Incorporating SS into a weight loss program

[Kumar]

At the age of 53, once again, I needed to lose a lot of weight - 25 kilos to be precise, from the 105 kilos I had again swollen up to.

The last time I was this weight in 2005, I shed 35 kilos to come down to 70 in 8 months. Mostly via a cardio and fruit regime, and the result was that I looked ill. I had energy, but had lost a lot on strength.

This time around, I am determined to keep enough muscle, recognizing that any shedding of as many kilos as 25 will inevitable cause some muscle loss.

This time though, I am lifting weights, running, and swimming. And eating 50-75 grams of whey a day. Progress so far has been decent, 2 months down the line. I have lost 12 kilos, 13 to go.

I fooled around with weights in college, and suffered a now chronic injury to my lower back, via improper deadlfts. I have been very wary of them since.

Surfing the net, I came across the stronglift program, and further research turned up Mark Rippetoe. Based on reviews on Amazon, I got the Starting Strength book on my Kindle, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the very technical, very detailed how to on just the squat. I go to a gym that is typical of the day - machines, a Smith stand, lots of dumbbells and a few barbells. As is usual, it is the machines that see most use. Thankfully, there is a power rack in a corner, and that has allowed me to start squats to what had till now been a dumbbell based largely upper body routine.

My needs from the SS program are very different from most here, I imagine, at least for now. I want it to help me lose the next 13 kilos, to get down to 80. And not end up looking like I am back from illness when I get there, with enough energy to enjoy life.

I added squats to my routine a few weeks ago, 3 sets of 15, and it near enough kiiled me with DOMS the first week. After reading the SS book, I have now moved to the 3x5 for squats. I still struggle with form, to go down low enough once the weight is "heavy", and to keep the knees out on the way up. I have to keep telling myself "hip drive, hip drive" from the time I get near to the bottom, and if I focus enough on the rep, it does give me good form, this mantra!

I look to add the barbell press next week, dropping the db press. I am not sure I will drop the db bench press I do today, for lack of decent spotters to support the barbell version.

And I must say, I am still very nervous about deadlifts!

Bodyweight dips, I can now do sets with reps of 14, but I am struggling with chin ups. Can just about manage reps of 3, that too without quite reaching the bar. I persevere, expecting that body weight drop is the key here.

I round up the session with a push up routine that totals 60 reps currently, with a target of 100.

Cardio consists of one hour of jog/walk, thrice a week, and an hour of swimming, also thrice a week, in the evenings of the morning SS workout days.

So far, so good - except that I seem to be sore/stiff most days. I expect that to work itself out in a month or two.

Any feedback on anything I should be doing different would be very welcome indeed!

[D.W.]

How tall are you?

What are your strength levels? (Which weights are you moving in the exercises?)

Chinups are hard if you can't do them, it will need some time but you will get there. Where are you now? Can you do a complete repetition from a dead hang to "chin above the bar"?

What is your current routine/ your planned routine for the next months?

[Kumar]

How tall are you?

What are your strength levels? (Which weights are you moving in the exercises?)

Chinups are hard if you can't do them, it will need some time but you will get there. Where are you now? Can you do a complete repetition from a dead hang to "chin above the bar"?

What is your current routine/ your planned routine for the next months?

I am 6ft tall, and just two months into exercising again, and the first 6 weeks was mostly machine work. The last time I could do 12 chin ups in good form, I was 70 kilos, 23 kilos lighter than today, five years younger.

As I wrote I have just started the squats, and my work sets are 130 lbs. DB bench is for a total of 120 lbs, the DB shoulder press, a total of 90. A tyro!

Currently, from a dead hang, all I can do is get my nose to the bar, thrice.

My current routine in the gym is squats, barbell press to start next week, DB bench, DB rows, chin ups, dips, push ups. My plan is to stick to that for the next 3-4 months, by when I am pretty sure of knocking off the remaining fat and get down to my target body weight of 80 kilos, from today's 93.

Gym day afternoon, swimming for an hour. Other three days, build up to jogging for an hour from today's 30 minutes.

For now, all I am looking for from weights is to get down to my target weight by as much fat loss as possible, unlike the last time when I lost it all, fat and muscle. Once there, I will revisit my longer term goal. At my age, more than anything else, I want to be able to be master of my body weight, which might seem modest, but way beyond my ability for many years now. With endurance to have enough energy to live each day to the full :-)

For now, I am willing to put up with the starting aches and pains, but longer term, the idea is to use exercise as a tool to get fit to live in a way that doesn't leave the body as a burden through the day.

[bob g]

At the age of 53, once again ...

Hey, how did you do that? I'd like to be 53 again. Mid forties wouldn't be bad either. I need to figure that trick out.

Seriously, you are doing a lot of things but the SS program isn't one of them. You may be incorporating the basic lifts in your activities but swimming, running, dumbbells, high rep push ups and 15 rep squats are not in the program. Add weight training to all of this and I'm not surprised that you are always sore. I don't expect this to go away in a month or two unless you alter your routine.

You clearly state a goal of losing weight and you have had some success. Realize that this success comes from the kitchen not the weight room. You are stiff and sore because you are doing a ton of activity while losing a bunch of weight. Match your activities to your immediate goal of losing another few kilos and your soreness should go away. Then, when you get to your target weight, really do SS as laid out in the book and you will be amazed at the results.

Ask plenty of questions, there are some knowledgeable old coots here that will give you a hand.

[melody]

6 ft tall, and 80 kg is skinny.

[Kumar]

Hey, how did you do that? I'd like to be 53 again.
Seriously, you are doing a lot of things but the SS program isn't one of them. You may be incorporating the basic lifts in your activities but swimming, running, dumbbells, high rep push ups and 15 rep squats are not in the program. Add weight training to all of this and I'm not surprised that you are always sore. I don't expect this to go away in a month or two unless you alter your routine.

You clearly state a goal of losing weight and you have had some success. Realize that this success comes from the kitchen not the weight room. You are stiff and sore because you are doing a ton of activity while losing a bunch of weight. Match your activities to your immediate goal of losing another few kilos and your soreness should go away. Then, when you get to your target weight, really do SS as laid out in the book and you will be amazed at the results.

Ask plenty of questions, there are some knowledgeable old coots here that will give you a hand.

53 again? that was just bad punctuation, the again referred to having to lose weight again:-) I find it relative easy to lose, working a project to an objective. I have always struggled with the subsequent maintenance.

And yes, I agree that a lot of the weight loss is from the eating. I also agree that I am doing a ton of things, but the 15 rep squats are out now that I have started the 5 rep ones.

And yes, as far as weights go, doing SS as laid out in the book is one way forward once I get to my target weight. It is just that for my age, I am not sure I agree with the book where it says that it is easier to get strength than it is to get lean, so I am not sure that I will want to go with the gallon of milk part of it. Besides, I am very lactose intolerant. I guess that means that progress will be slower? I think I can get going with the deadlifts too, even if I have to find another gym where I can do that.

A question - for the SS lifts, are there any standards linked to bodyweight anywhere? For example, how does pressing bodyweight 3x5 sound on a strength scale of 1-5? For squats, for the same strength levels, it might be 1.5 times bodyweight. Any data anywhere on this?

PS: 80 kg for 6ft isn't so skinny for someone that has a small frame/bone structure, as determined by the wrist diameter. Also, I am not so hung up on 80, it could be 85. But I do want to be able to move my body around a lot better than I have done for a long time now. And as far as sports go, my intent is in the direction of racket sports and not the contact ones:-)

[Kumar]

6 ft tall, and 80 kg is skinny.

Seen from my current 93, it seems far away and skinny:-)

Here's a thought though. Some of the fittest strength athletes are boxers and in amateur boxing that weight is the heavyweight class. Even in professional boxing, it is the light heavyweight class. So I guess skinny is based on what the kilos consist of?

[bob g]

53 again? that was just bad punctuation, the again referred to having to lose weight again:-)
...

I know, it was just too good of an opening to pass up. Still, it would be a neat trick to pull off.

...
And yes, as far as weights go, doing SS as laid out in the book is one way forward once I get to my target weight. It is just that for my age, I am not sure I agree with the book where it says that it is easier to get strength than it is to get lean, so I am not sure that I will want to go with the gallon of milk part of it. Besides, I am very lactose intolerant. I guess that means that progress will be slower? I think I can get going with the deadlifts too, even if I have to find another gym where I can do that.

Don't worry about the milk. If you can't drink it it makes no sense to force it on yourself. Besides, that routine is intended for young, skinny males who need to be forced into an environment to accommodate muscle growth and is counter productive if your goal is to lose some weight.

...
A question - for the SS lifts, are there any standards linked to bodyweight anywhere? For example, how does pressing bodyweight 3x5 sound on a strength scale of 1-5? For squats, for the same strength levels, it might be 1.5 times bodyweight. Any data anywhere on this?

There are some figures thrown around as rough guidelines but it's really just that, a guideline. Bench pressing body weight for sets across is decent but don't let that limit you. Overhead pressing body weight for sets across is beastly. The goal many set for themselves is 1x body weight for these. Again, this shouldn't be a limit to your expectations.

Take care of your first goal while getting comfortable with the lifts you will be doing once you take off with the strength training. Read some of the logs, especially of the more, um, seasoned folks here. You'll see a trend of very simple programs with steady, long term consistency to each person's plans. The results speak volumes about what a 50 or 60+ person can achieve. Ask plenty of questions, you'll get plenty of support.

[Kumar]

Take care of your first goal while getting comfortable with the lifts you will be doing once you take off with the strength training. Read some of the logs, especially of the more, um, seasoned folks here. You'll see a trend of very simple programs with steady, long term consistency to each person's plans. The results speak volumes about what a 50 or 60+ person can achieve. Ask plenty of questions, you'll get plenty of support.

Many thanks - using the time to the first goal to get comfortable with the lifts makes sense. At this age, I guess, form is even more important than it might be for younger folk. I don't want to have injury time outs, and they take longer to heal now.

And I certainly will ask questions when they occur, to tap into what must be a considerable accumulated pool of knowledge and wisdom.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Form is important at any age. If you don't have the foundational aspects right early on you'll be injured or stymied in progress. Like I was for the 45 years I've been lifting and doing it wrong. At 61, I'm finally on the road to getting it right.

This calls for another citation from the late, great, Bill Jordan renowned author of No Place Winner. "Speed is fine, but accuracy is final." I might add that it's something we repeat all the time to the white belts when teaching them mushin ryu. Don't try to go fast, take your time and do it correctly.