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[ChernobylStudios]

Hello. I'll try to keep this as TL;DR as possible.

Age: 31 (will be 32 on 6 September);
Sex: Male;
Weight: 86kg/189lbs;
Height: 175cm/5'7";
Squat: Best work set was a 4x4 of 145kg/320lbs;
Bench: Best work set was a 4x4 of 105kg/230lbs;
Deadlift: Best work set was 4x4 of 155kg/340lbs;
Press: 70kg/154lbs;
Power Clean: N/A;
Chins: N/A;

General Description of Training History:
Through my 20's, didn't do anything. Started to seriously consider training when I hit 30. Dicked around with various nonsensical bodybuilding programs and got nowhere. Saw Kirk do 800 for 5 and it blew my mind. Found a professional powerlifter in Ukraine and trained from October 2016 to April 2017 under a standard powerlifting regime that consisted of a light, medium, and heavy day rotation with some exercise variety. (3 days a week.) 80% of the work was done with the barbell. Why did I stop? After the 4x4 of 145kg, I couldn't lift my right leg above my hip and it turned out to be a significant groin injury. Haven't done anything since. My diet during this time was about 3,000 calories since my genetics are such that I'm not tall and skinny. I actually didn't gain or lose weight in those months and stayed pretty much at 85kg the entire time - albeit my overall body composition changed and I looked great in a t-shirt.

I was dissatisfied about a few aspects of the training, to include the way the trainer made me squat. (He's Russian, so I was doing many things the old Soviet style.) Naturally, bringing forth things I learned from Starting Strength and Rip didn't gel. Anyway, at this point, I have no more pain in my hips and I can lift my legs and move like I used to; thus I want to get started again. My work schedule is retarded, and the only option I have right now to is to fly solo in the gym.

The biggest caveat here is that I have an old injury from a snowmobile accident when I was 16. Long story short, I landed on my head and sustained ulnar nerve damage in my left arm. This affects intrinsic fine motor skills of my fingers and grip strength. For fine motor skills, I train playing guitar. Grip strength is an issue. For example, double overhand grip, I can deadlift only about 110kg before the bar just falls completely out of my left hand. I also have to have ungodly amounts of chalk on my left hand to even achieve that. The above lifts were done with mixed-grip. I trained grip strength by simply holding at the top of the deadlift for as long as I could.

I have no special diet requirements. I live in Ukraine, so I generally eat Ukrainian cuisine: meat, soups, buckwheat, rice, lettuce, cabbage, etc.

Major Goals and Concerns:
My original goals when I started the powerlifting regime were: 200kg squat, 140kg bench, and 220kg deadlift. At this point, my main goal is to remain healthy as I train and get stronger. I still wish to hit these numbers. I don't see myself being able to do the power clean due to the aforementioned injury information. With chins, I can do about 3 or 4 before the grip of my left hand fails. I've never tried heavy singles with weight.

I'm part owner of a business and work long hours. I'm also married with kids. My question would be if the linear progression schedule outlined in the "How to Squat 405 in 12 Weeks" would suffice as I have limited time to hit the gym. I never skipped a training session with the powerlifter; self-starting and staying on a schedule isn't an issue. It's moreso a question of effective use of time.

Thank you,
-Scott

[A Schenck]

The biggest caveat here is that I have an old injury from a snowmobile accident when I was 16. Long story short, I landed on my head and sustained ulnar nerve damage in my left arm. This affects intrinsic fine motor skills of my fingers and grip strength. For fine motor skills, I train playing guitar. Grip strength is an issue. For example, double overhand grip, I can deadlift only about 110kg before the bar just falls completely out of my left hand. I also have to have ungodly amounts of chalk on my left hand to even achieve that. The above lifts were done with mixed-grip. I trained grip strength by simply holding at the top of the deadlift for as long as I could.

There is no shame in using straps for your heavier sets. Work on your grip, but don't let this injury keep the rest of your body from getting stong. Buy some straps and start using them as needed.

I'm part owner of a business and work long hours. I'm also married with kids. My question would be if the linear progression schedule outlined in the "How to Squat 405 in 12 Weeks" would suffice as I have limited time to hit the gym. I never skipped a training session with the powerlifter; self-starting and staying on a schedule isn't an issue. It's moreso a question of effective use of time.

The SS Linear Progression is exactly what you need to get back to where you were prior to your injury and layoff. The Book, will be a great help to you as you encounter the need to adjust your programming as your level of training advancement progresses. The Book and form check videos here on the site will also be massively helpful to you for injury prevention going forward. I don't know what caused your groin injury in April, but it would be wise to make sure it was not caused/agrivated by your technique.

[Dalton Clark]

Based off of your numbers, you could very well continue to make some progress off the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression outline in "How to Squat 405 in 12 Weeks". You might not be able to reach 405 with this method (as the author of the article mentions) as that would be a pretty impressive squat for a linear progression, but I would follow it for as long as you can make linear progress. I would then move to the 4 day split routine that you can also find around this forum. It is pretty time efficient.

[ChernobylStudios]

There is no shame in using straps for your heavier sets. Work on your grip, but don't let this injury keep the rest of your body from getting strong. Buy some straps and start using them as needed.

Will do, thanks for the suggestion.

The SS Linear Progression is exactly what you need to get back to where you were prior to your injury and layoff. The Book, will be a great help to you as you encounter the need to adjust your programming as your level of training advancement progresses. The Book and form check videos here on the site will also be massively helpful to you for injury prevention going forward. I don't know what caused your groin injury in April, but it would be wise to make sure it was not caused/agrivated by your technique.

I have a side video of the set so not much can be ascertained from it other than when it happened it was like the finger of God just stopped the bar half-way through the rep. I still made the lift but as I say, after that it was awful. If I sit and think about it now, I probably didn't keep my knees out enough.

[ChernobylStudios]

Based off of your numbers, you could very well continue to make some progress off the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression outline in "How to Squat 405 in 12 Weeks". You might not be able to reach 405 with this method (as the author of the article mentions) as that would be a pretty impressive squat for a linear progression, but I would follow it for as long as you can make linear progress. I would then move to the 4 day split routine that you can also find around this forum. It is pretty time efficient.

Thank you, I'll go find that split now. Having not touched a barbell since the injury I have no probably starting from scratch if that is what is needed. I'll say one thing, though, is that I can definitely feel the affects of not constantly hitting the gym. I was pretty obsessed about the numbers previously, but I'd just rather stay healthy and strong.... and eventually get those numbers of course.

[Dalton Clark]

The beauty of the Starting Strength program is that it will either allow you to make progress as a novice or quickly tell you that you aren't a novice and should be doing intermediate programming. I think you have a substantially healthier mindset than I do. Of course I am 23 and can afford to be reckless.