End of Starting Strength Novice Phase

Well its the end of the Starting Strength Novice phase for me.  In two months i have upped my bodyweight and made good gains in strength.

Bodyweight
Start 160lbs
End 185lbs

Back Squat
Start 185 3 x 5
End 275 3 x 5

Press
Start 85 3 x 5
End 130 3 x 4-5

Deadlift
Start 225 x 5
End 290 x 5

Bench Press
Start 155 3 x 5
End 195 3 x 5

I followed the novice routine outlined in Practical Programming and added weight to each lift every workout, with a few back off periods.  My decision to move onto the intermediate phase was based on a few things, but  I mainly just missed my sport of juijitsu alot.  I was able to go a few times a week, but with all the lifting, eating,  and squatting my performance pretty much sucked on the mat.  I knew that was going to be the result of concentrating on other things, but in the end grappling is always #1 for me.  I think my strength levels are high enough not to have to worry about being overpowered at whatever weight i settle into.  Also the squats were getting heavy enough that i felt i was not completely recovering in time for the next workout.  Could i have made better progress by not grappling at all and eating even more?  Probably so.

My plan is now to put together an intermediate phase program tailored more to fit in with my grappling practice.  My initial thoughts are to have:

Day 1 Low volume/high intensity day, something like 3 x 3 on a few basic barbell lifts.  Probably rotate between squats, presses, deadlifts, bench, and chins.  This will allow me to keep my strength gains and i can still increase the weight on the bar, though slower.

Day 3  A conditioning session or a lighter lifting day.

Day 5  Focus on power and speed strength.  I would like to start Olympic lifting on this day once i get some teaching from a local coach.

I think this 3-4 days of juijitsu practice is doable, especially if i can get a strength and a grappling session in on the same day.

Overall i am very happy with how i did on the Novice Phase of Starting Strength.  While my lifts are nothing spectacular that is the most i have ever squatted before.  I’ve gained a decent amount of muscle that i can hopefully keep once i work on shedding this fat.  Hope in the next phase i work on making this strength i have gained applicaple to my grappling game, as well as continue to put more weight on the bar on a weekly basis.

Anton

Squatting to Parallel

So i am still making progress on Starting Strength.  I am at times physically tired of eating so much food.  The other day i bought a five gallon bucket of doughnuts at Voodoo Doughnuts for $5.  Yes, i know not the healthiest choice, but a good caloric bang for the buck.  Suffice to say i don’t want to see any doughnuts for a while. I ate a bunch and brought the rest to work.

I was set to squat 275lbs last week, which is a PR for me, and decided to bring my Macbook in to video my form using the iSight camera and iMovie.  I do my warm up sets, setup the laptop, and load on 275 and did five reps.  Watching the footage i realized i was squatting high, at least several inches to high.  Frustarated i took off some weight and did it again, still high.  So dropped it back down to 225 and did 3 x 5 making sure to go to parallel each time.  I am now working my way back up in weight making sure i do it right.

In a parallel squat we are looking for the crease of the hips to drop below the kneecap, as in the picture below.

This fully engages the hamstrings and glutes, the prime movers in this exercise.  Its better to use less weight and do it right then pile on more weight and use incorrect form.  You’re just cheating yourself, and its not a full squat, its a half or quarter squat.  It helps to film yourself or have someone along who knows what to look for when the weight gets heavy.  Heavy squats are hard, and its easier to think you must be going parallel, when in actuality you might not be.

I’ll be going to Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength seminar in Janruary, and am looking forward to learning more about the basic barbell exercises.

Anton