Starting Andy's GGW

[Ed Bremer]

Just finishing NLP, I am planning to start Andy's GGW on Sunday (my Monday). Any advice? I am planning to use a 1rm calculator to set my starting weights. Any advice is welcome.
55 Y.O. Male 192#
Squat 245# 3x5
BP 152.5# 3x5
OHP 102.5# 5x3
DL 275# 3x3
Thanks!

[Sheff]

Just starting my second run of ggw this week, it’s a great program. I split it into 4 days to shorten the sessions.

I would suggest doing the additional medium press workout that Andy suggests as my press did stall about 3/4 of the way through the program.

[Ed Bremer]

Just starting my second run of ggw this week, it’s a great program. I split it into 4 days to shorten the sessions.

I would suggest doing the additional medium press workout that Andy suggests as my press did stall about 3/4 of the way through the program.

Yeah, I probably need to add that as my press pretty much sucks.

[Str8shutr]

That depends. Are you doing GGW as written or with a Bench emphasis? As written you get lots of OHP exposure (1 heavy day and 1 medium day) not so much with Bench (1 light day).

[chrisza]

I love GGW. It's a great program to run if you have "life" going on at the same time. That said, if your looking for new PR's, it's not until mid program that you will be doing so. As an early intermediate, you could run a different HLM template without the "wave loading" of GGW that could lead to quicker PR's that you can easily hit at your stage in your training. Only if that is your goal, otherwise have fun with GGW.

[Ed Bremer]

Maybe I would get more benefit from extra bench day. I'm doing the program as written. Extra bench work should help drive the press, right?

[Ed Bremer]

At 55 YO, quick PR's are not that big a deal. slow and steady wins the race( to gainzz ).

[chrisza]

Maybe I would get more benefit from extra bench day. I'm doing the program as written. Extra bench work should help drive the press, right?

Yes. Andy has suggested throwing in an extra bench/press day for that lift if you want to get more volume for the non-prioritized press/bench.

[Str8shutr]

At 55 YO, quick PR's are not that big a deal. slow and steady wins the race( to gainzz ).

If this is truly your philosophy consider the SRA cycle. You want to get the best return out of a minimal investment. I would suggest running it as written, and if you find that your bench is stalling, you can always add in another bench day.

[Str8shutr]

FWIW, I am about to start my fourth cycle of GGW and have not found it necessary to add another pressing day. I have set PRs for every lift at the end of each cycle.