Assistance Work

[shinebox97]

Coach Rippetoe,

In general, if a lifter is already doing the basic SS lifts, at which point should a lifter begin to add assistance work to his or her program? Are there certain things one should consider before doing so?

P.S. I'm at my heaviest body weight ever thanks to SS and milk. Thanks Coach.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks for the kind words.

From BBT: Not that the basic movements need much help. They are complete exercises in and of themselves, since they all involve lots of muscles moving lots of joints in anatomically correct, functionally useful ways. But after a certain period of time, usually several months after serious training begins, the stimulation provided by the simple execution of the basic exercises alone is not enough to produce sufficient stress to cause further adaptation. This is not due to any deficiency in the basic exercises, but to the trainee’s ability to successfully adapt to the stress these exercises provide. It is a natural result of training that progress slows down after progress has been made, and progress is why we train. These topics are discussed at great length in Practical Programming for Strength Training.