Reply With QuoteYes, I know.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
TMPHBITEU
It's a Starting Strength clone that a guy in Netherlands put on the internet shortly after the 1st edition of SS:BBT was published.
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Yes, I know.
TMPHBITEU
I know you know. I was talking to everybody else.
Member
So I'm curious what to do now that I've done some 47 workouts using the Stronglifts approach, also having gone back to fix the soft torso issues in my squat, whether I should start the NLP properly now?
I was just reading this article of yours Rip: A Clarification | Mark Rippetoe
I realised I was in the category of YNDTP.
I got up to 120kg in squats before starting stronglifts. He suggests starting his program at 50% so I built back up with better form from 60kg over those 47 workouts to 130kg, realised I had some form issues and have backed off to 122kg whilst sorting out the elbow tendonitis issues and getting my torso more rigid. Really seems like I wasted a lot of time doing it that way although I'm happy with gains I've made so far I feel if I hit done NLP at the beginning I'd have progressed much further by now.
If I kick it off now should I be adding 5kg to my squats every workout or has that window closed? I've been adding 2kg to Squats and Deadlifts but I've just switched to 5kg increments for Deadlifts as they were lagging a bit.
I would put myself in the category of being "fluffy in the middle" and I've been sticking to about 3500 calories, no milk, keto-paleo diet with a bit of junk thrown in here and there. I think I'll avoid full ketosis for now as it tends to lead to a drop in strength for a few weeks before becoming fully adapted to it and I really want to get my squat up to 180kg and Deadlifts to 200kg - possibly through NLP but maybe it will take a bit more time?
✓ Member
As one of many who started with it, and thereby found out about SS, I refer to it as the Belgian Feeder Program, rather than speak its name. (The guy who ripped off the NLP to make it is originally from Belgium...)
I definitely wasted time by not starting here. When the base program stops working, the app literally moves you eventually into 3x5s anyway, which is around when I was looking for info and found out about the superior source material. I'm definitely glad I did that.
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@Jason Absolutely, me too. Very happy to have found the source material. I’m now getting my nephew onto the Starting Strength NLP and keen to see how it will help him start his lifting “career” right from the start.
So did you find you were able to get straight into NLP and add 10 Pounds or 5 Pounds to the bar every workout for a number of months essentially creating the artificial growth spurt discussed in the blue book or you were closer to Texas method/mad cow programming after coming across from the Belgian Feeder Program?
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As someone who trained semi-seriously before starting an NLP, think of it in terms of progress over time. Start at a place where you think you can comfortably sustain two or three weeks of progress at the NLP pace, and aim to overshoot this by no less than double. If your limit sets were 130 kg, this means starting at probably 100 kg. Maybe heavier if you think you can handle it. It's better to start to light and "waste" a week than to start too heavy and get stuck after a week or two. You probably can't do 5 kg jumps anymore at that weight. Maybe one or two if the weights feel really good, at the start.
Don't do keto, "full" or otherwise. Carbohydrates are a driver of both performance under the bar and recovery. You need to avoid being in a low glycogen state at all costs. Do not worry about being or becoming "fluffy." As in, not even a little bit. That is a problem for future you to deal with.
✓ Member
Everybody knows you never go full keto.
✓ Member
What I would do now and what I did do are not necessarily the same... When I did that other thing, it started at bare bar (DLs at 95 lbs), add 5 lbs/lift/workout across the board. Sounds like it may be slightly different now, but no matter. I'd say approach it like a true novice - figure out what you can do with good form for 3x5 (1x5 for DL), and go from there with 5 lb jumps, see what happens.
As Rip has pointed out, always address form before programming. Your form has room for improvement, so that criterion should drop your numbers a bit anyway prior to the 5 lb jumps. Once form is corrected, programming changes from the NLP are best pursued incrementally, changing one dependent variable at a time to keep up progress, and seeing where that takes you. Over time, your programming will probably look very different, but you'll know why, and you'll learn how to serve the purpose: continuing to add weight to the bar.
Do not look for A program to switch to, especially at this phase. Lean into the NLP in all its facets, and later, as it's time, you'll build it into a different one by learning from the solid base of a corrected NLP.
Perhaps I'm oversimplifying, but I doubt it.
Well played, sir.
Incidentally, if this thread touches on one or two more of my personal mistakes, I may start to worry about yet another conspiracy in this world...
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SL led me to SS after a short 6 weeks.
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