Anyone else used this workout program before? I've been going to the gym pretty steadily for a little over a year now but I have always mostly focused on doing isolation exercises (bench press being the main exception). Lately, however, I have been doing some research and I have come to the conclusion that this isn't the way that I should be going considering I want to put on mass.
Anyway, I started the Starting Strength program today, beginning with Workout A, and I have to say, I'm a bit underwhelmed considering that it is only 3 exercises and I was out of the gym in no time. For those that have had experience with it, should I add anything to it or should I just stay the course?
Never heard of it, but in general I've noticed much better workout results since adding in more compound exercises such as dead lifts & squats. I also feel focusing on my legs more, has helped my gain mass on my upper body.
Never heard of it, but in general I've noticed much better workout results since adding in more compound exercises such as dead lifts & squats. I also feel focusing on my legs more, has helped my gain mass on my upper body.
When it comes to beginning compound exercises, Starting Strength is supposed to be the bible. Mark Rippetoe (the author) is one of the leading authorities on this, or so I have read. The program breaks down like this:
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans
You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week. So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A
The Following User Says Thank You to Ark2 For This Useful Post:
Anyone else used this workout program before? I've been going to the gym pretty steadily for a little over a year now but I have always mostly focused on doing isolation exercises (bench press being the main exception). Lately, however, I have been doing some research and I have come to the conclusion that this isn't the way that I should be going considering I want to put on mass.
Anyway, I started the Starting Strength program today, beginning with Workout A, and I have to say, I'm a bit underwhelmed considering that it is only 3 exercises and I was out of the gym in no time. For those that have had experience with it, should I add anything to it or should I just stay the course?
I don't have much time to post, so I generally lurk, but I have done this program exactly as stated. Don't change a thing. Eat as clean as possible and add whole milk to your post wo meal - try to get a 1/2 gallon a day of milk on top of whatever else you eat. You WILL put on size and gain tremendous strength - stong like bull! I went from 164 to 197 lbs in less than 6 weeks (I am 5' 8-1/2") - waist size went up a little (I still wore my same pants, but they were a little snug), but most of my size was gained in the legs, butt, arms, chest and shoulders. I was squatting 320 for a 3 x 5 set in week six. Recovery is just as imporatant as the workout. I was eating ~4500 cals a day. The eating was just as hard as the workout! Read the book and do the excercies exactly as he describes them in the book.
Have fun and go hard - workouts should be done in 45 min to an hour...
i've done it, but don't drink a gallon of milk a day like he recomends or you'll get fat
power cleans are a great excersize, everyone should do them
I think that will depend on many different factors - age (under 35 should be ok to at least do 1/2 gallon), what else you are eating (how clean your diet is to begin with) and how much weight you can squat to start. If you are starting under 200 lbs for your squat I would recommend not doing any milk until you stall and reset. You will see a lot of gains just from the novice effect.
I don't have much time to post, so I generally lurk, but I have done this program exactly as stated. Don't change a thing. Eat as clean as possible and add whole milk to your post wo meal - try to get a 1/2 gallon a day of milk on top of whatever else you eat. You WILL put on size and gain tremendous strength - stong like bull! I went from 164 to 197 lbs in less than 6 weeks (I am 5' 8-1/2") - waist size went up a little (I still wore my same pants, but they were a little snug), but most of my size was gained in the legs, butt, arms, chest and shoulders. I was squatting 320 for a 3 x 5 set in week six. Recovery is just as imporatant as the workout. I was eating ~4500 cals a day. The eating was just as hard as the workout! Read the book and do the excercies exactly as he describes them in the book.
Have fun and go hard - workouts should be done in 45 min to an hour...
Maybe this is where I am missing something. I did workout A today, and it only took me like half an hour before I was done. I did a couple of warm up sets before doing the weighted sets. In between the weighted sets, I rested for about 45 seconds. Should I be resting for a longer period of time/doing more warm up sets?
Also, congrats on your progress! the kind of gains that you described are very impressive!
Maybe this is where I am missing something. I did workout A today, and it only took me like half an hour before I was done. I did a couple of warm up sets before doing the weighted sets. In between the weighted sets, I rested for about 45 seconds. Should I be resting for a longer period of time/doing more warm up sets?
Also, congrats on your progress! the kind of gains that you described are very impressive!
Your first workouts will be a little faster in the beginning as you are starting at a lighter weight and don't need as much rest to be able to complete your sets, but as you get heavier you will need the rest in order to complete your next set. You want to make sure you complete your set, so rest as long as you need. After I got over 280 for my work sets I was resting between 4 and 5 mins between sets. You want to make sure you are making linear progress. I was adding 5 lbs every work out to my squat. And make sure your form is good as described in the book to maximize performance and avoid injury.
45 sec is pretty short, but err on the side of caution and get the form down pat at the lighter weights so that it will benefit you down the road when you get to the heavier sets. Don't rush it. As long as you are making linear progress, milk it for as long as possible as it is the stage where gaining strength is the easiest.
Warmups should be enough to get you loose and your blood flowing to your muscles priming yourself to go heavy - this can be pretty individual depending on the person.
My warm up involved some dynamic stretching, air squats, a few pushups, pullups - about 5 mins in total so that I feel warm and could be sweating depending on how warm the room is. Then to get the movement pattern going for the squats I would do 5 - 8 squats with just the bar, then 5 @ 120, 3 @ 190 than a couple at a weight in between the 190 and my work set, so if my work set was 300 I would have done 2 @ 260 or something (these weights worked well for the plates that I have). Then for other excerices like bench for example I would just do the similiar scheme with just the bar x5, then 120 x5, 180x 3, then my work set.
Hope that helps.
Last edited by NoWorries; 02-07-2011 at 04:05 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to NoWorries For This Useful Post:
I don't have much time to post, so I generally lurk, but I have done this program exactly as stated. Don't change a thing. Eat as clean as possible and add whole milk to your post wo meal - try to get a 1/2 gallon a day of milk on top of whatever else you eat. You WILL put on size and gain tremendous strength - stong like bull! I went from 164 to 197 lbs in less than 6 weeks (I am 5' 8-1/2") - waist size went up a little (I still wore my same pants, but they were a little snug), but most of my size was gained in the legs, butt, arms, chest and shoulders. I was squatting 320 for a 3 x 5 set in week six. Recovery is just as imporatant as the workout. I was eating ~4500 cals a day. The eating was just as hard as the workout! Read the book and do the excercies exactly as he describes them in the book.
Have fun and go hard - workouts should be done in 45 min to an hour...
30lbs in 6 weeks? Holy effing balls. I want to gain 30lbs in 4 months, looks like I'll have to check this out.
How were you getting 4500 calories a day? Like what was your meal schedule? I can't imagine getting that much without a supplement shake. Eating 4500 healthy calories has got to be a mutha fata.
Your first workouts will be a little faster in the beginning as you are starting at a lighter weight and don't need as much rest to be able to complete your sets, but as you get heavier you will need the rest in order to complete your next set. You want to make sure you complete your set, so rest as long as you need. After I got over 280 for my work sets I was resting between 4 and 5 mins between sets. You want to make sure you are making linear progress. I was adding 5 lbs every work out to my squat. And make sure your form is good as described in the book to maximize performance and avoid injury.
45 sec is pretty short, but err on the side of caution and get the form down pat at the lighter weights so that it will benefit you down the road when you get to the heavier sets. Don't rush it. As long as you are making linear progress, milk it for as long as possible as it is the stage where gaining strength is the easiest.
30lbs in 6 weeks? Holy effing balls. I want to gain 30lbs in 4 months, looks like I'll have to check this out.
How were you getting 4500 calories a day? Like what was your meal schedule? I can't imagine getting that much without a supplement shake. Eating 4500 healthy calories has got to be a mutha fata.
Yup. I kid you not eating was a chore - and I love food. I was adding a 1/2 gallon of whole milk every day. Eggs and bacon at breakfast. Lots of healthy fats like nuts, seeds, avocado. No shakes, just real food. Lots of fruits and vegatables. Olive oil, conconut oil, cream. Not much different than i eat now, just more of it!
Haven't heard of it, but being a big gym rat I can't see how so few exercises and days will help you gain a lot of mass unless you're going on a crazy carb diet.
Personally, my regime is a 3 day regime done 5 consecutive days.
Day 1
Back, 4x exercises, 4 sets, 6-8 reps.
- Always doing Olympic bar rows as a starting exercise
Legs, 4x exercises, 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Start off the exercise with Squats
Day 2
Chest 4x exercises, 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Interchange bench press and dumbbell press to start exercise
Shoulder 4x exercises, 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Start with free weight shoulder press
Day 3
Arms 8x exercises, 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Usually isolation exercises for bi's and tri's
Eating about 3000 cal a day and at least a 60 gram protein shake after every workout
I gained 25 pounds in 3 months doing this last year and I'm just getting back into it. Went from 160 to 185. Goal is 200 this year.
To get a glimpse how thin I am, I am over 6 feet tall and a measly 140lbs. All I want is to get to 160 so I look somewhat normal. Going to Europe in the summer and I have 4 full months to gain some mass.
I plan on taking in a minimum of 3000 calories a day, hopefully more, but as I am so skinny now, I should put on some initial mass pretty quick as I'm so thin.
Hopefully I keep a proper attitude like you guys have to keep going for the next 4 months.
I've never understood why people think that they need to put on fat and eat far more calories than they need in order to gain strength and hypertrophy.
I've never understood why people think that they need to put on fat and eat far more calories than they need in order to gain strength and hypertrophy.
Body composition is a component of fitness too.
I know you're a sports med guy, what would you change about my routine above to make it more efficient?
When it comes to beginning compound exercises, Starting Strength is supposed to be the bible. Mark Rippetoe (the author) is one of the leading authorities on this, or so I have read. The program breaks down like this:
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans
You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week. So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A
I'd add in some chin-ups, weighted dips, and cardio. You need some form of ab work as well. I think sit-ups are stupid but you could do some planks.
30lbs in 6 weeks? Holy effing balls. I want to gain 30lbs in 4 months, looks like I'll have to check this out.
How were you getting 4500 calories a day? Like what was your meal schedule? I can't imagine getting that much without a supplement shake. Eating 4500 healthy calories has got to be a mutha fata.
The program is built around the squat and deadlift, both with are notorious for gaining muscle mass if used properly.
I'd add in some chin-ups, weighted dips, and cardio. You need some form of ab work as well. I think sit-ups are stupid but you could do some planks.
Chin-ups and dips are a good idea. I've heard of some guys actually adding those to this workout, so it should fit in well. I have an ab routine that I do 2-3 times per week at home, as seen here:
The guy is a bit of a flake, but his ab workouts are great
As for cardio... I don't know... I play soccer once a week where my cardio is pretty intense for about 45 minutes. Other than that, I just find it extremely boring. I'll start doing it if I think it's needed, but I've always thought that hardgainers should try to avoid doing cardio when attempting to bulk up?
Train your legs like crazy! You will find once you have really large thighs and rear end you will be burning calories just sitting around. There is a lot of muscle that you will be feeding just sitting around, once your legs get big enough.
When lifting, I mix in three squat workouts a week, a high rep low weight routine, a medium weight medium rep and a high weight low rep routine. I would do this weekly, along with a day dedicated to legs. At night when training I did a lot of calf exercises, including strange stuff like jumping on one leg over one of those step things (sets of 20). Some of the strangest workouts are great to add to your textbook workout routine.
Go watch a Judo class to see what you can do that is outside the box to develop your core.
Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength
Read the book and do the excercies exactly as he describes them in the book.
