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Thread: Advice for an awesome TM run

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    Default Advice for an awesome TM run

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    Personal info
    30 yo, male, 5'11", 195 lb (starting weight was around 138).

    7 years of lifting, probably 5 could be considered proper training.

    Best lifts (converting to freedom units)
    SQ 440x1 (meet), 388x5
    BP 292x1 (meet), 300x1 (gym)
    DL 485 (meet), 440x4
    PR 196x1
    PC 211x1, 185x3x5

    Diet
    Prot. 180-200g
    carbs ~400g
    fat 120-130g

    Average weight is increasing around 0.5 lb/week for the past 9-10 weeks.

    Current training
    Beginning of march I got the flu (covid? probably, my fiancee got it as well. Nothing serious though, but I always have a fever when I get sick), my training (4 day TM with 3 week waves at the time, prepping for a meet that was cancelled) got derailed and I lost strength and weight. When I was finally getting back on track, gyms were shutdown for a month...

    Mid april I got back to training, weighting 190 and very weak. Starting doing LP, that lasted 2-3 weeks. Switched to late novice programming and finally a regular TM 6 weeks ago (light day of week 7 as of today). Changes in the program were done in response to fatigue creeping up.

    A little bit of "life" happened during this time (like noisy neighbors keeping me awake at night), but I've been able to adapt training and things are going well.

    Current training is as follows (reps go second):
    Mon
    SQ 5x5 10-15% off from intensity day
    BP 5x5 7,5-10% off from intensity day
    Dl or block pull 1x1 and 1x5
    back ext. 3-4x12-15

    Wed
    PR (1.0) 5x5 20-25% off from intensity day
    PC 5x3
    Front SQ 3x3/2x5-6 (got to reset the weights once, changed reps for novelty)
    Weighted chin up 4-6x5-8
    Lat pulldown 1-2 backoff sets

    Fri
    SQ 1x1 and 1x6
    BP 1x1, 1x4 and 1x6-10 with about 80% of the previous set
    PR (2.0) 7x1
    DL 3x5 20% off from monday's DL
    LTE 4x8-12

    1's for SQ, BP and DL are 5% heavier than the next set, kind of a "practice rep". DLs and block pulls alternate each week and go up 10 lb. Other lifts go up 5 lb each week.

    Incoming changes
    So, last week fatigue started to accumulate again and I'm making a few changes to the program.

    SQ: is the lift I'm most confident, but intensity day weights are still submaximal (362x6 last week). No changes here for now.

    BP: 1's, 2's and 8's did more for my bench than 5's in the last two years, and my number are still shameful. I'll probably wave volume days from 25 to 30 reps, increase the number of 1's on intensity day to 2-4, increase weight on the 1x4 set at a 2.5 lb rate and play around with bench variants for the back-off set (long pauses, close grip, floor press...).

    PR: after all the benching, there's not much left in me for heavy presses. I'll move the presses to saturday afternoon (friday training is around 9 am), increase the volume to 10x1 and have a range to work with (last week's presses were 185x1x7. I'll aim for 175-185 this week).

    DL: I'll probably stick to block pulls on monday (no decent rack, but I can make blocks out of stall mats) to keep the weights increasing (pulled 440x5 from blocks this week). Friday's DL will probably switch to haltings, since a) I really like doing those, b) they seem to really help my DL, c) seems like a good way to keep the volume, increase weight, minimize fatigue, and at the same time practice breaking the weights off the floor.

    PC: probably my worst lift, even worse is the fact that I have access to iron plates only, so it's a pain in the ass to to them (traps are getting huge from all the lowering though.). I'll probably increase weights at a 2.5 lb rate and alternate 2's and 3's. Bonus tip: straps are a must if you PC with iron plates, like your thumbs whole and don't want to hurt your elbows.

    Accessories: I'm thinking about doing a second chin-up session on saturday, maybe some curls as back-off work too. LTEs will probably move to saturday too, after presses and chins. I may have to lower the weights if it starts affecting monday's bench volume.



    All that being said, any tips or suggestions? It's been a great run, I may have learned a thing or two over the last couple of years and that's probably helped. I'd like to keep going and reach some nice milestones in the near future!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    4,604

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    Sounds like everything is moving except your bench press and your press. I'd add another day in and throw in a press and bench press variant to get some more frequency in. Also, do not clean with straps, that is a really bad idea. One bad rep and your wrists are done. Get some coaching.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    336

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    So, it's been 5 weeks since I posted, thougth it would be useful to update the post.

    Current bodyweight is 198 lb

    Current training split is as follows:

    Mon
    SQ 5x5
    BP 5x5
    DL or rack pulls 1x1 + 2x5
    Biceps 6 sets

    Wed
    PR 1.0 5x5
    light SQ 2x5
    PC 5x3/6x2
    Chins 3x max reps
    Bak ext. 3x10

    Fri
    SQ 1x1 + 1x5
    BP 1x1 + 2x3 + 1x6-10
    Light DL 2x5

    Sat
    PR 2.0 10x1
    Weighted Chins 3x5
    LTE 2-3x10-12

    Changes I made to the program:

    Mon

    -for volume day I started cycling volume, inspired by a recent post on Andy Baker's website. I hit a volume PR on squat (322x5x5) and bench (242x5x5), but deadlifts were stuck and I was overall very tired. In a few weeks I should squat 330x5x5 and bench 247x5x5 (not on the same week though) and keep going if things are well, or deload and ramp back up for a new PR.

    -deadlifts deloaded as well. I'm pulling two sets from the floor, since my training log suggests that when I run deadlifts with slightly more volume, things go better. When/if it's about to stall, I'll pull from blocks to keep weight increasing, and when that stops working, I'll reduce to one set, try to increase weight for a couple more weeks and deload again.

    -biceps on day one are also inspired by a post on Andy Baker's website. Six sets, two exercises, alternating each week. Done in less than 15 minutes.

    Wed

    -press 1.0 also cycles volume now. Did 150x5x5, 154x5x5 is next.

    -light day squats follow the volume cycle, starting at about 90% of day one and ending at about 80%. Switched to pin squats for now, good way to auto-coach and less fatiguing than front squats.

    -power cleans alternate 6x2 and 5x3, and weight jumps are 2.5 lb. Did 194x2x6 this week. Despite advice I'm still resorting to straps (just a nylon strap, like those Rip uses in some old videos), it hasn't caused problems and my elbows do not hurt. I tried to find a Crossfit box to do my wednesday workouts, but that didn't work out.

    -I'm training chins twice a week, one day for max reps, the other for weight. Since biceps are done monday and chins for reps are easier, they are done on wednesday.

    -moved back extensions to day two, to do them with not so tired of a lower back.

    Fri

    -I'm using the 1x1 set to gauge the weight for the worksets. In the TM article, Rip says to aim for a 5RM, or within 2%, and avoid form breakdown. Since I'm cycling volume, there'll be weeks were I'm more or less tired and can lift more or less weight. The aim is always a PR, but if I feel beat up I may switch rep ranges (2x3 for squats and 3x2 for bench) or lower the weights.

    -bench got stuck at 1x4, switched to 2x3, weight jumps are 2.5 lb and all is good again. Did 267x3x2 today, kind of a PR, considering the narrower grip I'm using (vertical forearms at the bottom).

    -deadlifts here are lighter and lower in volume. Let's see how it work outs in a few weeks.

    Sat

    -Presses are going up smoothly. Did three of the 1's at 190 last saturday, at what felt like an 8,5 RPE. Nothing to change here.

    -weighted chins and LTEs are done here. I might decrease the number of sets or skip LTEs altogether when I have a heavy 5x5 bench next monday.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    San Jose, CA
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    I agree with Robert.
    When I saw all your numbers, I thought, dang that's pretty good.
    Then I saw the bench, and was like, hey, you need to and more sets for sure.

  5. #5
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    Jul 2007
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    North Texas
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    Why do you not weigh 220?

  6. #6
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    Jun 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    Why do you not weigh 220?
    Working on that. Gained 8 pounds on the last 13 weeks, 200 is just around the corner.

    Quote Originally Posted by Myles View Post
    I agree with Robert.
    When I saw all your numbers, I thought, dang that's pretty good.
    Then I saw the bench, and was like, hey, you need to and more sets for sure.
    Any suggestions on how to do that?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ReconquistaBarbell View Post


    Any suggestions on how to do that?
    Throw a bench press variant into Saturdays instead of LTEs. Perhaps a close-grip bench press since you are wanting to hit your triceps. One other suggestion may be to reduce the number of singles on the press 2.0 and do some lighter doubles or triples for back off work. Same deal with the bench press. Drop the set of 6-10 and do more triples or fives. No reason to hit 10s when you are hitting singles.
    Last edited by Robert Santana; 08-12-2020 at 10:19 PM.

  8. #8
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    Jun 2020
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    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Throw a bench press variant into Saturdays instead of LTEs. Perhaps a close-grip bench press since you are wanting to hit your triceps. One other suggestion may be to reduce the number of singles on the press 2.0 and do some lighter doubles or triples for back off work. Same deal with the bench press. Drop the set of 6-10 and do more triples or fives. No reason to hit 10s when you are hitting singles.
    Thank you for the tips! I'll report back in a few weeks after I have something to tell!

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