Jared’s Novice Linear Progression

[Jared_T]

Hey all,
Current Stats-
34, M, 245lbs, 5’10”, 33% BF, Orangeville, Ontario, Canada.

I’ve attempted LP twice in the last 3 years but due to job changes and life stress I haven’t done the program properly.

The longest I was able to stay on it straight over the two attempts was 8 weeks. I plan to go from a novice, intermediate and then hopefully advanced lifter. I’d also like to look at competing locally one day.

Athletic background is Judo for a few years as a kid, (I’m a green belt), MMA in my mid 20’s, Recreational CrossFit for 9 months when I was around 29-30. The only thing I have going on now is men’s slo-pitch.

My greatest struggle is staying disciplined and consistent long term. That’s not just with lifting. I’ve never stayed in the weight room more than 1-2 months with any consistency and usually with a year or years of gaps in between. This attitude has also spilled into my diet, hobbies etc. Working on self discipline is a big focus for me now.

I have a full time job in sales so it’s very sedentary and there is a lot of driving involved. I’m married and have 3 kids between the ages of 10 to 4.

I have a pretty decent home gym setup now and want to put it to good use.

Hopefully that adds everything needed for my background. I’m 5 or 6 sessions in now so I’ll log them individually to keep things clean and then I’ll be all caught up.

Looking forward to reading a bunch of the other logs here, seeing your progress and staying accountable for the other forum readers as well.

Feel free to stop by and say hi and I’ll make sure to check out your logs and comment back.

Thanks all and good luck doing the program!

[Jared_T]

17 Aug 2019
Squat 275x5
Bench 175x5
Deadlift 315x5

Every work set was just a single work set. If I had done 3 I wouldn’t have been able to walk for two weeks.

Focused on the lifts and technique. Slow and steady. Felt good and I felt I had a lot more in the tank on deads and squats. My bench felt like the bar had slowed a bit so I think it’s a good starting spot.
My last LP attempt and lifts took place Jan/Feb 2018.
I didn’t want to jump back in too deep.

[Jared_T]

19 Aug 2019

Squat 285x5x3
Bench 180x5x3
Deadlift 325x5

Felt good enough to push to full work sets.
Bench was a bit tough. Squats and deads were EZ.

[Jared_T]

22 Aug 2019

Squat 295x5x3
Bench 185x5x3
Deadlifts 335x5

[Jared_T]

27 Aug 2019

Squat 315x5x3
Bench 190x5x3
Deadlift 345x5

Bench is starting to slow on the last rep of the last set. Was hoping doing it more often at the start would lead to quicker bench progress. I’ll add in the overhead press soon and start rotating deads with either power cleans or rows.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to get a ton of benching progress with 5lb jumps. 2.5lb microloading seems like its better for long term gains.

[Jared_T]

30 Aug 2019

Squat 325x5x3
Bench 195x5x3
Deadlift 355x5

Squats have started to slow a bit.
Bench was heavy on the last rep. Almost missed my very last rep of the last set.
Deads felt heavy but I know I have more.

Eating around 140-170grams of protein a day. Not worried about losing BF yet. Will focus on that once the easy gains have stopped.

[Bruce Ware]

Great numbers! I am a long way from hitting the amount of weight you are moving around -- LOL!

I did notice, however, that you appear to be benching every workout - do you intend to start alternating between bench pressing and (overhead) pressing, per the Starting Strength program?

[Jared_T]

Great numbers! I am a long way from hitting the amount of weight you are moving around -- LOL!

I did notice, however, that you appear to be benching every workout - do you intend to start alternating between bench pressing and (overhead) pressing, per the Starting Strength program?

Hey Bruce, thanks for the kind words.
I wanted to get more volume in on the deads and bench before alternating in with OHP and either rows or cleans (my clean PR is 245 for one) but they beat me up a lot. I’ve never really done the rows. Then there will be the chins and pull ups once I’m closer to the advanced novice stage.

Presses run into micro-loading territory quicker than benching so I figured I wasn’t losing much progress by benching more to start.

I plan to compete in a powerlifting meet next year so I figured focusing mainly on those lifts to start for a few weeks would be advantageous.
I may be totally off base with that thinking but sometimes you just need to take action I guess. Haha

[Jared_T]

3 Sep 2019

Squat 335x5x3
Press 135x5x3
Deadlift 365x5

Had just played a ball game and came right home to lift. A little more tired than expected. Workout was good but the bar speed was slower than I guessed it would be.

Squats were good.
May have jumped back into presses a bit too ambitiously.
Deads were heavy but moved well. Deads will always feel heavy I believe. They suck.
Overall happy with everything. Will move up weights on the next session

[Jared_T]

8 Sep 2019

Squat 345x5x3
Bench 200x5x3
Deadlift 375x5

Felt good. Bench will soon move to 2.5lb increases.
BW 250