Intensity/ Starr rehab

[littrell1981]

I am a late stage novice trainee who is currently attempting to milk out remaining LP gains. Unfortunately, I had a setback. In an attempt to be explosive on a heavy set of squats, I got a little loose and unbalanced in the hole and tweaked my low back. I am familiar with Starr’s rehab protocol, but I need some clarification on how some of the training variables are intended to be applied. My first point of concern is the incremental loading aspect. I am a female trainee, so obviously I am not as strong as most of my male counterparts. Since I am a novice, I have never attempted a 1RM. My PR prior to injury was 185 x 3 x 5, so I estimated my 1RM at around 200. The prescribed program calls for the trainee to add 10lbs per workout. (45 x 25 x 2, 55 x 25 the next day, 45 x 25, 55 x 25, 65 x 25 and so on every day for 10 days) I assumed that I would have to increase by 5lbs per workout because by increasing by 10lbs, I would be at 135 x 25 on day 10 and obviously I am not capable of completing that at this point. If I increase by 5lbs each workout, I will have arrived at 90 x 25 by day 10 which is obtainable.

My second question is in regard to intensity. On day 11, it is recommended to go up in weight and down in reps to 15. Are the sets of 15 intended to be done at a high intensity? For instance, would I do 120 x 15x 3 (60% of 1RM) considering that my 1RM is 200 or would 100 x 15 x 3 (50% of 1RM) be more appropriate? Furthermore, should I still be squatting every day at this point?

[Tom Campitelli]

When I fucked up my back fairly badly, I did not squat every day. The Starr Rehab is intended for muscle bellies, but I used it successfully on my back, as have others. We'll modify this a little for you. Do sets across of 20 reps to start off with, and do them three times a week. Depending on how your back feels add five or ten pounds a workout. Drop reps down as you see fit as the weight increases. When you are up around 85 or 90, go to 15s, as the weight climbs higher, go to 10s, etc...

If your back is badly dinged, taking your time and being conservative will likely save you time in the end. Workouts should make things feel better for you. Pushing too quickly risks re-injury and further lost time.