Question...I promise its the last one: since I'm only doing 2 days a week out of lack of choice, does it simply extend the period for phase 1? Should I introduce one home-workout day without equipment? I can probably get a quick workout in before sleep and it seems better than nothing..right? All I have are gymnastics rings on the balcony and my imagination in terms of equipment.
You don't have to lose sleep over me anymore Rip, I started the program yesterday. Lost a couple lives doing the 3x5 on the squat, but somehow managed not to mess up the form. Last rep on the 3rd set of the Press was a mess, but got through it. I did the 1x5 on the deadlift pretty easily, so probably went too light. I asked someone to tell me if I'm bending my back (I wanted to make sure) and it turned into a seminar directed at me, on how to do the deadlift, performed by half the gym. One thing led to another and did another 5 reps, but as an upside, I got the hang of it.
2x/week is not the program, so it will be sub-optimal.
Mark, are you still convinced this guy is NOT trolling?
By the way, I've decided to "self-identify" as someone who's "doing the program" by augmenting my work-outs with daily, two hour tap dancing sessions. Of course I'd be happy to stop if you interpret this as cultural appropriation.
I think he's just very dense.
Hey man. I am somebody who has mixed it up with Rip once or twice on this board. I say that so you'll know that what I'm about to say isn't because of [shudder] dogma.
There's a BIG difference between doing something that is vaguely Starting-Strength inspired, versus doing even a reasonable approximation of The Program. I used to think of myself as having absorbed and incorporated the basics of Rip's wisdom from various articles on T-Nation. I did compound barbell movements, I didn't skip leg day, etc. At times I even ate a lot and put on weight and strength.
Then one day I said to myself, maybe I should actually try to follow the program--5's, linear progression, etc. And I got stronger. Every workout.
But I didn't feel that great about my squat form, so after a few months I thought, maybe I should meet with a coach. And after I did, for the first time in my life squats felt right. For awhile the weight jumped up. So fun. If you've been working out with weights for awhile, you don't expect to suddenly make big gains like that.
I encourage you to try it. It isn't a punishment. People aren't telling you to do it because Hey Noob, you don't get to do the cool program until later! You have to do the shitty basic program now! They're telling you because it works.
Going to work in the morning knowing that you hit your numbers the night before...even though you can't quite believe that you hit them again...it's a trip.
At least I don't think you're a troll.