beginner workout from "Starting Strength"

[Rob69420]

Hi:

I just visited this page:

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow...nts_thread.htm

and was wondering if anyone knows what the beginner routine looks like since it hasn't been put up yet (only intermediate and advanced) the guy recommends buying "starting strength" and yes i will buy it, but i want to start the routine asap! so does anyone know what it looks like?

[dbcb314]

Workout A

3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift/Power Clean 5x3,alternate every workout ''A''

Workout B

3x5 Squat
3x5 Military Press
3x5 Chinups
3x8 Weighted hyperextensions/ Good mornings

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=448271



There you go. Great program Nice, simple, and effective. Remember to eat tons and work hard.

[Rob69420]

thanks for that! so how often do you do each work out ? i assume you need some time off since you're squatting both workouts.

[dbcb314]

im a little confused on the question...


when you are a pure beginner, there is no need to take time off. you can simply put weight on the bar every workout and be fine.

I think the workout is mon-A wed-B friday A then the following week mon-B wed-A friday- B

but once again, i dont understand the question

[ThaCondor]

I thought that the deadlift was 1x5 not 5x3, can someone correct me on this.

[dbcb314]

it does say 1x5....

[Rob69420]

yeah .. sorry if i was unclear. .. i was asking how often to do the workout, i.e. how many days/week so you answered for me ... i'm not a total beginer, i've actually been lifting for about 6 months and also did it for about 1 1/2 years straight 1998-1999 and then on and off between then and 6 months ago, however i've never followed a real strength routine that didn't come from someplace like FLEX magazine or the advice of less-than-knowledgable friends. do you think i should go with the beginner program or with the intermediate program in the link above ?

finally, one last question .... in the beginner workout, should i follow the part from the intermediate workout about starting with weights slightly below my known potentialand then working up, adding weight until i'm stalling on most/all exercises--->followed by lowering weights somewhat and starting over again?

[Rob69420]

what % poundage increase should be used each week?

[kethnaab]

if you get all your sets, add 5 lbs to the bar, assuming your technique was good.

for deadlifts and squats, you probably could add 10 lbs to the bar.

[9cyclops9]

I don't know who took it upon themselves to alter the routine and spread it around this and other boards, but that is NOT the program Mark Rippetoe outlined in his book. I've lost count of how many times I've seen my post almost word for word, but with the program itself changed quite a bit. I've seen it like that on several sites now, not just this one. Here is the original post, with the real program, exactly as laid out in Starting Strength.

Here's a routine for beginners suggested by Mark Rippetoe, who specializes in getting beginners big and strong. A 30-40 lb increase in muscular bodyweight over a 6 month period is pretty standard with his athletes.

Workout A

3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B

3x5 Squat
3x5 Military Press
3x5 Power Clean

Warm up using several sets before doing the 3 work sets (or 1 for the deadlift). If you're using 175, for example, it would look like this:

Warm up sets

2x5xbar (sets x reps x weight)
1x5x85
1x3x125
1x2x155

Work sets

3x5x175


You alternate workout A and B, 3 non-consecutive days per week. So you might do:

Week 1

M

Workout A

W

Workout B

F

Workout A

Week 2

M

Workout B

W

Workout A

F

Workout B


Add weight to the bar whenever possible. If you're very new to lifting weights, or if most of your lifting has focused on curls and other isolation movements, you'll probably be able to add some weight each workout. Maybe 5-10 lbs each time in the squat and deadlift, and about 5 lbs in the other three lifts. Eventually you won't be able to sustain such progress, and you'll have to get microplates so you can increase by smaller increments. Or you could make them out of chain:

http://davedraper.com/forum/showflat...3/Main/126754/

And eat a lot of food. A whole lot.

It's fine to add some assistance work such as abs, hypers, or maybe some direct biceps and triceps work, but don't overdo it. For direct arm work, 3 sets of 8 of one lift for each muscle at the end of your last workout of the week will be plenty. Your arms are getting hit hard all week on this routine, so you don't want to blast them with iso stuff as well.

The part about food is important. You MUST eat big to get big. Rippetoe recommends 4 meals per day, plus a gallon of milk spread throughout the day. That seems to be working well for me. Make the meals big. For instance, I might have an 8 oz steak, large baked potato, a big salad with olive oil and vinegar, and a large glass of milk. This is around 1000 calories for this one meal. A lot, yes, but you need a surplus to grow. You may gain some fat, but it's much easier to lose fat and preserve muscle mass than it is to gain muscle without gaining fat.

To quote Rippetoe directly,

It is possible, and quite likely, that skinny kids on this program will gain 10-15 lbs. of non-fat bodyweight in the first 2 weeks of a good barbell training program, provided they eat well. "Well" means 4 or so meals per day, based on meat and egg protein sources, with lots of fruit and vegetables, and lots of milk. Lots. Most sources within the heavy training community agree that a good starting place is one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, with the rest of the diet making up 2500-5000 calories, depending on training requirements and body composition. Although these numbers provide much eyebrow-raising and cautionary statement-issuing from the registered dietetics people, it is a fact that these numbers work well for the vast majority of trainees, and have done so for decades.

[Rob69420]

Yeah I just got the book today and was puzzled because there wasn't military press or pullups in the routines shown in his book. Yours is correct. Thanks. Do any of the movements in his basic routine work the lats?

[Guinness5.0]

Yeah I just got the book today and was puzzled because there wasn't military press or pullups in the routines shown in his book. Yours is correct. Thanks. Do any of the movements in his basic routine work the lats?

All of 'em do to some degree or another. The biggest lat hitters are the bench, deads, and cleans. Also, Mark has mentioned that pullups are fine to throw in and those are more-or-less direct lat work. You could sub out cleans for BB rows but since you have the book, I'd advise learning the cleans and doing 'em.

[Rob69420]

so where's the best place to do the add-on exercises? always on friday after the basic workout is completed? whats the limit to how many exercises can be added on to this program?

[Guinness5.0]

I wouldn't add much (actually I wouldn't add anything) but a little arm work would be fine. Soemthing like 2 sets of 8-12 reps of curls after workout A, and same thing for skullcrushers after workout B would be fine IMHO.

Remember, getting your squatting/pulling/pressing strength up and EATING is what will drive the vast majority of your gains.

[Rob69420]

okay well today was my second workout "A" day. i added 5lbs on squat and 5 lbs on deadlift no problems there. i added 5 lbs on bench for a total of 165. i stalled on the first set of bench press. i only got in 4/5 reps. so i dropped the poundage to 162.5 and rested about 5-10 minutes between sets (you're supposed to take as long as needed) and basically didn't count the first work set....i did 3 work sets at the lower weight : 162.5x3x5.

I dunno if this is right or not but what should I do when I stall to ...

A) finish the work sets

and

B) plan for the future

...

i guess next week i'll attempt 165 again .... supposing i fail in a work set should i

1) lower the poundage and start the work sets all over
2) lower the poundage and just finish the remaining work sets with lower poundage (assuming i fail in the 1st or 2nd work set)
3) just try to get in as many reps as possible with the current poundage and plan to try again next week for 3x5.