Ok, need a few tips here... I've been on the starting strength routine by Mark Rippetoe for 3 months now and was thinking of switching it up since my gains on the big 3 are slowing down. Any idea what routine I can switch to? I seem most comfortable with the 3x5 rep and set range.
An easy to follow and effective program is Joe DeFrancos West Side for Skinny Bastards. Here is a link to the 3rd edition. http://defrancostraining.com/articles/articles.htm
buy practical programming what you probably need to do is to switch to weekly pr's instead of every workout
What is your squat in respect to your bodyweight? I stopped Rippetoe's because my gains slowed down and wasted my time on alot of routines which were not relevant to me. Now Im back to doing 5 heavy sets of 5 and in just 1 week I can squat my 5 rep max for 5 sets rather than 1 which I couldnt before. The best routine is 5 heavy sets of squats with the same weight. Add 5lbs when you get all the reps. Start with a light-ish weight (about 5-10kg away from your 5RM) and build up momentum.
this should help: http://www.the-elite-edge.com/main.php?go=viewPost&pID=39 http://www.the-elite-edge.com/main.php?go=viewPost&pID=40 http://www.the-elite-edge.com/main.php?go=viewPost&pID=41 The second article is about the intermediate athlete.
Are you sure it's not a rest or diet problem? Have you gone through a back-off period yet? How strong are you?
Well god damn am I the biggest idiot ever to have only realised now that I mistook 3x5 to be 3 reps of 5 sets.
I do 6 sets of 3. Am I a god damn idiot? I'm not doing ripptoe though. Is 6x3 of a constant weight usefull or is the volume counter productive? Would I be better off going to a 2x3 2x2 2x1 or just a 3x3 like bill star recommends?
Starting Strength contains a novice progression. To learn how to lift for the rest of your life, buy Practical Programming. The two are meant to work together.
If you want to continue alone using the same sort of training methodology, buy rippetoes practical programming. He explains what to do once you progress slows down on the starting strength routine. In short, when you move from the novice to intermediate phase you need to start making weekly progress rather then progress from workout to workout.
