Starting Strength Advice Needed

Training Beginners
1

Doing so much research on beginners gym routine, I came accross this workout routine, apparently this workout (Rippetoes program) is quite popular, and sounds pretty much do-able for me as a beginner.

A few questions:

  1. When is the best time of the day to workout, morning afternoon or evening, before or after a meal etc.

  2. As this workout is a 3 day per week workout, when should i work my abs, would it be best to work them on my rest days or the same days as I do my workouts.

  3. My ab exercises are as follows: Crunch, Revearse crunch, Crossover Twist Crunch, Plank.

  4. How many reps and sets per ab exercise should I do with my abs workout. Should I work abs 2 days a week.

Please see the workout routine and exercises below. Any additional exercises are welcome.

Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Routine:

*note the dip/chin isnt in the original program

Here is a routine from Mark Rippetoe?s book called ?Starting Strength?. You can buy the book at www.startingstrength.com. It includes endless useful info that all beginners should learn. But as for the program he suggests, his clients that he gives it to on AVERAGE gain 30-40 pounds in about 6 months or so which is amazing gains.

The program is as follows:

You alternate Workout A and Workout B every other day, 3 times a week. So you could either do Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs. and Sat. Depending on what works best for you.

Example:

Week 1:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Etc.

For the actual workouts read below:

Note: This doesn?t include warm-up sets

Means this is OPTIONAL

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
**2x8 Dips (if you cant do these or no assist machine then do Decline Dumbbell Bench Press with your hands Facing each other)

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay or Bent Rows (or power cleans)
**2x8 Chin-ups (recommended mainly if doing the cleans)

Thanks and looking forward to your replies.

2
  1. It depends on you. My morning workouts always sucked since I’m not really a morning person. Whenever you do them, try to do them at around the same time each day. Yes you should eat before a workout as you need energy.

You seem wayyyy too concerned about your abs. You have 4 questions and 3 are about abs. This obsession will only fuck up your results imo. But anyway…

  1. Do abs after a workout. They get worked during both workouts already so 1 or 2 exercises is probably enough.

  2. Seems fine. Leg raises are pretty good too.

  3. 2 days a week is fine. Personally I’d do 2 exercises and do 2 sets each with about 6-8reps. Abs generally respond better to lower reps.

Starting Strength is a great place to start. Just make sure you eat.

3

Thanks hardgnr, everything noted, now im pumped, i reckon I will decrease the ab exercises a little bit.

4

Good advice from the Aussie. You might want to wait about an hour after you eat. I get a touch of nausea when I lift so I don’t like to have much in my stomach. You’ll have to experiment until you find what works best for you.

Pick just one or two ab exercises and create an A/B workout with them. Don’t go crazy with them at first. You will find that doing 20 or 30 crossover twisters to be easy your first workout. And then, your abs will be sore as hell for a week and interfere with the main lifts. You want to concentrate on the main lifts.

And lastly, you can’t gain 30 pounds if you don’t EAT.

5

Thanks SKW, but the dieting side of things, all the foods regarding proteins and carbs, i mean thats quiet a hectic diet to follow. Here in Turkey the cuisine is pretty much healthy, we eat fruit regularly, alot of pasta, white rice, chicken and foods with beans and fresh veg.

Also nuts are very plentiful here. Would these foods substitute for the strict diet programme. I am a very active person, i dont sit in an office for work, im on the fields working all day everyday so i dont get the chance to put on weight really. But the odd burger king comes in now and then. Please feel free to advise.

Thanks