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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Planet fitness not gonna have the right equipment. Golds gym in ballston is a good one. Also most ymca have squat racks / barbells. The big 4 movements are amazing for muscle development but getting the form just right is tough and can take some time [/quote]

What are the big 4 movements?[/quote]

Squat, deadlift, overhead press, and barbell row.[/quote]

You can do all of these with kettlebells for a while if you’re a beginner. [/quote]

OP asked about Stronglifts.  It is a barbell workout.  Period. Yes, you can do similar movements with kettlebells or dumbbells or large rocks, but you are not doing Stronglifts.  The two biggest reasons why this is the case:

1. Stronglifts starts with an empty 45 pound bar.  You concentrate on learning barbell form with low weight. You can’t learn barbell form with kettlebells. 
2. You add weight every time you repeat a workout with stronglifts.  So 45, 50, 55….  That’s impossible with kettlebells unless you want to invest in dozens of pairs.  And I don’t think they even make kettlebells in 2.5 pound increments.

[/quote]

OP didn’t tell us their gender, age and fitness level. A 45 lb bar is too much for most women starting out, particularly the row. I’m not sure how common it is for gyms to have lightweight bars. But I like the basic movements of 5x5 and you could do them all with kettlebells or dumbells. It’s not a magic formula. [/quote]

A 45 lb barbell might be too much starting out for overhead press for an untrained woman, but certainly not squat or deadlift for the vast majority of people. The point of a linear progression program is to add weight quickly, so you would quickly need more weight even if you started with dumbbells. It's easier to lift the same amount of weight with a barbell vs. a dumbbell, so I would certainly prefer a barbell if one was available! My gym has 15 kg (33 lb) barbells in addition to the standard 20 kg, which was helpful for overhead press when I was starting out, but I don't think I used an empty 15 kg barbell for any other lift except for maybe bench press warm ups.

I started out with a similar linear progression powerlifting program when I was 36. I never had a trainer, and I am still going 4 years later. You can do this OP! I do wish I had gotten tips from a trainer on form at some point, and still might do so if I can find a powerlifting specialist willing to watch my form for just a few sessions, but it was still very doable to learn this from things like YouTube videos.

I don't always increase weight the full amount prescribed by these programs, but beginners should start light and increase weight rapidly for as long as they can hold on. They have a lot of strength gains that can be realized. At this point I usually run a program that increases weight more slowly than a beginner's linear progression (5/3/1) and tend to halve the recommended increase amount (5 lbs lower body/2.5 lbs upper instead of 10 lbs/5 lbs).

Good luck OP! You can do this![/quote]

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