EricT

I think it's a perfectly fine idea. It's not the spelled out way to do SS which is once you hit a plateau you do a back off on that exercise to try and get it going which may result in a little more progress before another plateau and then you have to change up things.

But I really think it's about longterm progression rather that the fastest possible progression. And another thing is I hate the idea of cutting back deads to once every two weeks (with PC's in between or something) if you are still progressing on deads. I hate making deads the bad guy on things and if you're lighter squat day falls on dead day that in itself makes a huge difference. Later on in your career you will probably seldom do heavy deads AND squats on the same day.

So yeah, if you feel like you need a day to work on form and some recovery then go for it. I'm all for it and if you are still loading the bar twice a week that's still really good progression. If one of your goals is to practice form then you could do a couple sets at moderately higher reps at a weight that didn't represent a maximal effort at that rep range. This would give you more "practice" then low rep sets with more rest. As long as the weight is plenty light enough so that every rep can be done with perfect form. This is just my opinion but when it comes to form I think a little higher density works better. It's up to you though...either way is fine.

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hunt0r

Sounds good. I think I will maybe do 135 x 10, 155 x 8, and 175 x 5.

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22 yrs old
6'3 220lbs
Goals: Add lean mass and cut body fat.

EricT

Ten reps may be a little much. I was thinking more like a COUPLE sets of 7 or 8 LIGHT . If you go too high volume then you defeat the purpose of a recovery day because volume will actually incur more long lasting fatigue and it will accumulate rather than allow you extra recovery. That setup you proposed could actually make you MORE tired. There's nothing wrong with the weights they're actually pretty low for you.

You can think of it this way. If your were going to do 80 to 85 percent of your working weight for sets of five you would probably be able to do 65 to 70 percent for sets of 7 to 8 and not have that tax you too much. It's a tricky slope.

No, this program (as rip lays it out) is pretty much balls to the wall loading the bar every workout. The idea being that beginners can progress this way at this moderate volume. And then once they can no longer progress this way by any means it is time to move on to those intermediate programs with the light day as you described. That's the theory anyway. Of course I see nothing wrong with any one individual putting in a light day if they see fit. The way the program is supposed to be run is perfectly logical and tried and tested, though, don't get me wrong. My only gripe, as I've stated before, is the idea of fastest possible progression versus sustained progression. Sometimes, I really don't believe fastest possible progression is the best way to go for everyone.

EricT's Sig:

I'm tired of the myth that bb'rs aren't flexible. As a group, they are extremely flexible. They have an amazing ability to bend over, place their heads between their legs, and blow smoke up their own asses.

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hunt0r

Well my problem is that I cant get good form if the weight is too light. I know that sounds weird but when I just have the bar its just too light and I like to have atleast 135 cause I can feel the weight and really focus on my form...but I see what your saying about doing it too many times.

hunt0r's Sig:

"You can succeed if nobody else believes it, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself."
-William J.H. Boetcker

22 yrs old
6'3 220lbs
Goals: Add lean mass and cut body fat.

EricT

Well I was thinking around 155 (to start with and see how it goes) for two sets of 7 to 8.

EricT's Sig:

I'm tired of the myth that bb'rs aren't flexible. As a group, they are extremely flexible. They have an amazing ability to bend over, place their heads between their legs, and blow smoke up their own asses.

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hunt0r

Should I wear a weight belt??






jk!

hunt0r's Sig:

"You can succeed if nobody else believes it, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself."
-William J.H. Boetcker

22 yrs old
6'3 220lbs
Goals: Add lean mass and cut body fat.

EricT

Haha. That's a VERY good point though about a weight being too light to require proper form. It's what is wrong with the arbitrary thing about starting everybody with an empty bar. Of course the FIRST time you attempt to squat it should be with an empty bar but many or most will find out that is much too light and need to add to it right away because an empty bar just simply doesn't offset your center of gravity enough or even require you not to do pretty much any old crazy thing you want to in terms of form. And form is as much about what your body is going to have to do in a biomechanical sense as it is about adhering to a set of rules.

EricT's Sig:

I'm tired of the myth that bb'rs aren't flexible. As a group, they are extremely flexible. They have an amazing ability to bend over, place their heads between their legs, and blow smoke up their own asses.

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Johan

How are things going with you huntor??? Are you almost done with your starting strength? What do you plan on running next?

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Topshelf

LOL I'm not sure if Eric really covered that topic.

Hey, let us know how the back-off on Wednesday's squats goes for you. I'm debating trying that myself or the microloading, but since I'm not sore or exhausted, I'm going micro first as I think I'm still just a big sissy. lol But I'm very curious to see how it effects your progress.