Starting strength enough for gaining mass?

[Torak]

Im gonna really briefly describe my situation. So, Im 19 years old, Ive been doing karate for 4 years, lifting weights for 2 years. I had some health issues with my liver for the last 4 months so I havent worked out and my diet wasnt that good either, now Im ok and Im gonna start again.
Now I have 3 months of holidays, time to get in a great shape. I want to start boxing and after 2 months or so also MMA. I would do these trainings 3-4 times a week. Also I want to start lifting weights again to gain more weight and strenght. Im 6'1 200 lbs 12 % bodyfat. In these 3 months Id like to get to 220-230 and max 15 % bodyfat. Also I would like to increase strength because I feel I got weaker during these last 4 months of no lifting.

People here told me to do Starting strength for beginners since I had such a big lay off. But its just 3 basic exercises each time and just few sets. Do you think this will be enough for me to accomplish my goals I wrote above? Maybe the first month it would be a good way to get back to training. But do you think it will be enough during all the 3 months to gain that size and strength? Because Im used to more intense workouts than the Starting strenght for beginners. Ive had a big layoff but Im not a comlpete noob, I have something behind me already.
What do you suggest?

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

People here told me to do Starting strength for beginners since I had such a big lay off. But its just 3 basic exercises each time and just few sets. Do you think this will be enough for me to accomplish my goals I wrote above?

It should certainly be enough stimulus for you to gain strength and size. And if it's not, you can stop and do something with more volume, or with restructured intensity/volume. Though I doubt you'll need to.

 

[Tosa]

Since you're coming back from a break, Starting Strength is a good idea, regardless of any past lifting experience. Run it for as long as it works, however long that end up being. Then move on to something else.

 

[Torak]

Alright then, thank you. And one more thing. People told me I should run starting strength exactly like it is, follow it strictly, not change any exercises. But do you think it would be really that bad if I would change power clean for something else? I know its a reat compound exercise and Id like to do it, but last time I did it was when I was starting with weights 2 years ago and I f.cked up my lower back that time. I have nobody to teach me that technique and I doubt I will learn it properly just by watching some tutorial videos, I dont want to risk it.
Do you think I should do that powerclean anyway but with very light weight or can I exchange it for something?

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

Alright then, thank you. And one more thing. People told me I should run starting strength exactly like it is, follow it strictly, not change any exercises. But do you think it would be really that bad if I would change power clean for something else? I know its a reat compound exercise and Id like to do it, but last time I did it was when I was starting with weights 2 years ago and I f.cked up my lower back that time. I have nobody to teach me that technique and I doubt I will learn it properly just by watching some tutorial videos, I dont want to risk it.
Do you think I should do that powerclean anyway but with very light weight or can I exchange it for something?

Many people do a BOR instead of the PC.

 

[Andrewwawa]

The answer is yes.

Alright then, thank you. And one more thing. People told me I should run starting strength exactly like it is, follow it strictly, not change any exercises. But do you think it would be really that bad if I would change power clean for something else? I know its a reat compound exercise and Id like to do it, but last time I did it was when I was starting with weights 2 years ago and I f.cked up my lower back that time. I have nobody to teach me that technique and I doubt I will learn it properly just by watching some tutorial videos, I dont want to risk it.
Do you think I should do that powerclean anyway but with very light weight or can I exchange it for something?

Bent over rows instead of power cleans is fine.
If you're really looking for good power for mma and stuff I suggest power cleans though, you should be able to get a handle on it using internet resources and putting videos up on here for form check. I learned to clean by myself.

 

[Torak]

Really? Cool, so I will do clean then. Did you learn it from Mark Rippertoe tutorial or somewhere else?

 

[Andrewwawa]

Really? Cool, so I will do clean then. Did you learn it from Mark Rippertoe tutorial or somewhere else?

I don't really appreciate rippetoe's idea of a shrug and jump, or whatever he says. I think his videos are better but I'm currently trying to learn to snatch from pendlay: and he has a good progression for cleans too.


Remember to post up videos of form checks so other doggers can help you.

 

[Tosa]

I'm of the opinion that if you're going to clean or power clean, take the time to learn it right, and not do some sort of bastardized deadlift-jump-shrug thing. It'll take time, taking video, asking others for feedback, and willingness to keep the weight on the bar appropriate rather than letting ego get the best of you. If you don't want to do that, there's plenty of other good exercises that are less technically demanding.

 

[Cygnus-X]

Rippetoe proposes a jump and shrug? Never read that in his books.

 

[LZD]

Rippetoe's version of SS in his later books drops PCs in favour of Chin-ups/Pull-ups.

Look up Practical Programming Novice Program and the Wichita Falls version of SS. He recommends adding PCs later on.

 

[Andrewwawa]

I'm of the opinion that if you're going to clean or power clean, take the time to learn it right, and not do some sort of bastardized deadlift-jump-shrug thing. It'll take time, taking video, asking others for feedback, and willingness to keep the weight on the bar appropriate rather than letting ego get the best of you. If you don't want to do that, there's plenty of other good exercises that are less technically demanding.

A+
post.

 

[dawnslayer]

Starting strength is good but not a must. Let's be real bro, you can see mass gains from doing fucking pushups - anything that you push yourself in and causes hypertrophy will inevitably make you bigger provided you take in the kcals and protein.

That said if you want to do MMA and boxing - fucking go for it, they will shred you (though not even close to swimming) do both, lift and cardio. Don't be the dumb fuck i was and gain a shitload of weight (some muscle some fat) only to have big arms and a fucking belly that you have to shred off and lose muscle mass in the process.

 

[Torak]

Don't be the dumb fuck i was and gain a shitload of weight (some muscle some fat) only to have big arms and a fucking belly that you have to shred off and lose muscle mass in the process.

How should I avoid it? I want to gain a lot of muscle.

 

[Torak]

Hmmm I think I will add that pwoer clean later to my routine and now do pullups instead, because only deadlifts seems to me very little for back. I think pullups is a great direct back work that should only help. And meanwhile Im gonna try to learn the proper technqiue of powerclean.

 

[Andrewwawa]

Hmmm I think I will add that pwoer clean later to my routine and now do pullups instead, because only deadlifts seems to me very little for back. I think pullups is a great direct back work that should only help. And meanwhile Im gonna try to learn the proper technqiue of powerclean.

That is a decent plan. You'll find that the power clean is a great engagement for the lats, if you're worried about that.

If your only/main goal is to look bigger
1. you're on the wrong forum
2. starting strength wont be the plan that does it by itself. HOWEVER, it is a great base for all weight lifting endeavors as its the best way to start lifting heavy fast.

if you are a noob though, you will see significant muscle gain either way if you eat.

 

[Chucknate]

Hate to break it to you, but 20-30 pounds of mostly muscle in 3 months is a pipe dream. 1 lb a week is a TON and even that's unlikely. Lifting is something that needs to be done for a long period of time for you to really see results. It's taken me 3 years to accomplish what you hope to get in 3 months.

Aside from that, yes, starting strength is a great program to get you started with strength training. Just don't expect to look like Zeus anytime soon.

 

[DrBdan]

Don't worry specifically about gaining muscle, worry about getting stronger. You can probably do that for a while without gaining much weight and once the lifting sessions get harder you can eat a bit more to help with recovery. Don't just gain weight for the sake of it.