Two Months of SS - Geezer Status Report

[Gene61]

I woke up this morning and realized that I have been on SS Novice Programming for a solid 2 months. Time to access progress, record some lessons learned and set the next goals.

Stats and Changes:
61 years old
6'5"
Weight:+6.2lbs, 200lbs -> 206.2lbs
BF %: +2%, 20 - 22 (as measured by Tanita I know this is "wrong")
Waist: +1", 40" -> 41"
Chest: +1", 42" -> 43"

Squat: +90, 45 -> 135
Press: +17.5, 45 -> 62.5 (This is really sad!)
Bench Press: +52, 70 -> 122.5
PClean: +28, 65 -> 93.5
DL: +110, 65 -> 176

Progress Against Goals:

I set a goal to get as strong as an untrained young man:

Squat: 125# - Accomplished +10#
Press: 85# - Still a ways to go -22.5#
Bench: 135# - Not quite there -12.5#
PC: 90# - Accomplished + 3.5#
DL: 156# - Accomplished +20+

Lessons Learned:
Read the thread in Rip's Q&A this past week.

http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=34819

I hate to admit it but I had to learn most every one of those the hard way.

The main ones for me:
- Work on form every workout. Made videos of my workouts every time and studied them for flaws. Looked at other form check videos and read what people said about them.
- Eat, eat and eat more. I'm sticking with the Paleo diet, so its really hard to eat enough calories. I finally hit on the fact that I just have to eat a huge piece of meat every meal. Without that I stall out and feel over-trained.
- Don't drink too much the night before a workout. Obvious, I know, but.....
- Adjust the programming to start alternating pullups (machine pull-downs in my case) with the DLs/PCs, then adjust again to the "Advance Novice" program of one light SQ day per week. Go to microloading early in the process. These changes allowed me to stay on a 3x per week schedule without feeling over trained and keep with LP.

Goals from here:
- See how far I can get on LP/Advanced Novice.
- Gain at least 10 more lbs

A good benchmark is Intermediate level lifts for a man over 60 and around 220lbs.

From http://killustrated.com/sport-amp-fitness-prints.html

Squat: 165#
Bench: 130#
Press: 90#
PC: 125#
DL: 200#

Seems that I should be able to beat these. We'll see.

[Mark E. Hurling]

A nice start down the road Gene. I did a few of these in my log during the first year or so I kept it. None lately though.

[Gene61]

Hey. Good idea. I should have just put this in my log. I think I will copy it over there. That way it is in order with the rest of the stuff.

[swingshiftworker]

Stats and Changes:
61 years old
6'5"
Weight:+6.2lbs, 200lbs -> 206.2lbs
BF %: +2%, 20 - 22 (as measured by Tanita I know this is "wrong")
Waist: +1", 40" -> 41"
Chest: +1", 42" -> 43"

Squat: +90, 45 -> 135
Press: +17.5, 45 -> 62.5 (This is really sad!)
Bench Press: +52, 70 -> 122.5
PClean: +28, 65 -> 93.5
DL: +110, 65 -> 176



A good benchmark is Intermediate level lifts for a man over 60 and around 220lbs.

From http://killustrated.com/sport-amp-fitness-prints.html

Squat: 165#
Bench: 130#
Press: 90#
PC: 125#
DL: 200#

Seems that I should be able to beat these. We'll see.

Interesting logbook. Keep up the good work!

I've been at the StrongLifts 5x5 program (w/some mods) for a month. I'm 62, 5'8" and 163 lbs (gained 3 lbs since starting on a 3-3.5kcal daily diet). Have also gained about 1 inch in the chest/waist (currently 42-34-38) and have noticed a visible increase in cut/muscularity. BF was 12.5% (hydrostatic) before I started. Won't know for a couple months what my post 5x5 BF is.

I'm too cheap to buy the killustrated guides you referenced ($100 for a set? -- Ouch!). The one everyone seems to reference is the one in Rips "Practical Programming" which is reproduced here (and elsewhere):

http://push-hard.blogspot.com/2009/1...adult-men.html

I'm near or have already exceeded the benchmarks that are posted in Rip's chart. The #'s you posted from killustrated are lower than Rip's chart apparently because they are both weight & age adjusted and Rip's are only weight adjusted.

FWIW, Medhi in StrongLifts doesn't think age matters in terms of ultimate weight/class goals but that it will generally take a older man longer to achieve them than it will for someone younger.

Good to know what the general expectations are so that I won't "push" myself too hard to make additional gains too quickly. Will post my own logbook after I've been doing it for at least 3 months.

Thanks!

[Gerald Boggs]

Your Press progress isn't sad, in two months you've increased by almost 50%. I'd call that good gains and good work. I'm just a few months ahead of you. It took me about five months to get comfortable with the press and I still don't think I've got it quite right :-)

[Mark E. Hurling]

I'm too cheap to buy the killustrated guides you referenced ($100 for a set? -- Ouch!).

You can go to the site and click on the charts, zoom them up to readability (CTRL+) and then write down the age, weight class, and achievement level that fits or you think you will strive for. I actually managed to print them off after zooming in on them. Being over 60, you already know the age class, then it's just a matter of what you think you'll go for in terms of weight.

[Karl Schudt]

You're 6'5"? Think how far you have to move that press! If it's going up, it's good.

[swingshiftworker]

You can go to the site and click on the charts, zoom them up to readability (CTRL+) and then write down the age, weight class, and achievement level that fits or you think you will strive for. I actually managed to print them off after zooming in on them.

Thanks for the tip. Just got all of them & checked my ratings.

FWIW, the killustrated charts make me look like a Geezer "Superman" rating me between Intermediate and Advanced in all categories except one w/only 1 month of training. Rip's charts seem to be more "realistic" given my limited experience and place me between "Untrained" and Novice in all categories, which is where I really am.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Rip's charts seem to be more "realistic" given my limited experience and place me between "Untrained" and Novice in all categories, which is where I really am.

True enough, but Rip's charts don't take age into account. I might add that if you check Kilgore's age adjusted charts in the Elite category against powerlifting (drug tested and raw) winners in the same age and weight classes, you'll find that they track right there. You can look at NASA and a few other raw natural PL organizations results and see for yourself like I did. So Kilgore's charts are pretty gratifying for me. Except of course with power cleans. And I really, really suck at those for reasons I've already gone into at some length.

Stuart McRobert published some similar charts that track closely to Kilgore's as well. He used some other lifts like dips, DB rows, and TBDL's to name a few.

[swingshiftworker]

True enough, but Rip's charts don't take age into account. I might add that if you check Kilgore's age adjusted charts in the Elite category against powerlifting (drug tested and raw) winners in the same age and weight classes, you'll find that they track right there.

. . .

Stuart McRobert published some similar charts that track closely to Kilgore's as well. He used some other lifts like dips, DB rows, and TBDL's to name a few.

FWIW I'll stick w/Rip's charts for now in terms of assessing my development.

Perhaps most men my age fall well w/in Kilgore's charts (he does offer bell curves to show relative percentages) BUT I don't want to fall victim to overconfidence.

I just started lifting almost exactly 1 month ago and according to Kilgore's charts, my 245# DL puts me in the Advanced category, my 125# BP, 125# PC and 85# OHP put me between Intermediate and Advanced and my lowly 135# Squat puts me between Novice and Intermediate.

Well, I may just be exceptionally strong for my age but there's NO WAY that I'm anything more than a lifting Novice currently (somewhere between Untrained and a Novice per Rip's charts) and I think it's better for me if I continue thinking that way until I get some significant time and weight under my belt.

Last thing I want to do is "brag" (or act on a false presumption) that I'm more than a Novice and then do something stupid that proves that I'm actually nothing more than that.

Ciao!