Starting strength - 37 years old

[Sturw]

So I am a 37 years old guy who has been strength training on an intermittent basis (on and off) for the last ten years. Mostly kettlebells and bodyweight but also barbell. Some running etc. for conditioning. The only consitency has been the actual training, any programme I have followed has been followed for a few weeks or so.

I have done the SS lifting template for two periods where the last one ended april this year (the previous one was some three years ago). I have however not been following the program since I have (never) been eating enough.

As of now (with a body weight of approx. 76 kg) I can deadlift 125 kg, bench 75 kg and squat 95 kg (all numbers one rep max).

I have been struck by the beauty of barbell training and powerlifting whereby my goals are to be fu**o fat and strong with at least 250kg in deadlift and 200kg in squat. This might not be achievable given my age but at least they are goals.

Will I benefit from SS or should I look at any other programme within the SS area (intermediate stuff etc)? My lifts are not big but at the same time not on a real beginner level (i.e. I have been training with barbell for some time) whereby the novice gains might be lost?

[Scaldrew]

125 DL, 75 bench, 95 squat, undefined press at 76kg BW are definitely novice numbers, especially as 1RMs. Doing the Starting Strength programme would be the best choice moving forward. Even if you're not new to barbell training, doing a simple linear progression and getting your bodyweight up to at least 90kg is the most efficient use of the next 3-6 months of your valuable time.

Focus more on gaining strength and not where your scale takes you: if you're gaining strength and gaining weight, you're doing alright. Don't worry about squatting e.g. 150x5 at 90kg or 100kg or 110kg BW; focus on squatting e.g. 150x5. If you can squat more than that on linear progression, go for it. If it ends up being less, don't worry about it: you didn't fail if you "only" get 140 or 130 or 120. They're just numbers indicating a trend upwards, which is ultimately what you want: to get stronger.

Follow all the conventional SS advice to achieve this. Good luck.

[Sturw]

Thank you for your time and reply, much appreciated.

I thought to myself (reading your post) that I have not actually done any real LP whatsoever yet. I should therefore not consider anything else before giving the SS programme an honest training period, even if it ”only” gives me 10-20% increases.

Beefcake!!!

[Epictetus8540]

The amount of weight lifted doesn't determine novice or intermediate.
The ability to recover, and lift a marginally heavier weight... every single session... determines if you are a novice or not.
If you *can* run the program, then you should. As it will increase your lifts faster than any intermediate program.
Intermediate programs are for when this fast/easy progression is no longer possible, because your ability to do work, has outpaced your ability to recover.

[magadorm]

I started Starting Strength when I was 37 years old. The last time I had lifted a barbell was in high school. Now at just under 2 years later I have the following stats:

BW: 260
Press: 215
Bench: 325
Squat: 515
Deadlift: 500

The thing I noticed was I had to really focus on recovery. I eat and sleep my ass off to keep the numbers going up. Also, consistency is essential as well. If you miss a workout, you will notice it the next time you hit the gym, for sure.