Older Beginner to Regular Strength Training: Looking for Routine Tips and Advice

[slowpoke]

I began a regular exercise program in April of this year at the age of 34 after a break of almost ten years. When I stopped in 2001, I was lifting relatively light weights and following your typical back/bi and chest/tri routines with 3 sets of 8-10 reps (5’11” and 145lbs at the time). Almost no attention given to core, back, or legs back then. I have no athletic background and no idea what I was doing.

Most of April of 2011 was spent re-acclimating my body to weight training and exercise in general – lots of machines and running. I began the Starting Strength program in May at about 170lbs. Due to my work schedule and family obligations, I am only able to spend an hour a day in the gym, three days a week. I have been rotating the A and B routines since May. When I started the program my working sets were: squat 95, bench 125, deadlift 135, press 75, and power clean 75. My working sets are now: squat 125, bench 160, deadlift 160, press 95, and power clean 95. Power cleans really hurt my knees so I do barbell rows with 115 most of the time. The gym is in a corporate setting and it’s usually pretty empty when I’m there so it’s hard to find a spotter. Workouts have been fairly consistent depending on work load.

I’ve been basing my progress off the “Basic Strength Standards” matrix. It seems like I’m at or around the novice level for press and bench press, but wellbelow the average for my current weight (165lbs.) for squats and deadlifts. On a side note, I dropped about 10lbs. over the summer before I started eating more and drinking protein shakes after my workouts. Been stable at 165lbs. since July.

My biggest goal at this point is to raise my lower body and back up to the novice level. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
SP

[FatButWeak]

Do not concern yourself with the strength tables. That is mere trivia. You are considered novice until you are no longer able to add weight to your lifts in a linear fashion (i.e. 5 pounds to your bench every session, or some other similarly incremental increase). This is the fastest way to get strong. Once you are no longer able to improve (regardless of what the weight on the bar is) in this direct, linear fashion, you are considered an intermediate (regardless of how much weight is on the bar) and will need to play with the other training parameters (heavy days, light days, differeint numbers of reps and sets, etc.) in order to increase the weight on the bar.

This is true for everybody - from the naturally strong (ie those with a lot of weight on the bar) to the naturally weak (you, apparently).

Are you eating enough to support recovery? Frankly, you should be stronger by now.

[Gatorwolf]

Don't worry about "standards" and eat more. What's a typical day of eating look like for you?

[Corrie]

How much weight were you adding to each lift each session?
It looks like your squat and deadlift went up about 5 pounds a month from when you started. It doesn't sound like you started at the right weights, or you haven't read the programming part properly.

[slowpoke]

Thanks for the quick replies, about to head down to the gym in about an hour. Always go on my lunch break at around 1-2PM. I am no longer able to add weight in a linear fashion. I started with adding 5lbs every third workout. I've reached squat 125, bench 155, deadlift 155, and press 95 in the first part of October. Haven't been able to add weight since then without feeling like I'm losing form or otherwise cheating the lift. I've really focused heavily on correct form, especially since I have no athletic background. Lots of watching videos of Rip.

I don't track my food intake, but I eat pretty much the same thing every day. Cereal w/ milk for breakfast, sandwhich, chips and yogurt for lunch, and dinner is usually a meat, a starch, and a vegetable. Certainly not a caloric overload, but I'm not losing any weight. Always had a small frame w/ narrow shoulders, but I'm not showing ribs or anything.

I may not have started at the right weights. Guess I didn't understand that part fully. I'm really in no rush to make gains, but I do want to make sure that I'm doing things correctly.

Thanks,
SP

[dkggpeters]

You should be adding weight every workout over the previous workout. This will push you to get stronger. You should have no problems adding weight each workout to your squat and deadlift. You should be able to DL 300 lbs at your weight and food is not the issue.

[michael dowling]

I won't give you lifting advice because I'm a novice, but I am 34 and just returning to some form of athletic pursuit, In High School I wrestled, played baseball, and I spent years in the Marines so I have a somewhat athletic background, but when I came off the sofa about 9 months ago I was very much weak, overweight, and really out of shape. My advice would be:

1. Go slowly, get your form down perfect on the lifts, I wasted a lot of time with high squats then hurting myself trying to get proper depth.
2. Be careful taking all advice, a 34 year old metabolism isn't the same as a skinny 19 year olds metabolism, he may need 5000-6000 kCals a day and GOMAD, you probably do not at 34. So the eat eat eat mantra could make you a touch stronger, but much fatter.
3. Set realistic goals for yourself, again at 34 the body isn't as good with recovery as a 19 year old, you may need to pace yourself more, don't try to race to a 400 lb deadlift.
4. Buy and read the book, also look at videos online they really helped me.
5. Be consistent, every week, 3 days on schedule, keep a log and move the weight you planned to that day.

Good luck!

[Michael Grantham]

A 34-year old may not be 19 but you can do a lot better than this. Fuck's sake...protocols for 50 year olds have you adding 5 pounds a week to the squat.

Just so you know that I'm not completely talking out of my ass. I'm 34. I started in May of last year after having NO athletic background...ever. My starting squat was 135 and I hit 300 somewhere around August. If I can do this with my fat ass and far below average athleticism, you can do better than a 30 pound increase in 6 months.

Eat more. Maybe not a ton more, but definitely more. More importantly...push harder in the gym.

[slowpoke]

You've got a point MG. I need to push harder in the gym. I wonder if it would be a complete waste to work out on the smith machine since I don't have a spotter. Seems like I could push harder this way.

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, what was your starting weight in May of last year? I think part of my problem is that, even though I'm 34, I'm still a fairly small dude. Hell, I started shedding pounds this summer with no cardio and lost all energy in the gym until I started the protien shakes. It may be easier for a heavier dude to squat 300lbs. vs. a 165lb dude. Also, what exactly should I be eating more of? That probably sounds dumb, but I'm only used to eating when I'm hungry. I usually stop when I'm full and only occasionally snack on fruit and junk food in between meals. May need to add some things to the diet other than apples and cookies!

SP

[Michael Grantham]

You've got a point MG. I need to push harder in the gym. I wonder if it would be a complete waste to work out on the smith machine since I don't have a spotter. Seems like I could push harder this way.

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, what was your starting weight in May of last year? I think part of my problem is that, even though I'm 34, I'm still a fairly small dude. Hell, I started shedding pounds this summer with no cardio and lost all energy in the gym until I started the protien shakes. It may be easier for a heavier dude to squat 300lbs. vs. a 165lb dude. Also, what exactly should I be eating more of? That probably sounds dumb, but I'm only used to eating when I'm hungry. I usually stop when I'm full and only occasionally snack on fruit and junk food in between meals. May need to add some things to the diet other than apples and cookies!

SP

Skip the smith machine. Does the gym have a power rack? If it doesn't have a way for you to make real progress, it might be time to consider a different gym.

I was about 240 when I started, and it may be easier for us fatties to make progress. However, I wouldn't think that the difference is enormous. Certainly not enough to explain 30 pounds of progress in 6 months. You should have made 30 pounds of progress in the first week.

When in doubt, eat more meat...especially the delicious fatty kind.