Lighter SS Program

[SSFanboi]

Hello,

I was on the SS program about two years ago and lasted about two months (don't ask me why I stopped). The progress had been going well, I was on 4400 kcal/day with adequate protein/carbs/fat macros (including 1/2 a gallon of milk a day) and my lifts were going up. However, I did realize that it the program is by no means easy and it takes a bit of sacrifices and lots of work (the hardest for me was eating).

Anyway, I decided to start training again (yes, I'd like to train and not simply exercise) but because I swim twice a week and have work to do (etc., etc.), I was wondering if doing the SS program while adding weight weekly instead of per workout made any sense at all. So essentially I'd increase my squat by 2.5 kg every Monday rather than every workout which means I'd squat a fixed amount for three workouts (same for all the other lifts).

Does that make any sense in the stress/recover/adapt scheme? Maybe doing three workouts in a row using the same load means that I don't adapt at all and that adaptation only occurs when I increase the weight after three workouts. In other words, do I still get stronger after the three equal workouts in a row? Like does it get easier for me to lift that same weight and therefore easier to lift with the added weight after three workouts?

I hope my question is clear enough, sorry if it isn't... If my program doesn't make sense, could you recommend another "lighter" version of the SS program considering that I will probably swim during the "rest days"?

Thank you very much!

Regards,
SSFanboi

[Charlie Davies]

If swimming is just something you do for fun, consider cutting back on swimming and running SS as-written.

If swimming is your first priority (i.e. you compete), you might try just doing SS 2 days per week instead of 3.
Ideally arrange the days so that you don't do barbell work the day before swimming.

The obvious alternative is a less-stressful "intermediate" program like heavy-light-medium or 5-3-1.
The problem with these is that they are customized for a single lifter.

You are supposed to have been lifting (and recording data in your journal!) for months before starting an intermediate program, and now know something about designing your own program.
The books about them, like Practical Programming for Strength Training are textbooks on program design, rather than a simple recipe to follow rigidly.

Beginners are generally *terrible* at making up their own programs.
Fortunately, they also gain strength really easily, so can make progress for a while even with bad programs.

[George Christiansen]

Why not just run SS as is, but with smaller jumps in weight?

Repeating the same weight is kind of pointless for a novice. You will have adapted to it already, so you are basically just spinning your wheels.

[SSFanboi]

Why not just run SS as is, but with smaller jumps in weight?

Repeating the same weight is kind of pointless for a novice. You will have adapted to it already, so you are basically just spinning your wheels.

Yeah I see what you mean but I can't really increment less than 1.25 kg on the bench for instance (plates smaller than 0.75kg don't exist I believe, or at least they're not available to me). Yeah I would be spinning my wheels I guess, although because I don't recover well enough due to the swimming instead of resting, it means that I don't adapt either I'd think.

Thanks for your input!

@cwd Yeah OK, that makes sense to me. Thank you for the quick reply

[ad3000]

Yeah I see what you mean but I can't really increment less than 1.25 kg on the bench for instance (plates smaller than 0.75kg don't exist I believe, or at least they're not available to me).

Plates smaller than 0.75kg exist.

[George Christiansen]

Yeah I see what you mean but I can't really increment less than 1.25 kg on the bench for instance (plates smaller than 0.75kg don't exist I believe, or at least they're not available to me). Yeah I would be spinning my wheels I guess, although because I don't recover well enough due to the swimming instead of resting, it means that I don't adapt either I'd think.

Thanks for your input!

Another option is to have two days between sessions rather than one. A lot of older folk do that.

If such unstable schedule is an issue, I'd say to go with mgilchrest's suggestion of HLM. You might still want to do whatever run of an LP you can first though. Unless you get really greedy the first month is a cakewalk and gives you a lot of practice to get your form dialed in. Then you would have some realistic numbers to run a HLM if you didn't go with a one on/two off LP.

[Evelyn O'Donnell]

Plates smaller than 0.75kg exist.

Just chiming in to second that. You can buy them online. I'm a small, 50 year old woman, and those tiny plates are the reason I'm pressing 66 pounds now instead of 40. With them, I've been able to increase the weight each time while maintaining correct form on all my reps. But if you really can't buy a set, just weigh out some pennies or something, stick them in little bags, and hang them on the ends of the bar. That works fine too.

[Pawn]

Go to a speciality hardware store or order 8x 2 inch USS washers. They weigh ~255 grams +/- 5. (~-.5 kg per session)

If you need even smaller jumps breakout a metal file or dremmel out and shave a couple down. Your kitchen scale should be able to accurately weigh them.

[Dlk93]

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?

[Ivey]

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