Too late to change program?

[Geir]

Dear Rippetoe,

I have been training for about ten months (40-year crisis initiative) now. In the start I just wandered about doing a lot of stupid things. The last six months I've been following a so called Bill Starr 5x5 program I found on the net.

This program has a progression which look like this (in kg):

Squat
5 x 45
5 x 57
5 x 68
5 x 80
5 x 91

Its squats three days a week, bench press two, press once, deadlift once. Adding a kilo or two every week on every lift.

Then as I became increasingly interested in what I was doing, I found your books. And I imagine the novice program you would set up would be more like this:

Squat:
2x5 20
1x5 30
1x3 50
1x2 65
3x5 85

The thing is, I have had great results with my former program increasing every lift up to now. But now my press won't move from 4/5 x 45 kg. My bench press is now at 3/4 x 82 kg, and won't move. The squat (5 x 95) and deadlift (5 x 115) - and the supports like dips and pullups are still progressing.

The 40-year old asking this is 184 cm and 89 kg. I was 184 cm and 85 kg with little muscle mass. I am a different person now, more appreciated by wife and kid. Myself appreciating them, life and work more. I still want to progress, and the question therefore is: Is it to late to switch to the novice programming (with three heavier work sets)? Or what should I do to continue progressing?

My goals are: 1,5 x bodyweight in bench press. 2 x bw in squat, 2,5 x bw in deadlift and 1 x bw in press.

- G

[Mark Rippetoe]

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