Lighter SS Program

[SSFanboi]

The way I'd think about it is that doing competitive sports training AND a novice progression is a huge leap in total volume for anyone. This is the type of thing I'd expect to see from a student athlete or national team member. Adults with jobs are going to have trouble eating and sleeping enough (primarily sleeping) to accommodate this amount of work.
I'm no SS coach, but I did StrongLifts and rowed competitively and very quickly hit a wall. I was in my late 30's at the time working full-time with young kids. Adding weights (even from a subpar program like StrongLifts) was an additional ~4 hours of training a week. On top of that, it is the type of training most people struggle to do by itself. Adding swimming to that is a lot to expect from anyone that can't spend a lot of time recovering.
Anyway, I was stubborn and don't want you to waste years like I did. I finally made progress by pausing my primary sport and only lifting. That's where I am today. I understand if you can't do that, but just wanted to offer my experience for whatever it is worth.
No matter what you do, I wish you the best and hope you share progress/challenges with all of us!
-ivey

Thanks for the input and the kind words ivey!

[SSFanboi]

Another suggestion. If you go HLM, I wouldn't introduce too much variability in the lifts (like accessory lifts) bc, you still being a novice, you need the practice on the big four/five.

Also I haven't seen you answer to whether swimming is a hobby or a priority. If it's a hobby, just drop it and get strong. The work excuse is just that, an excuse not to train. Just listen to Jordan and Austin on going through Med school and residency while training. It's doable.

Lastly, what's your age/weight/height?

Hey!

Well it's a hobby. I just feel like it's a very healthy hobby and I'm actually taking it quite seriously and I am training while I swim (I have a program). Yeah I understand the argument that work is an excuse, but I guess maybe some of us don't have as much willpower as Jordan or Austin. I'm not saying I don't want to do it, but I know that some days will be real tough and, you know, I might end up giving up for some time... I know it sounds like BS, but I'm trying to find what works best for me to keep my motivation and weight going up.

I'm 26 years old, I weigh about 76 kg (167 lbs) and I am 1.86m (6''1).

Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it!

Cheers

[SSDino]

I think getting strong is very healthy too. Do what you want to do but I do think you should listen to the arguments as to why you should prioritize strength before your sport (in your LP) and do the program. And in this case it's even more obvious because you do it for health reasons.

Could someone link/tell me how a standard HLM program looks like? People talk about HLM programs all the time, but I've never seen how it actually looks like.

[George Christiansen]

Could someone link/tell me how a standard HLM program looks like? People talk about HLM programs all the time, but I've never seen how it actually looks like.

This is a good starting place: Simplifying the Heavy Light Medium System ? Part 1: Introduction & Squats ? Andy Baker

[SSDino]

Thank you

[MattBraunstein]

I don't think it's a good example to use Jordan or Austin to compare anyone. They are obviously above average regarding genetics.

I would echo the sentiment that you should just run an LP to start. You will end earlier than otherwise if you continue to swim. Is this a problem in the grand scheme of things? I doubt it. Once you hit the wall, instead of resetting, you could switch over to HLM or even look into Jordan and Austin's new program. It's called the bridge and is free. It's available on the barbell medicine website. It's meant as a transition from novice to intermediate training.

[SSFanboi]

Hey guys,

thank you all for your input, I decided to run the LP again.

Been running it for the past 4 weeks now, progress on the lifts is good and I'm eating roughly 3800kcal/day.

Unfortunately, after yesterday's training session (and still today) I felt a strong pain in my shoulder (one of the tendons).

This pain depends on my movement (can't lift my arm as if I were doing an OHP movement). I think the squat pulling on the tendon plus the bench press (yes, OHP movement hurts but I got the pain after benching...) effort from yesterday might have torn it.

Can't say for sure if it's torn or not but the pain is sharp when I do that specific pressing motion so that's not a good sign.

I'll see how I feel by the time I get to Thursday's training session. I hope I'll be able to train!

Let me know if any of you guys have ever had issues with one of your tendons in the shoulder and how you delt with it.

Thanks!

[Charlie Davies]

Let me know if any of you guys have ever had issues with one of your tendons in the shoulder and how you delt with it.

Try to figure out which exercise makes the pain worse, and beware of delayed actions.

If it's the squats, you probably have a form problem that you can fix. YouTube -- a good starting point. This is a very common problem.

On the other hand, I often get anterior delt soreness that feels a little like a tendon problem when I push my bench and press really hard. But this tends to resolve very quickly by itself.

[SSFanboi]

Try to figure out which exercise makes the pain worse, and beware of delayed actions.

What do you mean by delayed actions?

If it's the squats, you probably have a form problem that you can fix. YouTube -- a good starting point. This is a very common problem.

Yeah I've worked on the squat grip a few times already, pretty sure I got it right. But I'll pay close attention to see if that's where the pain comes from.

Thanks man!

[Charlie Davies]

Re: delayed actions, I've had squat grip problems that caused elbow pain that was mild during the squats then got worse during bench/press afterwards.

The cause was the squat, but I felt it most later.