Cool. I still think you should concentrate more on higher reps for now. Oh, also I thought of one more tip that I use. You may have a tendency to jut your head forward to "meet" the weight. To either make up for too much weight (lighten it) or to compensate for lack of ROM or both. One thing I do is to look up while doing the pulls. I don't mean point your face up only to avert your eyes a little upward. I know it sounds funny but it tends to keep me from pulling my head forward which is a bad thing to be doing. You head tends to want to follow you eyes. So when you have those two forces opposing, i.e. then instinct to just your head forward and the tendency for your head to follow you gaze they cancel each other out and you get more of a neutral head position. Now, I wouldn't necessarily advice this for other things but it works well for this.

Hi everyone, I haven't posted in a while again, so here's a snapshot of where I am and my thoughts. Overall my workouts the past two months have been really good. I feel fresh every time I walk in the gym and I'm not killing myself like I did with the Rippetoe's...that was way too aggressive for an old guy like me. (And honestly, I wasn't eating right to support it). My injuries are mostly gone and I've been able to focus on getting stronger again.

LOWER 1 - Tuesday PM
Deadlift 2x8x205
Bulgarian Split Squat 2x10x40s
Russian Twist
Hanging Knee Raise

UPPER 1 - Thursday PM
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 3x6x90s
Pull-ups 6x6x6x4x4
Standing Dumbbell OH Press 2x15x35s
Seated Cable Row 3x7x112.5

LOWER 2 - Saturday AM
Squat 3x6x200
GHR 1x5
Cable Pull Through 2x15x110
Russian Twist
Hanging Knee Raise

UPPER 2 - Sunday AM
Standing Dumbbell OH Press 3x8x50s
Pull-ups 7x6x5x4x3x2x1
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (Unilateral) 2x12x60s
Face Pull 2x15x90
Dumbbell Curl 2x10x35s
Skull Crusher 2x10x75

Here's what I'm thinking and how I've been progressing:

LOWER 1 - Featuring Deadlift
Deadlift, lower weight, higher reps for two reasons. Scared of putting too much stress on my lower back with higher weight. I feel I get a much better lower body workout doing higher reps. My legs are really spent after the eight rep. Progressing up to 2x8, then add 5 pounds for 2x6 and work up to 2x8.
Bulgarian Split Squat - Accessory for Squats

UPPER 1 - Featuring Flat Dumbbell Bench Press and Cable Row
Bench Press is coming along very nicely. I just graduated to 90 pounders and will work up to 8 rep sets, then go to 95 pounders.
Pull-ups, no real plan except I shoot for 24 - 25 reps total. Usually pretty short rest, about a minute, in between sets.
Standing Dumbbell OH Press on this day is accessory, lower weight, higher reps, pretty fast, not near failure.
Seated Cable Row, challenging weight 3x8, then progress to next plate for 3x6

As I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I should change the pull-ups on this workout to last to be fresher for Rows.

LOWER 2 - Featuring Squat
Squats - I thought I'd never be able to say this, but I'm Squatting for progression again. I'm getting quite low too, definitely past parallel. My progression is unconventional (I think) but it's been working. I move up 5 pounds for 3x5, work up to 3x6, then move up 5 pounds again. I'm not at the same weight for too long, but I'm not adding weight too fast either. I've been doing this for about 6 weeks now and it's going well. I may have to slow it down and microload for 2 1/2 pound progression soon.
GHR is non-machine, just hooking my ankles under something and on my knees. Accessory for Deadlift. I can only do negatives, but I can now do three good negatives (without using my arms), the last two I have to save myself or else I'll slam down. Believe it or not, this is progress considering I couldn't do one negative when I started these a while back.
Cable Pull Through - Accessory for Deadlift. High reps, lower weight. I concentrate on Glute activation with this.

UPPER 2 - Featuring Standing Dumbbell Over Head Press
Standing Dumbbell OH Press, progression like Bench Press.
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press (Unilateral) - Accessory. By unilateral, I mean keeping the non-working dumbbell in the air and work one arm at a time. Low weight, higher reps. I mix it up here and do different low weight high rep bench stuff from week to week.
Face Pull - Row accessory.
I do bi's and tri's because this is an easier day and I have 4 days recovery until UPPER 1, and because I can't help myself. :biglaugh:

Everything looks really good. Lots of good choices in here. Sticking to db's for overhead work for example. Everything in it's place and for a clear purpose.

I think the thing about Ripp's is not about being older per se, but about the "baggage" we come in with. So obviously comes into play a lot when we're older but the truth is you take a young guy who's been doing enough crazy crap for long enough, but is really still a beginner, and he could have similar problems with the SS.

On the pullups and row question, keep in mind that whatever comes first in the 'week' is prioritized just as whatever comes first in the workout. You do rows first and rows become top dog. Also, with pullups, pretty much everything you do with the upper body tends to affect them. You could also think about putting facepulls after pullups on upper one and do rows then pullups on upper two. You'll probably have better success on rows and facepulls that way. Facepulls work well after pullups as compared to rows, imo. But anything goes really.

For your lower back I'd suggest you start putting in timed planks, side planks (works you all the way around), hyperextensions (and static hyperextension). And whatever else core stabibility stuff you'd like to sprinkle in. The trick is to build up strength endurance in the back and core in general. BW hyperextensions to start will be safe enough to do and the statics will help tremendously. Then you can begin adding weight. High reps. Endurance is what it is all about if you want your back to be able to handle the deads. And although caution is good, SCARED is not. Look at the things you are afraid of happening as a challenge to improve.

Nothing unconventianal about your squat progression.

Good luck Phil

Oh, and btw, you've got the same russian twists and hanging knee raise in both lowers. Do something different the second time. Maybe think about some overhead db side bends and one of those static stabibility things I talked about.

Eric, Thanks for your comments.

Scared was too strong a word, careful is more appropriate. My lower back has been been feeling good and all it takes one mistake to ruin things for a while. You're points are taken, and I will give my back some attention again. BTW, I still use the foam roller on my back all the time. It really helps keep it feeling good.

Yeah, foam roller is my friend. Now that your are paying particular attention to your glutes you will probably need to start rolling them too. And also a good thing is to use the foam roller to work on thoracic mobility. Put it underneath the scapula and at points a little lower, place your hands behind you head and try to push your elbows "upwards" meaning in the same direction as your head, and stretch the upper back while keeping the lower back set (tighten abs and glutes). I've discovered a lot of my lower back discomfort comes from trigger points in my glutes.

Hello?

Echo, echo, echo....

:biglaugh:

Update this puppy for God's sake. I want to know how things are going.

It has been awhile............:biglaugh:

Yeah, I should start updating more often. It's just that I'm cruising along feeling good about my routine. Progressing on the main lifts. Mixing it up on the accessories. I'll try posting weekly.

Oh, well, hell that's great. It sounds like to me you feel good and confident about what your are doing and are just "doing your thing" needing nobody but you and your weights. That's fantastic, Phil.

Edit* Here's my less is more rewording.

Awesome! I'm glad things are going well for you and you feel good about them. Keep up the good work! :)

Much better.