Starting Strength & HIIT

Frogdog

Male, 27, 13.5 -14 stone, 5'10. Looking to lose bodyfat first and foremost. Afterwards looking to increase strength, and then muscle mass.

Started SS last Saturday week. Did it previously for a couple of months before Xmas, and in that small timeframe made some decent gains in comparison to the messing around in the gym I was doing previously. Haven't been in a gym since before Xmas as I've been away travelling, and in that time strength has disappeared and plenty of bodyfat has been put on.

So in the last week and a bit I've done each workout twice. Increasing the weights tomorrow and I'd like to add some assistance/extra exercises to the program (I know that means I'm changing the program and hence I am not specifically doing SS).

I'd like to add pull-ups and dips to the first workout (squat, bench press and deadlift) and chin-ups and dips to the second workout (squat, press and power clean). Does anyone have any opinion on this? Should I do it and if so are the exercises I've included ok? Should I add/subtract anything from the workouts?

Also, I plan on starting some HIIT this week, specifically on the days when I'm not doing SS. So my week would look like this:

Mon: SS
Tues: HIIT
Wed: SS
Thurs: HIIT
Fri: SS
Sat: HIIT
Sun: rest

My HIIT training would consist of 30 mins sprinting/jogging outdoors first thing in the morning (7:30am) and maybe 10 minutes on a rowing machine in the evening, an hour or so before bed (10:30pm). Once again, opinions? Is this enough/too much? Could I/should I do some HIIT on the SS days?

Sorry for the long post, but I really need answers and tried to give as much information as possible.

d'Oracle

Frogdog wrote: »

Male, 27, 13.5 -14 stone, 5'10. Looking to lose bodyfat first and foremost. Afterwards looking to increase strength, and then muscle mass.

Started SS last Saturday week. Did it previously for a couple of months before Xmas, and in that small timeframe made some decent gains in comparison to the messing around in the gym I was doing previously. Haven't been in a gym since before Xmas as I've been away travelling, and in that time strength has disappeared and plenty of bodyfat has been put on.

So in the last week and a bit I've done each workout twice. Increasing the weights tomorrow and I'd like to add some assistance/extra exercises to the program (I know that means I'm changing the program and hence I am not specifically doing SS).

I'd like to add pull-ups and dips to the first workout (squat, bench press and deadlift) and chin-ups and dips to the second workout (squat, press and power clean). Does anyone have any opinion on this? Should I do it and if so are the exercises I've included ok? Should I add/subtract anything from the workouts?

Also, I plan on starting some HIIT this week, specifically on the days when I'm not doing SS. So my week would look like this:

Mon: SS
Tues: HIIT
Wed: SS
Thurs: HIIT
Fri: SS
Sat: HIIT
Sun: rest

My HIIT training would consist of 30 mins sprinting/jogging outdoors first thing in the morning (7:30am) and maybe 10 minutes on a rowing machine in the evening, an hour or so before bed (10:30pm). Once again, opinions? Is this enough/too much? Could I/should I do some HIIT on the SS days?

Sorry for the long post, but I really need answers and tried to give as much information as possible.

If you are looking for big increases in strength (which is the point of Starting Strength) then doing High Intensity anything but eating on your off days will become unsustainable really quick.

Bear in mind that building strength and recovering from the workouts require intake of excess calories and loosing fat requires a deficit of calories. I suggest you pick one to do first. If that's loosing fat, loose the fat and then start the programme.

Similarly extra presses and pulls will make it harder to recover, its up to you if you want to do dips but bear in mind that you get a lot of the same stimulus from your bench. As for pulls/chins, if you are hell bent on changing the programme, there is a linear progression outlined in Practical Programming (Rippetoes other book) which goes:

Mon: Squat, Bench/OH, Chins
Tues: off
Wednesday: Squat, Bench/OH Deadlift
Thur: Off
Friday: Squat, Bench/OH, Pullups.

Frogdog

Thanks d'Oracle.

I more or less knew that answer about eating to gain strength/muscle and doing the opposite to cut fat but I guess i didn't want to hear it. When I did SS before Xmas I was eating like a pig and made gains. I was hoping that I'd be able to make some gains, while doing a bit of HIIT and lose fat.

dioltas

I'm in the same situation as you at the moment OP.

I liked SS, the compound exercises and the layout is great in my opinion. At the moment I'm trying to lose weight so kind of at a loss as to what weight program to do.

What I've been doing is basically starting strength without the strict weight increments, as I'm not eating enough to sustain them. If I feel I can up the weight I do. I find this takes from the incentive SS gives you not to miss a session, but what can you do.

I usually do some core exercises after my SS session.
On the off days I usually run 4/5 km. I'm not sure if this is too little or too much but it seems ok. Can be tough when you're stiff though. I think if I was doing HIIT on every off day it would be a bit too much. Just my 2c though.

I am going to start doing some sprints / interval training at maybe one or two days a week though, and am planning to start cycling to work.

Imo that much HIIT is too much. If your doing HIIT properly you should be completely floored by it. But again I could be wrong.

As for adding the pullups, dips, I say go for it. If you're not eating like mad then you're not really following SS anyway so why not do your own version of it.

There are different versions of it anyway. What I tend to do at the moment is alternate chins / deads, and bench/press. Will probably start doing power cleans again at some point.

Have a look here for some of the variations. I did the PP one for a good while and found it good.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

Frogdog

Perfect dioltas, that's more or less exactly what I wanted to hear. I know I won't be able to sustain the weight increases after the newbie gains, so what you're doing is what I'll aim for, for the time being.

Thanks again.

d'Oracle

dioltas wrote: »

There are different versions of it anyway. What I tend to do at the moment is alternate chins / deads, and bench/press. Will probably start doing power cleans again at some point.

Have a look here for some of the variations. I did the PP one for a good while and found it good.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

FYI (<-don't you hate that?)
There is an advanced novice programme which is also in Practical Programming. Basically you do it when you are having trouble squatting 3 days a week. It puts front squats in on Wednesday and alternates Cleans and Deadlifts.