How much are you eating, and what? Precisely?
Member
Going from 2 days to 3 days of lifting...
Hey Mark!
I'm currently on the 2 days a week of the novice SS program. I'm currently in fulltime student in school so it's all I really have time for. I'm looking at going to a 3 day program once school ends and I have more time during the summer to lift. In addition to strength training, I also do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu about 4-10 hours a week, depending on my work schedule.
I've been on SS for about a month and am adding weight almost every session. My squat has gone up by about 15 pounds, bench about 10, dead lift 20 pounds (I am a girl btw....) I was wondering if I should go to the 3 day a week program or stick to the 2 day a week since I am seeing progress, and if there is anything else I should be doing if I'm going to be lifting 3 days a week in regards to diet (increase protein, carbs, etc) or other lifestyle changes. Thanks a ton!
TMPHBITEU
How much are you eating, and what? Precisely?
Member
I don't keep track of calories....I just eat when I'm hungry. Usually granola cereal with milk and fruit for breakfast. Lots of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, carrots, nuts, yogurt, chips and cheese with salsa, popcorn, toast with nutella, peanut butter or almond for snacks.
Other meals are usually chicken and veggies, grilled cheese and soup, spaghetti with turkey or lean ground beef, pizza, mexican, tuna sandwiches....
I'm kind of walking a fine line. I am trying to lose weight and gain strength. I got another 10-15 pounds of weight to loose before I'm at my goal weight so I'd only have to drop 5 pounds to make weight for tournaments.
TMPHBITEU
I'd just stay with the 2 days.
Member
That seems like a lot of sugar and starch for someone trying to lose fat. And not very much protein for someone trying to gain strength. Eat more protein. And fat from animals tends to do nice things for your hormones, which helps with strength, recovery, and fat levels. Someone putting these kinds of demands on her body needs more of those.Originally Posted by lakergirl52
Member
What were your numbers at the very start of the program? Your gains seem slow even considering 2 workouts a week.
Member
She's doing a lot of stuff that affects recovery, and her diet is less than ideal for strength. And she's probably not a novice to exercise--grappling will develop some strength, so she might be starting at a higher point on the novice range.
Member
Spar-I'm constantly working on the diet. I'm not a big meat eater, never have been and probably won't ever be. I'm eating a lot more though now then what I used to, just not a lot of red meat or pork.
Kel-I started lifting in July 2010, then took time off until recently because of getting my ass kicked by freak of nature athletes at a tournament. I realized I needed to get stronger so I started again.
Lift-Amount lifted in July 2010-Restarting SS Late March 2011-Current Lifts
Squat: 80-90-105
Bench: 55-65-75
Deadlift:80-90-110
Press:N/A-45-55
Power Clean: N/A-55-60
I lift on Wed and Sat and do BJJ at least on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, so I don't really have a ton of recovery time in-between.
Member
I suggest you get some decent quantities of coconut oil and ghee made from grass-fed butter into your diet. Both are a dream to cook with. Just cook everything in these.
I guess organ meat is something you're probably not going to work into your diet? In which case, I'm a proponent of cod liver oil, but you should be careful about the brand. Make sure it's not from a company that strips out the vitamins, deodorizes it, and then adds synthetic vitamins back in.
✓ Member
Hi,
I'm doin BJJ and weight training parallel as well. What I would suggest for you to do, is to skip BJJ for 3-4 months and do the Starting Strength program CORRECTLY with 3 sessions per week as long as you still make novice gains. Then you can go back to BJJ, and perhaps change to an intermediate program with the weights, Texas Method or perhaps 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. What I can tell from my personal experience is that it's very tricky to improve strength while doing BJJ. If your goal is to be stronger so you won't be manhandled in tournaments, I'd really suggest focusing on strength training for a couple of months. If you definitely MUST keep on doing BJJ in this period, I would keep it to 1 session per week, placed so that you can recover the most until the next SS training day. For example if you lift Mon/Wed/Fri, BJJ should be FRI evening (with the lifting session in the morning).
If you would like to keep with your current schedule, you should at least reorganize the sessions so that you don't lift the day after BJJ class. Right now both lifting days are so.Perhaps think about lifting in the morning, BJJ in the evening. For example: Monday LIFT, Tuesday BJJ, Thursday morning LIFT, evening BJJ, Friday BJJ. That way you have a wednesday as recovery, plus you have the weekend as well. It still will be tough! Especially that you're trying to lose weight, which means you're undereating for such a demanding training schedule. Keep us updated how you progress!
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