My Gains on Rippetoe (Please feedback)

[sefmoc]

I've been on the Rippetoe novice programme for 5 Weeks now and there have been some gains but I wanted to find out if the gains were enough and if there was anything I could do to improve it. I'm 6'1 and 27 and my weight is provided below, I have what I assume is a endomorph body type as I'm slim around the body apart from my midsection as this seems to be the only place I store fat.

For the past 2 weeks I have concentrated on my diet and this diet consists of.

Breakfast - Oatmeal with milk and honey
Snack - Tuna Sandwich with a banana
Lunch - Tin of tuna with broccoli and tomatoes
Snack - Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk
Post Workout - Shake and a banana
Dinner - Salmon steak with potatoes and veg
Before bed - Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk

Weights on the bar are for each side. So 20kg means 20kg on each side of the bar.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Squat 20kg 25kg 27.5kg 30kg 30kg
Deadlift 30kg 35kg 35kg 40kg 40kg
Benchpress 20kg 22.5kg 25kg 25kg 25kg
Military Press 15kg 15kg 15kg 15kg 17.5kg
Pendlay Rows 20kg 20kg 22.5kg 22.5kg 22.5kg
Speed Rope 10 mins a day

Weight 200lbs 202lbs

End of week 1 End of week 5
Waist 36 inches 37.5 inches
Chest 39 inches 39 inches
Thighs 23 inches 24 inches
Calfs 14 inches 15 inches
Neck 15 inches 15 inches
Back 18 inches 20 inches
Biceps 13.5 inches 14 inches
Triceps 12.2 inches 12.5 inches
Forearms 10.5 inches 11 inches

I'm not sure if thats enough or the right types of food. As youcan see above I have made some gains but I'm not sure if they are adequate or not. I'm concerned that I've gone up in my waist by 1.5 inches and my chest has not grown. I've only been skipping for the past week everyday is that too much? Any feedback would be much appreciated as I don't want to spend months doing something that will not work or ive me the gains i would like.

[Sim882]

Your meant to be adding weight per workout.

There is no way u could be on rippettoe for 5 months and squat just 30kg

I've been on the Rippetoe novice programme for 5 months now and there have been some gains but I wanted to find out if the gains were enough and if there was anything I could do to improve it. I'm 6'1 and 27 and my weight is provided below, I have what I assume is a endomorph body type as I'm slim around the body apart from my midsection as this seems to be the only place I store fat.

For the past 2 weeks I have concentrated on my diet and this diet consists of.

Breakfast - Oatmeal with milk and honey
Snack - Tuna Sandwich with a banana
Lunch - Tin of tuna with broccoli and tomatoes
Snack - Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk
Post Workout - Shake and a banana
Dinner - Salmon steak with potatoes and veg
Before bed - Peanut Butter Sandwich and a glass of milk



Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Squat 20kg 25kg 27.5kg 30kg 30kg
Deadlift 30kg 35kg 35kg 40kg 40kg
Benchpress 20kg 22.5kg 25kg 25kg 25kg
Military Press 15kg 15kg 15kg 15kg 17.5kg
Pendlay Rows 20kg 20kg 22.5kg 22.5kg 22.5kg
Speed Rope 10 mins a day

Weight 200lbs 202lbs

End of week 1 End of week 5
Waist 36 inches 37.5 inches
Chest 39 inches 39 inches
Thighs 23 inches 24 inches
Calfs 14 inches 15 inches
Neck 15 inches 15 inches
Back 18 inches 20 inches
Biceps 13.5 inches 14 inches
Triceps 12.2 inches 12.5 inches
Forearms 10.5 inches 11 inches

I'm not sure if thats enough or the right types of food. As youcan see below I have made some gains but I'm not sure if they are adequate or not. I'm concerned that I've gone up in my waist by 1.5 inches and my chest has not grown. I've only been skipping for the past week everyday is that too much? Any feedback would be much appreciated as I don't want to spend months doing something that will not work or ive me the gains i would like.

[sefmoc]

Apologies I mean 5 weeks.

[sefmoc]

No wonder no one replied they must have thought I made no progress at all.

[triptizine]

AH brah.. you should be adding 2.5kg every workout pretty much for like 12 weeks.. (3 months) then u should hit a plateu..

[sefmoc]

AH brah.. you should be adding 2.5kg every workout pretty much for like 12 weeks.. (3 months) then u should hit a plateu..

Is that 2.5kg on each side or in total? What do you think I'm doing wrong?

[triptizine]

Is that 2.5kg on each side or in total? What do you think I'm doing wrong?

Ah 5 weeks.. not 5 months.. nah then your progess is about right then.. 2.5kg either side is a plus.. but every time u hit say squat.. it should be increasing, for at least 12 weeks..

Make sure you are eating enough and good foods, 2g of protien per lb of weight.. and watch the weights fly.

Good Luck!

[sefmoc]

Thanks for the advice.

Also I'm worried that my chest hasn't increased in size and is it normal for my waist to go up by 1.5 inches in 5 weeks?

[Lateralus00]

Are you trying to bulk? If that is what you are going for what are is your calorie intake per day? Using that diet you listed it doesn't seem very high. That would explain the 2lb gain in 5 months. I put on 20lbs in 3 months. Unless your shooting for a very very slow bulk.

Your diet looks fairly clean from what you listed but does not seem like enough calories to bulk on. That is just my opinion. When I bulked I weighed 175-185lbs and was eating 3300-3500 calories a day.

Your maintenance calories have to be close to 3000 since I weight 178lbs and mine is 2800.

[sefmoc]

Are you trying to bulk? If that is what you are going for what are is your calorie intake per day? Using that diet you listed it doesn't seem very high. That would explain the 2lb gain in 5 months. I put on 20lbs in 3 months. Unless your shooting for a very very slow bulk.

Your diet looks fairly clean from what you listed but does not seem like enough calories to bulk on. That is just my opinion. When I bulked I weighed 175-185lbs and was eating 3300-3500 calories a day.

Your maintenance calories have to be close to 3000 since I weight 178lbs and mine is 2800.

Sorry I had to correct my original thread it's 5 weeks not 5 months but I still thought a 2lb increase was still too little. I'm trying to get through a clean diet and bulk at the same time. To be honest I haven't been calculating my calorie intake i just assumed that getting in the 6 meals would cover my calorie recommendation which is 3500. What portion sizes should I be having?

[r_graz]

Sorry I had to correct my original thread it's 5 weeks not 5 months but I still thought a 2lb increase was still too little. I'm trying to get through a clean diet and bulk at the same time. To be honest I haven't been calculating my calorie intake i just assumed that getting in the 6 meals would cover my calorie recommendation which is 3500. What portion sizes should I be having?

If you care about how much fat you have or are going to gain, you should be thinking about calories. And tracking them.

Forget "calorie recommendation". Is that something that came out of a calculator, or just something someone told you? Your "calorie recommendation" is whatever number of calories it takes for you to gain or lose weight at a reasonable rate. And unless you're morbidly obese or thin as a rail, 1 lb per week in either direction is a good rule of thumb. The only way you're going to determine the number of calories to produce that is to track how many calories you're eating, watch what happens on the scale, and adjust accordingly.

For skinny kids, Rippetoe recommends a gallon of milk per day plus 3 or 4 big meals, and no scrupulous counting of calories. Those are people that need to gain a lot of weight are are also still growing. Older trainees usually can't be quite so cavalier if they're worried about getting fat.

And to be honest, a going from a 20 kg squat to a 30 kg squat in 5 weeks is not at all good progress for this program. But some of your earlier posts lead me to ask:

1. Are you including the weight of the bar (20 kg typically)?
2. Are you listing weight per side, or total weight loaded on the bar?

We normally talk about total weight loaded, which includes the weight of the bar. And in that context, a 2.5 kg - 5 kg increase per workout (3x per week) is what you normally see on this program. So in 5 weeks, if the program is done correctly, that would be anywhere from 37.5 to a 75 kg increase in squat weight, with the average being somewhere in between.

[BadWog]

Everyone has completely misread how much he is lifting.

He specifically said that 20kgs means 20kgs on EACH SIDE of the bar, that's 40kgs total, NOT INCLUDING THE BAR.

So he isn't squatting 30kgs, he's squatting 80kgs (30kgs each side, plus 20kgs assuming he is using an olympic bar).

Your gains in strength are fine, and your gains in size are fantastic (I'd kill for half an inch on my arms and forearms in 5 weeks). Keep doing what you're doing mate. If you're concerned about your waist I suggest you get your bodyfat tested and keep track of fat gain that way, as you may have just been bloated when you measured your waist.

[sefmoc]

And to be honest, a going from a 20 kg squat to a 30 kg squat in 5 weeks is not at all good progress for this program. But some of your earlier posts lead me to ask:

1. Are you including the weight of the bar (20 kg typically)?
2. Are you listing weight per side, or total weight loaded on the bar?

We normally talk about total weight loaded, which includes the weight of the bar. And in that context, a 2.5 kg - 5 kg increase per workout (3x per week) is what you normally see on this program. So in 5 weeks, if the program is done correctly, that would be anywhere from 37.5 to a 75 kg increase in squat weight, with the average being somewhere in between.

I was listing weight per side without the bar weight. I'm using a 5 foot 5 bar 20kg on each side and I'm currently on 32.5kg a side right now. I agree I haven't been increasing the weights like I should and that is something that I will definatly be doing.

It may sound obvious but how do you calculate the calorie intake precisely as I know that a precise count is a lot more effective.

I really appreciate the feedback.

PS what do you think about the gains in body part measurements. Are they good?

[sefmoc]

Thanks BadWog thats really encouraging.

Should I be worried that I haven't got bigger on my chest it has stayed at 39inches over the 5 weeks.

[r_graz]

It may sound obvious but how do you calculate the calorie intake precisely as I know that a precise count is a lot more effective.

You can't calculate a precise number, because there are too many variables. Age, general activity level, metabolism, genetics - all of these things play a role. Two people who look the same on paper might have very different caloric requirements. One of the most notorious variables is the change in caloric requirements as your bodyweight changes. This is responsible for countless "I don't understand, I'm still eating a lot of calories but I stopped gaining weight" posts. As your body mass increases or decreases, so do the number of calories required to elicit further changes.

Really, this is one area where making a reasonable guess and adjusting based on observation is more likely to lead to success than trying to sit down and calculate the whole thing. Because even if your calculation is by some wild coincidence correct, it won't be for very long.

[sefmoc]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I was telling a colleague at work who is a regular at the gym about the Rippetoe routine and he was telling me that 3 sets of 5 on bench press and squats are not enough and I should be doing 8 reps. He also said that was the reason why my chest has not increased.

Is what he is saying true or should I stick with the Rippetoe and be a lot more patient?

[Dave76]

I was telling a colleague at work who is a regular at the gym about the Rippetoe routine and he was telling me that 3 sets of 5 on bench press and squats are not enough and I should be doing 8 reps. He also said that was the reason why my chest has not increased.

Is what he is saying true or should I stick with the Rippetoe and be a lot more patient?

I would definitely listen to the colleague at work. While you're at it, ask him how in the world you managed to gain 1 inch on the thighs only using 5 reps.

[sefmoc]

I would definitely listen to the colleague at work. While you're at it, ask him how in the world you managed to gain 1 inch on the thighs only using 5 reps.

Forgive my naivity but was that sarcasm?

[r_graz]

Forgive my naivity but was that sarcasm?

Given that Dave works out at Rip's gym, is coached by him, and is the board expert on the Starting Strength program, I'd have to say "yes"

[Dave76]

Forgive my naivity but was that sarcasm?

Yes. I believe your thighs seem to discredit his logic.

Of course, I have no explanation why everything except your chest has grown. Something doesn't add up here, though. You've gained 2 lbs of bodyweight yet report increases in everything except the chest. It's hard to get bigger anywhere with only a 2 lb weight increase.

[sefmoc]

I was trying to explain to him that I had made improvements elsewhere but when he heard the routine he seemed to have shut his ears to the fact I had made gains and concentrated on what he said was a limited routine and that I should be doing about 5 different exercises on my chest in one workout. I don't think I'll be taking his advice though.

I'm finding it really hard to take in many calories due to finance, it's costing a lot to eat right now and my wife is getting a bit peed off at me eating out the fridge and cupboard, what foods can really help me pile on the calories and protein at next to nothing prices. Buying lean steaks is really burning a hole in my pocket right now.

[sefmoc]

How much cardio should I be doing if I really wanting to be gaining mass without getting fat.