I have dieted my way out of obesity slowly over the last 3 years, I feel absolutely fantastic for the amazing progress I've made, but I gotta keep moving the goal posts.

me today
5' 9.5"
weight 170lbs
bf estimate=%19
137.7lbm

Also I'm fairly weak... My best squat 5x3 workset so far has been 110lbs, and even that was with bad form.

My younger brother is a pretty cool dude. Here are some clips of him skateboarding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpJmSk0y7Ns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94w2s2Krs0k

...he's not strong or anything, but he's in good shape. We weigh almost exactly the same now, but he's 2" taller and crushes me in all the major lifts. Sorry bro, but you've been the one whose in good shape for too long imo, it's totally my turn.

just gonna post my current plans/workouts/eating/stupid thoughts. I gotta stop being a lurker, lurkers are weird.

Read SS
Stick to it
60 days from now
you will be squatting 3x5 200lbs .. no joke.
Eat your brother for breakfast.

by the way when I started I was skeptical..
Now I am a SS convert.
of course now like 90% of the other regular posters
they only ask if you are fat/weak or skinny/weak.
The answer is the same..
Read SS.
Eat more protein
Lift heavy. 2-3 times per week.

If you are fat/weak.. then after you achieve your lift goals..
then you can cut weight, but Not before you add the muscle.

I have attempted to start the program twice. The first time I was still 30%+ bf and the weight gain put me off so I went back to dieting. The second time I just failed to make gains and stalled very quickly, and went back to dieting. Either I started my weights too high, or I just didn't get the recovery I needed. (most likely a combination of both)

I'm gonna start it next Sunday. Until then I'm going to just do a week of RFL, followed by eating at maintenance for a few days before I begin.
At least if I fail again it will be in public and I can get feedback on what went wrong.

I read the deadlifters thread... I am able to keep my back fairly straight but only at 135 and for a few reps. Sooo if I'm going to do the program correctly with good form, (ie drop my starting weight a bit) I'm going to have to find something to raise the bar to the correct height at fitness19. they don't really have power racks, that would be nice. So I'll set them on another plate I guess, or something. IDk I'll try a few things out and get it right before I start the program.

My starting worksets will be something like
dead 125
squat 75
bench 85
press 65

goals: get a lot effin stronger, be harder to kill, be able to beat up my bro, run faster, jump higher, loook good nekkid, be able to post in thremps log

Good luck dude. Video feedback will be key.

I'll be starting SS Sunday the 4th, staying on RFL till Thurs but switching to maintenance till Sunday.

I'm going to get in the habit of rating each workout on difficulty scale (out of 10) this might help me decide when to use smaller jumps, etc.

Wed 6/23
860cals (25c/16f/150p)

Thu 6/24
843cals (10c/12f/167p)

Fri 6/25
786cals (13c/10f/155p)

Sat 6/26
827cals (27c/26f/123p)

Sun 6/27

Squat 65x5x3 (7.0)

last 2 reps of the first set were slow, the rest were normal speed. I think my form was decent. Sometime my knees feel tight at the bottom of the squat. Especially after working the night before... It didn't seem to affect the lift though.

Overhead Press 65x5x3 (9.0)

These were hard. Everything but the first few reps were slow. of course I've been eating at a huge deficit so my energy is probably low.

Deadlift 115x5x1 (7.9)

I glanced into the mirror on the side wall, and my back appeared to be rounded. I had 35s on the bar sitting on 1 plate, which seemed to be about the correct height off the floor. (~7.5") I wonder if I am one of those people who cannot keep my back straight, or if I just need to go even lower in weight.

I doubt your going to be able to get much benefit out of weight training eating <1000cal per day. I'd bump that up significantly if you want to put on some muscle

straightaway,

That is incorrect. Weight training is still very much important even while on an extreme diet with regards to maintaining strength. I do not expect to gain strength right now. I am on lyle mcdonald's Rapid Fat Loss program. see bodyrecomposition.com

Sun 6/27 (CARB REFEED)
1621cals (129c/35f/205p)

Mon 6/28
792 (11c/16f/135p)

Tue 6/29
775 (14c/28f/146p)

Wed 6/30

Weight: 166lbs

2910 (274c/115f/201p)

Woke up feeling pretty damn hungry so I kinda pigged out today.

Squat 65x5x3 (6.8)
Bench 85x5x3 (7.9)
Deadlift 95x5x1 (blahhhhhh) I'm gonna have to get videos and work hard on my form, IDK if I'm anywhere close to correct.

Plus Captains of Crush work. I can do the Trainer like 10x right hand, 3x left hand

I decided to push back my start date of SS one more week to diet down under 165. I'd like to be a couple more pounds under my bro before I start my bulk. (I decided to define my goal as: being stronger than him in all the lifts while weighing the same or less) Plus I can work on my form some more.

edit: nvm

Dude, wtf. 700 calories?

I would imagine with 700 calories you feel hungry all the time and feel pretty ****ty. You might lose weight (assuming you don't give up), but you'll gain it back anyway once you actually eat and start putting on muscle.

If you just follow a sensible meal plan, you'll feel fine and you'll see gym improvements (which means you'll be using even more calories in the exercises). Your weight won't drop fast, but you'll still be burning calories. Since you're doing SS, you'll probably see your quads/legs grow and your gut decrease, so you'll definitely see physical progress.

I was at almost the same exact situation as you (170 5'9.5). I didn't estimate my BF so it might have been different, but I doubt it because I didn't exercise and sat at my desk all day. This is nowhere near fat that warrants extreme dieting, not even close. I remember my BMI was 25.1 (overweight by just .1) and I had a small gut begin to develop which partially motivated me to exercise, but people still considered me skinny. I started fencing 3 days a week and going to the gym 2-4 days (not doing SS, so probably less benefits), and I was able to lose weight on 2700 calories/day which was already a ~300 calorie deficit and I felt it. In April I stared following a good diet (instead of fried chicken takeouts after practice) and regular gym exercise. Mid-May I was 166 and 9.5% BF, I'm 161 now.

Cool story amarite? The point: 2000 calories and you won't feel like ****, and you'll see the results you want faster.

any day you lift, you need to eat calories and protein..
skinless chicken, steak,fish, eggs (whites), protein shakes.

ill give you the 1 question, SS answer for beginners/poker players.

Are you skinny weak or Fat weak?

Answer.. doesn't matter.

Eat calories especially protein, Lift heavy, The muscles will just grow on you.
if you do SS the compound movements will put the muscles on the right places and
make you look good!
protein after every workout so your body has the blocks to build the muscles
that it is trying to build.
If you dont eat the protein/calories .. you will NEVER make lifting gains.
Then when you hit your lift goals....
if you were fat weak THEN cut calories and weight.

your protein numbers are in g?
thats a lot of protein! keep it up.

lol at the comments

but dude, there is not point in RFLing when you're tiny like you are. Listen to mindflayer.

Sunday 7/11 First SS workout

Squats
45x5x1
55x5x3 (7.5)

These felt good, I think this was the right starting weight for me. plan to go up 10lbs for now on squats and deads for now, 5 for bench/ohp.

Overhead Press
45x5x1
55x5x3 (8.0)

Deadlift
65x5x1 (8.0)

The weight felt light, but I'm still rating it 8.0 on my fully subjective difficultly scale, because keeping my back straight and raising up WAS difficult... I think that's kinda the point of the exercise though? (Obv I need to get video up of my form, my brother wasn't avail today unfortunately.)

I'm using these technique plates for deadlifting <135lbs: http://www.pendlaybarbell.com/petepl.html It's exactly what I need. I do wish they were a little wider, because they aren't perfectly stable against the bar for how thin they are, but with just another 5lbs weight on each side they hold on tight.

Tuesday 7/13 Second SS workout

Squats
BW Squat/Stretch x1x2
45x5x1
55x2x1
65x5x3 (8.0) +10lbs

Bench Press
45x5x1
55x4x1
70x5x3 (6.0)

Chin-ups
65lbs assistance 10/5/3.5 (3 sets to fail)

Did these on the Gravitron machine

Trainer stopped and commented on my good squat form, that could mean nothing of course. He made some good points: form is always important, and to always keep adding weight to the bar. But then some not so good ones: "you should always be going to failure every time or you're not pushing yourself". Then he told me about Starrs 5x5 and how he's made gains using it. whatevs, was cool to see someone a fitness19 trainer who realizes the value of strength.

Thursday 7/15 3rd SS workout


Squats
BW Stretch and hold
BW Squat 2x1
45x5x2
55x3x1
65x2x1
75x5x3 (9.3) +10lbs

Overhead Press
45x5x1
55x3x1
60x5x3 (7.4) +5lbs

Deadlift
75x5x1 (6.9) +10lbs

Had to concentrate on keeping the back in extension and nothing else basically. Still working on form here. (again, need to get videosssss)

Are you using bumpers for the DL? It's hard to keep good extension if the plates are smaller than the 45 lbs plates.

Yea I bought some Pendlay technique plates to make sure I have the right height while i'm still lifting lighter weights

I assume OP's name was invented during a phase of RLF. Seriously, you weight 166lbs @5'9", why are you dieting? Ignoring body fat % for a moment, unless you have man boobs I don't see the point.

no longer "dieting" which would be better described as eating at a defecit. Eating at a nice little surplus this week, cycling more cals on workout days

Sunday 7/18 4th SS workout

VIDJEOS

Squats
BW Stretch and hold
BW Squat 3x1
45x5x1
55x3x1
65x2x1
75x1x1
82.5x5x3 (9.4) +7.5lbs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WetUNhXimHw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZtjtTEJXk

My guess is that these were hard because I worked all three nights 8 hours on my feet serving drinks since my last workout Thursday morning, and then lifted today. It might be that Sundays I won't be able to go up as much in weight.

Bench Press
45x5x1
55x3x1
65x2x1
77.5x5x3 (6.5) +7.5lbs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMVybzPq77w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yEzW9F24d8

Deadlift
85x5x1 (7.5) +10lbs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r61ikt3RKk

Yes I know that, twas a mistake. But you left yourself open for the counter nit.



Regardless, my point is still valid and in your interests. Remove all thought of deficits from your mind. Doubly so for RFL.