Take this with a grain of salt since I am not a doctor, haven’t seen your wrist, and really know nothing about it: I would say that there is a slight chance that if you wear a wrist strap every time you press or pull, you are not really strengthening your wrist, and it could get hurt in the future due to not being built up along with the rest of your body.
But I could be completely wrong. Just something that popped into my head.
The biggest thing that helped my posture (not that I do it a ton) is cutting back on screen time. I still spend a decent amount of time on the computer, but have really cut back on time on my phone, and that’s where you’re really looking down.
This is like a 5 part series or something that’s a pretty good read. If you really care to, I’m sure there’s stuff to incorporate in there. Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you want to work on your posture? Besides the reason that it looks better? No judgement or anything I’m just wondering.
I think doing some hanging, just from a bar, with both arms and one arm, has helped me stretch out my lats. For the chest/shoulders/biceps, do 50 total reps of this either every time you lift, or daily if you’re really tight:
That second one looks quite similar. But the first one is something I have done before and recommended to others.
Here’s what Starting Strength is, coming from the 3rd edition of the book:
Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5
Workout B:
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5
after 2-3 weeks, once your deadlift has proven itself your highest lift, you switch to:
Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Power Clean 5x3
Workout B:
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5
Now I personally added in a little section between these two parts, where I do front squats for 3x3 instead of power cleans, maybe for two weeks or so, simply to get used to holding the bar in that position. I think knowing how to do front squats makes catching the bar a lot easier when learning the power cleans. And if you’re really tight, spend time stretching your lats, shoulders, triceps, and wrists so you can catch it. I’ll try to send a picture later of a stretch someone taught me.
Watch his video on YouTube teaching power cleans btw. His method won’t get you into the Olympics but it’s fine for someone who doesn’t care to compete in weightlifting. It seems like a big deal to learn the clean, but just do your best and don’t overthink it. It’s really not a huge deal.
Anyway, after introducing power cleans (and possibly front squats, which let me remind you, is NOT part of the Starting Strength program, as Mark Rippetoe believes it is hard to teach the front squat so soon after leaning the back squat, since they can be quite different. You have some experience though so I’m going to guess you can figure it out, if desired), you stick with that until your deadlifts and/or cleans start to stall. Then you do this:
Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift/Power Clean 1x5/5x3
Workout B:
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Chinup 3xfailure
GHR/Back Extension 3x10
So when you do workout A, you alternate which pull you do - deadlift or clean, every time. And then you add in chinups, and pick between GHR’s and back extensions on workout B. I’d do both - switch it up. They work the same muscle group but in different ways so doing both would be smart. At this point, you can clean on a Monday, and then not clean again until the Wednesday of the next week (if you’re lifting M/W/F). Same with the deadlift. Basically, you’re just doing the lifts less often so you can rest more.
Once that stops working I think Rippetoe says you are classified as an intermediate, and can no longer progress daily, meaning you will use some method to progress weekly (I’d highly recommend Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd ed. by Rippetoe. It’s got some good stuff in it) for as long as possible, before monthly (usually a 5/3/1 method), and before yearly. You can skip the weekly stuff and move to 5/3/1 at that point instead but it’s up to you.
I will say, once you truly have maxed out your LP, your workouts could take a while. Squatting, bench, and cleaning the heaviest weights you can, with warmup sets, rest times, etc. can end up taking a long time. If time is truly the most important part of it, then once the workouts start to take too long is when you should switch.
And to clarify, I don’t agree with a lot of what Rippetoe says, but since you’re mentioning doing the program, that’s what I’d recommend based off of reading his books.
And I’m sorry but I’m confused:
Do you wake up around 9am, after getting 6 hours of sleep? Just wondering. Have you tried a sleep aid? That may help you feel more rested, if you struggle with that.
Lots of people like
https://biotest.t-nation.com/products/zma
I’ve never tried it but am planning on it soon. Just food for thought.
And,
Do you need to travel to get to work? Again, just curious. Perhaps you missed it, but what is your occupation? What tasks does having extra strength help you perform?
Anyway, if you think you have a plan, go for it.