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I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times,

by jere 12y ago

I tried Starting Strength a few years ago. I was really pumped about the program, but I had a lot of trouble with it. I read the how-to sections multiple times, watched Rippetoe videos, and even sought out a trainer at one point. No matter what, the exercises always felt awkward and I never felt like I was doing them correctly. I tried power cleaning a few times I simply didn't get it. It made me feel like a complete doofus. When I deadlifted, I was able to lift less than a 12 year old girl. Squat was the worst. I got up to about 235 (not counting the bar). I know this isn't a large amount, but it totally killed me. Just so brutally tough. I had some knee pain that flared up around that point and my elbows hurt all the time. Once after finishing a set, I was drenched in sweat and I felt nauseous for about 10 minutes. Another time, I felt the left side of my face go numb for a split second... I realized then that it wasn't for me.

mertd 12y ago
You deadlifted less than a 12 year old girl but squatted 280lbs? Something doesn't add up.
- ZitchDog 12y ago
  A 12 year old girl weighs about, what, 80 pounds? But sort of awkward to pick up, so I think it checks out :)
  - Lawtonfogle 12y ago
    Tall ones (taller than me) can get up to at least 130.
- freehunter 12y ago
  It doesn't take a lot of forearm strength to hold a bar on your shoulders. It takes a LOT of forearm strength to bring up 415 resting on your fingertips.
  - pdiddy 12y ago
    Avoid putting the barbell high on your shoulders or you risk back pain/injury. Put the bar on your traps and hold it place with your hands. This is what makes it a full-body exercise.
bitL 12y ago
You need to go slow. It might take easily 2 years just to build your core strength, improve joints and tendons before you can do all those crazy exercises. Obviously you started too high. Just be patient, don't get distracted by remarks you are weaker than a girl, don't add more than you can handle, and it will come ;-)
ngoel36 12y ago
How much do you weight? 280 lb squat isn't terrible - what was your bench? You should be aiming for 2x body weight for squat, 1.5x for bench
- jere 12y ago
  At the time, I weighed 180 and benched about the same. I was less concerned with the numbers than just how it felt like I was hitting a brick wall and at huge risk for injuring myself. Bench and overhead press were the two exercises in SS that were very straightforward though.
IndianAstronaut 12y ago
I had massive exercise headaches from starting strength. It really isn't for everyone. Now I happily do kettlebells.
freehunter 12y ago
Squats suck. They're hard and they're uncomfortable. I was a power lifter for five years, and never once did I like doing squats. Deadlifts are harder. I love deadlifts because they work out so much of your body at once, but they all rely on the one weakest point (which is probably your forearms). You can only hold as much as your forearms will take. Some people use straps, but I never liked them. Unlike a weight belt, straps feel like a crutch to get around having weak arms. But even if your arms are strong enough, you can only lift as much as your shoulders will pick up. You can only lift as much as your quads will push against the ground. You can only lift as much as your blood has oxygen in it. You can only lift as much as your back will straighten with that much weight in front of you. Deadlifts are hard. They're supposed to be. It's the ultimate power lift, the one that combines almost every single other exercise and almost every single muscle group. You can't skip leg day and still deadlift. You can't neglect a single muscle group and still deadlift. But yeah, fuck squats. I hate them so much. I generally did leg presses instead of squats. Not exactly the same exercise, but it's close enough for how much I hate squats.
pdiddy 12y ago
280 is a massive squat. Based on what you're saying, I feel like your form must have been off and that you're have a misrepresentation of what the standards are.
- jacques_chester 12y ago
  > 280 is a massive squat. It sure is. Works out to around 615lb, for those playing along in the USA.
  - jacalata 12y ago
    I'm pretty sure he was saying 235lb, not kg.

by jere 12y ago

mertd 12y ago

You deadlifted less than a 12 year old girl but squatted 280lbs? Something doesn't add up.

ZitchDog 12y ago
A 12 year old girl weighs about, what, 80 pounds? But sort of awkward to pick up, so I think it checks out :)
- Lawtonfogle 12y ago
  Tall ones (taller than me) can get up to at least 130.
freehunter 12y ago
It doesn't take a lot of forearm strength to hold a bar on your shoulders. It takes a LOT of forearm strength to bring up 415 resting on your fingertips.
- pdiddy 12y ago
  Avoid putting the barbell high on your shoulders or you risk back pain/injury. Put the bar on your traps and hold it place with your hands. This is what makes it a full-body exercise.

bitL 12y ago

You need to go slow. It might take easily 2 years just to build your core strength, improve joints and tendons before you can do all those crazy exercises. Obviously you started too high. Just be patient, don't get distracted by remarks you are weaker than a girl, don't add more than you can handle, and it will come ;-)

ngoel36 12y ago

How much do you weight? 280 lb squat isn't terrible - what was your bench? You should be aiming for 2x body weight for squat, 1.5x for bench

jere 12y ago
At the time, I weighed 180 and benched about the same. I was less concerned with the numbers than just how it felt like I was hitting a brick wall and at huge risk for injuring myself. Bench and overhead press were the two exercises in SS that were very straightforward though.

IndianAstronaut 12y ago

I had massive exercise headaches from starting strength. It really isn't for everyone. Now I happily do kettlebells.

freehunter 12y ago

Squats suck. They're hard and they're uncomfortable. I was a power lifter for five years, and never once did I like doing squats. Deadlifts are harder. I love deadlifts because they work out so much of your body at once, but they all rely on the one weakest point (which is probably your forearms). You can only hold as much as your forearms will take. Some people use straps, but I never liked them. Unlike a weight belt, straps feel like a crutch to get around having weak arms. But even if your arms are strong enough, you can only lift as much as your shoulders will pick up. You can only lift as much as your quads will push against the ground. You can only lift as much as your blood has oxygen in it. You can only lift as much as your back will straighten with that much weight in front of you. Deadlifts are hard. They're supposed to be. It's the ultimate power lift, the one that combines almost every single other exercise and almost every single muscle group. You can't skip leg day and still deadlift. You can't neglect a single muscle group and still deadlift. But yeah, fuck squats. I hate them so much. I generally did leg presses instead of squats. Not exactly the same exercise, but it's close enough for how much I hate squats.

pdiddy 12y ago

280 is a massive squat. Based on what you're saying, I feel like your form must have been off and that you're have a misrepresentation of what the standards are.

jacques_chester 12y ago
> 280 is a massive squat. It sure is. Works out to around 615lb, for those playing along in the USA.
- jacalata 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure he was saying 235lb, not kg.