“Intermediate” lifter starting Starting Strength

[alexmunropga@gmail.com]

I have been running 531 for the past year or so and have gotten my lifts to a fairly average level. I’m 6ft 3, Male, 245lbs, 30 years old.

Deadlift 500lbs
Squat 450lbs
Bench 300lbs
Press 175lbs

I was wondering if I can still benefit from the novice LP as I have never run it and perhaps I could be getting my lifts up faster, or would I be better off running the Texas method 4 day split?

If the former, where would I start weight wise?

Thanks

Al

[Mark Rippetoe]

If you have not gone through the process of adding 5 pounds per workout to your squat 3 days a week, you have not exhausted the potential of novice programming.

Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd edition – The Aasgaard Company

[alexmunropga@gmail.com]

Great thanks Mark, love your podcast, funny and informative. Thanks for all you and your team do

[James Rodgers]

This is a neat opportunity to talk to a version of myself from the past. I did almost the exact same thing as you are proposing back in the fall of '19, and you should run the Novice program.

You would be well served to do the Novice program. My introduction to this was I googled "intermediate powerlifting program" and then plugged my numbers right into a spreadsheet called "Texas Method" with nearly the exact same set of lifts as you, except I weighed 185 at a towering 5'6". It worked just fine, but probably not optimally. You are a lot bigger than me and could make a bunch of progress on the Novice program.

If you also do the Novice program, it will also generate accurate 5RMs for your lifts that will be essential for setting up the Texas Method properly instead of what would now be a series of blind guesses based on percentages.

[alexmunropga@gmail.com]

Thanks for your response James, so if I was to start the Novice Lp, where would I start numbers wise based on my lifts above for my sets of 5?

[DaveJF]

Thanks for your response James, so if I was to start the Novice Lp, where would I start numbers wise based on my lifts above for my sets of 5?

That is explained in the book too. I also did LP after a few months of 5-3-1 and messed that part up, don't be me. Follow what the book says, and I'd also add to perhaps be a bit conservative with the starting weights if for no other reason than to tweak your form prior to getting to challenging weights. You'll make that diff up in no time on LP.

[FatButWeak]

Do the novice LP as written. You may think you are too advanced for it (you arent) but even if you are too advanced for it, it is a different program, so just being a different program should give you gains. I predict that if you follow the program as written AND pay attention to your recovery factors (sleep and meat and days off) you will be pleasantly suprised by your progress.