Finding the Right Program for Me

[BeauJangles]

Background (only if important):In college, I lifted about 2- 3 x week, but only to facilitate sports playing. I didn't care about getting big, I cared about getting strong enough to avoid injury (and enhance athletic performance). Pretty much this workout consisted of bench press, incline press, decline press, military press, lots of squats and calf raises, barbell shrugs and curls, and probably a few things I've forgotten.

Now that I'm in the 'real' world, I've decided I want to get myself strong, big, and in shape. To that end I've started running every other day for a total of 15 - 20 miles per week. I don't want to give up running, but I'm also about to start a gym membership and I want to make the most of the next eight to ten months to get as big and strong as possible.

Real Question:
I'm not a newb when it comes to lifting, but I'm no expert either. There are a few exercises I never mastered (cleans come to mind right away) and a few I've never tried (hah - not a few, lot).

Basically, I'm wondering what the best way to start off is. I took a look at a link posted somewhere here to the Rippetoe Starting Strength FAQ. After reading through it, I'm thinking that it might be too leg-heavy if I want to maintain my running. With the volume of workouts available, I'm not sure how to go about choosing one.

Thanks!

edit: It's worth mentioning that I'm thin (5' 11", 164 lbs). Gaining weight is difficult for me.
edit: added summary

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
I would like to be big and strong, but am unwilling to do what it takes.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
I would like to be big and strong, but am unwilling to do what it takes.

Thanks for sharing.

It's difficult to deal with a response like yours. I don't know whether you responded to the wrong post, misread my post, are trolling, or somehow misunderstood what I had written. I don't want to be a jerk right back to you, but you're making it very hard. It's really great to come into this forum and ask a question only to get blasted by an answer like yours. It's very friendly. And very inviting.

In my first post I asked a few concrete questions, none of which mentioned anything about being unwilling.

I'll summarize it again, though, in case I've mis-stated something.

- I currently run between 15 - 20 miles per week.
- I play a competitive sport once or twice a week that involves a lot of running
- I did a little research and found the Rippetoe Starting Strength FAQ, which presents a basic workout for beginner lifters. I like a lot of the ideas in it, however, (a) I am concerned about maintaining my running while do dead lifts, squats, etc because of increased stress on my legs and (b) I have had some lifting experience in the past if using a 3 day / week workout was a good idea or if I should jump in with something more frequent?

Basically, is that a good workout for me to start with? Is there something better? Is there something else I should consider?

Thanks.


Edit: I looked through some of your posts, crt1530, and I probably got the link to that workout from you, which confuses me even more. In the FAQ you linked to, the author specifically discusses concerns about running and lifting. I was curious about getting feedback on that issue if I plan on running the same amount I run now.

 

[skace]

I've never read the Rippetoe Starting Strength FAQ, but it should be pretty easy to modify your workout's such that you give your legs time to heal. Granted, you cannot avoid all soreness.

I thought I posted in this thread, linking to bodybuilding.com's exercise page, don't know what the hell I did with that post. Anyhow you can go there and pull an exercise up for any muscle. You can create your own workout routines this way.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
I would like to be big and strong, but am unwilling to do what it takes.

Thanks for sharing.

Wtf? You either didn't read the post, have terrible reading comprehension, or are having a horrendous day. Don't post crap like that, this isn't OT. Be helpful or don't post.

BlinderBomber, actually it's really not that hard to run distance on legs you've been lifting on. Once you loosen up, it's really not any different from normal. I'd say if you wanna get big and strong, just do the Starting Strength program. It's not very long, so you don't have much to lose At least try a couple days out and see if you can run on top of it. You may be surprised.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
I would like to be big and strong, but am unwilling to do what it takes.

Thanks for sharing.

Wtf? You either didn't read the post, have terrible reading comprehension, or are having a horrendous day. Don't post crap like that, this isn't OT. Be helpful or don't post.

BlinderBomber, actually it's really not that hard to run distance on legs you've been lifting on. Once you loosen up, it's really not any different from normal. I'd say if you wanna get big and strong, just do the Starting Strength program. It's not very long, so you don't have much to lose At least try a couple days out and see if you can run on top of it. You may be surprised.

I think my plan will be to try this workout over the next month. I'm going to cut back on the running significantly during the first week and then incorporate it back in and see how that goes. I figure that the first week will be the toughest on my body in terms of muscle shock.

 

[paulxcook]

I'll assume crt somehow misread your post, he's been pretty helpful to me starting out.

I'm in the middle of the Starting Strength routine right now. If you want, check out my journal and see how it's gone so far. You figure correctly, the soreness is terrible the first week, then drops off dramatically.

 

[KoolDrew]

Follow the Starting Strength routine and eat, eat, and eat some more.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Wouldn't it depend what you wanted out of your legs?

Surely if you wanted to maintain your running without the drag down of unwanted mass, then light lifting with your legs once a week or every fortnight would do. I would believe. Especially if the focus of your legs routine was to simply maintain while making small gains. I'd imagine you could still do dead lifting and squats with lower weights more sets/reps. It sounds like the muscle is there, just needs to be toned and maintained. Although I could be wrong completely.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
Wouldn't it depend what you wanted out of your legs?

Surely if you wanted to maintain your running without the drag down of unwanted mass, then light lifting with your legs once a week or every fortnight would do. I would believe. Especially if the focus of your legs routine was to simply maintain while making small gains. I'd imagine you could still do dead lifting and squats with lower weights more sets/reps. It sounds like the muscle is there, just needs to be toned and maintained. Although I could be wrong completely.

Well, that's interesting. I'm really interested in adding muscle to my upper body mostly. I agree with the theory behind the workout I outlined, but, in light of the fact, I also enjoy running and would like to maintain my current fitness and pacing there, I'm wondering if there are other ex cerises that might be better suited than squats 3x / week.

 

[spamsk8r]

There is nothing better for gaining mass (which is your stated goal) and strength (also a stated goal) than a program heavy on squats, deadlifts, and bench press (big, compound joint movements). You want a good balanced program, and SS is one of the best. For real strength nothing beats it for a beginner (i.e. someone who doesn't already squat 2x their body weight). If you focus only on the upper body you're going to look like those dudes at the gym with big chests and tiny legs. In other words, you'll look like an idiot. Your focus should be on a balanced program that incorporates lots of heavy compound movements, and minimizes isolation exercises (you don't need to do bicep curls to get bigger biceps, trust me, pull-ups work much better overall).

To onlyCOpunk: Toning is non-existent. Strike it from your lexicon, there is no such thing as "toning." There is only gaining muscle, or losing fat. Losing fat will get you tone, and gaining muscle will make you big. Doing lower weight a whole bunch of times will not net you any strength gains. It may increase your endurance in those activities, but you won't be any stronger.

 

[BeauJangles]

Spamsk8r, thanks for the reply.

I'm aware of the unbalanced look and how stupid it is to have weak legs with a strong body. What I am concerned about is how much adding muscle to my legs might slow me down. I think, right now, I'm worrying about nothing. I'm in reasonably good shape right now. I'll start the SS program and see where I wind up in two months. If I don't like the result, I can always get help modifying the workout to suite me.

Right?


Also, any tips about diet? There are some diets in the SS threads, I guess I'll start with one of those, but because I'm a lean guy, are there any modifications I should make?

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Well theoretically speaking, the more muscle you will gain on your legs the more running you will need to do to keep it under control. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I would say start lifting with your legs, however heavy it might, and keep track of your running performance to see what works for your body. Because afterall, the last thing you want is to be packed with a bunch of unusable mass that just drags you down. Which is the problem with lifting weights a lot is it creates unusable muscle. What kind of equipment does your gym have? I know my gym has these Keiser machines which replicate lifting free weights, but are used by athletes to create usable muscle rather then just "bulking up"

 

[TallBill]

Do you honestly think that olympic sprinters dont squat/deadlift? If so then you need to re-evaluate what your running game plan.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Do you honestly think that olympic sprinters dont squat/deadlift? If so then you need to re-evaluate what your running game plan.

I was squatting in my previous workouts, but not 3x / week. I was just wondering if that workout was too much squatting. I guess my worries are unfounded though

 

[TallBill]

If you really think that 3x is to much then back it down to 2x. But running uses power from your legs, so obviously strengthening them will help you out.

 

[LucJoe]

Also, any tips about diet? There are some diets in the SS threads, I guess I'll start with one of those, but because I'm a lean guy, are there any modifications I should make?

Your diet is more important than your workout program. You need to keep your body anabolic as much as possible. So basically break your fast as soon as you wake up and eat every 2-3 hours (~6 meals a day). Your last meal should be shortly before sleep.

General rule of thumb is 1-1.5x your body weight in grams of protein every day. Meals should be high protein (meat, eggs, fish, whey, etc), high carb (good complex carbs, oatmeal rocks), and make sure you're getting lots of GOOD fats (peanuts are awesome).

Other than that just eat eat eat. Find out what your maintenance caloric intake should be and eat 500-1000 over that. Try to spread it out as evenly as possible throughout the day.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Spamsk8r, thanks for the reply.

I'm aware of the unbalanced look and how stupid it is to have weak legs with a strong body. What I am concerned about is how much adding muscle to my legs might slow me down. I think, right now, I'm worrying about nothing. I'm in reasonably good shape right now. I'll start the SS program and see where I wind up in two months. If I don't like the result, I can always get help modifying the workout to suite me.

Right?


Also, any tips about diet? There are some diets in the SS threads, I guess I'll start with one of those, but because I'm a lean guy, are there any modifications I should make?

I didn't mean to come across as a jerk in my post, but now that I re-read it I think I did. Sorry about that. Like it's been said, adding muscle to the legs will make them heavier, but will also make you stronger (and thus able to carry the small amount of added weight with ease). And like you said, if you don't like the program, switch it up for something more your style. It is a powerlifting style program, which isn't for everyone (only those who want to get really strong).

As far as diet goes, keep it clean, but if you want to gain any mass you have to eat. A lot. Shoot for 3000 calories a day, do that for a week, see if you gain any weight. If so, leave it. If not, up your cals by a few hundred. If you're not gaining, you're not eating enough. Believe me on this. If you do decide to go with SS, Rippetoe recommends drinking a gallon of milk a day in addition to what you would normally eat. That way you get plenty of calories without having to really modify your existing diet, and you're not constantly eating. It works, but not everyone likes the idea (or the cost involved).