When to Move from Basic A/B + Stiff Back + Food

[stlrick]

I'm a 51 year old male - 5 10 - 215 lbs.

On my 10th week of the basic A/B program

Current Totals:
Squat 215 (adding 5 per workout)
Bench 130 (adding 5 per workout)
Deadlift 215 (adding 5 per workout)
Standing Press 105 (adding 2.5 per workout)
Power Clean 135 (adding 5 per workout)

The Power Clean are getting tough (along with the Deadlift). I sense a fair amount of room in the bench. I realize I'm slightly out of wack with the Deadlift matching the Squat.

I re-read the programming section of Starting Strength. I'm wondering when I switch to the slightly more complicated program that includes pull-ups. (I also really suck at pull-ups - which might indicate that I should be doing them).

The also thing I've noticed is my lower back remains stiff. Not really a hurt - just a stiffness. In my prior Starting Strength work, I don't remember my back being this stiff- but I'm assuming this is an age thing.

The last thought on this rather long post is food. I started back on SS because I was getting a bit of a belly - among other reasons. My weight has remained constant - but the pants are looser - so I figure I'm about right on intake. However, as the program continues - I want to get the nutrition right. Does anyone has a simple set of guidelines to follow?

Rick

[keelkemper]

welcome, I dont think your near the end of your LP for most of these lifts. The end of the novice program is defined by your recovery time not the weight you lift so only you can decide. To work this program, I really have to eat like I mean it, so I try to eat well and get my bodyweight protein in and minimize the crap food best i can. Time is your friend, deliberate consistent work will slowly shape your body but lots of really strong guys have a buddha belly, six pack abs, not on this program. wear weighlifting shoes, do the movements, add weight as you can. lots of great folks and good information on this site

[George Christiansen]

I would gauge it by how hard it is to keep up with the weight increases on DL. In other words switch BEFORE the first time you actually miss any reps on DL. I am not sure what edition of SS you are going by but the first A/B is alternating squats and deadlifts in the 3rd edition. This usually give you a decent spread between the two. You should also be able to go with 10lbs jumps for quite a while too on DL.

Stiffness might just mean you should do some post lifting stretching or some very light calisthenics or swimming. I feel tight the next day until I go for a walk or something. Sometime I'll have to break out the foam roller or theracane too. Mostly though I may start a session with some back or hip stiffness and it is usually gone by the time my warmup sets are done.

[SteveL]

My DL has really lagged my other lifts but every time I think I'm going to miss a workout with it I haven't. I'm 5'10" and when I started I was 159lb now almost 170 after about a year. Yes..yes...I need to eat more, I'm trying! Anyway my DL was really lagging but I I'm now up to 275 this Saturday and the first rep will not want to come off the floor but it will and I'll manage another four reps. I've managed to add 5lbs now every week for about 12 weeks so we will see.

[Gene61]

Go to the advanced novice program. It gives enough additional recovery that you can stay on LP for that much longer.

[Scott Hanson]

stlrick,

Are you doing the A/B 3x weekly? If so, see Gene61's comment above and consider switching to the advanced novice. For older guys, its better not to beat yourself up trying to eke out gains when starting to stall, although it does not sound like you are stalling yet.

Rip does not advocate power cleans for older guys, although many do them without problems. Your PC's are fairly strong relative to your DL's, so not surprising that they would be stalling. Increasing your deadlift will benefit your cleans.

Simplest dietary guide I know is to eat about 1 gram of protein per lb of bwt per day, preferably as meat, eggs, fish, and dairy. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Make sure to eat some starches post workout. Quantities of starch and fat will depend on your goal as far as maintenance, gaining, or losing bodyweight. As far as supplements, use whey if you are having trouble hitting your protein intake, Sully and Jordan advocate branch chain amino acids, lots of people use creatine.

[chrisd]

Sounds like you're overtraining your back.

When I trained the deadlift less often, I was glad of the rest.

I'd say go to the next level which from memory alternates power clean and deadlift on session B

There's a lot of variation in the program available for when things start to stick.

After this there's microloading, triples instead of fives, light squat day, decreased workout frequency. All of them give an extension to that gaining period.

You've done nearly three months of basic, so it might be time to move on up.

[stlrick]

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses

Programming: I have the 3rd Edition of SS (along with the 2nd Edition). After re-reading the programming section and the comment above, I’m moving to the “expanded” basic with the Back Extensions and Chin-Ups.

Is there a recommended number of Back Extensions and Chin Ups? Page 307 appears to suggest 10 x 3 for the Back Extensions - but the Chin Ups are kinda vague? (Chin Ups are going to be my new challenge)

Back Pain: The interesting thing is that the back feels fine during the workout - and into that night. I feel the tightness when I put on socks and sometimes when I sit. I’m hoping the program switch will reduce that soreness.

Deadlifts: Does anyone know if using a slightly smaller standard weight set could be part of the back soreness issue? I start at 100 lbs on the deadlift - which would mean using short weights on the Olympic bar anyway unless I buy bumpers.

Food: This is the most complicated part of the process. The 1 gram per pound is a good starting point. Time to read through the Food Portion of the Forum

Moving Forward: I brought 3rd Edition to work today so I can create some log sheets using excel. I’m going to make a week 1 and a week 2 sheet to minimize the actual thinking needed during the workouts. Since I workout alone in my basement (and considering the “toughness” of the last squat session), I also decided to drop the squats to a 2.5 lb bump up per workout. I have to check my old sheets, but I believe my squat PR was around 275. So I’m scheduled to setting a new squat PR in about 2 months !

Helpful Equipment Tip: I used to print black and white photos. I have found my Gra-Lab Timer is great for tracking the time between work sets. I’m sure they are dirt-cheap on the web.

Helpful Timing Tip: Since I work Monday thru Friday - I find starting the workout week on Saturday (after the 2 days of rest) best. There are rarely Monday or Wednesday conflicts vs Friday nights.

[George Christiansen]

You are going to essentially be doing deficit deadlifts without bumper plates or 45's on the bar.

The back extension and chins are usually done for as many reps as you can with just your bodyweight. I wouldn't bother adding weight until you are at least doing sets of 10-15 reps.

2.5lbs jumps are pretty rare in these parts on squats. There is really no reason to microload squats or deadlifts; just get the programming right.

[stlrick]

Is there a reason a person shouldn't do 2.5 lbs on the squats?