[Zac Johnson]

I am thinking about beginning the SS program but have some questions prior to beginning.

I guess the best place to start would be my overall goals. Right now I have been crossfitting consistently for the last 5-6 months. I feel relatively comfortable with my metcon performances and cardio, and have seen strength gains since starting crossfit. Now I want to gain more strength/mass for a couple of reasons. First, I feel that with more strength I'll be able to do better on the strength based WOD, and secondly, I will be testing for the fire department and would like to kill the physical test(I've passed it before but want to make a statement the next time around.

My current stats:
23 yr. old, male, 5'9", 165lbs, 10%bf
deadlift- 335
back squat- 245
front squat- 205
shoulder press- 145
Cleand and jerk- 165
400m run- 1:12
2.5mile run- 14:55
500m row- 1:35

Is SS appropriate for me, I feel like it is but was wondering if there were any suggestions other than SS. As far as nutrition goes, I eat pretty much paleo. Is it possible to get enough calories eating clean or is the volume so large that it makes it hard? I also IF frequently, mostly because I like the freedom, would it be better to forget about IFing while on the program?

Thank you for any advice in advance and sorry if it was rambling.

-Zac