Just some random questions about SS .. I've been doing it for about 4 weeks now, and im liking it so far.

1. On the squats (ATG) i noticed that my knees dont both point in the same direction on the way up. For example, one might be 35 degrees and the other is 25 degrees. Both my toes are pointing at the same angle so not sure exactly what it could be ... should I be concerned about this? I havent been experiencing any knee/back pain so wasnt sure.

2. I'm finding that i'm not feeling sore after workouts anymore. But its not like the amounts im lifting are super easy either. In addition to the core workouts, I normally add some ab work, pullups, dips, and then 20-30 minutes of cardio. Is it possible that my workouts arent intense enough? I was under the impression that between each set, you are suppose to rest 3-4 minutes, but i find im "ready to go" after about 2 minutes. Thoughts?

3. At what point should i stop SS and do something else? Right now i'm doing 195 for squats (going up 5 lbs every workout, so 15lbs a week), 215 bench (5 lbs a workout), 245 deadlift, 115 press (5 lbs), and 115 power clean (probably could do more here, but started out low to work on form). I have only done one reset so far (push press) and that was due to shoulder pain unrelated to doing SS ... so once I've done 2 resets on a particular exercise, what next? What should be my SS goal, and what am I suppose to be looking to do after SS? Personally, I dont really want to become HUGE, i'd prefer to have more like a gymnasts body than a powerlifter, so benching 350+lbs and squatting 600lbs isnt really something I desire to spend time aiming for.

Thanks!

Stick with it, if the lifts are easy, add 10 pounds per workout instead of 5.

Are you doing chins AND dips on the same day?

Your knees should be pointing the same ways as your toes.

What do you mean by a "push press"? AFAIK thats different from the Military press, which is what SS calls for.

Your numbers seem a little wierd. Have you been working on bench for a while? Id say it was pretty unusual for bench> squat

yeah, its not a big deal though, i use to do 60-100 pullups and 20x17 dips every workout, so doing a couple of sets now instead really isnt doing much except maintaining.

sorry i meant military press

no i had benched in more than 2-3 years when i started SS, but i had been doing a lot bodyweight exercises (like pushups and situps, etc). My squats are pretty weak because I havent squated in forever, and spent the last few years doing a lot of distance type running. My squat should be greater than my bench in a few workouts anyways ... hopefully

dknight,

i have same problem on squat. my left leg is longer than my right, which causes it to go out at a greater angle when i bend down.

i like you, also have a lower squat than bench (embarrassing).

i've been on the program for four weeks or so, and i agree about the intensity aspect, as i was used to doing more circuit style training in the past. but results wise, i think i'm already looking and feeling better on this program.

GKA, how do you know your leg is longer? have you gotten it measured? just wondering because i feel like my left arm is slightly longer than my right arm.


also for all i know one of my legs could be too.

but what i need the most is to put tape where my feet should be in squat because i always feel my feet are uneven,

OK, fair enough, wasnt trying to criticise or anything btw. The reason I asked about the chins and dips is that I'm a big fat bastard, so doing 3 sets of both would wreck me.

tomhimself,

orthopedic doctor did the measurements for me, but ive pretty much always known. one is about an inch longer than the other, which really sucks.

AFAIK the SS "press" is just a press and differs from a military press because a mili press your feet are supposed to be together, where in a conventional press the feet are apart.

As for not becoming huge I think thats more of a diet issue.

Keep doing SS until you are no longer progressing on it, it really is a great program.

After you are done with SS, DeFranco's WSFSB3 is a great program (West Side For Skinny Bastards.) http://www.defrancostraining.com/art..._westside3.htm

1. try to point your knees the same way. if the one knee is moving in as you stand up, its a form break taking pressure off your leg muscles.

2. not being that sore is fine and normal. you're moving the weight up at a fast pace still, if you're worried its not hard enough then your increases will get you there. also make sure you're going deep enough on squats, though thats just general advice.

3. do it for as long as you get results. a month is definitely not too long, i've been doing it for a couple months now and except for a strained leg muscle am still making good progress.

Yea, keep at it while you keep progressing.

Knee angle could be caused by weak/imbalanced adductors/abductors. Work on mobility and flexibility.

I don't get how you are adding 5lbs on the bench and squat each workout. Great if true.
Your squat is weak relative to the bench, so keep working on it until it far surpasses your bench load.
DL>SQ>>BP

1. If you're following SS strictly, he has you doing a PARALLEL low bar squat with an emphasis on keeping the hammies tight and bouncing out of the bottom. ATG squats focus more on glutes and quads, while low bar hit the hammies harder.

Yes the knee angle should be fixed.


2. Soreness is not an indicator of anything related to progress. You will not feel very sore on SS after awhile, but your progress will keep going. Rest should be enough so that you can complete your worksets. It is not an important variable in SS, strength is. So if you fail a set after only taking 2 min rest, you know you need to start increasing rest times.

3. I would say keep running SS until both the squat and deadlift have to be reset a couple of times, and not for form reasons. I would use microloading now for the press and power clean, and maybe the bench (you know better than I), and then for the squat and deadlift later. Check my log for a link to some 2" washers to use to microload.

You could also use some alternative form of progression for just the lifts that have reset and stalled a few times (like the press). Something with periodization like a 5x5 intermediate or the Texas Method is good.

If you like crossfit or olympic lifting, you could get into those once you've built a base of strength. I would suggest using an intermediate program for a few months before abandoning a strength focused program just because strength is so useful and has carryover to many other types of exercise. Or you could just not get fat and slowly gain weight while doing a strength program.