furiously jotting notes for post-summer

Layne's is in Montrose and the Heights now, so I've got my move scoped out.

in honor of pride month, you should take pride in those lifts

The Caniac with extra fries, and extra sauce isn't a terrible heavy lift lunch either.

obligatory Cane's >Chick-fil-a

Layne's > both

Thanks guys (Bounce and LawAg). So, my son and I are kind of at the opposite ends of the spectrum. He's 14 and just finished 8th grade and just started lifting a little over a year ago. I'm 47 and trying to get back some of the strength I once had. He was progressing fast for awhile, and mine is a bit of a slog. When we switched to 531 (first time for him), he was progressing at faster than 5lb cycle increments. He was still kind of new, and figured it couldn't hurt. He could just keep going until he hits a wall, and then back off and slow down. I've just been going slow all along . But, I know even in the book, Wendler says you can usually get through 5-8 cycles before stalling. We're on cycle 5. We started with our actual maxes. I've still hitting my reps and sometimes over on the last. Depends on the day. He's starting to stall on week one (not hitting his reps on set 3), but still hitting his reps on week 2 and 3 so far.

That being said, dude's made some good progress. Started out with the bar on everything. Currently his best lifts are 240 squat, 235 deadlift, 170 bench, and 115 shoulder press. Still pretty thin at around 6' 165 lbs, but that's about 25 lbs over where he was a year ago. He wants to start competing next spring and go from there.

Man it sounds like he's well on his way.

Since he's so young and new to it, there is probably some value in him getting higher reps on the AMRAP - more reps give him more opportunities to work on his form and build up that familiarity with the lifting patterns. One thing you may consider is doing a week of the 7 Week Protocol from Forever 5/3/1 to see if he should lower his training max or keep moving forward.

You do 70% of TMx5, 80% of TMx5, 90% of TMx5, and then 100% of your TM for a set of 3 -5 (3 if you're doing 90% TM which you probably are). Then just your usual accessory work.

If he can't get the set of 3 without having to really grind it out (Wendler's words "I want the reps to be strong and fast"), Wendler recommends backing off a little bit.

jtraggie99 said:

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Thanks guys (Bounce and LawAg). So, my son and I are kind of at the opposite ends of the spectrum. He's 14 and just finished 8th grade and just started lifting a little over a year ago. I'm 47 and trying to get back some of the strength I once had. He was progressing fast for awhile, and mine is a bit of a slog. When we switched to 531 (first time for him), he was progressing at faster than 5lb cycle increments. He was still kind of new, and figured it couldn't hurt. He could just keep going until he hits a wall, and then back off and slow down. I've just been going slow all along . But, I know even in the book, Wendler says you can usually get through 5-8 cycles before stalling. We're on cycle 5. We started with our actual maxes. I've still hitting my reps and sometimes over on the last. Depends on the day. He's starting to stall on week one (not hitting his reps on set 3), but still hitting his reps on week 2 and 3 so far.

That being said, dude's made some good progress. Started out with the bar on everything. Currently his best lifts are 240 squat, 235 deadlift, 170 bench, and 115 shoulder press. Still pretty thin at around 6' 165 lbs, but that's about 25 lbs over where he was a year ago. He wants to start competing next spring and go from there.

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Good work for you and your son!

That said, are you sure 5/3/1 is the best for a 14 year old? That's typically intermediate programming and at those numbers, he likely isn't intermediate (which is a damn fine good thing).

Have you considered just a simple starting strength/Grayskull LP (and eating a bunch?).

You also probably started too close to your max. If you ask me, for a 14 year old, I'd drop all the weight down 80% (except for deadlift, there is something going on there and that needs to be pushed), start a 3x5 squat, add 5 lbs a workout (press, wont be able to take those kinds of jumps), and eat enough to gain about a pound a week, and see where that gets you. Also, I'd work on getting a form check (online or with a strength coach).

All that said, awesome that yall are getting into it!

I went in for an Inbody scan (not paying for another DEXA just yet so I'm taking these results with a grain of salt because I know these machines can be finicky).

I'm down 19.6lbs since my last body scan. I lost .2lbs of muscle mass and 17.9lbs of body fat. I'm now below 20% body fat and creeping closer toward my goal of 14% before I add calories and try to bulk up.

I was little frustrated that my weight loss has been slowing down but these results made me really happy. Thanks for encouraging me to take a look.

Totally crapped the bed on my joker sets for squats today. Wanted 400x3 and got it for 1, and bombed my 420 single which is 5 under my February max.

I think I have a very limited tank when it comes to really pushing heavy and I can't get there on the days I do sets of 5 prior. When I do max out I'm gonna do singles to work my way up so hopefully that issue resolves itself.

I also think instead of going up 10% then 5% on my jokers, now that I'm lifting heavier I need to just do 5% jumps.

Some days, you just don't have it. Better days ahead!

For me, most days I don't have it and every once in a while I feel like a schoolboy again

texag06ish said:

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I went in for an Inbody scan (not paying for another DEXA just yet so I'm taking these results with a grain of salt because I know these machines can be finicky).

I'm down 19.6lbs since my last body scan. I lost .2lbs of muscle mass and 17.9lbs of body fat. I'm now below 20% body fat and creeping closer toward my goal of 14% before I add calories and try to bulk up.

I was little frustrated that my weight loss has been slowing down but these results made me really happy. Thanks for encouraging me to take a look.

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Hell yeah! This is fantastic. (Even if its just a guide).

Yeah, your weight loss is going to slow down a bit, but that's alright. Just don't get discouraged. That is just where you are in the process.

Been outside with the kids a lot more lately, sleep has been off, stress is up...I think it's just a perfect storm of "other" factors I need to account for.

Going to tone down my accessory work during these summer months and hope that helps keep my energy level up for my main lifts.

Right on. Yeah, I have likely lost alot of my weight in the past few months just due to the uptick in outside yard projects. Likely not helping my lifts! Kind of hoping to tread water and stay healthy over the summer and then get after some gainz once school is back in.

Good morning,

Any suggestions for a 40yo woman who wants to learn? I'm worried I might injure myself and don't really have anyone to show me, or anyone to learn with.

Thanks

Lose weight, gain strength and confidence, try to be healthier as I get older. Not really seeking a social club, more self improvement (physical and mental).

My workplace has a gym that lots of people use, but it's very much a boys club with a bunch if people I don't know.

Do you have any background with any kind of exercise, sport, fitness, etc.?

Knowing where you are starting from would be helpful.

And welcome!

CC09LawAg said:

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Do you have any background with any kind of exercise, sport, fitness, etc.?

Knowing where you are starting from would be helpful.

And welcome!

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I was involved in sports so long ago it doesn't count and I've been more or less sedentary throughout my 30s until several months ago. I've been walking regularly (working towards running again) and using some of the gym equipment. Told myself once I was doing that consistently, I'd like to try this out. I keep reading articles that its a good way to stay healthy. I see people in the gym all the time and I keep thinking, I'd like to try that. Just looking for a starting point and see if its something I'd like.

It'll be slow going so I'd like to find something I truly enjoy doing and exploring to see what fits me. Also the idea of being a small older lady that can unexpectedly pick up very heavy things is good fun motivation!

Jinx,

Check out the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women.

This is not a new book and the authors have received some fair criticism, but this is still a great resource for anyone getting started. It is an easy read with very sound principles that will teach you the basics of form and programming.

Where are you located?

See if there is a Starting Strength Gym near you.

You have so many options Jinx. It can be overwhelming.

As bam02 suggested, do some research to see what kind of style of lifting appeals to you. Just poking around in the gym doing some machine exercises is easier and less intimidating, but it would get you the results like learning the big complex movements (even if these arent the main focal point of a program, learning them is a good foundation) can. (These are squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press).

That said, nothing wrong with just getting used to everything. Going to a gym. Getting into a rhythm of a gym workout. Using an off the shelf, basic programming to improve overall health. It may make sense to work with a personal trainer (some are great, others...really aren't) to show you the ropes on a few things and make the whole experience easier.

Failed on my last working set for bench today for the first time I can remember - been almost a year I think.

It's been a stressful week so I think that is why my energy is so low. Looking forward to my deload week next week and starting fresh.

Definitely a lot more accessory volume the past few weeks that I'm going to scale back too - I think it's junk volume and it's just tiring me out. Gonna save my energy for the barbell lifts.

Bring back the daily gallon of milk

Stress can often mean less quality sleep. My lifts are exponentially better when I have better quality sleep.

You mentioned fatigue from accessory work - are you doing compound lifts like bench first before working into accessory? Trying to assess if your fatigue is just systemic from all of the new volume or because your preloading before compounds.

texag06ish said:

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I've learned that gym bros can look intimidating but, for the most part, many are just passionate about what they do and are likely ready to talk/share advice when approached.

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Somewhat of a self proclaimed gym bro and I couldn't agree more with this comment. I cannot tell you the number of HS kids and other novices I know that I regularly interact with and provide advice (when solicited) at my gym and it's a diverse group of folks too.

Some are beginners trying to figure things out for the first time and ask for help and others, while others I am helping them with their form on squat or bench or talking about different programs. Regardless of their background, experience, size, physical appearance, etc., if they show passion for something I love doing and have been for over 20 years, you bet your butt I am going to do anything I can to help if they ask for it.

Sounds like you have a vision, now you just need a more specific plan.

Back to your original post and your comment about injury. Do you have any preexisting injuries to be concerned with or just general concern with weightlifting injury?

If the latter, you're not going to get injured weightlifting in the gym if you use proper form, appropriate weight for skill and muscle level, and avoid complex compound movements until you have a great feel for them. A bunch of injuries you see weightlifting are from people that have zero business trying to do a snatch and clean (complex lift) or it's someone like me that just uses a bunch of weight too frequently.

It would help to start thinking about pain v discomfort. Working out is going to feel great, especially as the results are noticeable, but it's also going to inflict a lot of discomfort. Building muscle almost always requires soreness and understanding when your body is just sore and when it is actually hurt is very important. It also serves as a guide in your training to know how to progressively overload properly and ultimately guide you by highlighting your deficiencies.

An awesome side effect of lifting is that you're also going to substantially increase your mental toughness. Pushing your limits and understanding how to safely "load" your body with additional stress is going to reprogram a lot of things in your brain. Fundamentally, it is finding exactly when your brain is saying "can't" or "won't"…

You had a lot of good advice above but I'm happy to chime in with anything specific if needed. Plenty of really sharp minds on this thread with a lot of experience.

Main work then accessory work. 4 days per week.

The program calls for 25-50 reps of accessory each for push/pull/core exercises for 2 months then 50-100 this last month. So I basically was doing a 5x10 on three exercises then added another 5x10 on 3 more exercises the last month.

I think I'm gonna bring it down to a 3x10. I was also going fairly heavy with weighted pull-ups/chin-ups/dips.

Forgot to add, I've also been trying to do heavy sled drags/pulls 1-2 days a week and I've been pushing those pretty hard. Maybe I need to cut the weight down significantly and focus on time rather than moving heavier weight. This is probably impacting my recovery too.

I am not familiar with your exact program but I'm typically not a fan of a ton of volume on accessories. I will incorporate components of FST7 (7x10 - 30 seconds rest) on certain days but mostly as a "burnout" type exercise and typically when time is a constraint.

The problem with 50-100 reps on an accessory is that you're either dropping weight significantly to accomplish all of the reps or you're increasing the rest significantly and inducing more systemic fatigue. I'm all about fatiguing yourself but am a much bigger fan of doing so on your main compound lifts and then doing more hypertrophy structured reps on accessories.

I'm a really big fan of doing more tempo and eccentric controlled lifts with emphasis on the stretch now. I can lower the weight but still avoid having to do 100 reps.

Yes - this is my first time really pushing my accessories, so I wasn't sure how it would go. I tried to only add isolated movements, like tricep and bicep work, but it still seemed to burn me out.

I am going to go all in on barbell work this next block and try to supplement with body weight exercises and core work and see how I feel.

I'm also guilty of buying equipment I don't probably need so then I feel obligated to use it.

Pretty sure one of the "t's" in "ttha_aggie_09" stands for TEMPO.

Right? I'm a big fan of tempo and when paired with a deep stretch, the science makes a pretty compelling argument that it's a great way to train.

Is the 1,000lb club (3 big lift 1RM total) still the standard for "pretty strong"? Or is that an out dated figure?

Looking at my totals, and with what I consider a weak bench, I'm only 100ish pounds away. If I trained for strength for a few months, I could likely reach 1000. Just wondering where that number sits in regards to the workout world as a whole.

They changed it to 2000# in 2019. Sorry.