Just starting SS

[ryujikun]

Hello,
I'm a female, 5'4", 122 lbs, just start doing SS yesterday and try to find the right weight for myself
but the problem is I can't even Bench 5/5/5 with an empty bar. I mean is this posible?
Another problem is I realized that the Deadlift is pretty heavy, I don't know how could I lift and hold that weight if I increase the weight.
so I hope someone would give me an advice.
Thank you


Squat 65lbs 5/5/5
Beanch 45 lbs 5/4/4
Deadlife 80 lbs 5
Press 20 lbs 5/5/5

[Oldman]

Hello,
I'm a female, 5'4", 122 lbs, just start doing SS yesterday and try to find the right weight for myself
but the problem is I can't even Bench 5/5/5 with an empty bar. I mean is this posible?
Another problem is I realized that the Deadlift is pretty heavy, I don't know how could I lift and hold that weight if I increase the weight.
so I hope someone would give me an advice.
Thank you


Squat 65lbs 5/5/5
Beanch 45 lbs 5/4/4
Deadlife 80 lbs 5/5/5
Press 20 lbs 5/5/5

Hi, ryujikun--

Welcome to the SS forum! One thing you might try is backing off a bit on the bench and on the deadlift, so that you can continue making linear progress for a longer time. If you start out too heavy at the outset, you risk stalling sooner than you need to. On the bench press, for example, can you use the same bar as the one you use for your overhead press? Say, start at 30 or 35 lbs for the bench and work up from there? Also, you might want to make smaller jumps each time you do a given lift: 5 lbs instead of 10 lbs on the squats and deadlifts, 2.5 lbs on the bench and press. At the gym I lift at there are micro-plates: 1.25 lbs, 1, .75, .5, .25, etc. These really help folks who need to microload in order to extend their linear progress. I am not that experienced, so there may be other folks who'll respond with better ideas. Good luck and keep lifting!

[Sven]

I wouldn't worry that you can't get 5x3 with an empty bar in as much as you did get 5,4,4. You will be surprised how fast your strength improves, just do it again. We're all different, we start from different places and have different potentials, just work to the best you can get. Be patient, practice good form, and be persistent. You will get frustrated on occasion but you'll get over it, there are a lot of people here who love to see others succeed at this. Welcome aboard, it's a great ride.

[tan125]

Hi, and welcome!

Regarding the bench: you got 5/4/4. How heavy did the 1st set feel, and how much time did you rest between sets? You will find that as the weight gets heavier, you'll need more time between sets in order to make your reps on the next set. That said, since it was your first bench workout, you may have started too heavy. You used 20 lbs on the press -- how did they feel? -- does your gym have a lighter barbell, or did you use dumbbells? If the gym has a lighter barbell, you can start the bench at 30 or 35 lbs and work your way up from there.

Definitely agree with Oldman regarding microplates. The smallest plate my gym has is 2.5 lbs, so I bring my own (I have baseball bat weights in two different sizes), and they are very useful.

Good luck!

[ryujikun]

Thank you everyone for answering my question

Actually, there is no Olympic Bar in my gym but the book said that the starting weight is 45lbs
and most people can do it with no trouble so I think maybe I can do it too but I was wrong
Should I go for lower weight next time or stay the same??

[Sven]

ryujikun, as you lift you will get stronger, quickly. One number you did not share is your age, that will have some impact on your progress. Your squat number is actually pretty good, some people can not even squat with an empty bar when they begin, 65 lbs is a respectable start. Add 10 lbs and see how that works for you, if it is too much add only 5 lbs. On the bench you lifted the empty bar 5,4,4 that is good. That is where you are starting, do it again until you get 5,5,5 which you should the next time you lift. Then you should be able to get some rapid gains early on as a novice lifter maybe going up by 5 or possibly 10 lbs on the bench a couple of times, maybe not, maybe only 2.5 lbs but you will need micro plates for that increment. You can buy them online at places like Amazon for very little money. I am confused on the press numbers because you show 20 lbs, are you using dumbbells for the press? If you are that is fine. Or are you using a weighted PVC pipe? That's OK also, just curious. The deadlift is supposed to be heavy if you can get it up for one set of five reps that is all you need for a good workout. If I were you I would increase the weight on the Deadlift by 10 lbs and do one set. What does your work out look like? Are you doing four lifts? Really you should only be doing three lifts Squat, Bench OR Press, Deadlift per workout in that order. At some point relatively soon you may want to cut back on the number of times you do the Deadlift per week. I am doing the Deadlift once per week (normally). Then give your body a chance to recover, eat a lot and don't do a lot of other exercise stuff. Good luck.

[ryujikun]

ryujikun, as you lift you will get stronger, quickly. One number you did not share is your age, that will have some impact on your progress. Your squat number is actually pretty good, some people can not even squat with an empty bar when they begin, 65 lbs is a respectable start. Add 10 lbs and see how that works for you, if it is too much add only 5 lbs. On the bench you lifted the empty bar 5,4,4 that is good. That is where you are starting, do it again until you get 5,5,5 which you should the next time you lift. Then you should be able to get some rapid gains early on as a novice lifter maybe going up by 5 or possibly 10 lbs on the bench a couple of times, maybe not, maybe only 2.5 lbs but you will need micro plates for that increment. You can buy them online at places like Amazon for very little money. I am confused on the press numbers because you show 20 lbs, are you using dumbbells for the press? If you are that is fine. Or are you using a weighted PVC pipe? That's OK also, just curious. The deadlift is supposed to be heavy if you can get it up for one set of five reps that is all you need for a good workout. If I were you I would increase the weight on the Deadlift by 10 lbs and do one set. What does your work out look like? Are you doing four lifts? Really you should only be doing three lifts Squat, Bench OR Press, Deadlift per workout in that order. At some point relatively soon you may want to cut back on the number of times you do the Deadlift per week. I am doing the Deadlift once per week (normally). Then give your body a chance to recover, eat a lot and don't do a lot of other exercise stuff. Good luck.

Thank you, Sven
I'm 21 years old and all the exercise done by barbell (the light one, not olympic).
I'll keep the weight the same for Bench and increase the others.
hope to see the progress

[Gene61]

As Sven said, just do one set of 5 on the dead lift. Do some warmup sets at lower weights, but only one set at your "working weight." Do you have the book? Best to read it. It has everything in there that you need to know.

Welcome to the forum! Have fun and get strong.

[ryujikun]

I just realized that I forgot to add the bar weight which is about 10 kg into the total weight. hahaha
I think 10 kg is about 15 lbs so that mean my first workout should be

Squat 80 lbs 5/5/5
Beanch 60 lbs 5/4/4
Deadlife 95 lbs 5
Press 35 lbs 5/5/5

Thank you everyone for giving me an advice. I'll do my best today XD

Could anyone tell me when should I change to this routine
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press
1x5 Deadlift
Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
5x3 Power Clean

and this
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press
1x5 Deadlift/5x3 Power Clean (alternating)
Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
3x10 Back Extension
3xFailure(15 max)* Chin-ups/Pull-ups (alternating)

[Sven]

After adding the weight of the bar you're in fine shape for starting lifts. 10kg on a bar is fairly light, by the way it is 22 lbs, if that is what it is that's OK but I would double check on the weight. Your work out routine looks fine, but I would hold off on the Power Cleans for a couple of weeks, try to get some progression on the Deadlift, I think the chin-up/pull-up workout is great. Do you own the book Starting Strength or have access to the DVD's? If not there are a lot of good videos on this site to check for learning the form. Also, it is Deadlift, Deadlife is an oxymoron unless we're talking about vampires or zombies.