I'm not a coach and I have only helped a few people get started. Honestly, start only with the bar. It will get heavy soon enough. As a newbee , you need to start fixing your form before you hurt yourself with something heavy. If you have no one to help you, videotape yourself. Compare your form to good models on TH-cam. Try and fix what is wrong. It is very, very easy to get hurt early on, and that will end the whole program for you before you have barely gotten started.
I'm restarting the program after a whopping 7 year layoff. I'm now 49 and have put on quite a bit of weight. I'm just going to start with the empty bar and work on the movements. I'm very out of shape at this point and would rather not hurt myself. I know from past experience it doesn't take long to get heavy
Do you do warm-up sets prior to doing the 5 sets? Also do you do cool down sets after completing the 5 sets? Or do you just jump straight in and do 5 sets?
Star with the empty bar for 2 sets of 5, then 1 set of 5 at 45% of your working weight, 1 set of 3 at 65%, 1 set of 2 at 85% of that days working weight. Then rest 2-3 minutes then do your first working set
Having trouble finding a detailed video on breaking through a stall. All the ins and outs on what to do when you can’t hit all the reps and what to do when your reps go down each time you do the workout.
Excellent information! Thank you. I'm doing the Barbell Prescription (I'm old). I was embarrassed to find that I am so weak and detrained in my lower body (probably from sitting on my butt for decades) that, starting out, I bench more than I squat (well, at least to get anywhere NEAR parallel). Am I the only one in this predicament?
I'm in my 60s. Been off the strength training for over a year due to some non-training related injuries. I'm the exact opposite. I can squat and deadlift much more than I can bench.
@@Old_Sailor85 I think that's the way it is for most people. I've alsi had some disc herniation and several surgeries. I wonder if nerve damage has weakened my lower body.
@@richardgreene6810 You may want to start with walking, if your back can handle it. I've had a bad back since I was a teen, but walking doesn't bother me. Funny thing, in my 20s and 30s I could never squat (buzzing and zingers in my quads and glutes.), I had to use a leg press machine. Now in my 60s and I can squat with no issues. Go figure. Best of luck. Just keep moving...
Yes, this happens. But if you do it consistently, that shouldn’t continue to be the case. The muscles you use to squat are the biggest muscles in the body and once you get them to start adapting, you should reverse this. But it took you a lot of years to get this way, so take your time undoing it, especially as a older guy.
It's easy. For the deadlift for instance you put some 45s on a bar and if you can deadlift it you add more. You do this until you can only do the lift by breaking every form rule and then you add 10 more pounds and that is your baseline, unless you injure yourself, in which case you deduct 10lbs and start from there tomorrow and you do it every day until it cures your injury. The golden rule to deadlifting is that the average man can deadlift 10% more when they bend their back. Don't cripple your gains by keeping your spine flat. At the start of the lift your body should look like an upside down U, with all of the weight on your spine. More curve=more gains. Strong jerking movements work best and you want to try your best to be staring at the ceiling as you deadlift, even if it hurts your neck. No neck pain = no gains. My biggest tip is to never, ever brace. Think about it. If you brace you are letting your core steal 75% of your gains. You can always do some planks on your rest day. My next tip is that as you are near the top of the deadlift you should violently turn your body as though you are looking at someone behind you while keeping your feet in place. You want the bar to start in front of you and end with the bar at your side pointing in the direction that you were facing at the start. Also, it is best to never warm up because if pain = gain then making it easier on your body reduces gains.
I noticed my muscular endurance for daily task decreased while on 5x5 could it be from the lack of repetitions or just me not eating enough, Love the simplicity of the program but seem to suffer in other areas other than lifting a heavy object no more than a couple times
I will start SS after my Gagrage Gym is build in a few month. Allready read the blue book. I just questioned myself why i can't set the baseline lower? With a lower baseline i would have enough time to get used to the different (and new) exercises which i haven't done yet. And within a short amount of time i would reach my "true" baseline and progres normaly. So i would only loose a few weeks but could improve my technique in this time. Let's say i could Squat 80kg for 5 hard reps. Why shouldn't i start the program with 40kg? It would only cost me 8 weeks and i would hit the 80kg in the Squat again. But in this time i worked on my technique. If NLP would go on this way for a few month i would be able to Squat over 220kg in another 6 month. This sounds fast enough for me. Is there anything i am missing here? Maybe i haven't think this through but it really seems to be no problem to start under your baseline because the NLP is moving up very fast. Would love to here feedback.
I think I started with 40kg because I didn't know where to start either. It's "only 8 weeks" but it's training that might be suboptimal because it may be so far below your potential. Also, do not confuse a 5 rep max with a 3x5 workout. You might be capable of 5 reps, but what would sets 2 and 3 be? 4 reps and 3 reps? In that case, you wouldn't hit the 15 total reps for the workout and you'd be too far on the other end. It's probably better to err on the side of being a little too light than a little too heavy, but at the same time it should be challenging. Remember the goal is to become able to lift more than you can now. The main thing is to just start!
Does it really matter if you sell yourself sort and get the baseline wrong? I don't think so. You will get there one way or another as long as you're progressively adding load
Someone needs to do a solid STARTING Starting Strength text primer that can compete with Stronglifts for clarity and brevity. The idea that people buy and read this book first, and then start the program is batshit. I've done the program (after first starting with stronglifts becasue of the low barrier to entry), and I've got the book but Its such a hefty read that can't say I've read it - hell I'm going to the seminar next week just to get around reading it. The "Narrowcasting" excuse is a shitty one. Thank god for the gyms - since they are great for people who just want to be taken through (and have $400 a month to throw at the problem). Reading the book is for really interested hobbyists and academics who are used to inhaling lengthy texts.
You don't have to read the whole book through. Its partitioned pretty well so you can just go to the sections you need for getting started. Just learn the basic forms for each exercise and understand the programming. Don't overwhelm yourself and just do it and when you have issues go to the book for solutions.
The book was a hard read for me too. The few pages on programming, the pics and watching videos of each lift are maybe to best entry into the program. Reading Barbell Prescription rn. Easier than SS so far.
I started with stronglifts because I'd never heard of starting strength. When I did, I remember thinking wait, this whole time I could have been doing only 3 sets instead of 5?! Doing 5x5 for every exercise will get fatiguing fairly quickly. Your workouts will be much longer as well. It's better to start something than not at all, but I recommend going with 3x5-it will allow you to continue making gains for much longer.
When going up in weight, say I’m going up 5 pounds,is it two 2.5 pound plates adding up to 5 pounds; or just two 5 pound plates, Cause then wouldn’t that be 10 pounds added ?
How do i start after a long layoff? Three years ago, when all this covid shit started, gyms closed here where i come from. I went in a reall depression than, without training, and now that they are open again, i like to come back. Can you do a vid to that topic?
Mark Rippetoe mentioned in one of his Videos that for every week you are missing training after week 2 you should go back one week in training. Or something similar like this. After 3 years you probably should start all over. But this time you won't start at the bottom because you are way stronger now even after a 3 year rest. Just find your baseline and continue training. I had a simmilar situation. Now i am training for a while and i feel better than ever before.
In PPfSS, Rippetoe gives the workout log of a 35 y.o. former D1 football player getting back into strength training. In the context of the book, it is fascinating. He had the guy follow the whole beginner LP, doing 3 sets of 5 squats at 135 for the first workout. So, very conservative. By the end of the guy's beginner LP, his lifts were far beyond what many of us could hope to achieve after years of training. TLDR: Even former elite athletes with solid strength training background start "easy" after a long layoff.
You're absolutely full of it. You don't need to find some subjective baseline. You're going to get there soon enough if you're adding 5 pounds to the bar every workout.
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I'm not a coach and I have only helped a few people get started. Honestly, start only with the bar. It will get heavy soon enough. As a newbee , you need to start fixing your form before you hurt yourself with something heavy. If you have no one to help you, videotape yourself. Compare your form to good models on TH-cam. Try and fix what is wrong. It is very, very easy to get hurt early on, and that will end the whole program for you before you have barely gotten started.
I'm restarting the program after a whopping 7 year layoff. I'm now 49 and have put on quite a bit of weight. I'm just going to start with the empty bar and work on the movements. I'm very out of shape at this point and would rather not hurt myself. I know from past experience it doesn't take long to get heavy
THANK YOU! I have been through the books and it just wasn't clicking. Now I know what to look for.
Thank you for doing this.
Damn this was good knowledge as always! Knowledge is a small distant form is why The Strength Co is awesome!
Thank you. Just what i needed.
Do you do warm-up sets prior to doing the 5 sets?
Also do you do cool down sets after completing the 5 sets?
Or do you just jump straight in and do 5 sets?
Star with the empty bar for 2 sets of 5, then 1 set of 5 at 45% of your working weight, 1 set of 3 at 65%, 1 set of 2 at 85% of that days working weight. Then rest 2-3 minutes then do your first working set
Good information
Having trouble finding a detailed video on breaking through a stall. All the ins and outs on what to do when you can’t hit all the reps and what to do when your reps go down each time you do the workout.
Deload 10% after 3 tries at the same weight meanwhile upping caloric intake. If you still fail when you reach the failed weight...time to micro load
Excellent information! Thank you. I'm doing the Barbell Prescription (I'm old). I was embarrassed to find that I am so weak and detrained in my lower body (probably from sitting on my butt for decades) that, starting out, I bench more than I squat (well, at least to get anywhere NEAR parallel). Am I the only one in this predicament?
I'm in my 60s. Been off the strength training for over a year due to some non-training related injuries.
I'm the exact opposite. I can squat and deadlift much more than I can bench.
@@Old_Sailor85 I think that's the way it is for most people. I've alsi had some disc herniation and several surgeries. I wonder if nerve damage has weakened my lower body.
@@richardgreene6810 You may want to start with walking, if your back can handle it. I've had a bad back since I was a teen, but walking doesn't bother me.
Funny thing, in my 20s and 30s I could never squat (buzzing and zingers in my quads and glutes.), I had to use a leg press machine. Now in my 60s and I can squat with no issues. Go figure.
Best of luck. Just keep moving...
Yes, this happens. But if you do it consistently, that shouldn’t continue to be the case. The muscles you use to squat are the biggest muscles in the body and once you get them to start adapting, you should reverse this. But it took you a lot of years to get this way, so take your time undoing it, especially as a older guy.
It's easy. For the deadlift for instance you put some 45s on a bar and if you can deadlift it you add more. You do this until you can only do the lift by breaking every form rule and then you add 10 more pounds and that is your baseline, unless you injure yourself, in which case you deduct 10lbs and start from there tomorrow and you do it every day until it cures your injury. The golden rule to deadlifting is that the average man can deadlift 10% more when they bend their back. Don't cripple your gains by keeping your spine flat. At the start of the lift your body should look like an upside down U, with all of the weight on your spine. More curve=more gains. Strong jerking movements work best and you want to try your best to be staring at the ceiling as you deadlift, even if it hurts your neck. No neck pain = no gains. My biggest tip is to never, ever brace. Think about it. If you brace you are letting your core steal 75% of your gains. You can always do some planks on your rest day. My next tip is that as you are near the top of the deadlift you should violently turn your body as though you are looking at someone behind you while keeping your feet in place. You want the bar to start in front of you and end with the bar at your side pointing in the direction that you were facing at the start. Also, it is best to never warm up because if pain = gain then making it easier on your body reduces gains.
I noticed my muscular endurance for daily task decreased while on 5x5 could it be from the lack of repetitions or just me not eating enough, Love the simplicity of the program but seem to suffer in other areas other than lifting a heavy object no more than a couple times
Thanks! This really helps. :)
I will start SS after my Gagrage Gym is build in a few month. Allready read the blue book. I just questioned myself why i can't set the baseline lower? With a lower baseline i would have enough time to get used to the different (and new) exercises which i haven't done yet. And within a short amount of time i would reach my "true" baseline and progres normaly. So i would only loose a few weeks but could improve my technique in this time.
Let's say i could Squat 80kg for 5 hard reps. Why shouldn't i start the program with 40kg? It would only cost me 8 weeks and i would hit the 80kg in the Squat again. But in this time i worked on my technique. If NLP would go on this way for a few month i would be able to Squat over 220kg in another 6 month. This sounds fast enough for me.
Is there anything i am missing here? Maybe i haven't think this through but it really seems to be no problem to start under your baseline because the NLP is moving up very fast. Would love to here feedback.
I think I started with 40kg because I didn't know where to start either. It's "only 8 weeks" but it's training that might be suboptimal because it may be so far below your potential. Also, do not confuse a 5 rep max with a 3x5 workout. You might be capable of 5 reps, but what would sets 2 and 3 be? 4 reps and 3 reps? In that case, you wouldn't hit the 15 total reps for the workout and you'd be too far on the other end. It's probably better to err on the side of being a little too light than a little too heavy, but at the same time it should be challenging. Remember the goal is to become able to lift more than you can now. The main thing is to just start!
@@chrisp9500Just take your time between each set and you'll be fine.
Does it really matter if you sell yourself sort and get the baseline wrong? I don't think so. You will get there one way or another as long as you're progressively adding load
Can you do a video about groin pain? I can´t squat anymore due to groin issues while squatting.
Just don’t squat if it hurts. Plenty of options. Unless you are actually trying to compete:
Check out Squat University
@@MrEazyE357 or don’t.
@@thestrengthco why do you say that?
Someone needs to do a solid STARTING Starting Strength text primer that can compete with Stronglifts for clarity and brevity. The idea that people buy and read this book first, and then start the program is batshit.
I've done the program (after first starting with stronglifts becasue of the low barrier to entry), and I've got the book but Its such a hefty read that can't say I've read it - hell I'm going to the seminar next week just to get around reading it. The "Narrowcasting" excuse is a shitty one. Thank god for the gyms - since they are great for people who just want to be taken through (and have $400 a month to throw at the problem).
Reading the book is for really interested hobbyists and academics who are used to inhaling lengthy texts.
You don't have to read the whole book through. Its partitioned pretty well so you can just go to the sections you need for getting started. Just learn the basic forms for each exercise and understand the programming. Don't overwhelm yourself and just do it and when you have issues go to the book for solutions.
The book was a hard read for me too. The few pages on programming, the pics and watching videos of each lift are maybe to best entry into the program. Reading Barbell Prescription rn. Easier than SS so far.
when do you stop a set?
Thanks again for great advice. Can I ask please if stronglifts is able to give similar results to starting strength?
I started with stronglifts because I'd never heard of starting strength. When I did, I remember thinking wait, this whole time I could have been doing only 3 sets instead of 5?! Doing 5x5 for every exercise will get fatiguing fairly quickly. Your workouts will be much longer as well. It's better to start something than not at all, but I recommend going with 3x5-it will allow you to continue making gains for much longer.
@@chrisp9500 Thank you for your advice. Very much appreciated
@@trevorvarney4900 You're welcome. Good luck!
When going up in weight, say I’m going up 5 pounds,is it two 2.5 pound plates adding up to 5 pounds; or just two 5 pound plates, Cause then wouldn’t that be 10 pounds added ?
5 pounds means one 2,5 pounds plate on each side of the bar
How do i start after a long layoff? Three years ago, when all this covid shit started, gyms closed here where i come from. I went in a reall depression than, without training, and now that they are open again, i like to come back. Can you do a vid to that topic?
You should hire a coach
Mark Rippetoe mentioned in one of his Videos that for every week you are missing training after week 2 you should go back one week in training. Or something similar like this. After 3 years you probably should start all over. But this time you won't start at the bottom because you are way stronger now even after a 3 year rest. Just find your baseline and continue training.
I had a simmilar situation. Now i am training for a while and i feel better than ever before.
In PPfSS, Rippetoe gives the workout log of a 35 y.o. former D1 football player getting back into strength training. In the context of the book, it is fascinating. He had the guy follow the whole beginner LP, doing 3 sets of 5 squats at 135 for the first workout. So, very conservative. By the end of the guy's beginner LP, his lifts were far beyond what many of us could hope to achieve after years of training.
TLDR: Even former elite athletes with solid strength training background start "easy" after a long layoff.
🔥
You're absolutely full of it. You don't need to find some subjective baseline. You're going to get there soon enough if you're adding 5 pounds to the bar every workout.
Grant, you need to get rid of that moustache you grew. Asap.
First step: chuck it in the bin
Why do you say that? I’m considering reading the book.
@@TheDrew718you should read the book. It is a great wealth of knowledge.