Weight lifting... size vs strength? page 6

[brookesam]

531 is quite straightforward, SS and Stronglifts even more so. If you find those programs too technical, I'm not sure what to tell you.

Not to technical. It's just not what I'm used to. Like I stated previously, I'm used to going into the gym and pushing myself. Not following a program to the t. Not that my results to this point have been bad but I'm going to decide on a program and stick with it and see if I get better results.

[Wanderlust]

So Wanderlust... in the meantime until I have access to barbells with weight plates and a squat rack, is there any benefit for me to use the regular weighted barbells instead of the dumbells I've been using for bench presses? I have to use dumbells for the single leg deadlift.

Something is better than nothing I guess. But your gains are going to suffer until you get better equipment or a better gym.

Side note: I had to harass my gym to buy barbell that don't flex under 300 lbs and/or have terrible knurling. I think they just got sick of me bleeding from deadlifts. So correct equipment matters.

[Owly]

Not to technical. It's just not what I'm used to. Like I stated previously, I'm used to going into the gym and pushing myself. Not following a program to the t. Not that my results to this point have been bad but I'm going to decide on a program and stick with it and see if I get better results.

Programs don't mean you don't push yourself. They mean that you push yourself in planned and strategic ways.

[Scott F]

I don't feel comfortable giving advice for lifts like squats to someone new to weight training.

Your progress (how you respond to training) is going to be largely determined by your genetics T NATION | The Truth About Bodybuilding Genetics. Some people gain size without a corresponding increase in strength. Others might gain a lot of strength without a corresponding increase in size. You have to experiment with sets/reps and duration and gauge your progress. Keep a log of weights used and reps. Different body parts might respond to different number of reps. For example, my legs respond to a 20 rep range while my upper body responds to 10-12 rep range.

[sbhikes]

Right now on the strong lifts website he has a video of his workout A. It's a really good video. He basically filmed the entire boring workout, rest breaks and everything, but over that he talks and explains all kinds of stuff. Here's the video on youtube:
StrongLifts 5x5 Workout A: FULL Video (Official) - YouTube

I'm not doing a program like strong lifts or starting strength either. But I did get a lot of useful information out of the starting strength book and out of that strong lifts video. What I decided to do, based on advice in both, was to split up all the exercises my trainer gave me and do the ones that are the big compound things first and then do the others that aren't afterward or on another day. Also, I'm going to push myself to move up heavier by doing reps of 5 at a heavier weight when 8 is too hard, rather than doing 10 or 12 with a lighter weight.

That's my plan for now.

[AdamC29]

Good thread.

I am also starting to do the 5x5 Stronglifts protocol but I am struggling to get the time to train on the weights more than once a week.

Would anyone think there would be a problem with doing it once a week and training all 5 exercises in one session and I am doing squash and sports specific training on top and dont want to burn out.

I dont mind that the gains will be slower, I am in it for the long haul.

Any thoughts?

[beachcampin]

I'm not doing a program like strong lifts or starting strength either. But I did get a lot of useful information out of the starting strength book and out of that strong lifts video. What I decided to do, based on advice in both, was to split up all the exercises my trainer gave me and do the ones that are the big compound things first and then do the others that aren't afterward or on another day. Also, I'm going to push myself to move up heavier by doing reps of 5 at a heavier weight when 8 is too hard, rather than doing 10 or 12 with a lighter weight.

That's my plan for now.[/QUOTE]


sbhikes, I started out very similarly to you. I took the info from the form, but I didn't think that only doing three exercises in one workout was enough, so I added and added. Ultimately, my gains suffered and I could never make real progress. This last month I decided to simplify and do SS exactly as recommended by Coach Rip. I have to say the improvements have been incredible for me. I farted around all summer but was still able to make gains this last month as a novice as predicted in SS by increasing weight every time and only doing three exercises per workout. I would eat a relatively huge meal after each workout. I didn't feel as tired after each workout, but I was physically tired at bedtime so I knew my body was being taxed. I was probably overtraining before and wasn't able to fully recover since I was training everything. If I was still feeling like I didn't work out enough, I would go for a walk, a leisurely swim or play Wii and keep things relatively light.

SS is only intended to be a starting point to build a foundation of strength as quickly as possible. I think that the massive improvements that can be made with SS will translate into better, more satisfying results later. For now, I'm content to continue to enjoy the quick returns of a novice while it lasts.

I would also do all of the warmup sets as recommended. If your working sets are only a bit more than the empty bar, then you could probably get the same effect by doing unweighted squats. You would get the warmup effect, but not the form practice. In the end, I think it would still be worth it. You'll be adding more weight soon enough and will have enough room in your progression to do empty bar warmups.

[sbhikes]

Yeah, that's the thing. My working sets are just the bar or just a little bit more than the bar. And a few of them are less than the bar. That's another thing I took from the books/videos is to do warmups with just the bar. I do that even if I then put a couple of those 2.5lb weights on there.

[Wanderlust]

If your gym has curl bars (straight, not EZ) you could warm up with those, 20lb, 30lb etc.

[brookesam]

Right now on the strong lifts website he has a video of his workout A. It's a really good video. He basically filmed the entire boring workout, rest breaks and everything, but over that he talks and explains all kinds of stuff. Here's the video on youtube:
StrongLifts 5x5 Workout A: FULL Video (Official) - YouTube

I'm not doing a program like strong lifts or starting strength either. But I did get a lot of useful information out of the starting strength book and out of that strong lifts video. What I decided to do, based on advice in both, was to split up all the exercises my trainer gave me and do the ones that are the big compound things first and then do the others that aren't afterward or on another day. Also, I'm going to push myself to move up heavier by doing reps of 5 at a heavier weight when 8 is too hard, rather than doing 10 or 12 with a lighter weight.

That's my plan for now.

Thanks for the video link... I'm going to check it out. Until I decide what program I want to go with, 5 reps with a heavy weight is what I'm aiming for also.