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Thread: Seth Tries LP

  1. #1
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    Default Seth Tries LP

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    So I'm low-key coaching again, at my new Army assignment. A peer of mine asked me to lift with him, and wants to focus on getting as strong as possible before a major career event he's got coming in April/May. The timing in his life and career are about perfect for some LP-style training, and having a lifting partner helps me keep accountable to training as well.

    Seth's stats:

    Life: Married father of two, Army company commander.

    Lifting experience: Some bodybuilding and crossfit work. Seth is naturally strong, and appears solidly built. He is in reasonable shape, as he has to set an example for the troops under his command. While deployed to the Middle East he did as many of us in the staff-officer world do: Workout, eat, work, sleep, repeat. But he's never done focused strength work.

    Age: 28
    Height: 72 inches
    Weight: 240 pounds (He'd like to lose some weight, but since he's within Army standard for AR 600-9, I'm encouraging him to stay at 240 for now, and just change the way that 240 hangs).

    Reported Personal Best Lifts (not observed by me, but I consider them credible):
    Squat: 315x5 (high bar)
    Bench: 275x3
    Press: NONE
    Deadlift: 340x3 (For the Army ACFT, which he reported as being quite easy, but as 340x3 is a maximum score and time was tight, he didn't try for more that day)

    Method:
    Seth and I are Active Duty Army officers in the same battalion. The good news is, that means our schedules have a lot of synergy. The bad news is ... we're a busy battalion. But we've got a brief lull in which to insert new habits. I cannot possibly do my 4-day split AND coach Seth through a "vanilla" Starting Strength 3/week (and stay married to my wife, and in the good graces of my kids), so I'm putting him on my 4-day schedule of lifts. It will look like this:

    M: Bench, Press
    T: Squat, Pull
    W: Rest
    Th: Bench, Press
    F: Squat, Pull
    S: Rest
    Su: Rest

    Today was session 1:

    4-day Split LP, W1D1

    Bench: 205x5x3


    Adjusted grip so that forearms are vertical in the bottom position. Really harped on the elbow-tuck, to maximize shoulder health and progression. He probably had 225 for sets across today without issue, but I want to long-game this and see how his body holds up to the pummeling we're about to give it.

    Press: 95x5x3

    Form will be a sharp learning curve on this one. He's used to behind-the-head presses to parallel. The SS semi-strict press (I use the 1.5 almost exclusively) is an entirely new animal to him. But he's pretty darned strong. He probably had 135 for sets across today, but I throttled him to 95 to work form. At 95, he was able to give me about 3 excellent reps per set of 5.

    Based on today's performance, on Thursday for Upper day, I plan to go with a +10 on bench, and a +20 on press.
    Last edited by Geoff Bischoff; 12-03-2020 at 07:10 AM.

  2. #2
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    Looks good.

    You guys are lucky to have each other for encouragement and motivation.

    I am excited to see how he goes. 240 pounds is a solid weight to lift some decent numbers.
    I'm just a small guy at 180 pounds.

  3. #3
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    He's motivated so far, so that's good ... the SS model is a challenge, but it was a challenge for me as well. I'm glad to have him; makes me hesitant to bag my own training.

    4DLP, W1D2

    Squat: 225x5x3


    This weight is not a challenge to him, even on day one. Hitting depth isn't a problem, and he's willing to lean over and go "tits down." The challenge is low bar position. It's awkward for him on day one. That'll just take time.

    Deadlift: 275x5

    He pulled these forward of mid-foot despite my best efforts to get him to rotate his body. Other than that, he's good: Bracing, grip, lockout are all good. In time, additional loading will force the issue of mid-foot. I'm taking this as a win today.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Bischoff View Post

    Age: 32

    M: Bench, Press
    T: Squat, Pull
    W: Rest
    Th: Bench, Press
    F: Squat, Pull
    S: Rest
    Su: Rest
    It will be interesting to see how Seth handles LP'ing bench and press on the same day. I was surprised by how long Tim was able to progress both.

    The benefit of youth?

    Best Wishes - Mike

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    Mike: Time will tell. Youth certainly helps ... I had to edit the initial post; Seth is only 28, not 32. I had his age mixed up with his XO I think. I think Starting Strength LP gives insufficient upper body volume for folks who have been in the Army for awhile. Which I would say is more an artifact of how the Army has done PT the last 30 years than it is a "flaw" of Starting Strength. If you stick around the Army, you'll do a LOT of push-ups, and zero squats. Tim only had about 3 years of that before I encountered him; Seth has had 9 years of Army stuff counting his time at West Point. By the time I began Starting Strength, I'd been doing Army stuff in one fashion or another for 19 years: Hence why my bench and press started north of 225/145 on my LP, but my squats and deads began and remain much lower than they'd have been if somebody had taught me to squat in 1998!

    4DLP, W1D3

    Bench: 215x5x3


    +10 on this. Bench is pretty intuitive for Seth. Nevertheless, in order to add tonnage over time, we're moving to +5 per session right now, even though I am certain we could do +10 per session up to at least 245. I told him that the first time he touches 275 on the bench, I want to see him hit it for 15 reps in a session.

    Press: 115x5x3

    +20 on this. Better elbow positioning, somewhat achieved by helping him learn an unracking position that has him *squat the bar out of the rack* so he's already "fixed" when he steps back with the bar. Going to take another +10 on this for Monday I think.

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    4DLP, W1D4

    Squat: 235x5x3


    +10. Better bar-shelf today. Still working on getting a tighter hand-placement; wrist/shoulder mobility for the squat stance is a challenge. But the weight moved smoothly and easily enough that another 10-lb bump is in order.

    Deadlift: 295x5

    +20. Better mid-foot pulls today.

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    4DLP, W2D1

    Bench: 225x5x3


    Another near-effortless +10. Based on today, I plan to +10 it again for Thursday.

    Press: 125x5x3

    +10 here as well. Form is improving and elbow position is becoming more intuitive.

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    4DLP, W2D2

    Squat: 245x5x3

    Deadlift: 315x5


    +10 Squat, +20 Deadlift. Position and form are improving as we go, and the weights are just starting to get moderately challenging. Friday I intend another +10 squat, and will throttle Deadlift back to +10 and hit 325 with him.

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    4DLP, W2D3

    Bench: 235x5x3

    Press: 135x5x3



    +10+10 and still truckin'.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    4DLP, W2D4

    Squat: 255x5x3


    +10, but our last +10 for now. Slight slowdown on the bar.

    Deadlift: 335x5

    Had intended a +10, but did a +20 based on bar speed on his last warmup single at 315. 335x5 was smooth and easy. I think 345 will be fine for Tuesday.

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