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Testing the Limits of Linear Progression
Background: 16 year old at 5'11 175lbs Novice lifter with starting numbers of 165lbs in the Squat and 285lbs in the Deadlift. I will run the linear progression as long as possible but specifically until the end of February. I plan to update the log on either a daily basis or at the end of each work week. First 6 workouts will be 10lbs jumps and thereafter I will make 5lbs jumps. Ultimately the goal is to successfully complete 52 workouts in a row while staying disciplined to my recovery and eating habits. If I can stick to the plan the progress I will make will be astonishing. I'm here to push it to the limit and see how strong I can really get. Let's make it happen!
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Strength Goals are to get my Deadlift over 500lbs by the end of the LP and getting my Squat above 350lbs. Both of these would be for 5 rep maxes. From a weight standpoint ideally I will be able to stay under 200lbs but I'll see how quickly I put on weight when consuming between 4500 and 5500 kcal on a daily basis.
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Why do you want to stay under 200?Originally Posted by B-MoreBeast
Good luck with your training.
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Will you also be doing Overhead Press and Bench Press?
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Mostly staying under 200lbs to maintain a really good strength to weight ratio but since I can put on weight pretty easily we'll see how it goes. Unless there are issues though I'm going to maintain my surplus diet and adjust it based on recovery and weight gain that is happening. Thanks for the support.
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Short answer is yes. Long answer is no. I'm actually going to be using dumbells for benching and pressing but there is a chance I may start barbell benching. My press and bench are much weaker than they should be for an untrained person who can deadlift in the mid to high 300s. It's set in stone that I'll be using DBs for pressing because as a baseball player it is a safer on the shoulders and when evaluating risk vs. reward the DBs are a decent alternative. With bench I don't believe there is a replacement to the barbell bench from a progressive overload standpoint so I may end up going with that. Thanks for the support.
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Of course you make your own choices, but can you explain how DB pressing is safer for the shoulders than barbell pressing, and how is that specific to baseball?It's set in stone that I'll be using DBs for pressing because as a baseball player it is a safer on the shoulders
One minor difference is that DBs add a bit by making you stabilize individual weights overhead and don't force you to get your noggin out of the way.
I believe a stronger shoulder is a safer shoulder in any sport, and barbell pressing makes you stronger than db pressing. I can press 100lb (2x50lb) with dbs for 10x3 reps, but can do this with 160+ for the same reps on a barbell. More weight = more strength = more progress and a more stable shoulder.
Last edited by peez; 10-26-2015 at 01:34 PM. Reason: formatting
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"Safer" was not the right terminology there. Here is a brief explanation of DBs vs Bars for throwing athletes:
With dumbbell benching, we recognize that we get better range-of-motion, freer movement of the humerus (instead of being locked into internal rotation), and increased core activation – particularly if we’re doing alternating DB presses or 1-arm db presses. There is even a bit more scapular movement in these variations (even if we don’t actually coach it).
From a baseball standpoint I'm training daily for arm health and velocity for between .5hr to 2hr. If you want to look up the trainers who designed my programming they can be found at Driveline Baseball and Kyle, the owner, is actually a huge advocate of SSBT3.
Last edited by B-MoreBeast; 10-26-2015 at 09:58 AM. Reason: Spacing
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Well, I'm not going to argue with you, but I recommend you study as much on this forum as possible. Starting Strength only includes barbell lifts because they are the most efficient way to build a universal strength base for any sport, and do so as efficiently as possible. Based on everything I have learned here, DBs are suboptimal for that purpose. If you press and bench the way it is taught here, shoulder impingement or developing strength imbalance are highly unlikely. And your core gets activated plenty in all lifts anyway, esp. squat and deadlift.
In any case I wish you good luck with your training in whatever form you choose - I'm curious how far you'll be able to drive your strength and how it will impact your athletic success!
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Thank you Peez! I have found Pressing with a barbell to actually be more enjoyable and overall it feels like a much more fast twitch and explosive lift. I'll check with my trainers and if they "Ok" it or tell me that it wouldn't be a greater risk than reward I'll go for it. One thing that does is makes me figure out a way to have the ceiling clearance. Maybe a cheap pair of squat stands could be in order. You've been around here awhile, I recognize that and know that I have a lot more to learn in the Iron Game. Good luck with your training.
Update: Talked to my trainer and the standards were referring to pressing with a style unlike 2.0. He said it's actually in their opinion the best upper-body lift. Sounds a lot like this: “The press is the most useful upper-body exercise for sports conditioning, primarily because it is not just an upper-body exercise. Except for powerlifting and swimming, all sports that require the use of upper-body strength transmit that force along a kinetic chain that starts at the ground.”
Ethan
Last edited by B-MoreBeast; 10-26-2015 at 04:46 PM.
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