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Hello everyone. My name is Justin. I am 25 years old and I have decided to do the starting strength workout to get my strength back.
Over a year ago I was in pretty good shape. I was 6’1” and about 200 lbs lean. I could bench 200 lbs, squat 315 lbs, and deadlift 405 lbs. Now I am 235 lbs and much less strong. I have kept much of my muscle, but I am no where near as strong as before (which I don’t think was super-strong to begin with).
My goal is to get all of my lost strength back and then some, if possible. After that, I may make the decision to bodybuild or powerlift, or a little of both. I also like MMA, which I will hold off on until I get my base strength.
Oddly enough, the routine I used to build strength and mass was similar to Rippetoe’s method. I would work out 3 days a week and do multi-joint exercises: Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, shoulder presses, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, rows, and powercleans.
Here we go:

September 1, 2010:
Squat: 95 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Bench Press: 75 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Deadlift: 135 lbs X 5 reps X 1 set

September 3, 2010
Squat: 105 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Press: 45 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Power Clean: 45 lbs- I just worked on getting the form down with the bar. I did a few sets of several reps

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I had a nasty cold for over a week so unfortunately, I had to stop working out. Also, I figured since I did not get that far in my progress that I should probably just reboot fresh.

September 13, 2010:
Squat: 95 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Bench Press: 75 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Deadlift: 135 lbs X 5 reps X 1 set

I don’t know if it is because my muscles are adjusting because of the muscle memory factor, or if I have actually gotten stronger from what little I have done so far, but the weight today felt pathetically easy. I am going to keep jumping the weight up in steady increments though, and hopefully I should feel a slight challenge again pretty soon.

By the way, I changed up my diet. I eat three plates of food a day, and “snack” on milk, nuts, and fruit between plates. My first plate consists of 3 eggs smothered in cheese, sour cream, and salsa; a third of a can of beans; a third of a bag of cooked mixed veggies; a table spoon of flax seed oil, and a glass of milk. My second plate consists of a pack of tuna or salmon, a third of a can of beans, and a third a bag of cooked veggies, with a glass of milk. My final plate consists of grilled chicken, tilapia, or salmon, and the rest of the beans and veggies, with milk. I drink a big protein shake of milk and protein powder after workouts. On Saturdays and Sundays, I make sure to eat what I want, including enough carbs to make me sick of them until the next weekend.

September 15, 2010:
Squat: 115 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Press: 50 lbs X 5 reps X 3 sets
Power Clean: 55 lbs X 3 reps X 5sets

Today felt much more closer to where I needed to be. My reps were slower, but still doable with proper form.

Why did you increase your squat by 20lb?

IW

Because the 95 lbs felt way too easy. You are supposed to jump between 10 lbs and 20 lbs for squats using this system depending on how easily you do the lifts. Next workout I might go back to a 10 lb jump.

And you increase it that much each week?

IW

Yes. Look up Starting Strength workout, or the Rippetoe workout on the internet.

I have done starting strength workout and I don't know what skewed version you're reading but you're supposed to add 5lb/week. Some people do 10lb/week if you are doing that exercise 2x a week ... but just let me say at 20lb increments... you will not get far.

IW

I don't think you thoroughly read my posts. I dropped 10 lbs because I was sick for a week. That felt way to easy. The bar wasn't slow at all. That is why I chose to go up 20 lbs (which is where I should have been the next workout anyways). Also, I have the book and read other things on the internet as well. Everything I read said to go up 10-15 lbs a workout on squat, 15-20 lbs a workout on deadlift, and 5-10 lbs a workout on everything else. Also, quite frankly, I was stronger before from lifting for years. My muscle memory will take over and allow for boosts in strength quickly. I hope this clarifies things.

Good luck.

IW