OK quick background. I been working out on off for years. I use to mainly do the core 5 lifts (bench , squat, deads, press, rows).
Squats I use to love but just lost my interest (I know I know) so I haven’t been doing them regularly.
Bench has always been my weakest movement (I thinking pushing movements in general). I find that when I get to a certain point/weight my right shoulder pain starts to flare up. Same thing with the overhead press. I been watching a lot of your videos and am trying to figure out if its really pain or just in my head.
Deads I love never stopped doing them.
Ok so @155 5’6 37 years old. I am a smaller guy and have been for most of my life. I can pretty much eat whatever and I do not gain much fat. I do find I get stronger but just not much bigger. That being said I never really followed a strict program. I am the typical guy who starts a program then mid way starts to veer off. I am that guy but at least I can see my flaws! If you were to ask me what my goal here is I would say I want to become stronger while putting on more mass. When I say “mass” I am talking about over all size but within reason. I do not have any specific need for training (not an athlete ) so its just for over all health and strength).
So with all the reading and watching of videos I have been doing the information can become a little confusing. So where do I begin? From what I have gathered so far I should start on the NLP which is the 3 days a week workout bench/squat/press and progressively work myself by adding a little bit of weight each training session? Now at this newb state should I be worrying about RPE’s and such which I have never done before?
I did purchase the starting strength book which will be here shortly which I am sure will help clear up more of my confusion. Sorry if I have rambled on a bit I am excited to start this new program and I really really want to see if I am able to push myself like I have never done so before. Thank you in advance for painstaking reading through this.
Train and eat enough to gain weight consistently at a reasonable rate (at 37 years old you have no business drinking a gallon of milk a day, aim for ~2-4lb per month gained, don’t make the mistake I and many other of us made on the LP by getting fat and having to lose a lot of weight immediately following). SS is a fine place to start. Step one is to work on consistency in both diet and training. The best plan in the world won’t work if you don’t follow it. You also don’t have to take SS until the wheels start falling off. Unlike what the book and Rip says, I wouldn’t bother with doing any deload/resets. Just take the LP until you start failing reps and then swap over to the bridge. SS should last you in the ballpark of 2-3 months. In order to further prepare you for BBM programming after your LP I would also highly recommend adding in one day of 30 minute very low intensity steady state cardio. I’m talking things that are more boring than challenging, just enough to break a sweat but still be able to carry on a full conversation. Things like a bike, elliptical, or incline treadmill walking are perfect for this. I would not do anything like running, rower, HIIT, etc while running SS. When you transfer over to BBM programming following SS we will have you doing some more fun and challenging things for conditioning, for now I think it’s just beneficial just to do something light to get your body used to it so you have an easier transition to BBM post novice programming. You also might want to swap out power cleans for pendlay rows. Take it from me, trying to learn power cleans in the late 30’s is not fun at all, lol, and they really aren’t that useful to boot.
Things to do/read. They are in no particular order other than I would read the first thing before doing anything else:
“To Be A Beast” by Jordan Feigenbaum - short article on basics of nutrition design.
Run a novice linear progression. Starting Strength has one that probably has the most resources available for it for any LP (not that there’s anything inherently amazing about an LP or the starting strength LP other than you could do a lot worse).
get the right equipment. Belt, lifting shoes, chalk, fractional plates to start. Possibly knee sleeves and wrist wraps, straps. And a bag to carry them in. Make sure your gym has a squat rack and a place you can deadlift. Not having shitty barbells help as well.
Become familiar with the basic models of the lifts. Starting Strength again has a lot of resources to help you learn these correctly, but so does Barbell Medicine, so I would start here first.
Edit: I would start here first over everything else.
sign up for the BBM newsletter. You’ll be kept up to date on articles that the coaching staff puts out
once the novice linear progression stops working (aka you are no longer able to add weight to he bar each session) switch to the Bridge. There is a “plug-in” available for the pressing movements if they stall first, but once squat or deadlift stalls, make the switch. From there, there are numerous templates and excellent coaching available here.
Bonus: BBM had mentioned coming out with an Novice Program, but I’m not sure what the timing of that is anymore
I was not planning on doing the power cleans. I workout mainly for aesthetics/health/strength so I can’t see them being that beneficial for what I am looking to accomplish. I have all my gear ready since I’ve worked out in the past. I think my biggest flaw was not really sticking to a plan for a long period of time. I would write up a routine then change things based on how I felt (tired/lazy), would have to change based on if equipment was being used, pretty much finding excuses anywhere I could. I am at a much larger gym with better equipment which will help. Thank you for your responses.
Your original question was about RPE. If you’re running the NLP it’s not necessary to calculate RPE. However, if you’re looking to transition the the bridge or other programs on BBM, it will be. This is a good time to practice calculating RPE as you work up through the NLP. Use it on your heavier warm ups and your work sets to get used to it. By the time you transition in to something else you’ll be comfortable with it.
You can can also post vids. Post what you gauged the RPE for the set and get other opinions from experienced eyes.