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From training for looks to training for Strength. Just starting SS....
I've been heavily involved with the Adonis Lifestyle for the past year and a half. I'm still active in their community and have been around with them since before they really took off. Their program is based upon training for looks and strength is put to the side. Most guys there appear "big" because they've lost a ton of fat and they're lean and they look great. Problem for me, I just didn't have the muscle mass to look good that lean. I just looked skinny/skinny fat (I went from 5'11 207 down to 145). Well at 145 I just looked small but defined with no abs. So I wasn't happy with that look and am now trying to train for mass without putting on a significant amount of fat.
Let me preface this all and say I'm going to be a qualifier of YNDTP. I just had my third daughter born and my sleep is slim and infrequent so full recovery days just don't happen for me. While my plan is to gain strength, I'm not sure I'll meet the gains that SS can truly provide when done as designed, but I'm ok with that. I'm also having to substitute some lifts in due to my workout facility/injuries/etc. So yes I will have the title of YNDTP.
So I started MY version of SS on Monday. Starting stats:
5'11
29 yrs
165 lbs
waist 32 inch
shoulders 50.5 inch
5 RPM Squat - no clue never squatted to parallel but I have chicken legs
5 RPM Bench - never do barbell bench press. shoulder injury. Having to sub in DBs. 80s max I've done for 5
5 RPM Deadlift - hurt my back everytime I do deads. Won't be much I know that much. trying to do rack pulls lately to strengthen lower back (max was 315 for 5)
5 RPM Press - 110
5 RPM CP - subbing in Rows. 155 max
Monday's lift:
Squat - 3x5 125
DB Bench - 3x5 80s
Rack Pull (switching to deads next time to start that) - 1x5 315
Been doing chins/dips on Tues/Thurs.
any advice, input is appreciated for those experienced. I'm so use to eating like 1000-1200 cals a day from my 1 1/2 years at AI that I'm having difficulty eating more calories! Doing GOMAD or like 90% GOMAD this week which has been pretty easy. So any tips for those that don't get much sleep or any advice at all would be appreciated!
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Wed Lift (10/26)
Squat - 3x5 130
Press - 3x5 95
Row - 5x3 125
My legs are so weak going parallel, ugh. Going to be a rough journey there. Press was ok, trying to work on explosive power here. Row was pretty easy. Not use to this lift, but felt good on the lower back/abs.
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Friday Lift (10/28)
Squat 3x5 135 - man my legs suck.
DB Bench - 3x5 80s - gonne be stuck here for awhile I think but gonna give 85s a shot next Wednesday
Deadlift 3x5 - 145. Forgot it was only 1 set and wrote it wrong in my log. Deadlift position is a few inchs off the ground due to a support bar in the rack at the gym so its like 3-4 inchs from the ground. Mix between rack pull and deadlift I guess. Either way, 145 was way too easy, but felt good on the lower back just getting back into these compound lifts.
AI is so much isolation stuff with limited compounds, so my body is getting its ass kicked.
Last edited by Grangers710; 10-28-2011 at 12:01 PM.
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Need some advice guys. Monday I was 165. When I got down to like 147-150 I bought a whole new wardrobe for work and winter (last year) so all my clothes are for skinny me. I'm eating 200-500 cals more on avg a day then maintenance, so I'm not eating like crazy...I know I know, YNDTP. But wondering for those of you have done SS while eating a lot, how many inches did you put on your waist? I'm expecting to add bodyfat, just trying to get a feel for how much is coming and if I'm gonna have to buy new freaking clothes again. Any help is appreciated.
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Monday checkin:
Weight 169 (+4)
Waist: 32.1 (up .1 inch)
Shoulders: 50.5 (same)
Monday Lift:
Squats 3x5 - 140 lbs (tried the LBBS and if felt so much better. Hard to get the weight on and off the rack but squatting felt a lot more natural this way
Press 3x5 - 100 felt easier than the 95 lbs last week. Good bar speed.
Row 5x3 - 130 lbs. Form still a bit odd and probably a bit wrong, but slowly figuring this one out.
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Really, this depends on your body type. I went from 34 inches at 190 to 38-40 at 235. I'm comfortably back at 225 at 36 inches.Originally Posted by Grangers710
My shirts went from large/x-large to x-large/2x-large. At the moment, I'm comfortable in most x-large shirts.
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At 5'11 and 145 lbs you need to eat A LOT, probably a lot more than a couple hundred calories more than your 145 LB maintenance diet, like triple that probably, going from 5'11 200+ lbs to 145 must've taken serious dieting.
This is not a beach bod program, it is a strength program and if done correctly you should double your current lifts easy (according to your log) and be sitting 40 lbs heavier easy. So I would plan on getting a whole new wardrobe.
I don't care about my waist, my chest is 11 inches larger than my waist and not fat, as long as I maintain that ratio I'm cool.
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Ok after reading your OP you said you were living on 1000 CALORIES A DAY!!! Dude 200 calories is like two cups of yogurt, i fart 200 calories. You seriously need to eat like three to four times what you are currently eating. 1000 calories a day? That's crazy seriously whatever this adonis lifestyle you were doing it sounds awful. You did it for 1 1/2 years and are 145 lbs and (no offense) have a weak base strength.
Also stop measuring your waist to the tenth of an inch, that is obsessive and a bit nuts. Your waistline will grow but so will your chest, legs, back, and arms. Seriously at 5'11 145 you're like an Auschwitz survivor, who gives a shit about .10 inches on your waist? Obviously you know how to take it off when the time comes to do that so stop stressing.
Last edited by michael dowling; 10-31-2011 at 07:50 PM.
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If your doing gomad your definately going in the right direction calorie wise (at least to what people here would suggest). But I would guess if you are really doing gomad and only over 200 calories or so a day your not eating enough food, you should be eating real food in addition to gomad. I would suggest starting a little low on your bench since your using DB's and for most places you'll only be able to make ten pound jumps at a time, so you may want to give yourself a little more of a running start so to speak. As to clothes, if you do the program youll probably need to invest in a few pairs of pants. I personally went from about 32 @150 to about 36ish @175, you could just wear some of your older clothes from when you were on your way down if you still have them.
Put the bar on the ground for the deadlifts you dont need to do them in a rack of any sort. it cheats you out of the range of motion and takes up the rack if anyone wants to squat (highly unlikely, but still).
This isnt a bodybuilding program but if you do the program I woudl guess based off your numbers youll probably gain some muscle. More important for someone who wants to build muscle in the future is that you will have a real strength base to use if you choose to go that direction which some people who have done the program have done and had good results with. You may find that getting strong is much more satisfying than trying to "look good" and want to run with it. good luck.
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@ello - thanks for the info. when I was back over 200 I was in XL comfortably as well, but not sure I'll get back over 200 on this plan (intentionally)
@michael - thanks as well for the responses. Yea 1000 cals a day and did some insane volume in the gym on pretty intense deficits. I got a lot stronger then I was but since my training experience was zero before that. I got in great shape that's for sure, but now my lifting time has been significantly decreased which is why I'm shooting for a strength program for the short term period. Would be nice to get my strength up so that when I go back into muscle "building" I'll have higher starting weights then what I was using last time. And yea, a lot of dieting to get that lean that's for sure. Was worth it cause I was just plain fat back then. Should look a lot different this time around! I pulled up a pic at what I looked like at 165/170 compared to where I am now and its night and day.
@rusty - gomad is going well. more like 90% gomad but better than nothing. as for deadlifts, I lift at a yuppy gym and there is no section for deadlifting, which is why I have to use the rack. there aren't too many doctors/lawyers there on their lunch break so I've seen 1 other person use the rack in the past year :-)
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