Chris' SS log

[cms]

Hi all,

First, thanks to Rip for the great book and all the people posting here with critique, it's been really helpful to me starting out.

I'm a 30 yr old man who's struggled with strength his whole life. I'm 5'11.5", 185 lbs, probably 20% BF. I'm pretty sure I have the genetics to be strong, since my father and brother are both ripped and I have a cousin who competes in powerlifting. They all take after my dad's side though, and I take after my mom (where the chubby genes come from, sorry mom!)

I picked up SS last month and read it through, and for the past 2 weeks I've been practicing my form. I've been working out off and on with weights for almost 3 years but I've never been able to get strong because of my reluctance to eat big. I'm a developer (computer programmer) by trade, and I came out of college obese and weak, and now I'm just chubby and weak. Aiming to change that.

I followed the instructions in the book to set my starting weights last week. Here's where I am now, where my form stays good but the reps start to slow at 5:

Squat: 105 lb
BP: 105 lb
Deadlift: 135 lb
Press: 65 lb
Clean: 60 lb

Yes those are really low, but that just means I have a lot of room to grow! I'm pretty sure my biggest weakness right now is my core/lower back, which keeps me from being able to support much weight on the bar.

First official workout is today after work. Hopefully there isn't a large queue for the squat racks.

[misspelledgeoff]

i'll bet you won't have much of que in the rack--unless of course some guy and his brahs are working teh gunz.

good luck on the workout and be sure to post up results.

[Mr.City]

Was tempted to tell a tale of true brohemian silliness, but perhaps not. Don't be discouraged by low numbers. We all start low.

[WatsupHannity]

Starting low is what it's all about. Progression is the name of the game, not poundages on a given workout... a fact I sadly only learned 6 months ago.

[msingh]

Dont do starting strength, get that bodyfat down to 12-13% then start the program. You will gain a hell of a lot of fat while on SS and if you're already at 20%, it's unhealthy and difficult to keep going while carrying so much excess fat. This is my humble advice, dont take it the wrong way.

I suggest doing mostly conditioning work, getting your diet cleaned up, and while doing so have 2 lifting days where you learn to do the lifts correctly. That way when you are ready to start SS you'll have good technique and form and can get into it straight away. Learn to do cleans, and squats especially, they're the hardest.

Dont worry about low numbers, it's all good, we all start from somewhere, in 2-3 months you'll have respectable one and you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

[misspelledgeoff]

just to provide the another perspective msingh's ...there are quite a few of us that started SS in the 20% range of bf. msingh had one experience with the program starting at higher bf, I (and many others) had quite a different one.

you want to get big and strong, right? then you are in the right place and you are doing the right program. trust me, a little extra bodyfat is nothing when you see your lifts increasing and your body getting more muscular week after week. and like Rip says, fat is easier to lose than muscle is to gain.

[msingh]

Gaining 10% bf on SS is normal i think, and if you start at 20% and end up at 30%, yes you're much bigger and stronger but you're also obese and unhealthy!

I'm at point where i'm wondering whether i should stop SS and lose 30 lb first then continue SS, or keep going and then lose 40-50 lb at the end of it. Scary thing is none of my pants fit anymore and my last pair is too tight and it's a 44in one. I would never recommend to anyone to do SS unless they're skinny or really really fat.

Whats the point of being big and strong only to get really fat? And mark and others will tell you strength adaptations are persistent, well fat gains are quite persistent too! You cant easily take off 40 lb.

of course the OP wants to become big and strong, but he should be patient and prepared for SS. Walking in at 20% and doing SS with GOMAD .. is that the right way to go, really? I cant recommend it, but it's his choice.

[cms]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

To be honest my BF % does have me worried. I weighed 260 coming out of college, no idea what my BF was, but I got myself down to 180lbs using the Body 4 Life book. I'm done with that, though, it's time to get strong.

My lifts went well yesterday. Nothing felt that heavy, and I'm only slightly sore today. I focused on keeping my lumbar arch in the squats and I think I had good hip drive. At least, I didn't feel my quads pushing me up so I assume that's good. Lower back is sore, but I know I'm weak there. It's not sore to the point where I'm non functional.

11/23/2009
Squats: 115 x 5 x 3
Bench Press: 110 x 5 x 3
Deadlift 150 x 5 x 1

The eating is rough. I'm not quite up to the gallon of milk, maybe 3/4, and I feel like I'm gonna puke. I'm trying to have lean meats and veggies 3 meals a day, and whole grain carbs. Honestly putting down the food is a chore at this point.

[msingh]

Will you be happy if you're 260 at 30% bf at the end of SS?

[coldfire]

Now you are trolling, just like you did here: http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=13374