Recovery for a complete novice

[feebes]

Male
age: 27
height: 5'9"
weight:200lb
bf: ~28%

I just started the "Novice" program this week as outlined in practical programming. I have no previous weightlifting experience.

Last night I did my 3rd workout of my first week and it sucked ass. After warming up I dutifully added my 175 pounds to the barbell and knocked out 4 squats and failed on the 5th. Feeling like crap, I knocked 10 pounds off to get to the 165 I did on Wednesday and I got 3 of those in before I failed on the 4th.

My legs felt pretty tired and weak going in, but I expected them to. I've been dealing with DOMS and my legs have felt like jelly. I have been trying to balance eating to give me enough protein and calories to recover, but I am already fat, so I am trying to be cautious of taking it too far. I have gained a few pounds this week, so I think I am doing that right. I also have noticed a definite increase in the firmness and size of my muscles that are not covered with a thick enough layer of blubber to hide results.

So here is my question, is it either:

A) Feebes, you're a pussy. Anybody of your age/sex/size/experience level, should be able to do the novice program as written....that's why it's called the "novice" program, dumbass. You obviously fucked up your eating/sleeping because you should have had enough time to recover between workouts. Stick to the 3-day/week routine and quit whining to us about not hitting your weights.

B) Feebes, you're probably still a pussy, but a completely untrained pussy and so therefore you are going to take longer to adapt until you form some kind of base level of strength. Go to a 2 days/week routine for a while to give your body time to recover. When you start to see a schlong grow where your vagina used to be, switch back to 3 days/week.

[zepled37]

First thing that comes to my mind is that your starting weights are too heavy for you. Especially if this is really just after 3 workouts. I would probably just suggest that you reevaluate your starting weights and try again with the normal program.

[gzt]

You may have started too heavy. You may have crappy form. You may not be eating. Figure it out. If you're really concerned, do 5# increases starting from the weight you succeeded with.

But you have to do 3 days per week. Period.

[Roamer]

Did you find your starting weights by testing with 5 reps like the books says?
And i also suggest you do 5 lbs increases.

[Sami]

You've started too high. That's all it can be really. 1 week is not enough time for recovery to be a factor. You may still be a little sore, but you should not be failing.

I haven't seen anyone fail in their first 3 weeks if they've started at the right weight.

Start with the bar, and do 5 reps. Add 20lbs (10 a side) and do 5 reps again. Add another 20lbs and do 5 reps. Do this until the bar speed starts to slow down a little bit from the last set of 5; or when your form starts to be compromised even a little tiny bit. This WILL BE a VERY light and easy set. This is your starting weight and that weight will be your first set of 5. Rest, and do 2 more sets. First session done. It should not fatigue you at all. You may still be sore the next day, but that's just because you're new and it will go in a week or so.

The next session, add 10 or 20lbs and do 3 sets of 5. Maybe add 10-20lbs the next session, but don't add that much for more than a couple of weeks. Then taper it down to 5-10lbs a session, and after a few weeks only 5lb jumps per session.

[gzt]

You've started too high. That's all it can be really. 1 week is not enough time for recovery to be a factor. You may still be a little sore, but you should not be failing.

I haven't seen anyone fail in their first 3 weeks if they've started at the right weight.

When I first did this, I completely embarrassed myself sometime in the first like couple weeks. Then I fixed my form and did 10# increases. It happens, but it's often just some stupid stuff. But, yeah, most people shouldn't start that high unless they were already squatting.

[feebes]

Thanks for the responses.

I do believe I started too heavy. It makes sense.

I chose 155 as a starting point because I was able to do it on multiple days, squatting below parallel for 3 sets of 5. However, it was not as easy as Sami is saying. Towards the end of those sets I was definitely fatigued. I should have started lighter. I will go back on Monday and find the lightest weight that gives me any resistance at all and start over from there.

Thanks again.

[Alex Bond]

Thanks for the responses.

I do believe I started too heavy. It makes sense.

I chose 155 as a starting point because I was able to do it on multiple days, squatting below parallel for 3 sets of 5. However, it was not as easy as Sami is saying. Towards the end of those sets I was definitely fatigued. I should have started lighter. I will go back on Monday and find the lightest weight that gives me any resistance at all and start over from there.

Thanks again.

I don't know about "lightest weight that gives me any resistance at all", that might be a little low. Maybe 135# or something.

[isis]

Since you made 165x3x5 on Wednesday I don't think you started too heavy...more likely the number of squat and deadlift sets you've done this week experimenting to find the right weight added up to more volume than you could recover from between workouts--the DOMS and legs like jelly are signs of underrecovery. But underrecovery in a novice is easy to fix--a couple days of taking it easy and eating well this weekend and you will be feeling much stronger on Monday, ready to repeat today's workout and continue adding weight on the 3 days/week schedule.

If you were able to squat 165 below parallel and keep your back extended and knees out, there is no need to reset to any weight lower than that. Your work set weight is supposed to feel heavy and the last reps are supposed to make you feel "definitely fatigued" and if they don't you need to add more weight next time.

The trick is to find the amount to increase from workout to workout so that the difficulty of your last reps stays about the same. Rip gives some guidelines and other people on here will chime in about what they have done, but ultimately you have to experiment and find what's right for you.

[gzt]

honestly, if you were able to do 155, and do it for multiple days, then did 165, there's little point in going down below 155. or even, probably, below 165. if I were you, I would either start at 155 again, start at 165 again, or try at 170 and go up 5#.