Too Fat for Novice Program?

[saqadri9c]

Hi Mark,

I just performed a DEXA body fat scan, which yielded a 34.9% body fat measurement. I'm 27, 5'10", 255. My current lifts are ~ 315 squat, 315 deadlift, and 250 bench. Do you think my current body fat levels are too high to see good novice progression on SS? In other words, might I be better off losing some weight through diet and say, interval cardio for a month or two before beginning a novice progression?

Thanks.

[Rob Waskis]

http://startingstrength.com/articles/clarification_rippetoe.pdf

[Brian Zahn]

Read the book

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

"Read the book"

DO the program

Don't drink the milk

[veryhrm]

Get the book... but with numbers like that i'm assuming you're not completely untrained.

If you're already working out and eating somewhat sanely and are still that fat then i doubt that you'll lose much fat on the program; at least that has been my experience and i haven't read of anyone around here having a different one.

w/ that weight and bf% you're talking an LBM of 165lbs right now which (if you kept it all) would put you at 195lbs at 15%bf and 207lbs at 20%. So my advice would be to read around here about how people have gone about losing weight, lose 50-60lbs while trying to maintain your strength (usually meaning high intensity low-ish volume which might be a lower frequency version of SS or something else) and then maybe give the program a full run and see where it takes you...

edit: actually DON'Tdo 531 because it doesn't have the intensity you'd need. don't know why i said that.

[Callador]

Just to offer a differing opinion, you could go to a weekly progression program right away. This is what I did, since I didn't want to gain weight (I am a big guy too... 6'6", 358lbs). You should be able to maintain weight and continue to get stronger this way. Yes it is a little slower than doing LP, but you won't have nearly as many resets. After a year of training, I doubt that there would be much of a difference.

If you own PPST2, check out some of the intermediate programs there. I did a split routine (upper/lower) from the very beginning, and I have loved it.

Best of luck!

[mwhities]

I'm almost like Callador, I'm 6' 6" and 333lbs. I went with the LP and reset twice now. I haven't "lost" weight but, I have lost (some) fat. I feel within the next month or so I'll move to TM or 531 but, I still need to read up on both and find which one would fit me better. If you are wanting to lose the fat, you might want to try a different program until you get to/at your desired weight.

Good luck either way.

[JohnRoman]

I'm a little shorter and a little lighter : 5'9" and 235#. I don't know about the BF% but I'm guessing it would be easy to say I'm north of 35%. Get the book and read it. Don't worry so much about losing weight. Get the protein you need and lift hard. You will shed fat and gain muscle. In 6 months you will see the difference. Then you can look at it again and reassess your goals, to gain strength or to cut.

[Nate-L]

Since you've already made up your mind to start some training, SS would be fine. It's better to have structure to your program, which SS will provide, than to start doing a bunch of different things. Also, as far body weight is concerned, there shouldn't be a problem if you can properly execute the movements. I've read the 3rd edition. I can't remember on the top of my head, but I do believe that it is mentioned towards the end of the book that an overweight individual will lose some weight using the program. And a skinny individual properly executing the program should gain weight.

[FKYT]

You seem pretty strong already. From what I understand, newbies can gain strength while losing fat for a while (since strength depends on more than just muscle mass). If I were you, I'd just do SS until progress stalls, then maintain until you're at your desired weight. Lifting will help you preserve muscle while you lose fat, and SS is as good a program as any.