Push/Pull/Legs vs. Starting Strength for a relative beginner
So after cutting throughout the bulk (huehue) of this year and finally getting to a place where I'm pretty alright with my appearance, I'm about to start a nice clean bulk.
I've been doing a PPL split throughout my cut (though its consistency suffered over the summer) but I know SS is the standard for beginners who want to start gaining muscle.
I personally love the daily workout routine I get with PPL and am mostly concerned with the frequency of SS not feeling like enough. I do intend to do some amount of cardio everyday (brazilian jiu jitsu/moderate jogging) which might make up for any feeling of not working out on a given day, but I'm not sure.
What are your opinions on this for a beginner? What do people on SS like to do on their rest days?
Posted Sep 9, 2015, 3:28 PM UTC · edited
You ran PPL for a year? Where are you lifts, check a strength standards table, if you are much past the novice range its likely you'll not gain much from SS/SL. I would look into intermediate range programs at that point.
PPL is fine for building muscle though? Its just a general routine layout, you can do whatever you want with PPL.
145x5 for bench
140x5 for squats
95x5 for Military Press
Unknown deadlifts max
I was never focused on maxing out and building muscle, plus I had a homegym with no spotter/person-to-hear-me-scream so I had to be a bit careful.
Yea unless you are an extremely light weight lifter I bet you can still progress on SS/SL a bit. Give it a shot if you'd like. Or set up a similar progression scheme (add 5lb to your compound each session) on your PPL routine if you really like hitting the gym 6 times a week.
That sounds like really great advice, I think I might do that. Do you think either would be generally more effective than the other in this case or would they each work pretty well?
I mean SS/SL would be more time efficient. But if you get enjoyment from going 6 days a week, you should do that. Do what you enjoy and it will be easier to establish good habits.
You will get to a point where making progress requires you to be very uncomfortable, you need strong habit and discipline to not quit when that happens.
For frame of reference, I went from 45lbs (bar only) for Military Press to 95lbs in about 14 weeks. So, I think you'll quite probably see good progression with SS (or SL if you choose to go that route). If it feels like not enough work try ICF (SL + accessories). And just because you're not feeling sore the next day doesn't mean nothing's happening - I went from 95lb to 250lb deadlift in those same 16 weeks, and rarely felt sore except for starting back after a two week break toward the end.
Wow that's really impressive! What was your diet like?
For most of that time I was trying to cut/maintain around 1600 calories. My weight stayed the same around 180 so maybe a slight recomp but mostly maintaining I think.