Welcome and best wishes. I'll follow along after you begin next week.
Hi, I'm Alex.
# Demographics:
35 years old
6’3” 240lb
Louisville, KY
Freelance Web Developer
# How I Got Here:
I was fat, sick, and suicidal when I started CrossFit in 2019 and that’s what I’ve been doing since. I found Mark Rippetoe via the CrossFit Total article in the CrossFit Journal not long after starting but didn’t follow the breadcrumbs long enough to find Starting Strength as a training program.
This summer (2022) I started feeling that I should be stronger for giving as much effort as I have over the last 3 years, for how big I am, and for how stalled I was on developing larger sets of strict pullups/chinups. I decided that after some immediate commitments, this fall I’d take on some kind of strength bias in my training for a time. I bought the blue and gray books in August, read them, and kind of sat on the idea of doing the novice linear progression while researching other options.
Eventually that research turned into just listening to the back catalog of the starting strength podcast. This clip hit me hard:
Can Strength Training And Crossfit Coexist? - Starting Strength Radio Clips - YouTube
I decided that I could set aside 12 weeks and give the NLP an honest shot.
# An Honest 12 Weeks
Starting 10/21/2022, I’ve blocked off Fri - Sun - Tue for 12 weeks.
Between now and then I’ll not be technically “doing the program” I suppose, but some 5s will be happening so I figure I’ll go ahead and start logging it. An appetizer of strength, if you will.
# After that?
I’m open to the idea of keeping this up after the 12 weeks. I will definitely go back to CrossFit for the CrossFit Open in February, but effective training will only help in that effort... so I'll figure it out when if we get there.
I’m open to it. I don’t need to be convinced by anyone. I just want to see for myself how this goes.
# Current lifts
Back Squat
3x5 @ 220lb on 10/7/22
Press
3x5 @ 110lb on 10/7/22
Deadlift
4x3 @ 305lb on 9/23/22
Bench Press
4RM @ 155lb on 6/17/22
Power Clean
1RM should be ~175lb, my best guess at 5RM would be 145lb
Welcome and best wishes. I'll follow along after you begin next week.
# Followup
Thank you Carson
# Session 0.1
Oct 12, 2022
The Factory Gym, Louisville, KY
Squat
45 x5 x3
95 x5
135 x5
185 x5
225 x5 x3
Squat 20221012 - YouTube
Press
45 x5 x2
65 x5
85 x5
105 x2
115 x5 x3
Press 20221012 - YouTube
Deadlift
45 x5
155 x5
225 x5
275 x5
Hook grip on the working set
Need to work on the setup for flatter back
Deadlift 20221012 - YouTube
Thank you for the welcome, Roy.
On Friday Oct 14th, my CrossFit gym is doing a CrossFit total. I'll be attending that as much for the community aspect of the event as the workout itself. But maxing out like that will certainly be a bit of disruption and isn't the program.
Oct 15th through 20th I intend to do the NLP programming as written whenever at the gym, not avoiding any movements or anything. But I will be traveling and 1. have some unknowns about the gym I'll have available to me and 2. not sure which days I'll be able to go. So getting in 3 days with proper recovery between isn't guaranteed, though at least 2 should happen in that time I think. I understand that life happens and adjustments have to be made sometimes, but I didn't want a disruption right at the start to sour any feelings I might have about trying this out.
From the 21st onward I'm putting myself on the hook to follow the program to the letter as best I can.
No concern; that was unclear word choice on my part. I do not have any recent lifts of just the Power Clean. I've done them at lower loads within many CrossFit WODS and as part of barbell complexes, and going off those I'm guessing the 1RM would be about 175. Only mentioned it for completeness sake to compare with end of the project.
Indeed, it does seem to keep happening. A small disruption right at the beginning like this shouldn't be a problem as long as you will do the program after you're back from your travel. Doing a true strength program like this will improve your CrossFit. Good luck!
# Session 0.2
Oct 14, 2022
CrossFit Golden Warrior, Louisville, KY
CrossFit Total
New 1RM PRs on all lifts
## Squat
Goal of 275
45
95
135
185
225
245
265
280lb
Squat 20221014 - YouTube
## Press
Goal of 140
45
75
105
115
130
135
145lb
Press 20221014 - YouTube
## Deadlift
Goal of 355
135
225
285
315
335
355lb
Deadlift 20221014 - YouTube
You squat highbar?
I'm just a fuckup novice still figuring out how to get in the lowbar setup.