try digging around in your protein, the scoop may have just settled to the bottom

This

I already tried that. And coupled with the fact that the directions for use on the package refer to tablespoons and not scoops I think it is safe to conclude it didn't come with one. I will go with Shieler's idea.

You can still gain mass on SS, especially if you're a beginner, intermediate lifter.

Why not just do what the Anabolic Diet book says to do? Alternating between strength training like SS and a more typical bodybuilding routine is very productive. Mauro is a smart man.
I think you should pick up a copy of Beyond Bodybuilding by Pavel Tsatsouline to go along with Starting Strength and you'll have enough info to decide what you want to do.

is that what it says? that's a very solid recommendation

-Jef

AD does not give workout routine reccomendations, although there are some sample ones in there. It suggests rep numbers though. Says 10-15 during mass phase, then lower with heavier weight during strength phase. I'm keeping low reps for squats/deads/military press cause I have seen good results with that (see my log here), increasing them all >50% in 6 weeks, but bumping up everything else and adding a bunch of exercises in the 10-15 rep range. Talk to me about bent row. Mine has hardly gone up in 6 weeks, and I can't do cleans unless someone coaches me. should I just use machines or try jacking up the reps or what? Also do you use long rest between sets with high rep routines?

you can do power cleans without a coach. Buy starting strength, read the power clean chapter, take video of your cleans, review them and see what you're doing wrong. Fix the problems then reevaluate your form and see what else needs to be improved. If it's still not working, post your video at strengthmill.net in Rippetoe's forum, or in the digital coaching section at crossfit.com (although you'll receive some bad advice). If that's still not working, I'd say you probably need to reread ss. If that doesn't work, get a coach.

So basically, in most cases you should be able to figure it out yourself.


Regarding the stalling on rows, you need to post your log for the last couple of weeks (or a few workouts before you stalled) in order to help you. I would guess you just need to drop the weights a little bit, and work back up. You will hit many stalls in the military press, so you need to know some strategies to break through.

There is a training method called Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (TSFOSB), where you progress for awhile (in your case when you stall), then lower the weight somewhere between your stall and your starting weight, and work back up until you stall again (which should be higher than your previous stall point), repeat ad infinitum.

I would also look into some way to microload, especially for overhead presses. It's really hard to add 5 pounds, you will hit that point really soon. I'm planning on resetting then progressing in 1-5 pound increments from there on.

If you go to this site (which I suggest reading in it's entirety):
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/

there is a section on making microplates from chain bought from a hardware store.

I found holds at different heights, with weights too heavy to handle, surprisingly good at helping you up the poundage on overhead lifts.

A good amount of getting used to heavier overhead lifts is coordinating your support muscles and keeping your trunk in alignment. You start working on that immediately even if you can barely budge the weight from your shoulders. You can even get a lot of value from this quickly using big weight increases. I used this both to help get from my 54 pound KB to my 70 pound one and, after I had sold the 70 (moved to a nother city, too much junk to lug), to help move from my 54 pounder to an 88 pounder.

Held it in the rack position, tilted my body and lifted it a bit to raise it and get my body accustomed to balancing etc., and also used two hands to get the bell at full extension, then just held it locked out for a while, while moving my shoulder and body a little underneath, and -- but rarely -- even taking a step or two.

The weights became very significantly easier for me to handle -- and press -- in less than a week.

sounds like good advice

I've tinkered in the past with some barbell overhead supports: I'd put a barbell on the pins overhead in a rack, squatting underneath it and with arms locked out stand up and hold it for up to 30 seconds. Do you think this type of thing could be effective or is kind of pointless? I discontinued them because I didn't really have a plan but lately I've been reconsidering the benefits of isometric holds.

I think the benefits of holds aren't the kind of thing it's most easy to measure, but that there is basic common sense behind it that anybody can get behind. And my empirical experience backed it up more than I thought it would by far, so I guess I turned into a believer.

Since so much of strength is neuromuscular coordination, you're building up that coordination by holding the weight even if you can't press it at all. Over time that is going to ready you to make the most of whatever strength you do have.

Getting your balance just right, so the weight pushes straight down to your feet instead of angling off some way or making your abs and lower back and obliques twitch this way and that as the weight shifts, is a skill. And a pretty good one to work to ensure safety too of course. But anyway, approaching it as skill training, the way some strength athletes approach lifting as "practice" rather than a work-out, can be very productive here.

Once you get the right tension and alignment going, you have a solid base to lift off from. Without that solid base, if you're squirreling around and doing the hula under a weight, it's much harder to get any real weight up there, and the lock-out might even be a little scary.

I'm pretty confident that if you approach holds fresh, have some patience, and use a heavy weight, you can get the same benefits I did. I've got zero special going for me. Try holds both in the rack position -- where the weight can be VERY heavy for you -- and at full extension. Don't do them when you're tired or unfocused, as you're trying to burn in that full-body coordination/precise neural pathways, and getting into sloppy and fuzzy mindset and motion will be counterproductive.

This is another thing btw that is great to do as a GTG thing. Just grab a heavy weight, even one that takes two hands to get to your shoulder, and do two 30 second rack holds per side, alternating sides between holds; or four 15 second rack holds per side, alternating. Maybe shift your weight from one leg to another to cue your body and mind at some points as to how your body should work when handling heavy weight up there. Really concentrate on keeping your alightment good and tight, like you're prepared to explode the weight up to the top even though you aren't going to be doing any pressing.

You can do the same thing after muscling the weight up to full extension with two hands. Just be extremely careful about balance. Rotate your scapula/shoulder so it your shoulder sets in and out of the pocket is very good here.

You'll be done in just a few minutes and you'll have given your brain more of a work-out than you'll probably think you did. Do it a few times a night, at least an hour apart. The results will probably surprise you, and pretty quickly.

Note that I'm talking about doing this with weights you find notably heavier than you can lift already. That's what prompts the neuromuscular learning. If your body can handle the weight already, in my mind you might as well just press it or do something more rewarding, because you're not really teaching your body or mind anything new that is directly pertinent to lifting something heavier than you've lifted before.

There may be fans of isometric holds who think of them and use them differently. I'm just talking about my experience and understanding when using very heavy weights in overhead presses.

I find most of my failed overhead press attempts occur from the top of my head (or lower, if the weight is simply way too heavy), so I'm not sure doing the holds would give me much benefit, as it's pretty clearly the deltoids/triceps which are failing to lift the weight. In particular, I think it's that point in the movement where one muscle starts to take over from another muscle. I'll give it a shot though, as some of my difficult attempts have put me slightly off balance (more from stalling than from lack of core strength imo).

for the post work out shake group


http://www.performancemenu.com/forum...ead.php?t=2518

some spreadsheets that may be useful for the 5x5 people who like to have everything laid out in front of them and make life easier.
A lot of the links are broken, but the Bill Starr basic power and the second UW link would be helpful to a lot of people here. The Gillingham deadlift spreadsheet also works and looks interesting. Could be helpful.

Just enter your 1RM or whatever it asks for at the top of the sheet for the specific lift.

http://www.irongarmx.net/gpl.html

wow. more thoughts or information on this?

I looked up the Aragorn guy and his credentials are very good. I read one roundtable with him and he puts every tnation article to shame. He basically debunked tnations 3 biggest product pushing theories in 3 responses, and the other people in the roundtable seem very good. Not a single one of them even mentions the tnation authors or nutritionists as reputable sources. I am pleasantly surprised. http://www.alanaragon.com/articles.html

gonna read more of this guys site in the future

Do the holds in those particular sticky spots then. Remember it doesn't matter if you really get through them on the holds at all. You are just training your body to align and tense correctly underneath in a coordinated, unified way, and it will do that differently when you increase weight. And you are training your arm and shoulder to be up there with that much weight too, without tensing up incorrectly or having to deal with any messed up lower body tension/alignment. Just holding a heavy weight will start to get your body ready to press it. I think of it like a magnet aligning the magnet poles of metal filings all in one direction and then starting to move them in one direction. Just a little more power you can direct the right way instead of the wrong way adds up to a lot more strength.

You might like bodyrecomposition.com as well.

Hmm how the hell do you hold on during SLDLs (no deload)? I do standard DLs at 245 with an alternating grip just fine, but today tried to do SLDLs for the first time, did 145x15, felt OK, threw on 20 more lbs and I couldn't hang onto the bar with double overhand. Ugh.

Grip work will fix that in anywhere from a week to a month.

mmm food

What kind of row would you guys recommend if you only have access to dumbells?

At the moment I'm doing a one arm row, with one arm and one knee on a bench, are there any better options? Something more similar to a pendlay row perhaps?

I mean you COULD try to do a pendlay row with DB's, but I think the one you are doing now is fine.

Problem is DB's are probably too small to be doing pendlay rows properly.

the heaviest DBs they have are 38kg, which is what I'm using for the one armed rows.