Starting strength works. (duh!)

lumberjackgener

Been here a while lurking and sponging information. I didn't start a log but heres a summary of my starting strength progress and if anyone has any tips they would be appreciated.
Before:
21st Jan
6ft
73kg
Squat 35kg
Deadlift 40kg
Bench press 40 kg
Press 30kg
Power Clean 20kg


I can't drink milk, which kind of messes the plan a bit. So instead I drink ~3 Whey shakes a day (ON 100% Choc..mmmmm). Been upping the increments by 2.5kg, lately 5kg on the deadlift and 2keeping progress on spreadsheet. After 2 and a bit months...

Now:
31st March
86.5kg
Squat 90kg
Deadlift 100kg
Bench Press 67.5kg
Press 47.5kg
Power Clean 50kg


I've had a big squat reset in the middle due to bad form. there have also been a few stalls on the bench and press and thus not as much progress as I would like. I have been using http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki whenever I have a question and youtube when unsure about form.

So I guess my goals would be 1.5BW Deadlift, 1.25BW Squat, 1BW Bench, .75BW PC . Are they what I should be aiming for?
Also I'm looking to put a bit of cardio in here as I enjoy the occasional swim/surf in the ocean. Where to fit it and what? HiiT?
When to move on to Practical Programming? After I get 1.5BW Dead? Or before?

Diet:
Breakfast: Whey, Oats, Pnut Butter, banana, strawberries, yoghurt blended together.
Lunch: Beef/fish/chicken, with spuds and veg usually. Shake
Afternoon: Nuts, lots of nuts...
Dinner: Fish/Chicken/Meaty pasta with a shake on the side
Pre WO: Coffee
Workout
Post WO: shake and a Pnut butter/Tuna sambo.


Now a 13kg increase in BW in 2 months can't be all muscle (lost the skinny mans 6-pack :pac: )but overall I feel much stronger. Just gotta say I love this program!!

token

Hi lumberjackgener, I don't really post here myself but seeing this thread I thought I would add my own experiences of SS as I just finished it myself recently.

Sept 08
5' 11
68.5kg

Weights similar to what you have listed.

March 09
5' 11
74kg

1RM
Squat 90kg
Deadlift 120kg
Press 60kg
Bench 80kg (est from 5RM)
Powerclean 77.5kg

I've had a few false starts with lifting weights before but by reading SS I finally made decent progress from learning the basics of progression and how one progresses from novice, intermediate, advanced. Before when I hit a wall on an exercise I would keep mindlessly trying to plug away at it using the same weight. It did not occur to me to try droping the weight 10% and half'ing the rate of progression and working past it. Simple stuff like that that seems so obvious now.

I definately hit the end of my novice progression as I was finding it hard at the end to recover from one session to the next to keep the linear progression going.

To answer your question this is when you know it is time to move to something like the Texas Method or Bill Starr's 5x5. When you can no longer increase the weight you are lifting on a per session basis. This topic is covered in great detail in Practical Programming. Which is a great read I might add for people interested in gaining strength and tailoring their programming as they progress. I would go through about two resets before moving to intermediate programming to make sure you milk the novice progression for all it's worth.

To give you a rough idea (as everyone is different) of the weights you should be lifting at the various stages of your advancement would be listed here. http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf. I found it reasonbly accurate for myself. Unfortunately I didnt quite make the intermediate standard in the Squat and Deadlift. Still a few kg's to go.

I'm a naturally skinny weak ass person so SS has done me a huge favour. I'm off to join the cult that is crossfit for the summer but I will probably hit up SS and the Texas Method once the long nights are back in as strength has become my primary goal over the past few months.

bigstar

first of all fair play on the progress, especially putting on 13kg. im doing SS atm and im getting good results too ive put on about a stone since feb and im still getting some increases in the lifts too, but had to drop the squats back this week.

id say the same as token keep going with SS until you cant recover/cant break through your PR especially on the squat. i wouldnt worry about setting targets too much as long as your still increasing the weight your still making progress with SS.

good progress so far, keep it up.

lumberjackgener

token wrote: »

I've had a few false starts with lifting weights before but by reading SS I finally made decent progress from learning the basics of progression and how one progresses from novice, intermediate, advanced. Before when I hit a wall on an exercise I would keep mindlessly trying to plug away at it using the same weight. It did not occur to me to try droping the weight 10% and half'ing the rate of progression and working past it. Simple stuff like that that seems so obvious now.
...
I'm a naturally skinny weak ass person so SS has done me a huge favour. I'm off to join the cult that is crossfit for the summer but I will probably hit up SS and the Texas Method once the long nights are back in as strength has become my primary goal over the past few months.

Yeah I had been plugging away with 40kg of weights aimlessly until I heard of this program and bought the book. Must get Practical Programming soon...

bigstar wrote: »

first of all fair play on the progress, especially putting on 13kg. im doing SS atm and im getting good results too ive put on about a stone since feb and im still getting some increases in the lifts too, but had to drop the squats back this week.

id say the same as token keep going with SS until you cant recover/cant break through your PR especially on the squat. i wouldnt worry about setting targets too much as long as your still increasing the weight your still making progress with SS.

good progress so far, keep it up.

I must admit that the squats are really getting difficult, the last set usually has me swearing like a sailor, but no pain no gain!

Thanks for the advice token and bigkev. Keep up your SS log bigkev. Its good stuff! :cool:

Takeshi_Kovacs

Yes that is some good gains you have made, 13 kg in 2 months is pretty impressive. If i ever get some free time to start going to the gym i hope to achieve similar results to you

flogen

Keep meaning to pick up the book so I may as well do it now... just one question:

Is the 2nd edition an updated version of the original or a follow on?

hooplah

Its updated. The first edition is aimed at people wanting to coach others on how to lift while the second is aimed at people who want to learn how to lift. Theres also maore material on supplementary exercises in the second edition.

lumberjackgener

@Takeshi If going to the gym is the problem, then get some gear to do it at home. Its much easier to motivate yourself if the weights are staring at you from the spare room!

Seems I have the first edition... oops!