midway thru Novice SS... how am I doing? q's about lifting shoes, cleans, DL stalls..
First post. Reading these forums have been as invaluable as the book.
Started doing the program Dec 16, it's now Jan 30.. stuck to it close as I can
Watched Rippetoe's youtube form vids a hundred times, been anal on form
Male, Age: 32
Height: 5'11
Weight: 96 kg (210lbs)--> 99kg (218 lbs)..
higher bodyfat to begin... body composition has improved some
Squat: 45kg (99lbs) --> 97.5kg (215lbs)
Bench: 35kg (77lbs) --> 52.5kg (115lbs)
Press: 25kg (55lbs) --> 41kg (90lbs)
Deadlift: 50kg (110lbs) --> 115kg (253lbs)
My goals are 500lb DL, 400lb squat, 275lb bench, 175lb OH press...
I'm happy with the progress, the program really works if you do it.
Couple of questions about sticking points:
1) Squatting in my tennis shoes is holding me back. I need proper shoes.
I live in the middle east, all we have are shitty narrow Adidas that don't fit my fat wide foot... any tips on getting custom made shoes? What are the specs on that, anybody try it before? Any other solutions or creative ideas? It'll be a few months before I travel to Europe again...
2) Should I be power cleaning now? Today I think the 10lb gains are over. At 115kg (~250lbs) I got 4 reps up and the fifth rep wouldn't come past halfway, even after 3 tries... first time I've missed on DL. tho I traveled for 24 hours on a plane and had the stomach flu the day before yesterday so didn't eat for 48 hours.. still, am I now pulling enough weight to move to the Phase 2, where I alternate DL & cleans... or should I keep DLing every session?
3) started microloading 1kg (2lbs) OH press at 35 kg (77lbs).. is that too soon or normal? I'm still doing LP on it.. bench is still moving at 2.5kg (5lb) jumps... again this is in the book I assume this is normal..
4) many sessions I feel I could do bench AND oh press... my recovery is great... any reason not to do both? I know: YNDTP.. patience? maybe I'm lifting too light...
5) is it ever advisable to repeat a squat weight? Since microloading squat & DL are sort of redundant due to plate inaccuracies. I feel my squats are starting to get heavy enough I need a break from LP sometimes.. for example, today was 97.5kg. I got all my reps in, but I felt it was a grind pushing the last couple up.. I feel like next time I should repeat the weight.. does this make sense? I just feel safer knowing I hit the weight twice before I move up to the 100kg mark.. however, if I had hit 97.5kg today and it had been easy or medium feeling, then I'd do 100kg next time.. see what I mean? Like, what's the rush? It's gonna take a year or two to get up to baseline strength anyways, why risk injury pushing too fast.. I'm only training for health reasons.. I've done this a few times out of necessity (lack of small plates & proper equipment while traveling, so had to repeat weight) and the second time I do a new PR the weight is ALWAYS easier than the first time I do a PR weight..
6) Should I be doing curls for biceps? Rippetoe says it won't hurt to do it once a week but I get the impression it's fine to skip biceps iso-work.. which is fine with me.
7) I've read other places SS can 'neglect' the rear delts.. is this broscience or do rear delt assistance exercises complement the program? I'm considering adding some in...
8) What's the ideal path for me at this time in general? Keep doing what I'm doing?? When will I know I'm at Phase 3 and can start chin ups?
I'm eager to make bicep & upper back gains without curling or rowing haha
I probably have more questions but I'll refrain for now. Thanks for your input.
