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[Noema]

I've never really used Starting Strength. Not sure how it would defer what I usually do. I tend to try and lift weights that let me do 6-8 reps. Once I can do 3 sets of 10 reps, I up the weight by 5-10 lbs. So far I'm increasing weights after 3 lift days of the same weight.

You are free to do whichever program you want, of course, but there's a reason why so many of us recommend Starting Strength: because it works better than any other program for novices. It's basically fool proof and algorithm-like in its simplicity and efficiency.

There's really no better way to get stronger in a short period of time.

 

[BREAKING_BADger]

Guys what are your thoughts on ZMA, I heard it's good for a deeper sleep which is the main reason why I am considering buying it. Also has anybody who has used this felt a difference in terms of strength and performance?

 

[otapnam]

Starting my second cycle of 5/3/1 this Wednesday.

Numbers so far:

OVH: 110x5
Squat: 240X8
Bench: 190X7
DL: 215X2

About a year and a half ago I was "squating" 400lbs and "benching" 300lbs. My ROM was horrible and ultimately lead to no progress whatsoever. What I enjoy about 5/3/1 is the emphasis on not getting a 1RM and the focus on form. I'm already seeing size increases on every part of my body and I'm excited to see what I'm going to look like in two months.

My only problem right now seems to be pullups. I've tried them on Deadlift days and I just don't have the energy after BBB DLs. On Squat days I do leg curls to rehab my hamstring. On Bench I normally do BB Rows, and on OVH I do dips. Where should I place pullups to see rep gains?

not sure if i can answer your Q's about pullups, but your deadlift is pretty low for being able to 110 OVH and 190 BENCH.

I maxed out at 335x1 deadlift last year but could only probably do 185x7 on bench (not really focused on benching much)

 

[A More Normal Bird]

Other guys must feel the same because she gets something goofy said to her almost every time.

"Oh you should wear gloves"
"Oh you should use the roll foam"
"Oh you should stand on a plate (wtf?)"

One guy even asked her a math problem, because she was wearing her glasses and he "assumed she was smart"

Late reply, but this can aid with ankle dorsiflexion in the squat (mostly high bar and front), similar to the raised heel in weightlifting shoes. However, the odds that people were telling her this purely out of concern for her form are for you to decide...


Mully: I've had success in the past using a grease the groove style system for pullups. Do low reps continually throughout the day (on days when you're not training your back in any serious way), taking off only 2 or so days a week. This will kind of 'cheat' you into increasing your pullup numbers so that after a few weeks you should be able to pump out enough reps during your regular training to proceed on with. As long as you're mindful of volume there shouldn't be any real downsides, just be aware that it trains the sort of strength that can go away quite quickly, so you have to use it as a stepping stone, so to speak.

 

[SeanR1221]

Bird, I meant literally standing on a plate, not the heels.

Mully: that's what I'm loving about the Coan program. ROM feels awesome on the lower weights.

 

[FallingEdge]

Coan program?

 

[A More Normal Bird]

Bird, I meant literally standing on a plate, not the heels.

Oh, well that's just common sense. It makes you taller. Did you know that most of the strongest people in the world are taller than average by varying degrees?

 

[FlutterPuffs]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll get a Fitbit One.

 

[SeanR1221]

Coan program?

It's a 4 day a week program.

Days 1 and 3 are here

http://www.joeskopec.com/edcoanbench.html

And days 2 and 4 (deadlift and squats) here

http://www.joeskopec.com/coancalc.html

So it looks like this.

Day 1
Bench
Close grip bench
Incline bench
Pec deck
Two tricep exercises

Day 2
Deadlifts
Rows
Shrugs
DB rows

Day 3
Light bench
OHP
Lat raises
Front raises
2 bicep exercises

Day 4
Squat
Good mornings
Leg curl
Leg press
Decline sit-ups.

They accessory stuff starts off high rep low weight and over the 14 weeks increases in weight and lowers in reps

 

[Mully]

not sure if i can answer your Q's about pullups, but your deadlift is pretty low for being able to 110 OVH and 190 BENCH.

I maxed out at 335x1 deadlift last year but could only probably do 185x7 on bench (not really focused on benching much)

Been doing bench, squats, and military press for years. Started doing DL's in September 2012. Prior to my hamstring tear in November, I was able to do 250 X 4 reps. Gonna take it slow with 5/3/1 deadlifts.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

New goals and challenges for a new year:

Gotta lose 23 lbs and get down to 190 lbs. Goal is to accomplish this by May.

Also need to improve my pushups and situps to meet military standards. Methods: One Hundred Pushups and Two Hundred Situps

Need to run a mile and a half in 13:00. Training: running 2.5 miles round-trip on the road. Cut time and increase endurance from there.

Wish me luck Gaf.

 

[iAmMaximus]

This might be a stupid question but I started playing basketball again and it's been 3 years since I've last played. Since then I've gone from 135lb to 160lb, mostly muscle. Does that have any affect with my shots? Granted, I was extremely rusty but just curious.

 

[DatDude]

Can doing just P90x and eating alot get me looking like this?

 

[balddemon]

This might be a stupid question but I started playing basketball again and it's been 3 years since I've last played. Since then I've gone from 135lb to 160lb, mostly muscle. Does that have any affect with my shots? Granted, I was extremely rusty but just curious.

your shot will probably not be any worse than if you weighed the same with the same muscle and hadn't played for 3 years. just might be easier to shoot.

now when you do a chest or a legs workout, you will either overcompensate by a lot for your busted triceps or you'll be struggling to shotput an 8 lb ball into the hoop. lol.

 

[Mully]

Can doing just P90x and eating alot get me looking like this?

No.

 

[HarryHengst]

Can doing just P90x and eating alot get me looking like this?

No, you need to lift heavy weights for that. Also, dont count on reaching that for the next couple of years, as it will take a lot of bulk/cut cycles to come close to that.

 

[Spiritreaver]

Man, I hate to fill my ego, but it's finally starting to sink in how nice my physique looks. I see all these pictures/videos of competitors/models people post all over (here included) and I look as good, and even better than some. My transformation is nearly complete!

I can just imagine what a professional photographer could do to me.

 

[DatDude]

Man, I hate to fill my ego, but it's finally starting to sink in how nice my physique looks. I see all these pictures/videos of competitors/models people post all over (here included) and I look as good, and even better than some. My transformation is nearly complete!

I can just imagine what a professional photographer could do to me.

What does one do when they reach the results they wished to achieve physically, without wanting to become bigger and bigger.

I imagine the progression of doing more reps, doing more heavier weights, doing various specific workouts to get what you want, to have a specific diet, and so on and so forth was a battle in of it self that always kept you "climbing the mountain" so to speak. But what do you do when you've reached the peak?

How do you keep that physique stable. You aren't trying to become bigger because it'll make you look like some freakishness Hulk. At the same time you don't want to decrease your current physique..so how do you keep yourself motivated? How do you keep yourself entertained essentially doing the same weights and reps for years and years and years until you say fuck it i don't care how i look anymore...'

I imagine the motivation must wane like hell.

 

[snoopen]

Strained my wrists on Sunday on db or ohp press.. Must have pushed a little too hard. Very painful to type and lift even light items like groceries.

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

Hi guys, the gym I'm looking at has a fitness assessment thing and they offer a program from it based on my performance. My question is should i do it or should i just follow the OPs advice on beginning routines? This will be the first time since i was 16 to do any sort of regular physical activity. I've recently stated skateboarding to work and home for roughly 30 minutes a day in total. I'm now 23 and my body type is skinny.

 

[sphinx]

No, you need to lift heavy weights for that. Also, dont count on reaching that for the next couple of years, as it will take a lot of bulk/cut cycles to come close to that.

is it impossible to attain that kind of body without going through those cycles?

 

[despire]

Hi guys, the gym I'm looking at has a fitness assessment thing and they offer a program from it based on my performance. My question is should i do it or should i just follow the OPs advice on beginning routines? This will be the first time since i was 16 to do any sort of regular physical activity. I've recently stated skateboarding to work and home for roughly 30 minutes a day in total. I'm now 23 and my body type is skinny.

The OP program is most likely vastly superior to any program you will get from any commercial gym. Most likely they will just give you the typical 4-day machine split regardless of the test results and that will get you nowhere..

 

[DrFurbs]

Man, I hate to fill my ego, but it's finally starting to sink in how nice my physique looks. I see all these pictures/videos of competitors/models people post all over (here included) and I look as good, and even better than some. My transformation is nearly complete!

I can just imagine what a professional photographer could do to me.

pictures please?

 

[Servbot24]

My transformation is nearly complete!

Before and after pics?

 

[snoopen]

is it impossible to attain that kind of body without going through those cycles?

yes, that kind of definition and solidness/thickness comes from many years of training.

 

[HarryHengst]

is it impossible to attain that kind of body without going through those cycles?

You need to eat above maintenance to gain any significant amount of muscles, but because you eat so much you also gain fat. To get rid of that you need to cut.

Or you can take steroids and gain muscles while sitting on your ass playing World of Warcraft. :lol

 

[SeanR1221]

Can doing just P90x and eating alot get me looking like this?

Unless he's a genetic freak, that type of body takes a lot of training, including bulking and cutting. P90x and eating more wont do it

Edit- horribly beaten.

Edit edit- google turned this up about him

When Joe Manganiello landed the role of Alcide Herveaux, he was a big 240 pound guy with good overall sized muscles. Joe said before training for the werewolf role, he lifted heavy to get bigger and stronger. He did a lot of heavy bench presses and squats. However, at 18% body fat, Joe knew he needed to get more cut and define for his new role. After reading the books True Blood was based on, Joe knew to be the bad ass werewolf he thought his character should portray, he needed to take his training to the next level.

Joe says because he was so big he was constantly mistaken for a professional football player. But he decided he needed to drop his fat levels down and get more cut and define. Manganiello was a big, muscular guy who was already pretty strong and athletic. But his goal was to “carve and sculpt” the clay that he already had. Basically, he wanted more of the “Hollywood look” which is a tighter, more ripped look.

So there you have it. Bulk and cut. Plus having a professional trainer and someone cooking all your meals doesn't hurt.

 

[twofold]

What does one do when they reach the results they wished to achieve physically, without wanting to become bigger and bigger.

I imagine the progression of doing more reps, doing more heavier weights, doing various specific workouts to get what you want, to have a specific diet, and so on and so forth was a battle in of it self that always kept you "climbing the mountain" so to speak. But what do you do when you've reached the peak?

How do you keep that physique stable. You aren't trying to become bigger because it'll make you look like some freakishness Hulk. At the same time you don't want to decrease your current physique..so how do you keep yourself motivated? How do you keep yourself entertained essentially doing the same weights and reps for years and years and years until you say fuck it i don't care how i look anymore...'

I imagine the motivation must wane like hell.

Martin Berkhan wrote an article related to this topic that you might find interesting.

http://www.leangains.com/2010/03/secret-benefit-of-being-lean.html

 

[despire]

I need some opinions. So far I've been cutting for 11 and a half weeks. At first everything went pretty well and I didn't have any strength loss for 6 or 7 weeks. After that things have been going more or less downhill in that I've had strength loss in most of my exercises. This is super frustrating of course but one of the problems is also that I don't know how much strength loss is to be expected during a cut and when I should start to be worried about it?

Situation atm (in kilos):
Deadlift 142,5 x 5 -> 140 x 1
Bench 73 x 4 -> 71 x 4
Press 50 x 5 -> 49 x 5
Squat 95 x 8 -> 107,5 x 8


As you can see the squat has been going up but I have squatted 110kg x 6 before I had to take some time off from it last in September. So I don't know what to think about it. Press is still pretty ok, Bench not so much and I'm pretty pissed off about deadlift

Should I be worried?

 

[Noema]

Can doing just P90x and eating alot get me looking like this?

No.

 

[SeanR1221]

Time to get a pumice stone

 

[FallingEdge]

It's a 4 day a week program.

Gotcha. Seems interesting. I will read about that later today.

Unless he's a genetic freak, that type of body takes a lot of training, including bulking and cutting. P90x and eating more wont do it

Edit- horribly beaten.

Edit edit- google turned this up about him

So there you have it. Bulk and cut. Plus having a professional trainer and someone cooking all your meals doesn't hurt.

I'm almost 240 @ 18% bf. Maybe that can be me one day!

Fuck a abs.

 

[HarryHengst]

I need some opinions. So far I've been cutting for 11 and a half weeks. At first everything went pretty well and I didn't have any strength loss for 6 or 7 weeks. After that things have been going more or less downhill in that I've had strength loss in most of my exercises. This is super frustrating of course but one of the problems is also that I don't know how much strength loss is to be expected during a cut and when I should start to be worried about it?

Situation atm (in kilos):
Deadlift 142,5 x 5 -> 140 x 1
Bench 73 x 4 -> 71 x 4
Press 50 x 5 -> 49 x 5
Squat 95 x 8 -> 107,5 x 8


As you can see the squat has been going up but I have squatted 110kg x 6 before I had to take some time off from it last in September. So I don't know what to think about it. Press is still pretty ok, Bench not so much and I'm pretty pissed off about deadlift

Should I be worried?

No, im pretty sure you can expect a 10-15% strength loss from a cut. Bulking/cutting is pretty much a 2 steps forward, 1 step back thing.

 

[Chittagong]

Had a big deadlift day today. Now I am feeling my thoracolumbar fascia a bit, wondering if that's a sign that I am doing something wrong or right?

sorry to bump this, still wondering if it's normal to feel a bit stiff, slightly sore but not sharply or acutely painful lower back (thoracolumbar fascia) the same night and next day after a big deadlift exercise? I'm conscious that deadlift can be really dangerous if the form is wrong so that's why I'm a bit paranoid maybe.

 

[grumble]

sorry to bump this, still wondering if it's normal to feel a bit stiff, slightly sore but not sharply or acutely painful lower back (thoracolumbar fascia) the same night and next day after a big deadlift exercise? I'm conscious that deadlift can be really dangerous if the form is wrong so that's why I'm a bit paranoid maybe.

It happens, yeah. The deadlift is extremely stressful on the lower back, and some DOMS or a feeling of tightness is normal. If you're feeling discomfort in your spine, you should probably focus on keeping your back in a normal anatomical position (ie natural arch) during the lift as it is dangerous if done improperly at significant weight.

 

[Chittagong]

It happens, yeah. The deadlift is extremely stressful on the lower back, and some DOMS or a feeling of tightness is normal. If you're feeling discomfort in your spine, you should probably focus on keeping your back in a normal anatomical position (ie natural arch) during the lift as it is dangerous if done improperly at significant weight.

Thanks!

Yeah it's definitely DOMS type of tightness, surprised it came really quickly after the exercise. So not sharp pain and more towards the sides. I did a PR 120kg x 3 reps followed with 70 kg for 5 x 10 reps.

I have a PT looking at my form, supposedly the only problem have is that on the very last reps of a 5 x 10 rep sets my shoulders start to drop forwards i.e. chest not forwards enough, so I have been trying to focus on that.

 

[SeanR1221]

Gotcha. Seems interesting. I will read about that later today.



I'm almost 240 @ 18% bf. Maybe that can be me one day!

Fuck a abs.

Let me know what you think. I'm halfway through week 4 today. Deadlift day I did two sets of 8 @ 235.

 

[FallingEdge]

Let me know what you think. I'm halfway through week 4 today. Deadlift day I did two sets of 8 @ 235.

Going through the site and am reading his PDF about Functional Hypertrophy. Makes sense as I have read multiple variations on this with 5/3/1 being the one I know most about.

Regarding the calculators, is there an article explaining his reasoning behind that? I understand the logic but would still like to read about it. I'm also assuming that increased strength is more of the goal (the routine as described by the calculators).

 

[SeanR1221]

Going through the site and am reading his PDF about Functional Hypertrophy. Makes sense as I have read multiple variations on this with 5/3/1 being the one I know most about.

Regarding the calculators, is there an article explaining his reasoning behind that? I understand the logic but would still like to read about it. I'm also assuming that increased strength is more of the goal (the routine as described by the calculators).

I'll have to ask my friend who gave me the program. Increased strength is definitely the goal, as you should break all your PRs by the end, then you can reset and do it again.

 

[despire]

No, im pretty sure you can expect a 10-15% strength loss from a cut. Bulking/cutting is pretty much a 2 steps forward, 1 step back thing.

Thanks for answering. I know ~2% drop in weight on the bar isn't probably very much but still frustrating as ever

 

[Mully]

Don't lift even slightly hungover. Feel like I'm going to throw up after this morning's shoulder session.

 

[rando14]

Don't lift even slightly hungover. Feel like I'm going to throw up after this morning's shoulder session.

Lol neither sickness nor drunkenness can prevent you from working out Mully

 

[bjb]

Time to get a pumice stone

Poster child for gloves.

 

[BlueScrote]

Time to get a pumice stone

How are you gripping the bar? From the look of it it looks like you are dripping from the palm, rather than the fingers. If that makes any sense at all.

 

[FallingEdge]

I'll have to ask my friend who gave me the program. Increased strength is definitely the goal, as you should break all your PRs by the end, then you can reset and do it again.

I read more about the routine and there is a lot of talk about training to break PRs for a powerlifting meet/competition. Ed Coan is one of the best powerlifters of all time so following that routine will lead to solid gains in strength. Definitely not a beginners program as there is a lot of leeway depending on what you want to try to achieve/gain. I might try his bench program as I've always wanted to do a program similar to that (Smolov Jr. being the other)

 

[Veezy]

Time to get a pumice stone

A few things:

1. Soak your hands in salt water for a bit then use the edge of a butter knife or a nail file to wear the callous down between now and getting a stone.
2. Get yourself some hand cream. Not lotion but more like a think balm.
3. Watch your grip. When you start pulling for DLs, Snatches, or PCs the bar should be in grabbed tightly in the fingers first, not the palm. This causes the bar to descend in your hand, leading to large callouses were your fingers meet your palm.

 

[andycapps]

Haven't posted here in a while, and my workouts have been sporadic since the holidays.. So I'm reading Starting Strength finally and will be getting an Olympic set in about a month. Meaning, an olympic sized bench, and about 300 lbs of weight (including the bar for it). Will add from there as needed. Trying to get one that has a squat rack with it.

Will be getting it off Craigslist so I can save quite a bit. If I had the money now, there's a nice set for $200 for all of the above, except squat rack. Hoping to get everything used for about $300.

 

[despire]

Time to get a pumice stone

http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/video/platform_managing_calluses

I might try his bench program as I've always wanted to do a program similar to that (Smolov Jr. being the other)

Thanks for mentioning Smolov Jr. Might try that at some point..

 

[FallingEdge]

I think in March, I am going to do Smolov Jr. for bench. From what I read, I just do bench and that's it. No legs, nothing else. Maybe do some back exercises to balance out bench but at a light weight. Kinda want to do Smolov Jr. bench and squat at the same time but I have no idea if it is a good idea.

 

[sphinx]

it's been three days since I quit drinking coffee, it's 19:22 and time to go to the gym but my body begs me to stay home and sleep 15 hours....I am sleepy as fuck..

but I will go, I'll take it easy and slowly and see if running on the treadmill can wake me up.