Guys, this is thread is about to be longer than the book…
Can someone answer the couple questions I asked that are actually on topic about the Starting Strength program?
And to Blue Star, I bet when you were ‘fat’ you weren’t working out and lifting heavy weights. I’m sure if you were, your fat would’ve disappeared leaving you looking like Arnold! Now that you’re skinny again, you gotta eat a lot of “HEALTHY” foods and lift a lot of heavy weights.
You’ll gain weight, but it’ll be muscle mass, not so much fat. Have faith, there’s a lot of people here that probably eat waaaaaay more than you can think to shove in your mouth on a daily basis, and I’m sure they’re not fat, just big and muscular.
[quote]B rocK wrote:
Any ladies try this on here?
My girlfriend is going to start this next week; she’s pumped to do these lifts 3x a week.
A ton of people wanted to know if there were any modifications for women; but I’m having her do it just as its listed. [/quote]
My girlfriend is currently using rippetoe’s with me. We have not made any modifications other than we started her out with standing military presses with dumbbells before moving on to the bar. this was mainly due to her not feeling comfortable with the bar as a starting weight. Since then we have moved her back to the bar and everything is going ok.
She complained about the power cleans and deadlifts at first but she is starting to get the hang of them. She had a few technique issues at first (especially with the power cleans) but with a little coaching she has started to turn it around. Personally from all the reading on starting strength I have done I would recommend not making any major adjustments unless its absolutely necessary. I.E. someone can’t lift the weight.
I do not see any reason for a woman to substitute any of these lifts but thats just me. In fact if I was a personal trainer and I was going to be training a woman who was physically capable of following starting strength it would be the first routine that I would suggest. end shameless plug
[quote]CountChocula wrote:
Would someone be able to also do HIIT to maintain cardio while on this program?[/quote]
I dont see why not. I have been doing sprints as my HIIT 2 days a week and my third cardio day I do a mile for time and then 3 miles as a solid state jog. Granted I am only one month in but I dont feel as though Im anywhere near overtraining at this point if anything I feel as though my recovery times are improving. Your mileage may vary.
I would probably avoid mixing that much cardio if you are trying to put on a lot of weight but I am starting Rippetoe’s with the intent to drop weight and Increase my percentage of LBM. Eventually down the line I will have to adjust but I am at a point where I am able to build muscle and to lose weight currently. Those newb gains will go away though at some point and I will have to adjust but for now I am going to attempt to make the best of both worlds.
edit You may get better results from additional days of rest than from additional days of cardio. Everybody’s body responds differently. My body seems to respond well to the additional cardio so I do it.
unfortunately I did this cut once before In High School not with Starting strength but with a similar type of program focusing on the compound lifts and the cardio really seemed to help so I am going that way again.
I drink a gallon of 1% every day and have made good gains from it. I also eat whole food throughout the day. 1300 cals / day for me total. Ive been doing it for a month now. I pigged out on ice cream and junk food for a while at the beginning of the month and gained around 6-7lb of fat however since ive got my diet under control, I havnt seen hardly any more fat gain, im also getting much stronger on the rippetoe style program. The squat/bench/power clean day is really tough. I did it today. I recommend you do this blue-star.
A few quick things …
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Correct form is essential. If you think you are doing a correct low bar squat having not read the book, I can assure you … you are not.
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“GOMAD” : A gallon of whole milk a day, is only recommended for those trying to put on weight. It is not needed for strength gains. Rip is adamant about this point.
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There is no substitute for power cleans. If you have some sort of physical disability, you can do rows.
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5x5 sounds cool, but 3x5 works.
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Rip will answer any questions you have on his forum. Be advised, however, he has little patience for those questions he’s answered in his book.
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Get the book.
Does anyone else think that the “Starting Strength” Program is nearly identical to most templates out there called “Bill Starr’s 5X5.”
Anyone else think it’s a coincidence that Rippetoe has a huge man crush on Bill Starr and has the guys first barbell set on display in his gym?
I don’t think it’s accurate to call this the ‘Starting Strength’ Program. Maybe that’s just me.
This isn’t directed at the OP. I just see a lot of people referring to this program as the “Starting Strength” program.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Does anyone else think that the “Starting Strength” Program is nearly identical to most templates out there called “Bill Starr’s 5X5.” [/quote]
Well, insofar as they are all a collection of basic lifts characterized by low sets and reps … sure.
[quote]
Anyone else think it’s a coincidence that Rippetoe has a huge man crush on Bill Starr and has the guys first barbell set on display in his gym?[/quote]
You are aware that Bill Starr was Rippetoe’s coach, yes?
It’s not just you. A lot of people think they can just do any routine and slap Rippetoe’s or Starr’s name on it.
[quote]
This isn’t directed at the OP. I just see a lot of people referring to this program as the “Starting Strength” program. [/quote]
Yes, it’s a problem. There is only one Starting Strength program, and no one has got it right yet. So let me be the first:
Workout A:
Low Bar Squat: 3x5
Bench: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5
Workout B:
Low Bar Squat: 3x5
Standing overhead press: 3x5
Power Clean: 5x3
(note: The first edition was 3x5 in the power clean.)
No dips, chins, rows, dumbells, curls, or anything else people want to “accessorize” with. Yes, you can do them, BUT THE LESS EXPERIENCED THE ATHLETE, THE MORE SIMPLE THE PROGRAM SHOULD BE. That is a central tenet of ‘Starting Strength’. Those five exercises in workouts A and B are non-negotiable. It’s why the each have a chapter of their own.
If you are not doing them, you are not doing ‘Starting Strength’. And even if you think you are doing them, you’re probably not. The program itself is worthless without knowing what you are doing, why you are doing it, how you are doing, when, and for how long.
The devil is in the details.
In my copy of Starting Strength, Rip explains how to do a correct squat over the course of 52 pages (I believe the second edition is more). He dedicates an entire chapter to it. If you have not read this chapter, you are, in all likelihood, not doing the one exercise that Rippetoe based his entire routine around. At my gym, I’ve seen maybe one person who could do a correct low bar squat. At this site, I have yet to see anyone utilize the form Rippetoe teaches. Simply going “ATG” does NOT cut it.
Now this is not to say that Rippetoe’s low bar squat is the only way to squat. But it is the only way to squat if you’re going to do ‘Starting Strength’.
Rant over.
Best,
Flux
[quote]Poyse wrote:
B rocK wrote:
Any ladies try this on here?
My girlfriend is going to start this next week; she’s pumped to do these lifts 3x a week.
A ton of people wanted to know if there were any modifications for women; but I’m having her do it just as its listed.
My girlfriend is currently using rippetoe’s with me. We have not made any modifications other than we started her out with standing military presses with dumbbells before moving on to the bar. this was mainly due to her not feeling comfortable with the bar as a starting weight. Since then we have moved her back to the bar and everything is going ok.
She complained about the power cleans and deadlifts at first but she is starting to get the hang of them. She had a few technique issues at first (especially with the power cleans) but with a little coaching she has started to turn it around. Personally from all the reading on starting strength I have done I would recommend not making any major adjustments unless its absolutely necessary. I.E. someone can’t lift the weight.
I do not see any reason for a woman to substitute any of these lifts but thats just me. In fact if I was a personal trainer and I was going to be training a woman who was physically capable of following starting strength it would be the first routine that I would suggest. end shameless plug
[/quote]
Good work man!
Yeah my girl won’t have any problems with anything but the cleans; but she’s smart…and so am I.
She’s already benching 100lbs, deadlifting 135x2, overhead pressing 70lbs…so cleans will round things out nice.
If my back wasn’t in rehad I’d be in your shoes too; doing this with her. I’m not new to the game at all; but its a great program.
Hi everyone,
So I currently am eating the maximum strength diet made by Berardi while doing SS template.
However, I went and checked the actual calories on fitday for Berardi’s maximum strength diet plan, and for a workout day the calories for the meal plan were UNDER 2000, even though there were 230 something grams of protein and 186 grams of carbs and 90 grams of good fat.
Strength is my goal, but it seems improbable to me that I, as an ecto person who weighs 175 lbs, can have the same strength gains eating under 2000 calories as someone who eats 2700. 2700 is not an arbitrary number either, as it is the same diet plan with half a gallon of 1% milk added to it.
Like I said, strength is the objective for me right now, but I figure half a gallon of milk can’t hurt, especially considering what happened to Otep in the OP (though he was doing low carb). Thoughts anyone?
230g of protein=920 cals
186g of carbs= 744cals
90g of fat= 720cals
total=2384 cals
2. What is the maximum strength diet? I’m fairly familiar with Berardi’s work, but I’ve never heard of it.
3. You’re right, adding milk won’t hurt. Eating more won’t hurt either.
Hey ninja boy, I was unclear.
It wasn’t really Berardi’s diet, it was the diet plan that Eric Cressey used for his book maximum strength using the guidelines from precision nutrition. Also, how did you make those calculations?
[quote]BoS wrote:
I’m using this program right now, I do the rows, not the power cleans. The only other modifications I’ve made is I try to do 5x5 on everything except the deadlifts. The other thing is for the chins/dips I do 3xFailure, instead of 2x8.[/quote]
Sounds like you’re doing this:
“The other modification…” is not a modification rather a wholesale change.
[quote]anom1k wrote:
Hey ninja boy, I was unclear.
It wasn’t really Berardi’s diet, it was the diet plan that Eric Cressey used for his book maximum strength using the guidelines from precision nutrition. Also, how did you make those calculations?[/quote]
Ok, that’s what I thought you were talking about, but I wanted to be sure. I think you’ve miss-understood the diet plan in Maximum Strength. The two menus listed are sample guides, but as Eric says himself, there’s no set calorie guidelines. Simply put, if you think you aren’t eating enough, or you’re still hungry, you should eat more. Just follow the 10 habits, and don’t limit yourself to a certain number of calories just to follow the sample plan.
As for the calculations, 1 gram of protein is 4 calories, as is 1 gram of carbs. 1 gram of fat is about 8 cals, so I simply multiplied your protein, carbs, and fat to get the total calories consumed.
[quote]colonelquack wrote:
BoS wrote:
I’m using this program right now, I do the rows, not the power cleans. The only other modifications I’ve made is I try to do 5x5 on everything except the deadlifts. The other thing is for the chins/dips I do 3xFailure, instead of 2x8.
Sounds like you’re doing this:
Yeah, that’s the one I originally started with, so I sort of blended the two. Now I’m just following the Starting Strength exactly.
For reference, and to keep this thread as a veritable one-stop shop, here’s my interview with Mark Rippetoe, discussing the Starting Strength program:
Hey ninja boy,
Thanks for the explanation. I ended up eating more than the plan asked for instinctively a little bit yesterday, so I am glad to hear I misunderstood. I think including about a half a gallon of milk, some starchy carbs at breakfast, and more fruit all around will help put my calories near the area that seems to work well for me for building muscle, which is about 3,500-4000.
At 175 5’11" I don’t know if that would qualify as bulking, but as long as I don’t get “stuck” on SS I should be okay.
Hi!
Thanks for starting this thread!
I plan on getting this book and starting the program ASAP!
Obviously, I’m not doing it to get hyuuuuge, lol.I’ve been doing the WS4SB for a few months and was looking to change things up slightly… I’d be happy to let you all know how it goes… 
I know how much it has been stressed that the book has to be purchased… but I was wondering what I would be missing out on if I used the information from this forum to do this workout rather than getting the book. It seems the guidelines have been set out pretty clearly on this topic from what i just skim-read and I have experienced friends who can help me with form issues.