How long before 3 plates

[drewcarroll2]

try not to worry. Your goal is awesome, but dont "hurry". Strong takes years to build. If not then we have different definitions of strong. I know advance training in ppvol2 is placed at two years, and intermediate is at 9 months, but i think the point is being missed. There are lots of questions about "when to go intermediate" or changing around a program. Remember "dad strength"...it doesn't come in months or even in a few years. decades of man shit are required for the less genetically endowed to become monsters, but decades which are embraced (shit.... Im a fucking poet....) kong's use of language is very precise and appropriate....."recovery cycle". These things vary, especially with bw constraints. Grow into it, add reps, add weight as is appropriate. Hurrying will get you nowhere. It's not how quick, but how far. Good luck.

zkp,
+1 ftw

[Jacob I. Briskin]

Just anecdotal evidence here, but I know of a guy who is 5'7" and currently competes in the 165lb class in powerlifting, squatting 500 and deadlifting 600. A few years ago in his training he weighed over 205, I think.

My point is that just because you decide you want to be strong and don't care if you gain a bunch of weight doesn't mean you're going to spend the rest of your days as a tub-of-lard superheavy. Your abz will come back eventually, if you decide you want them to.

[Carnivroar]

Yeah, there's no way I'll be able to maintain this weight and reach 3 plates. I failed horribly while squatting 270 on Monday, and only got 4 full reps today. So I'm eating 4,000+ calories a day from now on.

Since I started this thread I went from 155 to 162 lbs BW. And I don't look any fatter, so that's good.

[gamedog]

Yeah, there's no way I'll be able to maintain this weight and reach 3 plates. I failed horribly while squatting 270 on Monday, and only got 4 full reps today. So I'm eating 4,000+ calories a day from now on.

Since I started this thread I went from 155 to 162 lbs BW. And I don't look any fatter, so that's good.

I noticed the same thing with my weight gain too. I'm at 260 now, and though I do look soft in the middle -I do admit that- I'm not really any "fatter" than I was before. Sometimes I feel fatter though, because the milk bloats me up a lot.

As to the vaunted "Three Plate Goal" please allow me to share something with you.

My goal was 300 pounds. "300 by mid-July" I would say whenever I started. Everybody I know thought I was crazy and that it'd be impossible. Then I actually started getting close.

Now, please keep in mind that I only did one reset thus far, and it was way, waay back in the 100's because I had tweaked my back. I did a reset and switched from StrongLifts 5x5, to SS. Went from 135 to 300 on SS.

And I was thrilled.

Looking back on it though, I should have been a little more conservative, with my goal. Recently I had to reset my squats LOL ... well, squats, and press and bench LOL ...

I should have switched to the Advanced Novice program as laid out in PP much, much sooner. Of course, I don't mean that you have to, too, but I should have.

So here's my advice... Eat well, sleep well and train hard. But when your bar speed starts to slow, and you notice that more and more you have to pit bull your way through sets, pay attention to how you're feeling: can you still sleep well, do you still have a healthy appetite, how's your mood are you depresses, etc. And if you're starting to feel exhausted, don't be afraid of pushing back that three plates goal a few weeks so you can switch to light days on Wednesdays. Never harmed anybody who lifted heavy and wasn't a slacker in the gym.

Good luck buddy! Make it happen!

[gamedog]

Of course, now my goal is 400. "400 after I break this plateau and hopefully I can get there inside of 6 months, shorter would be better, but I'm in no hurry" :-) :-D ;-)

[Carnivroar]

I noticed the same thing with my weight gain too. I'm at 260 now, and though I do look soft in the middle -I do admit that- I'm not really any "fatter" than I was before. Sometimes I feel fatter though, because the milk bloats me up a lot.

As to the vaunted "Three Plate Goal" please allow me to share something with you.

My goal was 300 pounds. "300 by mid-July" I would say whenever I started. Everybody I know thought I was crazy and that it'd be impossible. Then I actually started getting close.

Now, please keep in mind that I only did one reset thus far, and it was way, waay back in the 100's because I had tweaked my back. I did a reset and switched from StrongLifts 5x5, to SS. Went from 135 to 300 on SS.

And I was thrilled.

Looking back on it though, I should have been a little more conservative, with my goal. Recently I had to reset my squats LOL ... well, squats, and press and bench LOL ...

I should have switched to the Advanced Novice program as laid out in PP much, much sooner. Of course, I don't mean that you have to, too, but I should have.

So here's my advice... Eat well, sleep well and train hard. But when your bar speed starts to slow, and you notice that more and more you have to pit bull your way through sets, pay attention to how you're feeling: can you still sleep well, do you still have a healthy appetite, how's your mood are you depresses, etc. And if you're starting to feel exhausted, don't be afraid of pushing back that three plates goal a few weeks so you can switch to light days on Wednesdays. Never harmed anybody who lifted heavy and wasn't a slacker in the gym.

Good luck buddy! Make it happen!

Thanks.

Yeah man, these days I get really scared to step in the gym. Getting under that bar and attempting a PR on squats every day is insane, it's a lot of mental pressure.

I'm gonna eat more and get bigger now, then after my goal I'll take it easy. I'll probably shoot for 405 by the end of the year, but I have no idea how likely that is.

[gamedog]

Thanks.

Yeah man, these days I get really scared to step in the gym. Getting under that bar and attempting a PR on squats every day is insane, it's a lot of mental pressure.

I'm gonna eat more and get bigger now, then after my goal I'll take it easy. I'll probably shoot for 405 by the end of the year, but I have no idea how likely that is.

LOL I know how that feels, too. I have no idea how old the bar is, at the gym I go to, but I bet the fucking thing is pretty old. The other day when I first attempted 305 I I caught myself raising my eyes (the squat rack is right in front of a fucking mirror, so I put a small sticker on there to keep me looking where my eyes need to look and thus, keep my neck "neutral" and help me maintain balance and shit) and what I saw scared me shitless... I got that usual 'bounce' at the bottom, and it made the plates on both sides go up and down, ever so slightly, in that "womp womp womp" way they do. Then again, once I was out of the hole and all the way up again "womp wom womp" and the bar was bending with it.

It kind of put this, mental block in there which was then reenforced when I tried my third set and got pinned... Fucking Hell! Now I have to work through that too.

LOL Man! Mental pressure indeed. The Light Wednesday is a nice respite from that, so I have found. Of course, I won't be putting up any new PR's for at least 2 weeks or so LOL

Anyway ... For new guys like us, all we can do is eat well, sleep well, lift as hard as we can and set our goals. Then work our asses off towards them while tempering our efforts with patience. If you can do that (which I'm sure you can) you'll get to 405. And then maybe even more. My advice is, 5 pound jumps, pay attention to how you feel and don't get in a hurry.