Progression

[Charlie Davies]

Aches and pains are normal. Frequently they come and go mysteriously, and can be ignored.

If you have a particular pain that gets worse over time, you have to address it before it turns into a crippling chronic injury. Likely this would be a technique problem.

You should probably do a form check on your squats with a coach, either by visiting a coach and paying for a session, or here on the forum with video.

[Chris76]

No Starting Strength gyms in my area and I am haveing issues posting a video on the form but soon I d like to get some form check videos up here. My knees feel like the soft tissue behind my knees between my calves and hamstrings got strained and I do get some pain actually in my knees but I think it's caused by my squat mornings for the last three weeks but I ve improved on that now hopefully they start feeling better. I ve got one more workout and I think it's about time to start power cleans every other work out, but yea I do need to get some form videos posted up here.

[Brodie Butland]

I can't help but ask . I ve read that linear progression tends to get lifters to progress to a certain point relative to their bodyweight. Aslo with consideration that their body fat percent are within a healthy range . I have to say that it makes sence that age, injuries and lifestyle backround can be factors, but my question have experienced couches or lifters found that linear progress runs out 2x bodyweight deadlift and 1.5x bodyweight squat, 1.25x bodyweight benchpress and .75x bodyweight overhead press ? I can't remember where I read this but I can't help but wonder if it tends to be true.

I'm not sure where you read that either, because I don't remember it being in the primary materials (at least since 2011). It may be a halfway decent ballpark estimate, but as others have pointed out, there are so many variables--some within your control and some not--that it's hard to say an exact number. The other issue, too, is that as you gain weight (which you should be if you start out as a skinny dude), the 1.5x/2x/etc. all become bigger.

I know Rip mentions Starting Strength will get your squat up to 315 If THE PROGRAM IS DONE CORRECTLY .

If you are a young male with no medical or physiological limitation. That's a pretty important caveat that's often missed when others characterize Rip's statements...we're not saying that 60 year olds are going to hit three plates on linear progression. But I think 315 (at least for a single) is very do-able for an average male 35 or under.

Maybe it's my thinking that's a problem. I just can't help but wonder at age 41 and I am slightly short of 5 ft 5" I ve got my weight up to 145 approx. I am two weeks into the program. My question is really if experienced couches have that linear progress tends to run out at about a 1.5x bodyweight squat or is what I read somewhere bullshit?

If by "linear progression" you are including advanced novice, that may be about right for young males. But you're not a young male.

Also remember that this discussion is somewhat artificial. We explicitly define a novice as someone who can recover from a training session in 48 to 72 hours. We define it that way, rather than in terms of weight on the bar, because there is a lot of variation between human beings, both from a genetic standpoint (which you can't control) and from a lifestyle standpoint (which you can control to some extent, but not always...if you have an infant at home, sleep isn't always going to happen). You should end your linear progression and move to intermediate when you are no longer a novice irrespective of the weight on the bar. You are no longer a novice when you can't recover in 48 to 72 hours, even with sufficient attention to rest periods, weight increases, and other recovery factors like food intake and sleep (to the extent you can optimize them).

So, tl;dr - Don't try to redefine specific definitions in the books by bringing "typical BW/lifting ratios" into it...those definitions are specific for a reason. Instead, run LP as well as you can, be honest with yourself, and see what great things you can achieve.

[Tom Narvaez]

The distribution tends to be normal with extended tails, in my experience. The outliers tend to be extreme.

[Pawn]

The distribution tends to be normal with extended tails, in my experience. The outliers tend to be extreme.

I wonder how much of this observation is due to the self-selecting nature of people who follow starting strength.

The genetically gifted get selected by athletics programs and tend to make 'good' progress (by typical gym-bro standards) without this sort of program.
The genetically... less than gifted?... weak?... tend to self-select out of weight training all together (despite being arguably the most benefited by it).

[mboux2000]

Chris76, I started at age 45, 5'10" and bw of 152 lbs.

First SS run ended with 145 lb squat, because I hurt myself squatting wrong.
Second SS run (with correct squats) ended at 215 lbs for 5x3, and a bodyweight of 181.

I refused to accept this result, however. I was sure SS was supposed to take me to a 315 squat!

But three subsequent attempts all ended at about that same point.

Don't be like me. When your SSLP ends, switch to intermediate programming. No one knows where your limits are, but you must find them, and work with them.

215?? Seriously? My linear novice progression brought me to a 425x7 dead and a 365x5 squat