Starting Strength questions

[soalexable]

Hi guys, awesome forum, lots of info and what not.

new to lifting etc and i got stuck on a crappy program for a couple weeks, did my own thing, and now im about to change up after 2 1/2 months. i have a few questions and any help would be much appreciated.
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im 5'8 (173cm), about 64kg's. my goal is to be a lean 70ish kgs

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i start every morning with 1/2 cup oats, a banana or peach for flavor, and 3-4 eggs, usually scrambled.

usually have a light snack that consists of a bowl of pasta noodles and small can of tuna , or a handful of chicken pre-boiled, mixed with some tasty cheese and heated.

lunch, ill usually have the same thing in a bigger portion, or use rice instead of pastas.

in between lunch and dinner, ill have the same thing as before.

for dinner ill have whatever i can whip up easy, usually some brocolli, or cauliflower, chicken/salmon/steak, and potatoes or rice. im not to fussed with dinner, its usually something random or generic i can make it a maximum of 30 minutes

ill usually eat something after dinner, depends on how i space out the meals and when i go to bed.

i don't really care for food that much, so it doesnt bother me eating the same thing over and over at all. obviously, its been going on for 2 months and its still fine for me.
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after scouring the internet, this is what ive found i might start with

Monday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench press / Press (Alternating)
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps
Wednesday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Press / Bench Press (Alternating)
1x5 Deadlift
Friday
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press / Press (Alternating)
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure or add weight if completing more than 15 reps

i got this straight off a webpage

my question is, is there another excerise that i could substitute for Press if required. it doesnt really matter ,if this is going to get me results most effectively, so be it.

any other routines or dieting information would be hugely helpful.

thanks in advance

 

[Josh_GTiR]

You should do more deadlifts man.

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Most people advise against too many deadlifts, saying they're too much stress on the body. Not to do none, but not to treat them like (say) squats and do them every session.

But then, I am doing 3 work sets of them every session, only for the last few weeks, but I am still alive - and I have lower back troubles, so we'd expect me to be in trouble sooner than anyone, if lots of sets of deadlifts gave you trouble.

soalexable, what are your current lifts for those compound exercises? This lets us know where you're at in strength terms, and who best can make suggestions for you.

 

[soalexable]

i didnt put much weight on deadlifts or squats today, was just practicing form, ill get a set amount friday when i start


bench 3 x 10 x 40kgs , im weak ;( by the third set i was beat down, thing is, last couple months have been wasted. oh well, gotta start somewhere, even if its all over again.

edit : i should add, if i warmed up and started on bench press, im pretty sure i could add 10 kgs to that. 40kgs was after 3 other excersizes and i was pretty smashed. i was trying to start this new routine today, but yeah, everyone was busy so i just did some upper body stuff while i waited, and bench came last. either way its pretty miniscule ;(

 

[PTC]

Thats 27 work sets a week, most of my guys do 15 -20 per session, 3 times a week.

I'm not saying its not enough, some can get by on even less, especially novices.

Its one area you may be able to improve if you feel youve stalled.

Work hard consistently, and you'll improve.

 

[litebulb]

Rippetoe is a great program.

For the deadlifts, Rippetoe says to do 2x5 warm-up sets, so you'll be doing 3x5...but only pushing really hard on one of those sets.

 

[PowerBuilder]

mate, i don't know how your going to go from 64kg to 70kg (leanish) eating such a low caloric diet. Is your weight going up, staying still or what?

 

[-LJ-]

Another Starting Strength program. This is what I am doing at the moment.

You alternate Workout A and Workout B every other day, 3 times a week. So you could either do Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs. and Sat. Depending on what works best for you.

Example:

Week 1:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Etc.

For the actual workouts read below:

Note: This doesn’t include warm-up sets



Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Pendlay or Bent Rows (or power cleans)

 

[soalexable]

yea, i started out at 60kgs, so 4 kilos in 2 months, 500grams a week, although the week before last i hadnt really made any real gain, but this week ive put on a bit, went from high 63 to 64.5. i always weigh myself after i wake up and go to the toilet and before i eat or drink anything ;O


gonna up it a bit more now though , im barely scraping by i think.

ive always been a real light eater my whole life, so its really weird to be eating so much..

 

[-LJ-]

Good luck dude. Its a great program. After 2 months of also doing this program I have gone from 71kg to 75kg. I have seen some good gains in strength. In two months I went from benching 60lb to now 110lb, which is still light but at least it is some progress. My squat has gone from 50kg to 75kg as well.

 

[soalexable]

well, today was an eye opener.

i thought i woudlnt be at that bad of a disadvantage, you see peoples figures, and its generally bench weakest, squat a little more, deadlift a little more.

well, i didnt want to do squats without someone spotting me because i was unsure of the weight and still dont have the proper technique, so i did leg press instead and pushed it. then went and did some deadlifts after i was warmed up, HOLY ****. by the 5th, i was ****ed, and the thing is, it was only 60kgs

i went and bench pressed 50kgs, 3x5, pretty well, im sure i can improve that next time as well - which is weird because i dont have a big upper body or broad shoulders, youd think it'd be my worst area from looking, but deadlifts was just wow, i didnt realise how weak my core muscles are, and i feel flattened. its weird though, because ive been working my midsection and back quite a lot over the last 2 months, but when i used my whole body working together like it, i dont know, it was just wierd, i felt exposed. oh well, gotta start somewhere. we'll see how it goes over the next couple of months, gonna start eating a bit more , and with the extra 2 rest days, im assuming its gonna help me put on some more weight. we'll see how i go.

EDIT : another thing is, i dont really have proper form with deadlifts either, its either that or my back is just really weak, because im really feeling it in my lower back, which is apparently a sign of YOUR DOING IT WRONG. so that could have had a lot to do with it. it'd be nice if there were ppl around to help, but yea, commercial gym, only 3 ppl there and everyone was on the fkn treadmills =/

 

[Josh_GTiR]

Do you have a cage or rack to squat in at your gym? You are not doing the program correctly if you are doing the leg press. Personally I think the Leg Press is **** if you are trying to build strength as you are. The Squat is like a deadlift, you use core muscle as well.

 

[PTC]

I wouldnt be dissin people on a treadmill, some of them may have caught your effort on the deadlift.

Anyway, I didnt think they allowed deadlifts at Curves.

You feel your form was wrong because you felt a back exercise in your back, go figure, when you bench press, do you feel it in your chest?

If so, you may also be doing that wrong.

WTF is it with people not squatting without a spotter, since when do you need a spotter to piss, load an empty bar, do 10 reps, add 5kg, do 10 reps.

Find your limits.

 

[NPR]

Squat without a spotter and force yourself to do what you need to.

Or learn to jump out from under a bar really quick!

 

[joshcore]

i started with stronglift's 5x5

workout a
squat
bench
pushups
chinups
reverse curls

workout b
squat
military press
deadlift
pullups
prone bridges

went from 62kg to 74kg in 3 months

 

[Koncept]

Don't they have a power rack or cage or something - no need for a spotter then.

At the very least do it with lighter weights and practice your form whilst you figure out your limit

 

[JaseFit]

I've been on Starting Strength for a few months, started as a clueless newbie. Definitely stick to the program, deep squats are the core of it. Start off with whatever weight can manage no matter how light, and concentrate on getting the form correct(I had some flexibility issues in the beginning). You will progress quickly enough if you stick with it.

 

[soalexable]

its been a couple of weeks now, went from 64.5 , woke up this morning @ 66

ive switched the routine a little bit though, basically, for the last 3 months ive been doing any old chest excerises and ive noticed a lot in my chest (had nothing previously so its pretty easy to gauge), basically, the bottom is getting large but the top is the same.. so ive just inclined the bench press until i see some improvment for 2 of 3 days. i didnt think this would really effect the whole routine so yeah.

ive also added a couple excersices to 2 of the 3 days, just to work certain parts id like to grow.. not sure how wise this is but with the ensuing comments im sure to find out :O.. wednesday i do some incline leg raises or 45 degree side bends and bridges and friday i just do normal bench press instead of incline and add pullovers.


anyhow, progress is good so far, weight wise, squat 70 deadlift 70 bench 50, but ive gone down to 40 on the incline and i try to stick to form perfectly to really try and get the muscles to do vat i vant zem to. i tried 50 but it feels like its to much and im just trying to get it over and done with sort of thing.