OK so you have something to work with. I can only speak from my own experience but you don't want to change your cals/macros too fast. The tendency is to over-correct. You can try dialing back slowly and see if you can eat a little less and still make progress. You could also try carb cycling.

I had good results doing HIIT sprints 1x week (on an off-day) when the weather was warmer. Unfortunately it's very cold here now and I stopped doing them. I may try to do some HIIT with a stationary bike. I think they do help with metabolism/ overall hormonal balance. Increased belly fat could be an indication of excess cortisol.

Also, try to judge by weight, pics and measurements taken over a period of time, which are more objective indications of progress. What you see when looking in the mirror at yourself is always distorted by emotion, and fluctuates from day to day.

Maybe you guys can give me some advice.

I had done SS for about a year, and got my lifts up decent:

Squat: 320
Benchpress: 210
Deadlift: 365
OHP: 140

Thing is, due to life issues, I have not lifted for about a year, and have no idea what my strength is right now. I'd also LOVE to be able to break that 225 benchpress wall. Do you guys think I should restart SS, or do something else? I've been thinking doing SS till I hit a wall, than run a Smolov Jr. Program for which ever big lift I get stuck on. Lemme know what you guys think.

Restart SS. Rippetoe states somewhere that EVERYONE is a novice if they have been out of lifting for a period. So even a high level powerlifter back from an injury will go back to basic linear progression (although he will catch up quicker than a true beginner, as will you).

Run ss until you stall once or twice, then do Madcow or Texas Method.

Starting back up, thanks guys. I have one question left though.


What should my diet look like? Thing is, I've more or less kept all the weight ive gained off my initial SS run. Should I continue to eat at a caloric surplus since im pretty much re starting SS? I doubt Ill gain much mass off running the same program on the same numbers, and any mass I do gain should be fat....


What do you guys think?

I guess I'm just lucky but I'm 5'9" 200+lbs I started lifting when I was 24 and just kept with it. I dropped a lot of fat and got props. kept at it and got bigish. I remember having real trouble with getting a 135 clean though back in the day couldn't do a clean and press with it I might have started with 95 . I remember starting around a 135 bench. Squats were around 150 or so. I was curling 25s. dead lifting 150-160 or so. I've come a long way, but I'm not on this thread to brag.

Quote: (12-18-2013 05:25 PM)Ironbound Wrote:  

Starting back up, thanks guys. I have one question left though.


What should my diet look like? Thing is, I've more or less kept all the weight ive gained off my initial SS run. Should I continue to eat at a caloric surplus since im pretty much re starting SS? I doubt Ill gain much mass off running the same program on the same numbers, and any mass I do gain should be fat....


What do you guys think?

I think you will find that your strength has dropped considerably after a year out. You will still need to be in a surplus to gain back the strength. Don't go crazy, especially in the beginning, but do make sure you have a surplus. Eat meat to get enough protein. Progressing weight every session will be a bitch if you aren't eating enough.

Just realized I have been doing too many power cleans per set (5) when 3 x 5 is recommended. No wonder I was finding the sets so hard! The last workout almost killed me.

By the way, did any of you guys microload the cleans? I can clean almost as much as I bench (my body type is better at pulling than pressing) but it's definitely getting hard now.

Quote: (12-18-2013 08:45 PM)dreambig Wrote:  

Quote: (12-18-2013 05:25 PM)Ironbound Wrote:  

Starting back up, thanks guys. I have one question left though.


What should my diet look like? Thing is, I've more or less kept all the weight ive gained off my initial SS run. Should I continue to eat at a caloric surplus since im pretty much re starting SS? I doubt Ill gain much mass off running the same program on the same numbers, and any mass I do gain should be fat....


What do you guys think?

I think you will find that your strength has dropped considerably after a year out. You will still need to be in a surplus to gain back the strength. Don't go crazy, especially in the beginning, but do make sure you have a surplus. Eat meat to get enough protein. Progressing weight every session will be a bitch if you aren't eating enough.

Actually, My body as well as intuition tell me my strength has not dropped too badly. I picked up a 185 bench today (for fun at my buddies) no problem. But I see where you are coming from.

The only thing that worries me is if its one of those muscle memory type things. As In, simply training for strength again on its own will cause my previous strength to return. Any caloric surplus will just create fat.

Again, I haven't lost a pound of the mass I gained on SS awhile back, Just a bit of strength. Seeing as how alot of strength is CNS activation, purpose a caloric surplus isn't needed for much of the beginning?

Curious as to what you guys think.

On another note, I've been thinking about throwing in barbell curls as well as chinups and MAYBE dips to supplement my workout, for hypertrophy purposes. The traditional SS program spurred very little size gains on my arms, but exploded my back, my chest, forearms, and ass. What do you guys think?

Quote: (12-18-2013 08:49 PM)dreambig Wrote:  

Just realized I have been doing too many power cleans per set (5) when 3 x 5 is recommended. No wonder I was finding the sets so hard! The last workout almost killed me.

By the way, did any of you guys microload the cleans? I can clean almost as much as I bench (my body type is better at pulling than pressing) but it's definitely getting hard now.

I was never a particularly good cleaner. I may get around to it in my next run of SS. I swapped em up for Rows, personally. Less functional strength, and more simple mass gains.

Advice, anyone?

bump

Ironbound, SS is just three days a week. If you want to do curls and chinups more often it would be pretty easy to do them on the other two days, or on the weekend. Or every day, if you like.

Two of my old rugby friends would do their work sets of squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses, and then sit on the benches in front of the dumbbell racks to do concentration curls for half an hour, four to six days a week.

I would say that your diet can be about the same as it is now, just supplemented with significantly more protein. Try to get a pound (or more) of flesh per day and maybe a protein shake or two. Protein isn't fattening at all.

Overall, there's no need to overthink it - just hit the weights and see how your body responds.

Taking 7 days out to rest from lifting. I think the end of year festivities and rushing about has really hit me hard. My body hurts like a bitch.

Thank you, Hades

For guys who foam roll, do you just work on areas where you have pain? I found that I am pretty much pain free now except for lower back, should I work anything besides lower back?

Quote: (08-09-2011 10:52 PM)_DC_ Wrote:  

I'm a decent sized guy... 6'0" and 180 lbs.

I've very confident in my look, thinking I'm the best or one of the best looking in a bar at any given night (this is much less important to some people, but I agree at lot with Assanova's posts). Anyway, I seem to have a decent amount invested in my looks.

That being said, I don't have much confidence in my body. Well, I should say I do, it's just not up to par with my facial features . I feel like my good vibes would increase 10x with 20lbs of extra mass.

Has anybody done serious lifting for the first time in their upper 20s? I've got decent strength, but I haven't lifted for a year (e.g. maybe 200 1RM on bench). I've started Rippletoe's "Starting Strength". You basically squat 3x a week, and do bench press, shoulder press, deadlifts, and chips/pullups. All heavy compound movements and full body workouts.

Maybe this is more a question for a body building forum, but I'd like to hear posters on the board and if they saw any great "beginner gains" in the first few months doing a similar program.

From all my research, with a good program (heavy compound lifts) a beginner can gain 20-25 lbs in a year (with most of that coming in the first six months). Gaining 15lbs in six months would certainly be awesome. I've also a natural increase in testosterone now that I'm lifting heavy. Just need to stop masturbation now and I should be an animal on weekends.

Any success stories with a similar program?

As a beginner, you can get gains with basically any type of lifting program. The key here is what you are eating. If you want to gain weight you need to be eating more than your maintenance calories. The basic guidelines for a hypertrophy program are is that needs to be built around heavy compound exercises, you need to use good form and you need to overload your system by periodically increasing the weight you are lifting. That's all there is to it.

As for Rippetoe's program, you will see gains with it, however it's not that good for people who lead a sitting lifestyle, as they most likely have a lot of muscle imbalances. This can lead to injury.

Quote: (02-09-2014 01:25 PM)ComebackKid Wrote:  

For guys who foam roll, do you just work on areas where you have pain? I found that I am pretty much pain free now except for lower back, should I work anything besides lower back?

Yes, foam rolling is especially good for areas where you feel pain. However I also try to foam roll other areas where there is potential for tightness, such as hamstrings, quadriceps...etc.

Quote: (05-01-2014 03:08 PM)DarkKing Wrote:  

Quote: (08-09-2011 10:52 PM)_DC_ Wrote:  

I'm a decent sized guy... 6'0" and 180 lbs.

I've very confident in my look, thinking I'm the best or one of the best looking in a bar at any given night (this is much less important to some people, but I agree at lot with Assanova's posts). Anyway, I seem to have a decent amount invested in my looks.

That being said, I don't have much confidence in my body. Well, I should say I do, it's just not up to par with my facial features . I feel like my good vibes would increase 10x with 20lbs of extra mass.

Has anybody done serious lifting for the first time in their upper 20s? I've got decent strength, but I haven't lifted for a year (e.g. maybe 200 1RM on bench). I've started Rippletoe's "Starting Strength". You basically squat 3x a week, and do bench press, shoulder press, deadlifts, and chips/pullups. All heavy compound movements and full body workouts.

Maybe this is more a question for a body building forum, but I'd like to hear posters on the board and if they saw any great "beginner gains" in the first few months doing a similar program.

From all my research, with a good program (heavy compound lifts) a beginner can gain 20-25 lbs in a year (with most of that coming in the first six months). Gaining 15lbs in six months would certainly be awesome. I've also a natural increase in testosterone now that I'm lifting heavy. Just need to stop masturbation now and I should be an animal on weekends.

Any success stories with a similar program?

As a beginner, you can get gains with basically any type of lifting program. The key here is what you are eating. If you want to gain weight you need to be eating more than your maintenance calories. The basic guidelines for a hypertrophy program are is that needs to be built around heavy compound exercises, you need to use good form and you need to overload your system by periodically increasing the weight you are lifting. That's all there is to it.

As for Rippetoe's program, you will see gains with it, however it's not that good for people who lead a sitting lifestyle, as they most likely have a lot of muscle imbalances. This can lead to injury.

I've done it for about nine months and I'm in my late 30's. Gained about 30lbs. Obviously, it's not all muscle but I think I look better for sure. I was careful to watch my diet and track my calories/macros and not just stuff my face like crazy, even though I did eat a lot. Rippetoe doesn't care how fat you get and says as much on his forum. The leaner you are when you start, the easier it will be.

I just started the Starting Strength routine yesterday.

I'm going to periodically post my numbers here for accountability and advice.

Starting numbers:
Squat: 200lbs 3x5
Bench Press: 155lbs 3x5
Deadlift: 300lbs 3x5

Question for guys who have done it- did you include power cleans in your routine or did you swap them out for a another exercise?

If yes, how was learning the technique for power cleans?

I did pull-ups and then pull-ups / barbell rows instead.

I'm probably going to get blasted for this, but I am not sure Starting Strenght is really the best beginner program for non-athletes. We have to keep in mind, that SS is a program for high school athletes, particularly football players. For that reason, there is imo too much squatting. There is absolutely no need to squat 3 times a week for the average guy who just wants to get stronger and look better. Substitute in some powercleans or clean and press instead and use the saved energy for one more upper body excercise. I also think that overhead press should be done twice a week and flat bench removed entirely and swapped with incline or at least only done once.

SS is not a good upper body mass builder and deadlifts and powercleans are better for pure strength than the squat.

Quote: (05-07-2014 12:44 PM)berserk Wrote:  

I'm probably going to get blasted for this, but I am not sure Starting Strenght is really the best beginner program for non-athletes. We have to keep in mind, that SS is a program for high school athletes, particularly football players. For that reason, there is imo too much squatting. There is absolutely no need to squat 3 times a week for the average guy who just wants to get stronger and look better. Substitute in some powercleans or clean and press instead and use the saved energy for one more upper body excercise. I also think that overhead press should be done twice a week and flat bench removed entirely and swapped with incline or at least only done once.

SS is not a good upper body mass builder and deadlifts and powercleans are better for pure strength than the squat.

I somewhat agree with this. I successfully used Starting Strength to gain about 15 lbs and add 120 lbs to my squat (295) and 160 lbs to my deadlift (385). My legs, back and traps absolutely blew up on the program. My chest and arms definitely saw some size increases but they weren't as dramatic. I'm now on a program with more upper body and I'm starting to notice big gains upstairs now.

With that being said, Starting Strength cannot be beat in terms of simplicity and efficacy for a beginner. I would still recommend that most beginners jump on that program until they can squat 2 plates comfortably and deadlift 3 plates. It's a great program to get a good strength base upon which to build.

Been doing starting strength for 2 months now with barely any gains...

vegetarian here and I'm breaking even on food... don't know how to increase, or what to eat.

Bench: 85lb
Squat: 95
Deadlift: 95
Pullups... 3 max
Pushups: 18 max

I have 2 whey protein smoothies a day with almond milk....50grams there. I weight 130lb