Programming advice please

[Mindforge]

Looking for some general programming advice.

I am a big fan of the book and have been doing Starting Strength for a few years now, prior to which I was doing the usual commercial gym rubbish. Felt like I hit a wall with the programme and tried some tweaks but to no avail.

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In the last six months I have taken up the Olympic lifts and have been training with a very experienced Olympic trainer. This helped with my all round technique and flexibility. I had been training five/six times a week to learn the lifts, which included two compound sessions similar to Starting Strength, except with six sets of three reps, as recommended by the trainer. Now the interesting thing is that I have actually made progress on the big lifts for the first time in a while, even though I have been doing some gruelling Olympic workouts.

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I'm 33, weigh 72.5kg and am 5 foot 9 and quite small framed. With my twice a week compound routines, my current numbers are as follows:

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Low bar back squat – 6 sets of 3 reps at 110kg

Bench press – 6 sets of 3 reps at 75kg (I have struggled to get bench press much higher than 77.5kg ever, but finally have made some progress by doing some close grip bench press on alternate days).

Press (alternate workout to bench press) – 6 sets of 3 reps at 57.5kg

Deadlift (once every two weeks) – working up to 1 set of 3 reps at 140kg with hook grip

Pendlay row – 6 sets of 3 reps at 82.5kg

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Olympic lifts maxes have been 60kg snatch and 80kg clean and jerk.

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My wife is due to have our first baby in the next couple of months, so I recognise I will not be able to devote so much time to the gym and so I am looking to cut down to a minimum three times a week routine. I would appreciate recommendations as to what programme to move onto – straight back to Starting Strength, even though previously it did not work that well for me, or some other variant?


Thanks very much.

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[Adam Skillin]

It really doesn't appear that you did the program at all. Do you own the book? Because you really need to read it. Not trying to be a jerk, but it's not fair to come on the website and ask us to summarize the programming chapter for you because you forgot what it said or never read it in the first place. I'll give you this hint, it's at the end.

[Mindforge]

It really doesn't appear that you did the program at all. Do you own the book? Because you really need to read it. Not trying to be a jerk, but it's not fair to come on the website and ask us to summarize the programming chapter for you because you forgot what it said or never read it in the first place. I'll give you this hint, it's at the end.

I said at the beginning of my carefully thought out post that I am a big fan of the book and have been doing Starting Strength for a few years now. That means that yes I own the book and yes I have been doing the programme. I wrote that at the beginning specifically to head off this type of response.

[Adam Skillin]

I said at the beginning of my carefully thought out post that I am a big fan of the book and have been doing Starting Strength for a few years now. That means that yes I own the book and yes I have been doing the programme. I wrote that at the beginning specifically to head off this type of response.

Yes, you state that you've been doing the program, but you haven't been doing the program. Because you can't do the program for 2 years. And you can't finish the program weighing 72.5 @ 5'9. That's what I meant by "it really doesn't appear that you did the program at all."

[Mindforge]

Yes, you state that you've been doing the program, but you haven't been doing the program. Because you can't do the program for 2 years. And you can't finish the program weighing 72.5 @ 5'9. That's what I meant by "it really doesn't appear that you did the program at all."

Thank you for your responses Adam. Hopefully someone else has something to contribute which might actually help me.

[Miro]

Erm, okay.

I do share Adams misgiving, but that's neither here nor there. My advice is to run SS as prescribed in SSBBT3 or PPST3 (which you should also get), for as long as you can. If you find you can't recover from three heavy squats per week, add a light day in between.

Finally, when you can't progress anymore, and recovery (adequate sleep + nutrition, no excessive activities outside the weight room) is good, move to some intermediate programming, for example a form of HLM (heavy-light-medium).

Maybe try Andy's forum for more advice, if the responses here are not satisfactory.

[mweitz]

Mindforge,

Starting Strength is just that, a beginner or starting point. It is only for the first 3 to 12 months where you are experiencing linear gains (adding weight each workout) with a few deloads along the way. Once you have maxed out your lifts that way you need to move to an intermediate program.

You are also supposed to be eating a large amount to sustain this linear progression, with pretty substantial weight gains (body weight) over this "novice" period.

If you were well versed on the book you would know this ...

After you are past the novice stage, you would be looking at Practical Programming for Strength Training for Intermediate and Advanced programs.

[Mindforge]

Thanks both. I do have Practical Programming.

[Miro]

Then you must have some ideas how to design a program to accomodate the impending change in your lifestyle. Why don't you lay it out here?

[Mindforge]

I have it but I haven't committed it to memory. I have experimented previously with 5/3/1 and HLM after I felt linear progression wasn't going anywhere.

You're probably right that I just need to eat more but this is somewhat difficult time wise with work demands.