Late arrival to SS

[alex_tait]

Hi guys I'm 20 years old and have been messing around with lots of different programs. I decided to do SS since I never milked the beginner gains out of it. I had been doing the program consistently for a few weeks until I got to university and had to sort out my gym membership. I have my induction today so I should be able to get right back into it.

My best lifts so far from Madcow and SS. I switched to SS after realizing that I could be making some faster gains on it.

Squat 3x5 140kg 147.5kg ramped
Bench 87.5kg ramped
OHP 3x5 55kg 62.5kgx5 ramped
Deadlift 1x5 155kg ramped

BW: 81kg
Height: 170cm

I want to get my BW up to the proper weight for my height using the 3-4 pounds per inch that John Sheaffer talked about. As for the lifts I just want to increase them for as long as I can on this program. I really am not bothered with bench progression anymore. I am just fed up of lying down on poorly made benches and not having decent spotters. I really want a BW press though.

Since I have spent so much time screwing around with other programs have I missed the anabolic window that Mark was talking about on T nation? What kind of transfer have you guys had between 3x5 and 1rms?

[gzt]

I don't think you'll be able to gain for long on SS with those numbers. That's good news and bad news. Good news: awesome, you're not terribly weak. Bad news: the days of easy gains are almost over. So milk it for what you can.

As for transfer from 3x5 to 1RM: you can do a set of 5 with a little more than what you can do for 3x5, and that set of 5 is going to be okay at predicting your 1RM. Or you can guess that you might be able to get 7 reps with your 3x5 weight and use that as a basis for guessing at a 1RM. A good rough guess that will be wrong but will get you in the ballpark might be that your 3x5 is around 85% of your 1RM. Again, this may be off considerably and depends on a lot of things. The only real way to figure out your 1RM is to test your 1RM, and even that isn't great info because, if you're a novice, your 1RM goes up after you recover from each workout. Don't live and die by your 1RM.

EDIT: but as for transfer, yeah, there's a lot of transfer. Before I was done with linear progression on SS, I went to a competition, squatted a tough 182.5, missed a 100kg bench. Before I was done with SS, I squatted 400# (which is like 181.8kg) for 3x5 and last night I benched 100kgx3x5. I think I've gotten stronger...

[alex_tait]

Squat 3x5 142.5kg
OHP 2x5 57.5kg 1x3 57.5kg
Pullups 3x7

I really don't feel that strong with these stats. Whenever I OHP and take the bar out of the rack I start to feel really dizzy. It's that feeling you get when you stand up too fast. It is really throwing me off and pissing me off. Any ideas? I will milk out SS for all it is worth.

[slowjoe]

Squat 3x5 142.5kg
OHP 2x5 57.5kg 1x3 57.5kg
Pullups 3x7

I really don't feel that strong with these stats. Whenever I OHP and take the bar out of the rack I start to feel really dizzy. It's that feeling you get when you stand up too fast. It is really throwing me off and pissing me off. Any ideas? I will milk out SS for all it is worth.

How are you holding the bar? Right close to your neck? Might be impinging on blood flow or something?

[alex_tait]

It happens from the moment I take the bar out of the rack. Perhaps I end up placing it right on a vein or something. Will pay more close attention on Monday.

[nkelman]

With presses I was having trouble at the same weight you doing now. I'm at 65kg press now, and I found if I tighten everything, I mean everything esp my ass, its heaps easier, chest up when u touch the bar and get under it asap when you lift, I'm goin for 66kg today, also aiming for body weight press, sucks I'm 95 kilo tho

[nkelman]

Don't give up on bench progression either, I was stuck on 73kg for ages, switched up my technique and dug deep and now I'm 100kg 3x5. And your squat is 40kg higher them mine so I'm sure you can do it

[Carnivroar]

Just so you know, the bar doesn't have to even touch your chest/neck.

[alex_tait]

It's Saturday and I'm still feeling the effects of the squats despite good rest and nutrition. Perhaps I should do 2x5. I care far more about my press now than I do about my bench. I don't ever have to worry about laying down on a shitty bench or having a shitty spotter because with OHP it's just me and the bar. When it is time for me to move on I would like to do a program that is geared towards a bigger press. I have read Bill Starr's article but I just can't seem to put a template together. I still want to gain weight and fill out my frame I am 170cm and 81kg. I still wanna squat since it's the best mass builder out there.

[alex_tait]

11/10/2010
Squat 2x5 145kg. If a fly landed on the bar I wouldn't of got my last rep.
OHP 3x5 50kg. Decided to have a deload. Was this light enough?
Pullups 1x8 2x7

Hopefully I can recover by Wednesday. The dizziness on the OHP seems to have been solved for now at least.