Your numbers look as though you've been more OFF than ON. You want my opinion on whether this is okay, when you've told me why it's not possible to be ON more than you have?
Member
SS in the Military
Grand master funk (Mark),
I’ve been on and off SS for several years (squatting at sea can yield disastrous results). I’m currently at 225lb with approximate lifts at:
Squat- 325
DL-360
Bench- 235
Press- 150
Recovery is an issue. Sleep sucks and I have to run with my students 3-4 times per week at 3:30am. As a result I have transitioned to 5/3/1 which has been great. I can recover even with running. However, I miss the faster progression of SS. What are your thoughts on cycling in SS every few months? There are times of the year when I’m not running as much. I could do 5/3/1 for 3 months then hit SS hard for 6 weeks. Any advice is appreciated!
TMPHBITEU
Your numbers look as though you've been more OFF than ON. You want my opinion on whether this is okay, when you've told me why it's not possible to be ON more than you have?
Member
Sure! Sea duty is a killer. Can’t lift when a ship is rolling. Deployments are sporadic at best. Our PT cycles basically mean that we ramp up running every 6 months. Basically as soon as I get back into a groove on SS I have to increase the running shortly after. I get up to 325 (Squat) and have to back off either to deployments or running. The 5/3/1 has been a saving grace. I can manage it all and still progress, all be it slowly. I just find myself with a few “quite” months from time to time and want to see if I can maximize the down time.
TMPHBITEU
PM our Coach in the Pacific Joe Leppo. He has good input for you.
Member
I will say that I follow Joe's log, and he DOES lift while the ship is rolling.
Member
Will do. Joe and I were actually stationed together back when we first discovered SS. I will hit him up. I was just wondering if you had any input on how SS COULD be implemented cyclicly, or if it's just a waste of time... Thanks again!
Starting Strength Coach
Rip, thanks for the kind endorsement.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
OP, If you PM me I'll give you my shipboard email address. Ocassionally I am bandwidth restricted in my ability to use the internet or post on the forum. However, if you contact me with questions, you must understand that I will treat the emails as a public exchange and post any worthwhile discussion or information from them to the forum for others to benefit from. Happy to help if I'm able to.
Why are you running so much? What program are you enrolled in or applying to that requires this? Jesus, what ship is this so I can avoid it? I am familar with 5/3/1, but have not used it in my own programming/training (yet).
Agreed. Assignment to sea duty results in sub-optimal training/programming options. It is still possible to train and make some improvements, though.
I strongly disagree. You may not be able to lift the way you want or as heavy as you planned on any particular day due to ship's motion, but you can do something.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean; you don't know when your deploying? If you are in the NAVY, I don't see how the semiannual PRT preparation is crushing your progress (Re: Push-Ups / Sit-Ups / 1.5 mile Run). If you're not NAVY, you'll have to explain to this to me.
Starting Strength Coach
Sorry Mike, I didn't pick up on your SS username at first. Email me.
Member
Damn Joe, kicking a brother while he's down... My running is a result of having to run fat ass boot camp grads into the ground. I hold several sessions per week and extra sessions for the "special kids". My sea time is nutty. We are NOT assigned to a particular ship. We go out on whatever platform needs support at the time. I could be on a DDG for a month and then a white hull with no real gym for the next few months. The traditional cycles are out the window for me. 5/3/1 is more ideal for an advanced lifter but it allows me to do the big lifts once per week. Great for recovery but SLOW for progress. Squatting once per week is not really cutting it. BTW- Next time your in HK, stop by Ned Kelly's and have a beer for me!
Starting Strength Coach
From a fellow sailor, full respect- training on a ship is never easy.
Whenever rolling was the issue, or if the ship had nothing but dumbbells (1 DDG I was on didn't even have a bench), I would sub floor presses, standing presses, 1-arm presses (self-spotting), goblet squats, dumbbell deadlifts, heavy swings, weighted pullups, and weighted dips.
Doing a boot instructor program, you'll likely just have to accept slower gains until you're able to cut down on the running volume. At a bodyweight of 165# (back then), I was never able to get above a 295# squat or a 400# DL while I chose to run 15+ miles a week and Crossfit. It wasn't until I adjusted priorities off the PRT and cut my conditioning volume that I was able to make any serious headway on the lifts.
If you're on 5/3/1, periodizing for a PRT is relatively easy. I was always able to recover well on the first month after a reset (I'd cut my training maxes by 5-10 percent). You might try doing that the month before the PRT- it'll provide you the load-volume break you need to recover for your runs while still maintaining your strength. It's still not ideal strength training- you're running too much for that- but that's a matter of priorities.
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