer field? aesthetic improvement? all round fitness?

Being fit means different things to different people. Personally if I can't run 10k in under 50 minutes I don't think I'm fit enough (but that's not my only threshold for fitness), but other people will have their own idea of what they consider to be fit.

What I would really like to find is some pick up soccer or roller hockey on the weekends then. I really don't particularly feel like I need to run and I would rather play a sport to condition.

I did a lot of 5x5 stuff back in high school when I played football so I have some experience. That was 4 years ago though and I must say that I was real sore the first week of this program.

I personally think it would interfere with your recovery and make you prone to injuries . Just follow the program, Dont overdo it .

I don't think there is anything wrong with some light jogging. Try not to push yourself too hard, but ease into things.

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