starting strength gym
Page 1 of 16 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 158

Thread: Yet another skinny guy

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default Yet another skinny guy

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    I'm a novice, about 2 weeks into Starting Strength now. Actually, I'm doing more like Kethnaabs program (dips added to the deadlift day and chins/pullups added to the powerclean day). I'm a 23-year old skinny guy, 6'2", 167 lbs. My cheapo BIA scale says I'm 10.5-11% bodyfat, and the mirror says I'm 0% muscle. We're gonna fix that.

    Goals: Get bodyweight to 185, squat at least my bodyweight, be able to do 3x15 dips/pulls/chins. I also want to regain the flexibility I used to have ~5 years ago.

    My most recent workouts:

    Tuesday:
    Squat 3x5x105 lbs
    Bench 3x5x85 lbs
    Deadlift 2x5x132 lbs
    Dips 5/4/4 reps

    Thursday:
    Squat 3x5x115 lbs
    Press 3x5x55 lbs
    Powerclean 5x3x85 lbs
    Pullups 2/0/0 reps (I've done better than this before, but I felt like crap on thursday for some reason)


    I'm an experienced cyclist (2 centuries under my belt), and ran track back in high school (did the 400m, 300m hurdles, and high jump), but have never lifted weights seriously. I'm absolutely having a blast so far, but we'll see how that changes when they start getting heavy.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    Squat 3x5x125 - lost my balance and failed mid-3rd set, so I wrote off that set and did a 4th set to count as my 3rd.
    Bench 3x5x95
    Deadlift 1x5x154
    Dips 6/6/4

    Squat and bench are both pretty heavy now - I'll do 5 lbs increase on both instead of 10.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    Another day, another 4 PRs:

    Squat 3x5x130 lbs
    Press 3x5x60 lbs
    Power clean 5x3x90 lbs
    Chinups 5/5/2 sets

    No problems. Bar speed on squat is still low, but this was easier than 125 lbs 2 days ago.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    I didn't notice when I did it, but I must have strained my right knee doing squat yesterday (probably didn't keep my knees out far enough). If I try to air squat, right about when I get to parallel, my knee joint hurts and I can't put weight on it. I suspect I won't be squatting tomorrow, but hopefully will be by sunday.

    Maybe this is just a necessary evil of joints getting stronger? I don't want to have to back down on my squat weight.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    546

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Contrail View Post
    Maybe this is just a necessary evil of joints getting stronger? I don't want to have to back down on my squat weight.
    It could be knees out, but it could also be the squishy gym shoes. How does barefoot feel? Also, how does it feel with a hefty dose (up to 800mg) of ibuprofen?

    For penance you should watch a bunch of videos in the Rippetoe forum.

    $45 squat shoes at http://www.vsathletics.com/product.php?xProd=1823 but the available sizes are quickly disappearing.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    Couldn't squat
    Bench - 3x5x100 lbs
    Deadlift - 1x5x165 lbs
    Dips - 5/5/4

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    546

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Contrail View Post
    Couldn't squat
    I hope you're icing it..

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    I iced it some on tuesday, but I don't think it did much. I can't spend much time with my leg propped up smothered in a bag of ice at work. I've done a few doses of advil to help any inflammation, but taking it doesn't affect the pain to the point where I'd want to put weight on it.

    It's nothing to do with a muscle, it feels like I mashed the lateral meniscus of my right knee (like the figure on p.48 of starting strength). In fact, I can feel that the pain is localized to the outside half of the knee joint when I squat down.

    Based on the improvement over two nights, I'll probably be fine to squat (maybe not a PR progression, but significant weight) by sunday.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    126

    Default

    Also, I'm thinking of getting some minimalist cross-training shoes, like Puma H-street or Nike Free, that would have a much firmer heel for lifting, but still be versatile so I could run/jump/play/do backflips* without changing shoes. What size are your VS shoes? If they're 11.5-12.5 I could try them, but I at least want to inspect them up close to see what the heel is like.

    * no, I can't really do backflips without a diving board.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    546

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    My VS are only a 9.0. People who don't use squat shoes seem to like sambas and chuck taylors, both of which are cheap.

    Squat shoes would still be better, though.

Page 1 of 16 12311 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •