I’m finally going to stick with a program again. Just going to the gym without a plan wasn’t working for me.
Stats:
Height: 6’
Weight: 200lbs
BF: ~20
I started this program two weeks ago. It’s working excellent so far, all my numbers are up but I just started struggling with the military press. I’ll list my workouts so far and then update in the future.
Monday - Week 1
Bench: 3x5(135)
Dead: 3x5(135)
Squat: 3x5(135)
Tuesday
Press: 3x5(95)
Clean: 3x5(95)
Squat: 3x5(145)
Friday
Bench: 3x5(140)
Dead: 3x5(140)
Squat: 3x5(155) (I miscounted this week so I corrected it for next week)
Monday - Week 2
Press: 3x5(100)
Clean: 3x5(100)
Squat: 3x5(150)
Wednesday
Bench: 3x5(145)
Dead: 3x5(145)
Squat: 3x5(155)
Friday
Press: 3x5(105)
Clean: 3x5(105)
Squat: 3x5(160)
Monday - Week 3
Bench: 3x5(150)
Dead: 3x5(150)
Squat: 3x5(165)
Wednesday
Press: 3x5(110) (I might need to drop this 20lbs because I really had to use my legs on the last set)
Clean: 3x5(110)
Squat: 3x5(170)
looks pretty good to me man, but im still pretty much a novice as i only have like a year and a half of actual training time.
im going to start rippetoe’s next monday after hearing about how great people do on it. i need to get a good foundation of strength and mass before i worry about “defining”. thats me though. keep us updated on how youre doing!
Good luck!
I think it’s an excellent program, I never thought my numbers would go up this quick. I have made more steady progress in the last three weeks than I have in the last six months.
I’m just not sure what to do about the military press; I’ll probably drop it 20lbs and work up again. Did anyone else have this problem with any of the lifts?
Friday
Bench: 3x5(155)
Dead: 3x5(155)
Squat: 3x5(175)
The military press tends to stall first. It might be worth incrementing by 5 lbs at a time.
I have been only putting it up 5lbs each time. I decided to drop some weight and work up again.
Monday
Press: 3x5(90)
Clean: 3x5(115)
Squat: 3x5(180)
[quote]Nick21 wrote:
I have been only putting it up 5lbs each time.[/quote]
Oops. Sorry about that!
There is some good info on the starting strength wiki about what to do if you miss reps or stall on a lift.
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Stalling.2C_Resetting_and_Progressing
Basically Rippetoe recommends a deload if you miss a specific weight in enough sessions (typically 3).
Keep up the good work, bro!
Thanks for the link!
Wednesday
Bench: 3x5(160)
Dead: 3x5(160)
Squat: 3x5(185)
Wow, I went out today and bought a gallon of Organic milk and it cost me $11. Looks like the exact same macro’s that are in regular milk and it tastes the same. I’m just going to stick with regular milk from now on.
Had to skip friday’s workout because of an injury but I was back at it today. I felt like shit once I got to the gym so I just used last wednesdays numbers for today. I’ll increase the weight for the next workout.
Monday
Bench: 3x5(160)
Dead: 3x5(160)
Squat: 3x5(185)
Also:
Seated Row: 3x5(120)
Wednesday
Press: 3x5(95)
Clean: 3x5(120)
Squat: 3x5(190)
Lat Pulldown: 3x5(120)
awesome, couple of suggestions tho
perhaps you might want to think about doing the squats first, they are the most demanding and most important for continuous gains. also don’t add accessory work unless it is dips and chins/ if you are actually following the starting strength program.
it should look something like this
workout a
squat 3x5
bench 3x5
deadlift 1x5, you want to deload each of these reps, so there is a 1 sec pause in between, that way it resembles more of a 5x1 pattern
dips 2x8
workout b
squat 3x5
press 3x5
clean 5x3, this is a high cns involvement exercise, lower reps are better, especially because there are a lot of breaking points for this exercise the longer the set takes.
chins 2x8
thats pretty much it, try to add weight each workout, smaller increments is better and so on. you can substitute cleans for bent rows, but that is definitely not as effective.
anyway great progress so far, keep it up
Congratulations on getting serious! Good improvements, I’ll be watching this one.
I find that I’m exhausted after the squats more so than any of the other lifts so I’ve been doing them last. Tonight I’ll try them first and see how it feels.
Are the cleans supposed to be 5x3? I like doing them 3x5.
I was just trying to add in a little extra work at the end but I’ll stick with the chins and dips if that’s whats in the program.
I want to continue this program for as long as I can until I start to stall on more lifts. After I want to switch to a Mon/Tues, Thur/Fri split. Are there any programs you would recommend?
Thanks for the replies and advice.
great one, that transfers well is
mon/thur
bench press 3x5
chin-ups 3x5
dips 3x8
db row 3x8
lying ext 1x8
bb curl 1x8
tue/fri
squat 3x5
deadlift 3x5
leg curl 3x8
standing calf 3x8
sit ups 2x8
give that a shot, but stick with rippitoes for a while, until you reset (which means you lower the load by 10% after three failed tries at that weight) at least 3 times. that is when you have gotten the most out of the program.
yeah, cleans are 5x3, it makes it easier to progress, yet is the same volume, and also because it is an olympic movement its more taxing on your cns so lower reps are recommended. but if your body likes 3x5 go for it.
Thanks for the info ayork. I think it will still be a while before I move on from this program.
Friday
Bench: 3x5(160)
Dead: 3x5(165)
Squat: 3x5(195)
Monday
Press: 3x5(100)
Clean: 5x3(125)
Squat: 3x5(200)
Wednesday
Bench: 3x5(165)
Squat: 3x5(205)
Dead: 3x5(170)
On my first working set after my warmups for the squat I had a sharp pain in my left knee and I almost dropped the bar. I took a few minutes and went for a jog on the treadmill and when I tried squatting again it didn’t bother me. Hopefully whatever happened isn’t serious and doesn’t return.
hey, still keeping up with this?
i’d like to hear your results