***Rippetoe's Starting Strength FAQ***

[Kirra]

is rippetoes for everyone? that has relative or none gym experience?. I mean i ve gone to the gym here and there for the past couple of years but very randomly and never really took it seriosly. What would happen if i just did a 4 day split instead of ripptoes? thanks

You wouldn't get stronger as fast.

[Farley1324]

is rippetoes for everyone? that has relative or none gym experience?. I mean i ve gone to the gym here and there for the past couple of years but very randomly and never really took it seriosly. What would happen if i just did a 4 day split instead of ripptoes? thanks

What does the OP say?

You would probably not progress as quickly.

[KelvinSwole]

Is around 3k Calories a day, and 200g of Protein a day decent enough to make gains similar to yours?
Or should I just go all out and devour everything in sight?

Rip says eat everything in sight, and I've had better results doing this.

Word to the wise: use a fiber supplement. 4-5 teaspoons of metamucil a day keeps me golden. Otherwise, prepare for hell.

[PimpGJt]

Rip says eat everything in sight, and I've had better results doing this.

Word to the wise: use a fiber supplement. 4-5 teaspoons of metamucil a day keeps me golden. Otherwise, prepare for hell.

You eat alot to gain alo simple . You eat more calories than you do know obviously you gain more im doing rip but not eating everything in sight i eat clean whole foods iv'e gained 10 pounds since i started and got a more defined chest . It used to be more flab but now it's rock hard. All my lifts have increased anywhere from 20+ pounds at least and every workout is a challenge because the weight is never consitent it's always increasing

[KelvinSwole]

I eat between 3500 and 5000 calories every day. GOMAD itself is about 2300.

[Farley1324]

I eat between 3500 and 5000 calories every day. GOMAD itself is about 2300.

For whole milk.

GOMAD doesn't necessarily have to be whole milk. Depends on your needs. I drink about a gallon of millk a day still, but only 1%

[CityofAngels]

Anyone with knowlege on breathing techniques by ripptoes, check out this thread:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131481773

[geokilla]

Anyone with knowlege on breathing techniques by ripptoes, check out this thread:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131481773

Link doesn't work.

I'm not feeling any soreness in my legs today but I was barely able to complete my last set of squats yesterday. Does this mean that either I got past the sorenesss stage, or does it mean that I need to eat more in order to ensure proper development of my muscles? I'm thinking it's the latter.

[Farley1324]

Link doesn't work.

I'm not feeling any soreness in my legs today but I was barely able to complete my last set of squats yesterday. Does this mean that either I got past the sorenesss stage, or does it mean that I need to eat more in order to ensure proper development of my muscles? I'm thinking it's the latter.

Given your listed height/weight stats, eat more either way

[jshukster]

ive been eating alot for rippetoes and started at 179.6 but on my third day went up to 185.5. Am i eating too much? and should i cut down a lil bit on the food. Is rippetoes ideal for me since im kinda heavy already for my height? thanks

[PimpGJt]

ive been eating alot for rippetoes and started at 179.6 but on my third day went up to 185.5. Am i eating too much? and should i cut down a lil bit on the food. Is rippetoes ideal for me since im kinda heavy already for my height? thanks

Only you can determine that . If you want to keep gaining wait keep up the high calorie count . If you want to slow it down eat less

[Kirra]

Help is greatly appreciated.

Hey guys. My triceps are fucked yet again. Both of them this time. I have no idea what about my squats that cause my triceps to get injured but something isn't right here. I was feeling some light soreness/pain in my triceps on Monday and Wednesday but it was really mild so I just ignored it. But today, after the squat warmups it got pretty unbearable. The pain isn't sharp, but it's kinda headache like. Rip describes this in the book, but I don't see how my triceps can intercept any of the weight when I hold the bar like this:

[devearoux]

No PDF



You will definitely want to acquire some kind of microweights. Having 11 pounds as the smallest increment is absolutely ridiculous and I will never understand how or why gyms set themselves up like that. Your gym will work, just get some weights/microweights of your own and bring them.

Yeah. Increasing 11 pounds cause difficulty. As, I struggle for one workout with form but from next workout I can perform the exercise with good form next workout. So, I'll need to buy some new weights? OK. Thanks a lot for the reply.

[StylesOfBeyond]

Sorry if this is a dead horse that's already been beaten to death, but what do you think of rows? (Don't post the Rip quote on them, seen it before)

I'm thinking of doing them after/before power cleans since I've heard a lot of people say rows are size and strength specific with a carryover to the bench, and that cleans are more for explosive strength. Sounds pretty good to get both.

[CityofAngels]

Sorry if this is a dead horse that's already been beaten to death, but what do you think of rows? (Don't post the Rip quote on them, seen it before)

I'm thinking of doing them after/before power cleans since I've heard a lot of people say rows are size and strength specific with a carryover to the bench, and that cleans are more for explosive strength. Sounds pretty good to get both.

I think rows AND cleans is overkill for this program. Stick to the program man.

[Kirra]

Sorry if this is a dead horse that's already been beaten to death, but what do you think of rows? (Don't post the Rip quote on them, seen it before)

I'm thinking of doing them after/before power cleans since I've heard a lot of people say rows are size and strength specific with a carryover to the bench, and that cleans are more for explosive strength. Sounds pretty good to get both.

Can't you just do the damn program as written and care about rows once you're an intermediate lifter?

[StylesOfBeyond]

Can't you just do the damn program as written and care about rows once you're an intermediate lifter?

I could....or I could weigh up the pros/ cons of doing them both, try it out and then see what I think's best. Besides being more tired and needing to eat a bit more, I don't see much wrong with it, just curious if there's any reason not to do both.


EDIT: btw Kirra, dug up these links for you. A couple of shoulder stretches that might help out with what you're going through. I had the same kind of dull/ 'headachey' pain in my arms with squats as well, even though I wasn't placing the bar on my wrists. High bar squats are what sorted it for me, and I prefer them, but I'm sure you can fix your form to keep low barring it.

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Subsca...roomstick.html

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Infras...roomstick.html

[Farley1324]

ive been eating alot for rippetoes and started at 179.6 but on my third day went up to 185.5. Am i eating too much? and should i cut down a lil bit on the food. Is rippetoes ideal for me since im kinda heavy already for my height? thanks

You can't accurately judge a whole lot after 3 days. Your weight might fluctuate nearly that much throughout the day.

SS is not ideal because you are heavy for your height, no. I don't know that anything would be ideal based solely on that criteria.

Help is greatly appreciated.

Hey guys. My triceps are fucked yet again. Both of them this time. I have no idea what about my squats that cause my triceps to get injured but something isn't right here. I was feeling some light soreness/pain in my triceps on Monday and Wednesday but it was really mild so I just ignored it. But today, after the squat warmups it got pretty unbearable. The pain isn't sharp, but it's kinda headache like. Rip describes this in the book, but I don't see how my triceps can intercept any of the weight when I hold the bar like this:

[IMG]http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc495/kirillwic/Bilde0113.jpg[/MG]

Dunno.

Sorry if this is a dead horse that's already been beaten to death, but what do you think of rows? (Don't post the Rip quote on them, seen it before)

I'm thinking of doing them after/before power cleans since I've heard a lot of people say rows are size and strength specific with a carryover to the bench, and that cleans are more for explosive strength. Sounds pretty good to get both.

I have never done rows, to speak of.

I think that since people like Ripp and Starr value cleans far, far more than they do rows and the program was written with rows I would (and do/did) simply do the cleans.

[Kirra]

EDIT: btw Kirra, dug up these links for you. A couple of shoulder stretches that might help out with what you're going through. I had the same kind of dull/ 'headachey' pain in my arms with squats as well, even though I wasn't placing the bar on my wrists. High bar squats are what sorted it for me, and I prefer them, but I'm sure you can fix your form to keep low barring it.

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Subsca...roomstick.html

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Infras...roomstick.html

Interesting... I'll try this next time I'm squatting. Thanks!

[RainingBlood]

How hard should SS be in about a month and a week in?
I started squatting at 175, my previous 5RM was 155. I'm now at 175, but it's getting hard...I've been increasing 5lbs per workout. When doing 175, It feels like the weight's crushing me, and my last reps are real slow. Is that absolutely normal? Haven't missed any reps yet.

[Phil185]

How hard should SS be in about a month and a week in?
I started squatting at 175, my previous 5RM was 155. I'm now at 175, but it's getting hard...I've been increasing 5lbs per workout. When doing 175, It feels like the weight's crushing me, and my last reps are real slow. Is that absolutely normal? Haven't missed any reps yet.

Yes, it's not supposed to be simple. How far of a reset did you go? (What weight did you start squatting at)

[RainingBlood]

Yes, it's not supposed to be simple. How far of a reset did you go? (What weight did you start squatting at)

Oh ****! Just realized a typo. I didn't start squatting at 175, I started at 125!

[Farley1324]

How hard should SS be in about a month and a week in?
I started squatting at 125, my previous 5RM was 155. I'm now at 175, but it's getting hard...I've been increasing 5lbs per workout. When doing 175, It feels like the weight's crushing me, and my last reps are real slow. Is that absolutely normal? Haven't missed any reps yet.

It should be hard by 5 weeks in, yes.

Keep eating and sleeping.

Just wait until you get to 275+.

[jamesGarlington]

ive been doing SS for about 1.5 months now. i got my squat up to 240x5, today when i was squatting, i all of the sudden noticed how much slower i am going up, pausing at the top, barely getting top the top, compared to my last workout, things seemed to go well with ease.
is this a sign im coming to an end to my linear gains? or should i just taper up calories?
or will it always feel like this for awhile but ill always be able to add weight? and i did meet sets and reps today...

thanks farley, u da man

[Farley1324]

ive been doing SS for about 1.5 months now. i got my squat up to 240x5, today when i was squatting, i all of the sudden noticed how much slower i am going up, pausing at the top, barely getting top the top, compared to my last workout, things seemed to go well with ease.
is this a sign im coming to an end to my linear gains? or should i just taper up calories?
or will it always feel like this for awhile but ill always be able to add weight? and i did meet sets and reps today...

thanks farley, u da man

Very little can be judged based on one workout. If you are adequately gaining bodyweight then you are eating enough.

[jamesGarlington]

Very little can be judged based on one workout. If you are adequately gaining bodyweight then you are eating enough.

i see, very true, and i did have a good workout before that, so i guess ill see after a weekends rest.

[geokilla]

Given your listed height/weight stats, eat more either way

I think I put an extra inch or two in my height. Might be just 6' and not 6' 1" lol

When I'm doing squats, my shoulders hurt. I tried to put it like in this video. I also feel that my right leg is doing more work than the left leg on squats. Bad form? No video atm. Also what's the proper way to hold the bar? I try to hold it like in the video, but it doesn't feel right. I dunno, maybe I'm just holding it wrong.

I already stalled on the press press. Yes my form is not perfect, but I couldn't do more than 2 reps of 50lbs overhead press. Is there a way to improve, or should I just start deloading back to doing press with just the bar?

I find the deadlift extremely hard to master as my lower back seems to be doing a lot of the work given the soreness I feel during and shortly after the set and rep. Are there any tips? Only tip I remember is to keep your ass up in the air, but I can't seem to maintain that when I'm coming down.

[Farley1324]

I think I put an extra inch or two in my height. Might be just 6' and not 6' 1" lol

When I'm doing squats, my shoulders hurt. I tried to put it like in this video. I also feel that my right leg is doing more work than the left leg on squats. Bad form? No video atm. Also what's the proper way to hold the bar? I try to hold it like in the video, but it doesn't feel right. I dunno, maybe I'm just holding it wrong.

I already stalled on the press press. Yes my form is not perfect, but I couldn't do more than 2 reps of 50lbs overhead press. Is there a way to improve, or should I just start deloading back to doing press with just the bar?

I find the deadlift extremely hard to master as my lower back seems to be doing a lot of the work given the soreness I feel during and shortly after the set and rep. Are there any tips? Only tip I remember is to keep your ass up in the air, but I can't seem to maintain that when I'm coming down.

Even if I believed you were not trolling, a look at your 'journal' in your sig shows you are not following SS thus your questions are not relevant to this thread.

[geokilla]

Even if I believed you were not trolling, a look at your 'journal' in your sig shows you are not following SS thus your questions are not relevant to this thread.

I am not trolling. I'm adding other exercises because I'm trying to get my form straight before I follow the program lift-for-lift. If I was trolling, I wouldn't be asking for tips and help, especially when I already stalled on the press. As you know, you can't lift too heavy with bad form unless you want to injure yourself. Notice how I did light deadlifts today in an attempt to get my form fixed?

[cody333]

I am not trolling. I'm adding other exercises because I'm trying to get my form straight before I follow the program lift-for-lift. If I was trolling, I wouldn't be asking for tips and help, especially when I already stalled on the press. As you know, you can't lift too heavy with bad form unless you want to injure yourself. Notice how I did light deadlifts today in an attempt to get my form fixed?

adding other exercises is not the program.