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Barbell Novice to PTTP

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rmsidell29

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Greetings, friends. I'm effectively a novice to strength training but am a huge fan of Pavel, Steve Maxwell, Mark Rippetoe etc. and have collected many works of these men. I recently purchased Power To The People on my Kindle and am intrigued by 5-day-a-week training. I feel that training only two lifts for 10 total reps will leave me able to be fresh for my physically demanding job. I just am asking for advice on how to determine which press I should use and how to determine my starting weight (10 RM?). I own some great equipment including a Rogue Ohio Power Bar + 400 lbs of iron & a decent half-rack and bench. I'm tempted to employ the BP as my pressing movement but should I be concerned about excessive anterior deltoid development? Any advice and considerations are appreciated, thanks.
 
Hi @rmsidell29

I just am asking for advice on how to determine which press I should use and how to determine my starting weight (10 RM?).

I think I'd go with the deadlift and military press for your first cycle. Then you can switch it out with back squat and bench press, maintaining your first two lifts on 1 of the 5 training days.

Your starting load is an 80% effort. ("E.g., you lifted 160x5 and you probably could have done 200x5", per the SFL manual).

I own some great equipment including a Rogue Ohio Power Bar + 400 lbs of iron & a decent half-rack and bench.

Nice! Got safety bars for squat and bench?

I'm tempted to employ the BP as my pressing movement but should I be concerned about excessive anterior deltoid development?

I don't think you'd have to worry about it for a while.

leave me able to be fresh for my physically demanding job

Any special considerations there, as far as what you want to develop, and/or what you use on the job that may affect training? If you're already adapted to the work it shouldn't be a concern, but just checking...
 
One of the great advantages of 5x weekly training is that it doesn't really matter where you start. Go light and work up. You'll figure out where you need to be in no time. Floor press is my favourite, but the military press as suggested by Anna is the popular choice
 
Greetings, friends. I'm effectively a novice to strength training but am a huge fan of Pavel, Steve Maxwell, Mark Rippetoe etc. and have collected many works of these men. I recently purchased Power To The People on my Kindle and am intrigued by 5-day-a-week training. I feel that training only two lifts for 10 total reps will leave me able to be fresh for my physically demanding job. I just am asking for advice on how to determine which press I should use and how to determine my starting weight (10 RM?). I own some great equipment including a Rogue Ohio Power Bar + 400 lbs of iron & a decent half-rack and bench. I'm tempted to employ the BP as my pressing movement but should I be concerned about excessive anterior deltoid development? Any advice and considerations are appreciated, thanks.

The bench is offered as an alternative in the manual, therefore a viable option, as long as you have a bench. You don't have to worry about over developing the anterior deltoid, which people find an issue with a lot of benching as long as you make sure your form is solid ( feet planted firmly, arched upper back, opened up chest and shoulders pinched back and down and utilization of a pause). The bench should be performed as a full body movement, especially in a minimalist routine. Another cause of shoulder issues with benching too much, is a lack of training the muscles of the back, a problem that a proper deadlift, as described in PTTP, should remedy.
 
I have one further question concerning the program. Pavel recommends dropping the bar after locking out at the top of the deadlift, but because I workout at home (which is an apartment with other tenants living below me and a Landlord above me) I wish to avoid creating the thundering crash of hundreds of pounds of dropped iron. What is the proper technique to "set down" the bar without hurting my back? Thanks!
 
Pavel recommends dropping the bar after locking out at the top of the deadlift, but because I workout at home (which is an apartment with other tenants living below me and a Landlord above me) I wish to avoid creating the thundering crash of hundreds of pounds of dropped iron. What is the proper technique to "set down" the bar without hurting my back? Thanks!

In your place, I recommend using very light weights and practicing lowering the bar under control. If you do this, remember that you don't have to lower it super-slowly, just slowly enough to avoid making more noise and vibration than would be allowed in your building.

The recommended alternative, if noise and vibration aren't an issue, is to "fall with the bar" - you'll see many people do this at competitions because letting go of the bar at the top will make your lift not count. You must demonstrate control by keeping your hands on the bar until it's solidly on the ground and, we hope, not moving.

-S-
 
re the apartment issue: i have tried as alternatives - Snatch Grip rack pull OR Single Leg deadlifts when you can lower with both legs with what is effectively a light weight. Sometimes life doesn't allow the perfect solution!
 
I’m sure I’ve read from Pavel both sides, the DL should be lowered under control, and dropped, but I don’t know where. In any case I can’t drop weights in my gym because there’s an animal hospital downstairs. Not a problem since I do Easy Strength, so I treat the DL like any other lift, always in control.
 
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