No Luck with Onus Wunsler

[stl rick]

47 yr old Male, 5:10, 210 lbs

My lower back was not recovering from the deadlifts on the basic A/B, so I moved on to the Onus Wunsler program. I figured the back work on the machine would also be a benefit. I soon found that I could be the world's worst chin-upper/pull-upper. The other thing I found was that I started to have a lot more "resets" in all the exercises. (I seem to hit the wall about 310 on the squat, 145 on the standing press, about 300 on the deadlift, 225 on the bench, 165 on the power clean.) Then I woke up one day with a pain in the left arm that went all the way to the middle of my back. I tried to keep working through it, but after a particularly painful bench I had enough. Went to the doctor - who gave me some muscle relaxers and pain pills. (I felt better, but not good enough to hit the weights.) At a St Pats party last week, I happened to tell a off-duty chiropractor about my problems. He proceeds to "crack" my neck. Much, much better.

Anyway, I'm getting anxious to start the lifting again, but given my experience with Onus - I'm thinking some of the other programs might suit me better.

Thoughts?

Rick in St Louis

[62jeroen]

In the Netherlands we have a saying: haastige spoed is zelden goed (What's done in a hurry, is seldom done well). Trying to obtain the fastest gains with less than optimal recovery will get you injured and set you back. In the end, not fast at all...

My 0.02: do not reset in SS when you're an older guy, but start with an intermediate program. TM could be done, but with the slightest stall, switch to 3x5 on volume day. Take your time to progress. As long as you stay away from stalling, chances are that you won't get injured and, in the end, obtain your fastest gains.

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

How was your sleep, diet and stress? I would also get your hormones checked at that age (free and total test, est, thyroid). It may time for a light squat day on wednesday.

See this thread for details
http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=22548

[Tom Campitelli]

At 47, you may need to reduce the frequency of the lifts and/or your jumps. It doesn't sound you like are microloading any of the presses. Remember that SS is developed with 18-35 year old males in mind. The older you get, the more recovery you will require.

[stl rick]

I went to look at my records for Onus Wunsler about 7 weeks:

Squats- started at 285 made 2.5 bumps to 310 - reset -10% - worked back to 310
Press - started at 135 made 2.5 bumps to 145 - reset -10% - worked back to 145
Power Clean - started at 155 = 5 lbs bumps to 165 - reset -10% - worked back to 165
Deadlift - started at 280 - 10 lb bumps to 300 - reset -10% - worked back to 270
Bench Press - started at 215 - 2.5 lbs to 228 - reset -10% - worked back to 205
Back Extensions - worked up to 3 x 10 with 25 lbs
Chin Up best 7 x 3*
Pull Up best 5 x 3*
(*In both cases I fell back after these PR's)

In looking at these numbers, I'm just seem to be spinning my wheels. Granted, the pinched nerve in the neck didn't help, but I tend to attribute that to jerky motion on the chin/pull ups.

I was pretty much linear on the basic SS A/B, but was reaching the point where my lower back was always achy due to deadlifts.

I'm dying to get back a program that feels like progress.

[62jeroen]

Reset once again 10 to 15 % and do an intermediate program. You're finished with SS.

[Vader]

Hi Rick, I'm 53 and recently found myself in similar circumstances and switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 and love it. It's less taxing for an older lifter and although gains won't come as quickly as on a novice program, I think that without all the wheel spinning you will ultimately be better off. If you can add 100 lbs to your squat or dead in a year and 50 to your presses you'd probably take it, right? And the max rep final sets will still afford you the opportunity to put the hammer down! And I wouldn't be so hard on yourself with the chins, you're not exactly a feather weight. That's my $.02. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[stl rick]

Thanks for the replies.

It has been a tough couple months with seeing no progress on my lifts and the tweaked arm. I guess that I've read so much about milking the linear progress that I didn't want to think intermediate program. I went ahead and purchased the Wendler 5/3/1 ebook. It seems to be an easy to follow method. The speed of gains don't worry me. I just want to see progress. I basically lift to keep in shape, help my peace of mind and get strong. I know that - even at 47 - I am stronger than I have ever been in my life thanks to SS. Once I get back in the flow of the program, I do plan to go to a local black iron gym just to make sure my form is correct on the lifts. Maybe I will be able to reach the 500 lb deadlift, 400 lb squat, 300 lb bench and 200 lb standing press/power clean someday.

[Vader]

Thanks for the replies.

It has been a tough couple months with seeing no progress on my lifts and the tweaked arm. I guess that I've read so much about milking the linear progress that I didn't want to think intermediate program. I went ahead and purchased the Wendler 5/3/1 ebook. It seems to be an easy to follow method. The speed of gains don't worry me. I just want to see progress. I basically lift to keep in shape, help my peace of mind and get strong. I know that - even at 47 - I am stronger than I have ever been in my life thanks to SS. Once I get back in the flow of the program, I do plan to go to a local black iron gym just to make sure my form is correct on the lifts. Maybe I will be able to reach the 500 lb deadlift, 400 lb squat, 300 lb bench and 200 lb standing press/power clean someday.

I think that you will like the 5/3/1 and your target #'s should be doable if you make sure your form is decent, so that you minimize injuries. If you're in doubt send in some form checks. If you put in the time those numbers are yours before you turn five-oh, for singles anyway. Cheers!