Chess4Coffee's Starting Strength Training Log

[Chess4Coffee]

Hey everyone. I'm John, a musician by profession, although I spend a lot of time with my family and on chess. My athletic interests have been on and off throughout my life. I've enjoyed playing recreational soccer, a tiny bit of football, and have previously learned the fundamental barbell lifts, though I never got strong. I've recently relocated to rural Virginia and I'm starting my strength program with SS. I'm looking forward to sharing my progress and learning from all of you!

I'm 36 years old, 5'10" (1.78m), and carry around a lot of pandemic weight at 260lbs (18.6st, 118kg).

All exercises are done with the barbell unless otherwise noted.
For the different exercises I'll list them with weight in pounds, reps, and sets. Ex: 135x5x3 would be 135lbs for 5 reps in 3 sets.
If a set is left off (135x5) then I mean it was 1 set at that weight and rep range.

Day 1: August 26, 2023

• Squat: 135x5x3
• Press: 80x5x2, 80x7
• Deadlift: 185x5
• Curl: 55x5, 55x6

I probably should've done some supinated lat pulldown instead of the curls... but I just wanted to do some curls. I've actually never really done them before. I know the recommendation is sets of 10, but I didn't remember that at the gym.
It felt great to get started!

[carson]

Welcome. Could you share your age, height, and weight? Check-in with an SS coach from time to time. Check this out for your heavy Deads:Moonlight Sonata ( 3rd Movement ) Tina S Cover. | Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata ( 3rd Movement) Cover by Tina S (Transcribed for Electric Guitar by Dr.Viossy) | By Ludwig van Beethoven

[Chess4Coffee]

I just added them to my original post. I'm 36 years old, 5'10" (178cm), and 260lbs (18.6st, 118kg). That cover is awesome, I'll definitely add it to my playlist. Thanks!

[Bill Anders]

Welcome, John. We're here to watch you succeed. And help when you need it.

Why the curls? I understand "because I wanted to," but those are (and will be) counterproductive. You'll see throughout the pages here and in the books to stick with the program. There's a reason for that. It works, and adding other things will detract from that. Stick to the program, and in a short amount of time you'll introduce chin-ups, which will address those biceps.

Keep at it!

[Chess4Coffee]

Thanks, Bill, I appreciate it! I did the curls completely on a whim. Despite their meme status, I've managed to avoid them my whole life and just wanted to try them out. I appreciate the feedback, I'll rein it in and stick to the program. Looking forward to getting back to it!

[carson]

It's a balancing act to cut weight and gain strength. It's not impossible but it is very difficult. I'm not good at it but you may find some here who are. Generally speaking, it should be avoided it possible. Look to others who may be od some help.

[Bill Anders]

Definitely stick to the program. There will be plenty of time later on to try those other things. But get strong first!

Hopefully you have the Blue Book. Study that like it's the textbook that it is. Don't read it like a novel.

Given your age and history, pick up Barbell Prescription now and attack it the same way. Don't mis-read the subtitle and think that it's only for people older than 40, it's for folks like you who are looking to get strong and live strong after 40. Regardless, it really does a great job of getting into the details of programming while supplementing the text of the Blue Book. Then, if you really want to get a grasp on programming, grab Practical Programming.

We're here to help when you have any questions.

[Chess4Coffee]

It's a balancing act to cut weight and gain strength. It's not impossible but it is very difficult. I'm not good at it but you may find some here who are. Generally speaking, it should be avoided it possible. Look to others who may be od some help.

I bet! I'm not really trying to lose weight at the moment. Frankly, I'm just focused on getting stronger for now. If I can lose weight at the same time that would be great, but I'm going to try to think about that later.

[Chess4Coffee]

Definitely stick to the program. There will be plenty of time later on to try those other things. But get strong first!

Hopefully you have the Blue Book. Study that like it's the textbook that it is. Don't read it like a novel.

Given your age and history, pick up Barbell Prescription now and attack it the same way. Don't mis-read the subtitle and think that it's only for people older than 40, it's for folks like you who are looking to get strong and live strong after 40. Regardless, it really does a great job of getting into the details of programming while supplementing the text of the Blue Book. Then, if you really want to get a grasp on programming, grab Practical Programming.

We're here to help when you have any questions.

That makes sense. I got the blue book back in 2015, I think it was, and it was instrumental for my learning the lifts. I just didn't follow through with the program at that time for a variety of reasons. I wish I had, but can't do anything about that now. I'm really looking forward to actually committing to the program and taking getting stronger seriously.

Barbell Prescription sounds good, I'll have to pick that up and dig into that, too. I can only imagine how much things will change for me over the next 5 to 10 years.

I picked up Practical Programming out of optimism, though I'm sure it'll be a good while before it's relevant for me. In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to stick to the program, eat and rest a lot, and maybe go easy on some of the carbs since I'm already heavy. Thanks again for your help and suggestions. I really appreciate the support!

[Bill Anders]

Good deal.

Tackle Practical Programming, too. The first half of the book gets into greater detail on the why's and how's of programming, including your NLP. It's worthwhile to digest all three books through as you do your NLP. And re-read them from time to time.

As far as diet tweaks, check with Dr Santana over in the Nutrition & Recovery sub-forum if you have any specific dietary questions. He's extremely helpful for all of us, but especially someone like you who that already has a bit of extra fluff (but honestly, not too much). Which leads to...

Another option, and likely the one that Rip would give you, is to keep eating as you are and let your NLP take care of it. You'll be surprised how fast your body composition changes. Just don't try to eat like you need to gain weight, meaning that you DO NOT need to drink a gallon of milk a day. Rip wrote an article some 13 years ago now called A Clarification that addresses this.