SS with my son?

[mcjohn]

Hello All and thanks for having me on the forum.

A little about my son and I per Philbert's welcome message.....

Age: me 48, son and training partner 15
Sex: male and male
Weight: me 175, son 140
Height: me 5'8:, son 5'9"
Squat: me 225 x 5, son 185 x 5 (but his form is a little wobbly)
Bench press: me 225 x 5, son 135 x 5
Deadlift: 225 x 5, son 135 x 5
Press: 135 x 10 (seated behind neck), son maybe 85 x 5
Power clean: neither of us have ever done these
Chinups: me 15, son 15

General description of training history: I've been lifting on and off since my mid 20's but more of a body builder style routine. My son is new to lifting.

Any special diet and whether you are currently gaining or losing weight: I'm fine with my weight and am pretty lean, my son is wanting to gain mass. He's more interested in a body building type routine long term but I'm convincing him to focus on strength first (which someone would have done that with me when I was a kid).

Major goals and concerns: Me: I really want my squat and deadlift strength to be more in line with my bench than they are now. I tore my rotator cuff 10 years ago playing basketball and had surgery 3 years ago. My bench actually came back faster than my squats and deadlifts as it took me a while to get the range of motion back so I could hold a bar in position when attempting to squat. I've also added light running on my off days as I feel cardio conditioning is important as I'm getting older. This seems to negatively affect my leg strength though I'm hoping as I condition myself this won't be a factor. My son: he just wants to be muscular for the girls at this point though I'm hoping as he matures he will see the benefit of being fit and strong as well.

So here is my message:
Do you guys think I could follow a beginner Starting Strength style 5x5 routine with my son even though I'm a more experienced lifter? Maybe there are some suggested variations of the beginner 5x5 that I could follow that would allow us to still train together? I was thinking of just following his program but using a higher rep range as I'm a little concerned over injury with the heavier loads. My concerns may be completely invalid as I've never really trained for strength like these routines target so my experience here is very limited.

Thanks everyone for your time.

[Karl Schudt]

Why not the linear progression from the book?

[Beau Bryant]

Have you read SSBBT?
Has your son read SSBBT? If not have him read it.

Depending on your location find an SS coach and spend a session or two with them. It will shorten the learning curve significantly.

[mcjohn]

Thanks for the replies. I have not read SS yet but am about to order it now. My only knowledge is from what I've read on various blogs and forums.

[Tiburon]

Thanks for the replies. I have not read SS yet but am about to order it now. My only knowledge is from what I've read on various blogs and forums.

Sounds like Father / Son Book Club time. This will be just like when you read him Hop on Pop back in the day

[mcjohn]

Have you read SSBBT?
Has your son read SSBBT? If not have him read it.

Depending on your location find an SS coach and spend a session or two with them. It will shorten the learning curve significantly.

I'm north of Atlanta about an hour. I found a crossfit gym in Atlanta but it's pretty far away. If any of you know of a SS coach north of Atlanta please let me know.

[mcjohn]

Why not the linear progression from the book?

I'll read up on linear progression and see if I can make it fit into my sons beginner routine. Thanks for the insight.

We've got lot to learn here about strength training, should be some irreplaceable quality time.

[Karl Schudt]

Your son is a very good candidate for the novice program as described in the book. He'll get very strong, very fast, if he'll eat. It will work for you, too. Good luck!

[Nate]

http://startingstrength.org/index.php/site/coaches

[TomF]

My sons (and initially, my daughter) have been my lifting partners since they were younger than yours - I've a photo somewhere of my now 15 year old deadlifting 135 when he was eight. Was over double bodyweight at the time. In terms of bang-for-the-buck, we're big advocates for the SS linear progression ... which, if he eats, will take him very far indeed. If it's looking good on a beach that's important .. well, my older lad works as a lifeguard in the summer, and his SS-derived physique gets him plenty of attention.

The trick will be in keeping your guy eating, showing up diligently, actually doing the program 'till it peters out. But even if he doesn't, the strength (and strength per pound of bodyweight) will give him quite a different starting place than his peers. When one of my lads weighed a ponderous #135 in grade 10, he won his high school's arm wrestling tournament ...

No better way to have your kids learn to keep their backs in good orientation and their squats deep enough ... than giving them permission to holler at Dad like a form Nazi. Building that reciprocity into your parenting relationship pays dividends too; it's kept the doors open for many talks about other things.

Be prepared for his progress rate to kick your ass. Only reason I'm still stronger than my lads is that they've spread their time/effort across a bunch of activities, and not made the weight room a focus. But when they show up religiously for even a 2-3 month stretch, the gains are humbling to us old farts.