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Thread: Your own linear progression...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    266

    Default Your own linear progression...

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    Jordan,

    You are about the same height and weight as me... But twice as strong (literally).

    How did you approach your linear progression in terms of nutrition? Also, what were your working sets when you first started lifting? Did you stall at certain weights?

    One final question, what did you/do you do for conditioning (if anything at all)?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    10,199

    Default

    I actually did some different stuff before I found SS and so, I never really did the true novice progression. I pretty much started with just screwing around in the gym and ended up just doing about everything on a 4 day split. Monday was Bench day (obviously) + all sorts of accessory stuff, Tuesday were squats (and all sorts of shenanigans afterwards), Thursday was press , shoulders and arms (longest session of the week) and Friday I pulled. I ended up following various permutations of the critical bench program and other less effective programs and in spite of this, I graduated college squatting 500 (most definitely high, but I did do 405 x 10, also high), 365 x 2 bench press, and 545 DL sumo at 215+ BW. Then I did CrossFit. Those were the dark years. I ended up doing CrossFit football after that but my lifts were so atrocious I don't even know where to start with them.

    I ended up back training regularly in late 2010 doing 5/3/1. I remember failing a 365 x 1 squat and a 315 bench press, but I could still pull 500. I got into Olympic lifting in 2011 and did that + some GSLP. I ran this for probably 6 months and ended up doing my First PL meet in March 2012 going 440/308/540 as a 181. After that my programming has been TM for awhile and now more periodized stuff as I have less and less time to train and recover.

    When I was originally training I ate a ton of clean food, think pounds of meat per day, 12 egg omelets, tons of rice and potatoes and oats, and if I went to eat something dirty, i.e. Taco Bell since it was across the street, I'd do 10+ tacos, nachos, and a choco-taco. Being ages 19-21 and eating like crazy took my weight from 165 (graduated high school here) to 215+ (230ish at the highest) when I graduated college. I ran sprints 1-2x per week and did some low level cardio a few times a week while in college too. I know none of this makes sense but that's what I did. I would have saved myself a lot of time if I'd have just done a good LP to start off with and then got fancier.

    IIRC, I couldn't bench 135 when I started benching in high school. I could do exactly 2 chin ups when I graduated high school too. In college, I know for certain I failed a 135 squat when my Ukranian friend Mike "taught" me how to squat, but I pulled 185 or so for some awful reps when I started.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    266

    Default

    Thanks for the detailed reply.

    I found your recent blog posts about the Arnold very inspirational and got to thinking how cool it would be to actually compete myself.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    10,199

    Default

    Yep, this was my goal a year ago (almost to the day) and I'm glad I did it although it didn't go as planned.

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