Peter’s SS journey

[Petermac7644]

Just do power cleans with an empty bar as frequently as you like.
Getting the technique right is more important than adding weight as adding weight makes it harder to get the technique right.
Timing the jump perfectly is critical in terms of making good progress with this lift.
When it's done correctly it's effortless and it's easy to progress.

True I could just work with the empty bar. I'll start doing that before deadlifting. The worst part of the lift for me is catching the bar in the quarter squat position. With sub-maximal weights I often forget and just stay upright to catch it. I'll need to force myself to remember.

[positronbomb]

The worst part of the lift for me is catching the bar in the quarter squat position. With sub-maximal weights I often forget and just stay upright to catch it. I'll need to force myself to remember.

Another reason to practice frequently with an empty bar.
It will become effortless with practice.

[Petermac7644]

Oct. 29

Success!

195lb squat 5/5/5
142.5lb Bench Press 5/5/5
115lb Power Clean 3/3/3/3/3

I wasn't sure whether to re-try Friday's workout or just move on. I'm glad I did Bench and Power Cleans today because I was dreading trying to Pull 255 again. My back isn't 100%. I ordered a lifting belt that should be here Wednesday and I'm hoping its going to help. I'm also trying to figure out where I can get lifting shoes. I didn't want to resort to Amazon since I'm not sure what to get for a size but its looking like that's my only option.


Weighed in at 184 so the weight is still going up. I took some measurements on Sept. 3rd because I wanted to make sure I'm not just getting fat doing this. Today I checked a few of them. My thighs went from ~20.5 inches to ~22 inches in circumference. My arms from ~12.5 to ~14. My waist from 34 to 36. Its been 8 weeks and I've gained 10lbs.

I've been thinking about how I'm going to transition to intermediate programming. HLM seemed like the logical transition program at first but, as these sessions keep getting longer, compliance might become an issue. It's getting hard to finish the 3rd lift. Today I performed the Power cleans with only 2-3 minutes between sets and still was tight for time. 4:30 is about as early as I want to wake up in the AM, so now I'm thinking a 1-lift-per-day setup is going to be ideal or possibly a 4 day Texas Method. Lifting 4-5 times per week would be easier than trying to fit everything into 3 workouts. I want to run SS as long as I can but if I can't finish the workouts that's going to be a problem.

[claywieczorek]

Oct. 29

Success!

195lb squat 5/5/5
142.5lb Bench Press 5/5/5
115lb Power Clean 3/3/3/3/3

I wasn't sure whether to re-try Friday's workout or just move on. I'm glad I did Bench and Power Cleans today because I was dreading trying to Pull 255 again. My back isn't 100%. I ordered a lifting belt that should be here Wednesday and I'm hoping its going to help. I'm also trying to figure out where I can get lifting shoes. I didn't want to resort to Amazon since I'm not sure what to get for a size but its looking like that's my only option.


Weighed in at 184 so the weight is still going up. I took some measurements on Sept. 3rd because I wanted to make sure I'm not just getting fat doing this. Today I checked a few of them. My thighs went from ~20.5 inches to ~22 inches in circumference. My arms from ~12.5 to ~14. My waist from 34 to 36. Its been 8 weeks and I've gained 10lbs.

I've been thinking about how I'm going to transition to intermediate programming. HLM seemed like the logical transition program at first but, as these sessions keep getting longer, compliance might become an issue. It's getting hard to finish the 3rd lift. Today I performed the Power cleans with only 2-3 minutes between sets and still was tight for time. 4:30 is about as early as I want to wake up in the AM, so now I'm thinking a 1-lift-per-day setup is going to be ideal or possibly a 4 day Texas Method. Lifting 4-5 times per week would be easier than trying to fit everything into 3 workouts. I want to run SS as long as I can but if I can't finish the workouts that's going to be a problem.

For lifting shoes, just read reviews where people compare them to other shoes. Like they say if you have Nike running shoes, order these lifters 1.2 size smaller, etc. Hope that helps.

[Petermac7644]

Nov. 1

Only two sessions this week.

200lb squat 5/5/5
117.5lb Press 5/5/5
255lb deadlift 5

Got my lifting belt - made a huge difference in the squat and press. Its taking some getting used to, though. I got a 4" belt and I feel like a 3" would have been better. It was really uncomfortable to try and deadlift with so I didn't use it for that.

I did my workout in the evening so I wasn't in a rush. Normally I hurry through the warm up for deadlift because I know I'm running out of time. Taking the time to work up to the weight really helped but the workout ended up taking about an hour and 20 minutes. The 7-8 minutes of rest between working sets really eats a lot of time. That said, unfortunately, I think I've taken LP about as far as I'll be able to. I really struggled with the Press in this workout - so I'm thinking I'll need to make an accommodation there soon anyway. I'm travelling the week of Nov. 18th so that will likely be a de-load week depending on how the fitness center in the hotel is set up. I'll try and stick with it for the next two weeks and then I'll probably switch to a 4 day split.

Here's what I have in mind: I'll transition to a 4 day TM. Monday intensity bench and volume press; Tuesday intensity Squat and volume row; Thursday intensity press and volume bench; Friday intensity squat and intensity deadlift. I'm thinking I'll do 3x8 for volume to save a bit of time and work up to a PR set of 5 for the intensity days. Intensity Squat will still be three sets across until I can't continue to make progress on the lift twice weekly. After that, Friday would switch to volume 3x8 and Tuesday would be one heavy set of 5. Squat is probably where I'm leaving the most on the table by ending the SSLP so this is the best compromise I can think of. I'm probably close to implementing a light Wednesday for squat based some other logs I've read - so I don't think I'll be missing out on much progress.

[Petermac7644]

Posed the question re: time restriction on the programming forum. I'm documenting the advice I got here so I can easily find it later:

"If you MUST fuck with the program for time purposes, I'd think doing two lifts per day, for 3x5, 3-4 times per week would be better than going to a 4 day TM style or 1 lift per day. A sample 2 weeks might be:

M - SQ, PR
W - BP, DL
F - SQ, PR
Su - BP, PC/Rows
T - SQ, PR
Th - BP, DL
S - SQ, PR"

So this is what I'm going to transition to if I start missing the third lift due to time constraints. In the meantime, I can save time by swapping power cleans with rows, reducing my rest periods a bit and working my warm-ups in between my work sets.

[Dillon Spencer]

I just noticed you're a fellow Canadian, so followed you over here to check out your log. Glad you found my suggestions helpful! Obviously it's a much bigger place than our geographically challenged neighbours to the south tend to realize, but I'm always looking to touch base with like-minded lifters. Just curious whereabouts in our Great White North you happen to reside. I'm in Toronto, myself.

[Petermac7644]

Lol hey man I’m in New Brunswick

[j.r.]

Hi Peter, congratulations on your progress!

For a lifting shoe, I recommend the Adidas Power Perfect III. It's reasonably priced and available on Amazon prime. I too was baffled by the sizing. After debating, measuring, and tracing my foot on a piece of notebook paper, I ordered two pairs a half size off and returned the bum pair.

Let me know how power cleans are going for you. I just started this week. Tough!

Keep at it!

[Petermac7644]

Hi Peter, congratulations on your progress!

For a lifting shoe, I recommend the Adidas Power Perfect III. It's reasonably priced and available on Amazon prime. I too was baffled by the sizing. After debating, measuring, and tracing my foot on a piece of notebook paper, I ordered two pairs a half size off and returned the bum pair.

Let me know how power cleans are going for you. I just started this week. Tough!

Keep at it!

Thanks for the recommendation. That's the exact pair I'm leaning towards.

I'm a fan of power cleans. Before I got my squat stand I was doing lots of them. I'm swapping them out in favor of barbell rows for now only because I can get the rows done a bit quicker. Positronbomb recommended practicing with the empty bar as often as you like and I think that's good advice. Gotta get the technique down. Power cleans are also a good warm-up for the deadlift so you can do a few then, too.