Restarting Strength

[sasquatch]

Howdy Y'all,

I started SS a couple years ago, and have a brief bio posted here:
http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=47747

To summarize: I quit SS after tearing up a few hernias and getting surgery for them. I tried to do SS again 4 months after surgery, but I had a mental block because I was worried about tearing up the hernias again. After doing some research and talking to Rip and my surgeon, I think I'm ready to start lifting again. I've been doing "ross training" for the last few months to get rid of excess body fat (got up to 188lbs and a 37" waist).

Current stats: 6'1", 166lbs, 32.75" waist. I'll spend the next few weeks figuring out how many calories I need to eat a day to gain ~2lbs a month. Anymore weight than that and it seems to go straight to my gut. I read Jordan's article http://barbellmedicine.com/2012/07/29/584/ this week, and it looks pretty solid. I'm guessing I'll be eating just over 3500 cals a day, but we'll see.

Edit: forgot to mention, I have clinically low testosterone. I had it tested a couple times in 2012 while doing SS and it was 343 ng/dl (at the age of 25). Doctor put me on testosterone cypionate (which worked wonders), but I resigned from my job in 2013, am going back to school, and no longer have medical insurance and can't afford to pay for labs and test. right now. We'll see how this affects linear progression.

[sasquatch]

3/27/14

Novice Workout A
Squat: warmup, 135x5x3
Press: warmup, 75x5x3
DL: warmup, 175x5
Chin Ups: 8/8/6/4
90s rest between exercises

On Saturday I'll do squats, bench, PC, and dips. Gonna quit all cardio/conditioning/ab exercises for now, and maybe work in some HIIT conditioning after ~4 weeks.

[carson]

Welcome. I wish you the best. You are a slim fellow.

[dietlbomb]

Looks like you're on the right track. I recommend lots of red meat. Beef. Steak. Roast beef. Corned beef. Moose. Buffalo. It's all good. On the other hand, this might be tough on a student's budget. Lots of hamburger meat should help.

[sasquatch]

You guys should have seen me 3 years ago when I weighed 130lbs! I could've been on one of those starving people commercials... dietlbomb, I eat a lot of red meat (I dislike poultry, and don't trust atlantic fish). I eat bacon and eggs every morning, and typically eat 1/2 steak before bed. Costco is ~$5lb for sirloin, so that works for me. I also buy 1/4 of a cow when I have the chance from a local farmer at $3.30lb.

I think I'll do much better with SS this time. I'm mentally prepared for the hard work, and am in much better shape overall compared to where I was 3 years ago. I've done enough program hopping to know that SS is the best thing around for strength gains for a novice like me. The only thing I'm really concerned about is seeing how my inguinal incision sites feel once I get past 225lbs on my squat.

[dietlbomb]

Excellent. I'm sure you'll make good progress.

The only thing I'm really concerned about is seeing how my inguinal incision sites feel once I get past 225lbs on my squat.

I can't say anything about hernias. Perhaps your squat increment should be kept conservative after 225lbs. 3 increases a week is still a lot of added strength over the long haul.

[elguapo]

Good luck!

90s rest between exercises

Why so little rest?

[sasquatch]

Good luck!


Why so little rest?

I'm starting off with relatively light weights compared to what I'm actually capable of. I just want to get my body used to these movements again. Once my body feels like the bar is heavy, I'll start taking 3-5 minute rests.

[elguapo]

Ah, makes sense. I take a full 5-8 minutes rest between work sets.

[sasquatch]

3/29/14
Read Practical Programming 3rd edition, novice chapter, yesterday. Rip recommended doing DL's every workout if you can handle it before alternating DL's and PC's. So, I'll try deadlifting every workout for a week or two.

Squat: 145x5x3 (45,45,75,105x3,125x2)
Bench: 105x5x3 (45,45,65,85)
DL: 185x5 (135, 165x3)
Tri-extensions 35x10x3

I think I'll switch to 5lb increments on the squat from now on. Frustrated with my power rack bench press setup. The safety bar is either too high or too low for the bench press at the bottom (6" gaps between holes). I wonder if creating some extra holes would compromise the integrity of the rack...