considering program mods for an older adult

[Will Still]

Good Morning. I'm a first time poster, but a reader of this very informative forum since I started SS a month ago. Thank you for the opportunity.

I am a month shy of 49 and have been doing well on the standard, novice linear progression for the first month of my training. My stats are as follows:

height: 5' 9"

4/7/18 started SS 4/11/18
weight: 158 weight: 168
squat: 135 squat: 225
dl: 195 dl: 255
bench:175 bench: 190
press:100 press: 120
pc:95 pc:112

As you can see, my progress has been slow, but steady.....until this past week. I was forced to miss last Wed. due to a family overnight out of town. Upon my return to the gym on Friday, I was unable to complete my 5 x 3 on the bench, failing, predictably on the last rep of the last set. My new pr pull went up easily, however. On Monday, my squat, press, clean workout was successful, but on this Wed. I again failed to complete the last rep of the last set on the bench. I tried to pull as well and could not even break 260 off the floor. In frustration, I opted for weighted back extensions, fearing I had not yet recovered from my successful Friday pull of 255. I had been lifting, albeit incorrectly, for about a year prior to discovering Rip's program and purchasing and reading both books. I had my testosterone checked about 18 months ago for unrelated reasons and was told "it is on the low end of normal, but since we took your blood at 4 pm, your T was at its daily low point anyway, so its probably ok" ...not real definitive, I know. I do not sleep well, because I am an old guy with Irish twins and I'm up with screaming babies a couple of times a night, but I have been eating about 4k a day and my weight has been going up about 2 lbs a week, along with my strength. I re-read the special population section on older trainees again in Practical Programming and I am wondering if I should opt for two days between each workout instead of the standard m-w-f schedule. I thought my recovery ability could keep up, but perhaps my system simply hadn't been taxed with that much load before. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read, and I would greatly appreciate any input you good folks could offer. As I stated, I have some lifting experience, but no consistent progress prior to SS and I want to get back on track. Thanks again.

Will

[Brent Carter]

Are you resting long enough between sets? Are you making 2.5lb increases on press and bench yet? I would also consider replacing the PC with a BBRow.

[Will Still]

Are you resting long enough between sets? Are you making 2.5lb increases on press and bench yet? I would also consider replacing the PC with a BBRow.

Hi Coach,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes sir. I have read the first 3 questions and I am waiting 8-12 minutes between sets on the bench and the squat. I am also attempting to go up 2lbs per wo in bench, and am doing so reliably in the press. Dl, squat and pc are all 5 lb increments. My sleep is not quite what it should be, due to the screaming babies, but I have been making an effort to get at least get 6 hours a night. I'm assuming I'm eating enough because my weight has been increasing steadily. Since my original post, I pulled a pr of 260 on Friday, which was the same weight I couldn't break from the floor on Wed, so, I guess that my body is telling me to only dl once a week. I actually feel great with the power clean and believe that I could do greater incremental increases if I tried. I really like the movement and it feels like it is benefitting me, at this point anyway. However, I will drop it if you think that best for my age. I had a pr on squat yesterday at 235, pc'd w/o issue, and reset my bench 10% at 175, which felt very light. I maintained valsalva for all 5 reps in each set and the weight actually felt like a final warm up...so I may have gone too light. I planned to add chins in to the routine tomorrow and do back extensions to allow another day before pulling again. Thank you sir for your thoughtful feedback.

Will

[Will Still]

Hi Coach,

I saw an error in my first post. I began my SS novice progression on 3/7/18, not 4/7/18. Its been about 6 weeks since I began.
sorry for the mistake. I read the first 3 questions relating to getting stuck. I am resting 10-12 minutes between squat and bench and I have been loading the bar in small 2.5 lb increments for bp and press and 5 lb increments for squat, dl and pc. I backed off 10% on the bench after getting stuck, and 175 seemed easy. Planning to go to 180 on Friday for bp and im gonna try to pull again. I will drop the pc if you feel that it is a bad idea at my age, but I really like the movement and it feels great. Thank you for your help.

Will

[Brent Carter]

You could move to a one on two off but I doubt that is actually necessary. Instead I would start making the midweek workout a lighter squat day and see what that does to both your squat and DL before you go to pulling heavy once a week.

If you like the PC keep at it. Just stop if it becomes more trouble than it is worth.