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n00b-manda's quest to become strongpanda
My name is Amanda, I am 28 y/o, female, 5'6", 130lb. I am just starting my NLP for the first time after reading (and re-reading and re-re-reading) SSBBT. I received PPST and have started reading yesterday. I own lifting shoes and a lifting belt. I have purchased fractional plates which amazon says may not arrive until 8/21.
A bit on my background. I've always been slim. I was not really active in HS or college, really I was a wuss. After college, I took up long distance running for several months (read: 6-13 miles/day, 4x/week). I really became interested in fitness once I started BJJ in 2014. I trained and competed in BJJ until I lost interest in the kool-aid in 2016. From there I kept active with met/con group classes 2-5 days a week with varying levels of consistency until present day. It was always a goal of mine to become the strongest version of myself possible, and I could not understand why I was not progressing with my strength via met/con as we were using (what I believed to be) heavy dumbbells and I was pushing myself as hard as I could. After reading Rip's explanation of exercise vs training it all made so much sense.
Most of my friends and family think I am already very strong and cannot understand how or why I would want to be stronger. I am not so disillusioned as them. I am still a strength n00b. I don't really have any like-minded individuals around me to discuss training with.
My goal is to become the most brutally strong version of myself possible.
But... I also want to maintain conditioning. My husband and I hike mountains. We're currently working on the Adirondack 46 high peaks. Having great conditioning from met/con has made hiking so much easier. He also really enjoys the classes (they are fun) and it's something we do together. If I stopped going to met/con, he would probably not go either. His life has been much less active than mine and I want to continue supporting him in that activity, even if it is just exercise and not training. So Met/con stays in the program for now, 2x a week.
Program:
SS 2x a week, met/con 2x a week. Once I have had a few weeks to assess progress and recovery I will try to rearrange things so I can fit the third lifting day in there so I can actually do the program.
As far as nutrition goes... I am honestly a bit confused. In PPST Rip says women do not benefit from the calorie surplus in the same way as men. However I am having difficulty finding information on how much of a calorie surplus women are supposed to be in for ideal gains. Most searches on the forum for this question are inundated with "how do I eat enough for gains without getting fat" type questions. But I'm really looking for the objective, non-delusional, well-adjusted, body-positive female's nutritional requirements to make max gains. If you are reading this and know the answer, it would help so much! Otherwise I am just going to eat what I like, when I'm hungry, and basically do what feels right.
OK enough gab- onto the numbers.
WEEK ONE
7/31/18
SQ: 90LB, 5x3
OH: 45LB 5x3
DL: 135LB 5x1
Notes: Shoulder pain on squats. Will keep squatting to stretch it out as Rip says. Difficulty with bar placement - rolling down back.
8/2/18
SQ: 90LB 5x3 staying at this weight to work on form still. Bar placement was better sometimes and not better other times. Still needs work.
BP: 70LB 5x3
DL: 140LB 5x1
WEEK TWO
8/7/18
SQ: 90LB 5x1, 95LB 5x1 - bar placement much better today so increased weight for last two working sets.
OH: 50LB 5x3
DL: 145LB 5x1
8/9/18
SQ: 100 5x3
BP: 75 5x3
DL: 150 5x1
NOTES: Bar rolling down back again. Watched a video where Rip goes into much detail on bar grip and placement for the squat. So many things are more clear to me now. Looking forward to making more improvements next week. PPST says I can do sets across for DL so I will start that next week. Also going to try power cleans next week.
Last edited by strongpanda; 08-16-2018 at 03:50 PM.
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Awesome.Originally Posted by strongpanda
Once you start lifting more than your body weight in both squat and deadlift, recovery will become more important so you may need to start reducing the frequency of intense aerobic activity or eating and sleeping more.
You're off to a great start.
Member
Try 500 calorie a day surplus and monitor waist measurement.
If it's increasing then drop 250 Calories a day.
Just monitor your strength progress, waist measurement, and your weight.
It will probably require constant adjustment to find your individual sweetspot.
Member
Thank you! I also suspect that as I lift more, I will want to lift more, and my inclination will naturally move in this direction.
✓ Member
Strongpanda,
This isn't an official answer to your question and hasn't been endorsed by any SSC.
But, I've been tracking my bf% using the Navy Body Fat Calculator. It's far from perfect, but it's easy to do, and no body fat measurement system is actually any good (short of grinding yourself in a blender and sending your remains to a chemical analysis lab).
Navy Body Fat Calculator - Omni
I suggest this to measure circumfrance, it's easier than a traditional tape measure.
Amazon.com: MyoTape Body Tape Measure: Health & Personal Care
Measure that every week or two, and use it to calculate your lean body mass. (LBM = weight * (1 - bf%))
LBM should be going up slowly, along with weight. Bf% should also be going up slowly. If it isn't adjust. I think the 'sweet spot' is that 40-60% of the weight you are gaining should be LBM. If less than 40% of the weight you are gaining is LBM, take a few calories off your diet - you're getting more calories than you can turn into muscle. If more than 60% is LBM, add some calories, you can turn some of those calories into muscle.
(Note: some people have success measuring bf% with accumeasure body fat calipers, available on Amazon for under ten bucks. For me, those give me ludicrous numbers that are beyond any semblance of reality. I wish they were real - they say I'm ripped!)
-->Adam
✓ Member
Glad you're doing this, Amanda.
On nutrition: My wife is doing the LP alongside me. When she noticed that I was purposely gaining weight, she asked something like "Should I be doing that, too?"
I had no idea how to answer her, so I asked Santana on the nutrition forum here. His answer was basically, "She should worry more about weight on the barbell than weight on the scale throughout her LP." Which is the same advice for males ... so my read is that, when Rip says women don't benefit the same from calorie surplus, he's not saying "therefore don't do it."
Julie (my wife) is progressing nicely, and has picked up about 5 lbs on the scale to match about 20 lbs on the barbell. And for what it's worth, I enjoy the distribution of her weight gain.
So it's certainly working.
✓ Member
An unstable bar will create some pretty annoying tendonitis once the weight gets heavy enough, and it can be very difficult to get rid off once it settles. I would post a video on the coaches Q&A asap to get it fixed. If it rolls up on your back, it's too high, if it rolls down, it's too low. Try and create a solid shelf by getting your chest up and pinning your elbows to your sides. A tight upper back throughout the movement is key here. Reading this article might help:
The Elbow Problem | Jordan Feigenbaum
Btw, glad to see a female log on here. I've been looking for it to get some programming ideas for my gf. Good luck
Member
Yes, try and get your husband interested in the program, if possible.
It's far more rewarding and motivating seeing yourself get measurably stronger, than just exercising.
I will enjoy seeing your progress.
Member
Yes, you are correct. It is slightly more complicated than that for me however. I have mild scoliosis and my shoulders are uneven heights. I did not realize until recently that this creates an issue for my form. When the bar is in the correct position for one shoulder, it is in the incorrect position for the other...
The good news is I found a SSC within 2 hours drive that I will be visiting on 9/2 to go over this and all other lifts!
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He has expressed interest and asked me to teach him how to lift. I said, "sure, but you have to read the book first." He made it about 20 pages in and lost interest!Oh well I still love him.
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