stomach virus

[naf7]

Hi Mark,

I've been on the Starting Strength program for a few weeks now, making pretty good progress. I recently reset on squats to 165 after I stalled at 190 (which I later discovered was due to not eating enough, which I fixed). I got up to 180 last Friday, and it felt pretty good. Although i got about 3000 calories in that day (my current target amount), I got a stomach virus that night and threw up a lot. On Saturday, I got about 400 calories, Sunday, I managed to eat 1000, and on Monday, i got around 2500, feeling better towards the end of the day. Tuesday I went in to the gym and I decided to stay at 180 for another day, since my diet was bad over the weekend. However, I couldn't complete all 5 reps on the last 2 sets. Should I have dropped the weight? Should I drop the weight next workout?

Neil

[Mark Rippetoe]

By next workout you'll be fine. There is always a short period of time after a sickness that keeps you from eating and dehydrates you where your strength will be down. Overeat and overdrink until you're back to normal, which will be your next workout.