all posts post new thread

Barbell PTTP Bear for a novice with limited time?

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

AndyGog

Level 5 Valued Member
Hi everyone, hoping I can get some advice here.

I'm a 45 year old novice with a history of sitting behind a desk and a lot of walking (which is probably keeping me alive!). I'm 5'9" and 80kg with about 20-25% body fat. I'm looking at starting Power To The People, but I can't commit 5 days a week to it. For the next couple of months I'll only be able to manage 2 days a week (Monday and Thursday), after that I'll be able to go up to 3-4 days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and sometimes Friday).

I've read that the bear protocol is for more advanced lifters, but I was wondering whether this would be a good way to increase the volume when I can only lift 2 days a week.

There may be other, more suitable, programs out there but I do like the simplicity of PttP.

My goal is simply to see how strong I can get. I appreciate that sounds vague, but I'm not an athlete just an office worker with a family.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
I think two days a week calls for heavier sessions than PTTP. The Bear is an option but I think maybe not the best one at your stage.

If you're looking for a simple program by Pavel for two days a week there's one told to Dan John and then forward by DJ on his website. It is "minimalist training" so it could suit your taste.
 
I agree that 2 days a week calls for more than a standard PTTP session. But I wouldn't suggest heavier, if you are starting out. My suggestion would be to use the PTTP guidance to select your weights and then just add a third set, possibly a 4th on that second day.

For example, in my case, my 1RM DL is 275 lb, 5RM 225, so for this I might do (after warm-up sets/reps) 2 x 5 at 180 and then 1 x 5 at 170.

The moderate weights let you really work on your form and get super solid, following all the guidance in PTTP.

And... hire a coach! Or at least have someone check your form, to clear any issues.
 
Andy,

The great thing about PttP is it is super brief (<30 minutes). It is also designed for people wanting to get strong (not world class lifter's yet). It is also designed for minimal equipment (bar and plates) so you are not restricted to a gym. Do you have anywhere to work out at home?

As a 44 yo office worker myself I would recommend taking the plunge and buying a cheap 7ft bar and plates. It is very liberating to be able to lift at home when you want and I can usually extract 30 minutes out of the day for it. Low volume, daily practice is a great way to get strong - you never feel too tired, you never feel sore. In contrast I think the bear will beat you up.

As Anna said if you are new to lifting don't start out heavy and get some proper coaching on deadlift form.
 
I would go Easy Srength-ish. ish is less heavy than ES (since you are a novice). Maybe go one day with lower intensity higher volume (15-20 lifts?) go learn the movement better. I would go for sets of 2-3 lifts so you'll have more opportunities to learn the setup.

And as been said before, better to get a trusted coach (and than listen to him and to your body).
 
+1 to what @Anna C abd @krg said. I started lifting a few years ago and am about your age. Buying a barbell and some plates was one of the best investment I made. If I had to go to the gym, with a business to run and a baby at home, I would have skipped a lot of workouts, even if there is a gym 5 minutes from home. Now, I just finish whatever I am doing, put shorts and a t-shirt on and start my warmup. Also, if you never lifted, technique is very important. You can injure yourself easily when the weights go up, either with an acute injury or a repetitive strain injury. Also, with the wrong technique, you will stop making progress at some point as your body will do its best to prevent you from doing anything stupid. Don't ask me how I know...

When I started lifting, I had not discovered Strongfirst and just did a Starting Strength inspired template (with less squatting as I did not have a squat rack then). One suggestion for you would be Mo 5X5 DL, increase weight by 10 pounds every week while you can. Start too low and build up. BP 4X4 at 80% of Thursday's weight. Th: 5X5 BP, increase 5 pounds every week, 4X4 DL at 80% of Monday's weight. rest 3-5 mins between sets. That's the well known Faleev template, modified for 2 lifts 2 days. If you start conservative, you will be able to go a long way with this one. If you cannot reach 5X5 on the heavy day, say you do 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, you keep the same weight for the following week. If you get stuck more than 3 weeks in a row at the same weight, you can lower the weight a bit (10-15%) and build back up.
 
Last edited:
Wow, thanks for all the advice everyone. It seems that the general consensus is that the frequency will be too low for PttP. I've been reading Easy Strength and Faleev as well as Pavel's article on 5x5 and I think I'm going to take the 5x5 route. I'll start with two lifts twice a week as suggested above, then introduce squats when I can lift three days a week.

I'll also get a session with one of the trainers at the gym to work on my form. I have lifted before but never got past novice numbers and, due to injury and illness, I haven't lifted for about 3 months. So it makes sense to regroup and start again as a novice.

Thanks again.
 
I'd do what Gallagher suggests in Purposefully Primitive for busy and/or beginner, which is basically DeLorme protocol:

1) train 2 x week
2) squat, bench, deadlift
3) 3 x 10 reps (1st set 50% or 10RM, 2nd set 75% of 10 RM and 3rd set 100% of 10RM)
4) make 8 - 12 week long periodizations
 
Thanks @Mirek. I'll have to get hold of the Purposeful Primitive. I like the idea of using a written program instead of changing an existing one to fit my circumstances.
 
Wendlers 5,3,1 has a 2 day template. DL and Press one day , Squat and BP another day. You focus on working to a top end set of 5+ reps and drop to about 60% of the top end set for 3-5 sets of 5 reps. You can finish with swings and carries if you want or a few sets of push ups/pull ups, or both. You'll get plenty of work in, progress slowly and learn the lifts. If you don't care to squat you can sub another DL day where you would just do 5x5 with around 70% of day 1's top end set.

Add 2.5-5 pounds a week to the presses and 5-10 pounds a week on Squats and DL's. You can do a 3rd day of just bodyweight Squats, push ups and pull ups if you can fit it in. It'll keep your body fresh and primed for your next weight session.

I hope this helps.
 
Like @ShawnM I was also going to suggest Wendler's 5/3/1. The only downside is that as a novice, you probably don't have a good idea of what your 1 rep max is, and I don't recommend you trying to max out as a novice. However, Wendler has a formula you can use to figure your 1 rep max based on higher reps, e.g., if you can do 100 lbs. for 5 reps, the formula will give you an estimated 1 rep max. Worst case, just make some type of educated guess. The program is based on a "training max," which is lighter than your true max, and the program is self-correcting. If you estimate your 1 rep max and it's too low, no problem, the program will eventually correct for that and you will get stronger.

Disclaimer: I really like 5/3/1 so I am biased. While it may not be designed for a rank beginner I think it can be adapted for a beginner. It has lots of built in flexibility.
 
Thanks everyone. I've looked at 5/3/1 before and I've always ended up overthinking it. I'm going to start with Marty Gallagher's 2 day a week template and go from there.

Thanks again.
 
AndyGog said:
I've looked at 5/3/1 before and I've always ended up overthinking it.
Click to expand...

For most programs I also overthink, simply because I "worry" when the program doesn't include the lifts that I consider to be key. But 5/3/1 has what I consider to be the 3 essential strength lifts plus bench press. I'm not a bench press hater, I just think the overhead press is better. The bench is a good assistance exercise for overhead press. :) Many people get bogged down in figuring out what assistance exercises to do with 5/3/1 which leads to analysis paralysis. I have yet to find the magic assistance exercises that help my lifts so I just do whatever. Makes it fun.
 
I'm happy to say that I've finally taken the advice to get some coaching. I've signed up for the one day barbell course in the UK in June.

Sorry about the zombie thread resurrection!
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom