A question from a chronic non-recoverer

[Goatamon]

Ahoy-hoy, coaches

I was unable to do the SS novice program for more than about a month, due to the following reasons:

-Not enough sleep due to hectic school schedule as well as general difficulty falling asleep (I did everything short of taking sleeping pills, nothing seems to work).

-Not enough food due to extremely limited student budget and everything costing so goddamn much in this stupid country.

Again, I have to stress, that there is nothing wrong with SS. The problem is me.


Anyways, since I gave up on SS, I've been doing a sort of two-day 5/3/1 routine, where the work set rep scheme looks like this:

5 reps, 3 reps, and finally "as many" as I can do without going to failure. I add 10kg per set in the lower body lifts, and 5kg per set in the upper body stuff.

The whole shebang:

Monday

-Squat (531), followed by 3 sets of higher rep work
-Bench (531), followed by 3 sets of higher rep work

Thursday

-Deadlift (531)
-Press (531)

Assistance on thursday: dips and chins.


This programming has produced results, like my squat 5rm going from 80 to 95kg in 3 weeks, and my bench going up 5kg in 2 weeks. I know its slow, but I'm just happy to be making some progress after my Novice Program fiasco, where I was essentially deteriorating in strength throughout the week.

But enough of that, here are my questions:

1) What do you think of this program? Of course I understand that if a program is producing results, it must be working, but regardless, I'd appreciate the feedback

2) Do you have any suggestions in terms of programming? Aside from eating more, which we have established is not really possible due to lack of money and the fact that those shopkeepers are so damn quick on their feet nowadays, I'll always appreciate feedback from people who know better than me. Maybe you have ideas on programming for someone in my situation?


Of course I understand that if my nutrition and rest are suboptimal, I am going to have to settle for slower progress than would be ideal, but thats okay. I'm just plagued by this nagging thought that I could be doing something better in terms of programming.


Thanks.

[Meshuggah]

To quote Broz: "If you can't Squat every day, you are not overtrained. You are UNDERtrained."

I don't believe it's possible to ever overtrain. The people who think they have and have gotten injured are invariably the same people who will deload every 4-6 weeks or who take time off when they reach the dark times. This is why their bodies do not adapt.

[Philbert]

Program ADD is the biggest threat to a beginning lifter. Keeping this in mind, my thoughts are:
1. You tried SS novice with your current situation/diet/level of training. It didn't work. Until there is a significant change in one of these variables you do not need to try it again.
2. You have made progress on your current program. Until you cease to make progress or an opportunity to use an obviously more efficient program arises (see #1) you should stay the course.
3. 5 kg in two weeks is 130 kg/year. 15 kg in three weeks is 260 kg/year. These are acceptable gains, especially if you are not eating enough to get fat. If you are eating enough to get fat then you need to become better at buying food.
4. When you stall on your current program (which, sadly, will almost certainly happen before the end of the year), you should add volume and/or frequency. If you add volume to each lift as it stalls, you will adapt to the increased workload gradually.

[Goatamon]

Program ADD is the biggest threat to a beginning lifter. Keeping this in mind, my thoughts are:
1. You tried SS novice with your current situation/diet/level of training. It didn't work. Until there is a significant change in one of these variables you do not need to try it again.
2. You have made progress on your current program. Until you cease to make progress or an opportunity to use an obviously more efficient program arises (see #1) you should stay the course.
3. 5 kg in two weeks is 130 kg/year. 15 kg in three weeks is 260 kg/year. These are acceptable gains, especially if you are not eating enough to get fat. If you are eating enough to get fat then you need to become better at buying food.
4. When you stall on your current program (which, sadly, will almost certainly happen before the end of the year), you should add volume and/or frequency. If you add volume to each lift as it stalls, you will adapt to the increased workload gradually.

Alrighty then, thanks. I'll stay the course for now.

[Dastardly]

Deadlifting 4-5 times a week if proving easier to recover for me than when I was doing squats and powercleans. I dont think frequency is a killer, but trying to do too much in one session is. I have also found that going much easier leaving much more in the 'tank' than you think sensible is very productive.

[Les Hahn]

Another option woiuld be an SS split. It is the same setup (3 sets of 5) and you move up every time. The difference is that you move up less often since you are splitting up the work. If you are having recovery issues, this might be a way to go.

It would look like this:

M- Bench 3x5 on LP, Press (80% of your last 3x5 press day) 3x5, + 1-2 upper body assistance lifts
T- Squat 3x5 on LP, Power Cleans 5x3 on LP, +1 lower body assistance lift
Th- Press 3x5 on LP, Bench (80% of your last 3x5 bench day) 3x5, + 1-2 upper body assistance lifts
F- Squat 3x5 on LP, Deadlift 1x5 on LP, +1 lower body assistance lift

So using this method, your squat will move up 2x per week, and your power cleans, bench, press, and deadlift will all move up 1x per week. You will do presses and bench 2x per week, but the second day will be lighter (80% of what you did last time on your LP day). Assistance lifts are optional, but you can do things like pullups (or pulldowns), curls, etc.

[Goatamon]

Another option woiuld be an SS split. It is the same setup (3 sets of 5) and you move up every time. The difference is that you move up less often since you are splitting up the work. If you are having recovery issues, this might be a way to go.

It would look like this:

M- Bench 3x5 on LP, Press (80% of your last 3x5 press day) 3x5, + 1-2 upper body assistance lifts
T- Squat 3x5 on LP, Power Cleans 5x3 on LP, +1 lower body assistance lift
Th- Press 3x5 on LP, Bench (80% of your last 3x5 bench day) 3x5, + 1-2 upper body assistance lifts
F- Squat 3x5 on LP, Deadlift 1x5 on LP, +1 lower body assistance lift

So using this method, your squat will move up 2x per week, and your power cleans, bench, press, and deadlift will all move up 1x per week. You will do presses and bench 2x per week, but the second day will be lighter (80% of what you did last time on your LP day). Assistance lifts are optional, but you can do things like pullups (or pulldowns), curls, etc.

Hmm... This isn't a bad sounding deal either. May have to give this a shot if my current program craps out on me due to the volume being so low.

Thanks

[veryhrm]

In your account's thread in JordanF's nutrition sub-forum http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=37113 the account is talking about embarking on Paleo before that guy goes from somewhat fat to "properly fat".

One day later it's about the cost of food ? seems unlikely.

in any case, if your program is working for you then stay with it.

[Gary Gibson]

To quote Broz: "If you can't Squat every day, you are not overtrained. You are UNDERtrained."

I don't believe it's possible to ever overtrain. The people who think they have and have gotten injured are invariably the same people who will deload every 4-6 weeks or who take time off when they reach the dark times. This is why their bodies do not adapt.

Rest, deloads and unloads are an intelligent part of training at every level. Even the best in the world do it.

http://www.bnews.kz/en/news/post/95321/

Ilya Ilyin needs to rest at least nine months

Kazakhstan weightlifter, the double champion of Olympic Games Ilya Ilyin needs to rest at least 9 months, BNews.kz correspondent reports citing athlete’s trainer Erzhas Boltayev.

“He needs to have a rest not less than 9 months, all this time he will be engaged in easy training - running, exercising, but no weight,” Erzhas Boltayev said.

“Ilya is the one who works very hard, he has no traumas and damages, but such rest is necessary for him. It was heavy loading, Ilya should have a rest and then he again will be ready to win,” Boltayev added.

Remind that on the XXX Summer Olympic Games in London Kazakhstan weight-lifter won a gold medal and beat two world records.

On the last Olympic Games in Beijing Ilya won a gold medal, having taken in breakthrough 180 kg and 226 kg in a push.
Source

[Goatamon]

In your account's thread in JordanF's nutrition sub-forum http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=37113 the account is talking about embarking on Paleo before that guy goes from somewhat fat to "properly fat".

One day later it's about the cost of food ? seems unlikely.

in any case, if your program is working for you then stay with it.

I was not gaining any weight on LP. On this program, I have been gaining weight, despite eating the same amount.

The reason I started the thread on the nutrition board is because quite a lot of that weight was coming on as fat, and I was wondering whether that style of eating would skew the gains away from it.