starting strength gym
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 30

Thread: How am I doing so far

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Tbilisi, Georgia
    Posts
    7

    Default How am I doing so far

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    Hello Rip,

    It's been two months, I feel great, I am stronger, I look better. This is working, and for the first time I feel like I belong at the gym, compared to past <1 month attempts, when I hated going each single time. I don't want to get overconfident though, so I want to kind of present what I'm learned as an average Joe, hoping that there are no pitfalls in my knowledge or mindset. Also my goals are: Build lower body strength with squats, eventually move to exclusively weighted bodyweight exercises for upper body. I basically want to be impressive above the bar, and below it. Also Stats:

    Bodyweight: 79KG
    Height: 181cm (6ft?)
    Squats: 40KG => 80KG
    OHP: 25KG => 40KG (Goal is 55+ till end of year, my girl weighs 55)
    Bench Press: 30KG => 50KG
    T-bar Row: (Without Bar weight) 30KG => 45KG
    Push-ups (In one go): 7 Reps => 23 Reps
    Dips: 0 Reps => 3 Reps
    Chin-ups (In one go): 4 Reps => 12 Reps


    Some wisdom I consider true for now:
    1. Workouts must be goal specific, even variations of a single exercise should be dependent on your goals. If the goal is to be good at Olympic lifting, front squats and high-bar squats, powerlifters should go for the low-bar squat as it engages more muscle. If you don't have specific goals, you can mix it up sometimes, but not too often.
    2. Your body mechanics might prevent you from performing certain exercises well, in which case you should change up the variation of the exercise (example, short torso and long femur makes the low bar a bit awkward, since you have to lean forward way more, or spread your knees way more, which affects your hip position and demands way more mobility, in this case you'll feel better with a high-bar squat)
    3. Compound movements are king, isolations are done only after
    4. High weights, explosive fewer reps for strength. Lots of slow reps, lower weights for size
    5. Explosiveness and momentum are two different things, pauses are important
    6. If I can't do it right, I either lower the weights until I can do it right, work on mobility or don't do the exercise at all
    7. Injury and weakness are two different things, weakness is there to be fixed, injury should be treated as the doctor advises. If your lower back is weak, you should train it, instead of being afraid of injuries, if I'm careful, I'll be fine
    8. don't do 50 exercises, just do 5-10 of them intensely
    9. Whey protein is convenient, not a replacement for food. You don't need 40 protein shakes everyday. (I just use whey protein when I feel that my protein intake was low for that day, or I can't be bothered to cook)
    10. Active recovery is underrated, does magic to progress
    11. The best workout method is consistency
    12. Progressive overload is the most important, de-load phase can be important for long-term progress (Note for future)
    13. Most supplements are unnecessary
    14. A good workout is the one where you accomplish your goals for the day
    15. I slump for 3 weeks straight and then progress drastically unexpectedly, I don't really know why
    16. It doesn't actually take all that long to look good, not a model, but even 2 months can be enough to look healthy and athletic, at least for me it was
    17. Every man should be able to overhead press his significant other, difficulty may vary, I'm working on it
    18. The Bench press is a glorified isolation exercise
    19. Always take a dump before squatting or so I'm told
    20. Soviet style stretches my grandpa did, are apparently the best way to do it. Nothing static

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    53,559

    Default

    This is so fascinatingly fucked up that I'm going to deal with it on the podcast I record today. It will be up Friday.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Posts
    2,631

    Default

    Well, I do think 17 is a good goal if circumstances make it feasible. It's a nice press milestone to put before pressing your own bodyweight. A lot of the rest of it looks like a laundry list of common misconceptions though.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    139

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rmifaabsbb View Post
    Hello Rip,

    It's been two months, I feel great, I am stronger, I look better. This is working, and for the first time I feel like I belong at the gym, compared to past <1 month attempts, when I hated going each single time. I don't want to get overconfident though, so I want to kind of present what I'm learned as an average Joe, hoping that there are no pitfalls in my knowledge or mindset. Also my goals are: Build lower body strength with squats, eventually move to exclusively weighted bodyweight exercises for upper body. I basically want to be impressive above the bar, and below it. Also Stats:

    Bodyweight: 79KG
    Height: 181cm (6ft?)
    Squats: 40KG => 80KG
    OHP: 25KG => 40KG (Goal is 55+ till end of year, my girl weighs 55)
    Bench Press: 30KG => 50KG
    T-bar Row: (Without Bar weight) 30KG => 45KG
    Push-ups (In one go): 7 Reps => 23 Reps
    Dips: 0 Reps => 3 Reps
    Chin-ups (In one go): 4 Reps => 12 Reps


    Some wisdom I consider true for now:
    1. Workouts must be goal specific, even variations of a single exercise should be dependent on your goals. If the goal is to be good at Olympic lifting, front squats and high-bar squats, powerlifters should go for the low-bar squat as it engages more muscle. If you don't have specific goals, you can mix it up sometimes, but not too often.
    2. Your body mechanics might prevent you from performing certain exercises well, in which case you should change up the variation of the exercise (example, short torso and long femur makes the low bar a bit awkward, since you have to lean forward way more, or spread your knees way more, which affects your hip position and demands way more mobility, in this case you'll feel better with a high-bar squat)
    3. Compound movements are king, isolations are done only after
    4. High weights, explosive fewer reps for strength. Lots of slow reps, lower weights for size
    5. Explosiveness and momentum are two different things, pauses are important
    6. If I can't do it right, I either lower the weights until I can do it right, work on mobility or don't do the exercise at all
    7. Injury and weakness are two different things, weakness is there to be fixed, injury should be treated as the doctor advises. If your lower back is weak, you should train it, instead of being afraid of injuries, if I'm careful, I'll be fine
    8. don't do 50 exercises, just do 5-10 of them intensely
    9. Whey protein is convenient, not a replacement for food. You don't need 40 protein shakes everyday. (I just use whey protein when I feel that my protein intake was low for that day, or I can't be bothered to cook)
    10. Active recovery is underrated, does magic to progress
    11. The best workout method is consistency
    12. Progressive overload is the most important, de-load phase can be important for long-term progress (Note for future)
    13. Most supplements are unnecessary
    14. A good workout is the one where you accomplish your goals for the day
    15. I slump for 3 weeks straight and then progress drastically unexpectedly, I don't really know why
    16. It doesn't actually take all that long to look good, not a model, but even 2 months can be enough to look healthy and athletic, at least for me it was
    17. Every man should be able to overhead press his significant other, difficulty may vary, I'm working on it
    18. The Bench press is a glorified isolation exercise
    19. Always take a dump before squatting or so I'm told
    20. Soviet style stretches my grandpa did, are apparently the best way to do it. Nothing static
    I don't really get point 2... doesn't really understand why its a problem.
    But point 19 looks very important to me!! Should be in the 4th edition of the book (which will never come I guess).

    Very excited on the podcast.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Posts
    392

    Default

    To be fair, #19 wasn't covered in the blue book.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Washington
    Posts
    118

    Default

    I have done some of my best pulls ans squats when I had to go #2. It acts as a 2nd belt on the inside! It can be risky business if everything is not tight. Don't try it before you have mastered your breathing and bracing.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Phoenix-ish
    Posts
    2,004

    Default

    Yeah, #19's a big deal. I felt one brewing in my warmups at 225 yesterday and barely made it to the commode. Came out 5 lbs lighter, finished my warmups, and squatted a PR double at 425.

    Since correlation always equals causation, I am now convinced that taking the dump led to the PR. It shall henceforth be part of The Liturgy of The Squat.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, CA
    Posts
    547

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    This is so fascinatingly fucked up that I'm going to deal with it on the podcast I record today. It will be up Friday.
    Mark, watch your blood pressure. I think this is trolling. The "What me worry?" title of the post may be a giveaway.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Tbilisi, Georgia
    Posts
    7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    This is so fascinatingly fucked up that I'm going to deal with it on the podcast I record today. It will be up Friday.
    Shit, that bad? Can't wait

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    2,478

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by rmifaabsbb View Post
    19. Always take a dump before squatting or so I'm told
    A wise man once said "Don't deadlift when you have to shit and vice versa"

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •