Training for health and tone

[francesco.decaro]

Just something to clarify why I don't want to start SS. First, even if I buy the book, I don't speak English well. Entering forums and using a translator that immediately automatically translates what I wrote is one thing, but having a book is quite another. I don't actually know if it's electronic or paper. And there are so many questions for a person like me that there is a very high probability that I will mess something up and not run the program as prescribed. I've read a lot and see that quite a few people who are not complete beginners and have some experience with the exercises are confused even though they have the book. I may not be very strong, but I'm not an absolute novice and I don't know what weights to start with. With an empty bar, with 50, 70, 80% of my current 5 reps, etc. I am 49 years old and should I squat three times a week. I have excess fat to lose, I can't overeat. I am 178cm /5.83ft/ and weigh 106kg. /234 pounds/ And many more questions. I don't want to waste my time with a program that I may not start the right way or apply it correctly to my specifics.
It's not that the program isn't good.

This can be solved by reading all three books
Starting Strength (blue)
Practical Programming (grey)
Barbell Prescription (over 40)

I'm sure you can manage to read them if you put in the effort.

You are the exact definition of a rank novice, you have a lot of misconceptions to clarify and worries to clear off your head, and the way to do it is to read the books and learn.

[Dydo]

There is nothing to read, I know the basics of the program from the articles I have read. It's just that if I'm going to do SS I'll drop the weights a bit and start from there. As far as he got. I have no intention of gaining any more weight anyway. And in the title of my diary I wrote that the goal is health and tone. Due to some mistake they put it in this section, I must have messed something up and I'm waiting for them to move it. To be healthy and toned, it is enough to lift weights regularly and put in more effort. I don't necessarily have to hit a specific goal with a specific weight. I feel good, nothing hurts from lifting / except for the problem I pointed out, but that was years before I started working out, but was aggravated by other things / and despite being fat I look generally acceptable for the weight you are Still, I'm a controlled hypertensive, but lifting doesn't bother me. It even helps me.
And to give you an idea of the rookie, I'm sending a photo or two. I just don't want to put on any more fat.
1317781.jpg20190707_194626.jpg

[francesco.decaro]

There is nothing to read, I know the basics of the program from the articles I have read. It's just that if I'm going to do SS I'll drop the weights a bit and start from there. As far as he got. I have no intention of gaining any more weight anyway. And in the title of my diary I wrote that the goal is health and tone. Due to some mistake they put it in this section, I must have messed something up and I'm waiting for them to move it. To be healthy and toned, it is enough to lift weights regularly and put in more effort. I don't necessarily have to hit a specific goal with a specific weight. I feel good, nothing hurts from lifting / except for the problem I pointed out, but that was years before I started working out, but was aggravated by other things / and despite being fat I look generally acceptable for the weight you are Still, I'm a controlled hypertensive, but lifting doesn't bother me. It even helps me.
And to give you an idea of the rookie, I'm sending a photo or two. I just don't want to put on any more fat.
1317781.jpg20190707_194626.jpg

What is tone?
How did you get your hypertension diagnosis?


From what I can gather from your posts, you have no conditions that would stop you from doing Starting Strength. It just looks like you are interested in exercising, not training. Which is fine, just stop with all the excuses

[Dydo]

It means toning, which means feeling fresh and energetic.
What do you mean by the question of how I knew I was hypertensive? I have been taking medication since I was 24-25 years old. At first, many doctors advised that I should not lift weights, but the latest research science as well as practice and many trainers say otherwise. And I feel better when I lift weights. Of course you shouldn't lift weights if you currently have high blood pressure, but when it's under control it's not a problem. For 6 years now, I have no problem with training, even though I take medicine. But it should still be noted that the final efforts are not very useful. That's why weight gain is more of a negative than a positive for me. It is impossible to gain only muscle without fat. And I adapt my training and especially nutrition to these circumstances.
And I haven't apologized for anything. I went in, described my training, said I had no interest in SS at this stage and was training the way I liked it, but people started asking me why and giving advice. And I had to answer and barely defend myself.
By the way, I don't like SS because almost 2/3 of the volume is for the lower body. Much more emphasis is placed on lower body exercises compared to upper body exercises. Maybe with this admission I'm taking the risk of people here hating me, but I prefer to be honest.

[Roy Thomas]

By the way, I don't like SS because almost 2/3 of the volume is for the lower body. Much more emphasis is placed on lower body exercises compared to upper body exercises. Maybe with this admission I'm taking the risk of people here hating me, but I prefer to be honest.

The lower body exercises are harder. Much harder. People generally don't like doing hard shit. My mother used to have high blood pressure. She started lifting heavy and she's off medicine. Live your life dude.

Nobody is gonna move anything, just go to the general section and make a log there.

[francesco.decaro]

It means toning, which means feeling fresh and energetic.
What do you mean by the question of how I knew I was hypertensive? I have been taking medication since I was 24-25 years old. At first, many doctors advised that I should not lift weights, but the latest research science as well as practice and many trainers say otherwise. And I feel better when I lift weights. Of course you shouldn't lift weights if you currently have high blood pressure, but when it's under control it's not a problem. For 6 years now, I have no problem with training, even though I take medicine. But it should still be noted that the final efforts are not very useful. That's why weight gain is more of a negative than a positive for me. It is impossible to gain only muscle without fat. And I adapt my training and especially nutrition to these circumstances.
And I haven't apologized for anything. I went in, described my training, said I had no interest in SS at this stage and was training the way I liked it, but people started asking me why and giving advice. And I had to answer and barely defend myself.
By the way, I don't like SS because almost 2/3 of the volume is for the lower body. Much more emphasis is placed on lower body exercises compared to upper body exercises. Maybe with this admission I'm taking the risk of people here hating me, but I prefer to be honest.

The reason I ask about your hypersensitivity is because from this forum I have learned that most doctors are full of shit and nothing more than big pharma sellers. Especially when I hear that a 24 year old has been prescribed medication for life. So mabye you should get a second opinion, on this forum.
And again, read the books, just do it. Starting Strength is not a mere upper/lower split template.

[Dydo]

I was prescribed medication because my blood pressure was very high, and I have also lived unhealthy most of my life. Then they didn't find a reason - my heart, kidneys and other organs were healthy. The only hypothesis left was that it was related to nerves, as I had a lot of tension in my life at the time. But with years of high blood pressure, a slight hypertrophy of the left ventricle of the heart occurred. But otherwise I have a 100% functional heart according to medical tests. Overall, I feel great and have had no problems. Sometimes I have a little high fasting blood sugar, but I'm not diabetic. After eating, my body copes.
I thought a lot and decided to give the program a try to see if anything substantial would work or not. My only question is what weights to start with. If I find it difficult, I'll just do two workouts a week and alternate between them. Let's see what happens. Right now, I calculated the weights to start with, dropping the weight for 5 reps by about 20 % on each exercise and BP 10%. But I'm wondering if I should reduce them further. At my Gym, the smallest plates are 1.25 kg. each, which is just over 2.5 lbs. Which means that the minimum increase should be about 5 lbs /2x2.5/.

[francesco.decaro]

I was prescribed medication because my blood pressure was very high, and I have also lived unhealthy most of my life. Then they didn't find a reason - my heart, kidneys and other organs were healthy. The only hypothesis left was that it was related to nerves, as I had a lot of tension in my life at the time. But with years of high blood pressure, a slight hypertrophy of the left ventricle of the heart occurred. But otherwise I have a 100% functional heart according to medical tests. Overall, I feel great and have had no problems. Sometimes I have a little high fasting blood sugar, but I'm not diabetic. After eating, my body copes.
I thought a lot and decided to give the program a try to see if anything substantial would work or not. My only question is what weights to start with. If I find it difficult, I'll just do two workouts a week and alternate between them. Let's see what happens. Right now, I calculated the weights to start with, dropping the weight for 5 reps by about 20 % on each exercise and BP 10%. But I'm wondering if I should reduce them further. At my Gym, the smallest plates are 1.25 kg. each, which is just over 2.5 lbs. Which means that the minimum increase should be about 5 lbs /2x2.5/.

Buy some microplates or change gym, you can't go up 2.5kg for any considerable amount of time.
I still don't get why have been taking medication for your blood pressure. Your organs are healthy and you feel fine, so where is the problem? What's wrong with some hypertrophy in your left ventricle?

Are you on keto by any chance?

[Dydo]

Well, hypertrophy of the left ventricle occurs as a result of sports or as a result of illness. When the heart works harder, the muscle hypertrophies and becomes thicker. If it grows at the same time as the cavity of the heart, it is not a big problem, but if the cavity does not grow, a smaller stroke volume is obtained because the chamber thickens and thus there is less cavity space.
I don't know what you don't understand, why I take medicine. I take medication because without it my blood pressure goes up. If you stop the meds, it immediately rises to high levels. I just need to lose weight and follow a stricter diet.

[francesco.decaro]

Well, hypertrophy of the left ventricle occurs as a result of sports or as a result of illness. When the heart works harder, the muscle hypertrophies and becomes thicker. If it grows at the same time as the cavity of the heart, it is not a big problem, but if the cavity does not grow, a smaller stroke volume is obtained because the chamber thickens and thus there is less cavity space.
I don't know what you don't understand, why I take medicine. I take medication because without it my blood pressure goes up. If you stop the meds, it immediately rises to high levels. I just need to lose weight and follow a stricter diet.

And this was diagnosed how exactly? Is it congenital? What is the illness you suffer from?
Because I have high blood pressure all the time due to my training, it doesn't make it an illness. And I'm sure my heart has had some structural changes after training for so long. Did you do several visits and tests? Or was this the result of a simple reference range? Again, doctors can do some silly shit sometimes.


Losing weight and going on a strict diet will make you weak, not healthier. Getting stronger will make you healthier, and most likely make you lose bodyweight as a side effect. If you read the books, or even some of the website's articles if you're that lazy, there is a way to approach this for overweight trainees. And the answer is not a strict diet and random programming. It's to do the program and eat in a healthy way. You actually have a huge advantage over those of us who had to gain 50 lbs by being in a surplus for months and months.
If you're doing some kind of keto diet, stop that right now and eat your carbs.