Too strong for novice?

[Smartdumbass]

Hi, Mr. Rippetoe, I've recently got back into lifting again after a surgery put me out for a month and I have been following the modified starting strength routine (with chins) for about a year and a half now. I have brought my squat to 320lbs and my deadlift to 385lbs. I weigh 185lbs, and I feel like the routines are really wiping me out now throughout the week. During my last workout, I had to stop in the middle of my 3rd set and take a 30 second rest before completing my last two reps. I haven't reset yet because I can still increase my weight each time I hit the gym. My question though is should I reset anyway? So that the workout doesn't take so much out of me? Or should I move to a different schedule of programming? My last workout took so much out of me I could not complete my set of deadlifts because I was so light headed.

Thanks for your help,

Joaquin

[Mark Rippetoe]

http://startingstrength.com/index.ph..._clarification

[jwbucha]

Rip, with you new twitter account you should start replying to all asinine articles and questions with #YNDTP. It could get some steam.

[Keith]

how tall are you? how old are you?

[Smartdumbass]

Hi Keith, thanks for actually considering a response to my question. I'm 5'7" and 34. As I've said, I've been doing the novice program for a year and a half, I got my body weight up to over 200 lbs since I started have ate the recommend amount of calories and am now only recently starting to lose body fat and still eating the same amount while drinking less milk. It's only the last few workouts that are making me feel absolutely wrecked throughout the week. I am resting 6 mins now between sets and can still make 5 lb jumps each time I go into the gym. But by the time I get to the 3rd movement I feel very light headed just bending down to pick up a bar. So my main question was am I lifting too much weight for the novice program? Should I switch to a split thing? or just back off a little because I'm over training? Is it my diet? Or do I just suck it up and keep pushing on. I'm just wondering what I should do so I can make it though the work week without feeling like crap everyday. Thanks for your help.

[Aslin]

I am resting 6 mins now between sets and can still make 5 lb jumps each time I go into the gym.

Six minutes is a very short break, take more time until you feel as recovered as you're going to.

If you are making the 5lb jumps and are still breathing, then you should carry on with the program.

Everything is in the books about resets and progressing to the TM.

[Adam Skillin]

If you can make 5 lbs jumps, why wouldn't you continue to do so, until you can't? What is the advantage of slower progress? Because it's easier? If that's the relevant metric, stay on the couch.

[Coconut Chris]

If you're progressing according to SS, weigh 185, and are squatting 320 x 3 x 5 and deadlifting 385 x 5, why the hell would you change what you're doing? It never gets easier, you just get stronger and take longer rests.

[Keith]

Hi Keith, thanks for actually considering a response to my question. I'm 5'7" and 34. As I've said, I've been doing the novice program for a year and a half, I got my body weight up to over 200 lbs since I started have ate the recommend amount of calories and am now only recently starting to lose body fat and still eating the same amount while drinking less milk. It's only the last few workouts that are making me feel absolutely wrecked throughout the week. I am resting 6 mins now between sets and can still make 5 lb jumps each time I go into the gym. But by the time I get to the 3rd movement I feel very light headed just bending down to pick up a bar. So my main question was am I lifting too much weight for the novice program? Should I switch to a split thing? or just back off a little because I'm over training? Is it my diet? Or do I just suck it up and keep pushing on. I'm just wondering what I should do so I can make it though the work week without feeling like crap everyday. Thanks for your help.

I think taking longer breaks between sets is sound advice. Try 8-10 minutes.

But the thing that jumps out to me is that you are cutting weight. That is probably the reason that you are struggling. You are cutting weight as the novice progression is getting increasingly difficult. Cutting weight is a pretty big stress on the body and definitely interferes with recovery and you are trying to recover from an increasingly taxing stress in a 48 hour period.

I would run the LP out for as long as you can before cutting any weight. If you let your bodyweight get back up to 200lbs you will probably make a lot more progress and build a lot of muscular bodyweight before you have to switch to intermediate programming.

Mark's clarification article is a good read though.

this one will be helpful too:
http://startingstrength.com/articles...t_rippetoe.pdf

good luck!

[Smartdumbass]

Thanks for your help guys. I haven't reset yet, but was starting to feel like crap during the and after workouts, which is why I asked for advice. I will definitely start taking longer breaks in between sets, but will that help with recovery? Do I need to change my eating schedule to allow for better recovery? I'm not cutting weight on purpose, I just started losing fat recently without changing my diet, I just figured my muscles were burning more fat because they were bigger. I still eat 4000-6000 calories a day,I just stopped drinking so much milk. I do read the articles and have all the books, and everything tells me I am fine, I was just not feeling fine for the first time in over a year and a half, so I wanted to know if I needed to change something. Thanks again for all of your help.