Experiences with Starting Strength? page 2

[JL22]

I tried that after a while and it didn't "work". Strength suffered and the lifts were much harder. If you plan to do SS on maintenance or deficit then as Coach Rip would say YNDTFP!!

Hmm that's probably true. So what do you think I should do, just drop the program all together? I wouldn't really mind stalling lots or anything, I just need some sort of 2 day a week program to keep my muscles used whilst I'm trying to drop a bit of fat.

[tcb]

SS is leaving me incredibly battered... My training will be hit and miss over the next couple of weeks with work and travel obligations. Hoping to use this time to let my old joints heal up a bit and then switching to something like the lean gains RPT where I do the big lifts once a week to see if that allows me to keep up the intensity without as much wear and tear.

[Dirlot]

Hmm that's probably true. So what do you think I should do, just drop the program all together? I wouldn't really mind stalling lots or anything, I just need some sort of 2 day a week program to keep my muscles used whilst I'm trying to drop a bit of fat.

Eat!
Build the strength and the muscle will follow. When you need to cut down you will be able to do so easily with a good muscle base.

[David Garner]

I'm currently doing Stronglifts 5x5, but I have the SS book and the DVD on order, so I plan to eventually transition to SS.

Stronglifts is great for beginning lifters because it is laid out very well, it's simple, and there is an iPhone app and an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to easily keep up with my workouts. I don't know when I'll transition to SS, but I eventually want to do so in order to get the cleans and pullups in place of the rows. But for now, Stronglifts seems to be working well, so I'm sticking with it for the time being. I initially bought Starting Strength just to get my form down (Mehdi's form videos are okay, but not great). But after reading up a bit, I like the concept, so I'm going to give it a whirl down the line a bit.

[JL22]

Eat!
Build the strength and the muscle will follow. When you need to cut down you will be able to do so easily with a good muscle base.

I'd love to do it this way, but the way I see myself at the moment is really demotivating. I'd honestly happily do that if I were just able to lose about 10lbs first, from a purely psychological perspective. In my mind bulking up is more acceptable at 184lbs @ 12-13% body fat than at 194 @ 18%.

[JL22]

I'm currently doing Stronglifts 5x5, but I have the SS book and the DVD on order, so I plan to eventually transition to SS.

Stronglifts is great for beginning lifters because it is laid out very well, it's simple, and there is an iPhone app and an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to easily keep up with my workouts. I don't know when I'll transition to SS, but I eventually want to do so in order to get the cleans and pullups in place of the rows. But for now, Stronglifts seems to be working well, so I'm sticking with it for the time being. I initially bought Starting Strength just to get my form down (Mehdi's form videos are okay, but not great). But after reading up a bit, I like the concept, so I'm going to give it a whirl down the line a bit.

I'm a big fan of stronglifts also, but the extra squats seems like overkill to me! Haha!

[Fernaldo]

I'd love to do it this way, but the way I see myself at the moment is really demotivating. I'd honestly happily do that if I were just able to lose about 10lbs first, from a purely psychological perspective. In my mind bulking up is more acceptable at 184lbs @ 12-13% body fat than at 194 @ 18%.

You have to mentally put all that stuff aside and just commit to the program. You don't have to drink a gallon of milk a day to do SS. You can eat "paleo" and still do the program. Just like Rip says, if you're pudgy, don't go super heavy on carbs. Dial in your diet as to facilitate adding weight to the bar frequently and get plenty of rest. You are not going to blow up. If anything you will drop some fat and gain some muscle. It takes time. I have dealt with cutting and bulking and find it's a lot more fun to get strong than get skinny .

[JL22]

You have to mentally put all that stuff aside and just commit to the program. You don't have to drink a gallon of milk a day to do SS. You can eat "paleo" and still do the program. Just like Rip says, if you're pudgy, don't go super heavy on carbs. Dial in your diet as to facilitate adding weight to the bar frequently and get plenty of rest. You are not going to blow up. If anything you will drop some fat and gain some muscle. It takes time. I have dealt with cutting and bulking and find it's a lot more fun to get strong than get skinny .

I thought that you can't drop fat whilst gaining muscle? I'm rather seriously considering this approach because I know Stronglifts' Mehdi talks about losing fat whilst gaining muscle too but I always thought that it was one of those myths that people try to achieve but can't do.

[Fernaldo]

You can do both, but its a very slow process for most. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to get lean or get strong, both? If you combine them it just takes longer. You could do SS or 5x5 and incorporate LeanGains (body recomp) for a slow fatloss while increasing strength. Leaning out is all about diet. Restricting calories. Most people don't make great strength gains when restricting. So its a yin-yang type of thing. You just have to decide what you want to do... just remember it's a lot easier to shed fat than it is to build muscle.

[pacificBeef]

I thought that you can't drop fat whilst gaining muscle? I'm rather seriously considering this approach because I know Stronglifts' Mehdi talks about losing fat whilst gaining muscle too but I always thought that it was one of those myths that people try to achieve but can't do.

you lose fat and muscle on a caloric deficit. you can spare a lot of muscle while lifting heavy on a caloric deficit. If you want to be lean, cut your calories.

to gain mass, you need to be in a calorie surplus plain and simple. muscle mass doesn't always equal strength. strength is a combination of your nervous system and muscle.

you can gain a bit of strength while losing fat on a caloric deficit if you're a newbie. it's difficult to gain strength, gain muscle mass and lose fat at the same time so I think you're better off cutting to get lean first but use a program that preserves your strength and muscle.

In my opinion, you can continue starting strength at a caloric deficit but lower volume. You can maintain intensity by slowing your rep cadence and think more about control and muscle contraction rather than heaving heavy weights.

Once you're at desirable level of leanness, you can add more calories. Gaining muscle mass while staying lean is slow but in my opinion is better than quickly gaining mass (fat and muscle), then cutting then repeating the cycle over and over.