upper body strength

cherriegh

I'm a 5'2 lady at 147 lbs trying to get leaner and around 128 lbs, MFP has set my goals to 1200 but I ate at 1600 and dint lose any weight or inches but body has tightened and less cellulite. So I've decided to lower calories now to decrease bf. Problem I'm not progressing or gaining any strength on my upper body workouts OHP and BP. I'm stuck at the bar plus 2.5kilos plates on either side and end up doing lat pulls and other upper body accessory workouts. But I'm gaining strength on squats and deadlift.

I'm currently doing SL 5X5 and can only do 3 or 4 reps if I add more weight.

What can I do to increase upper body strength?

SezxyStef

When I got stuck on a lift...I increased my reps up to 8. So for example my squats I stalled bad so I deloaded and first day did 5 reps, next day 6 at the same weight, and did that every workout until I hit 8 reps....then I added weight and it worked well for me.

cajuntank

Would strongly encourage you to invest in micro-plates if your gym does not already have. Then you can increase in smaller increments other than 5lbs at a time.

DesertGunR

Being a long time SL 5x5 & its variations user myself go back and read through the program. If you are not making the reps it states to maintain the missed weight until you can complete the reps & sets then add the next weight. As a woman you will probably need to make more use of the fractional weights to continue your progression. I know it seems like you are not gaining at the same rate as the rest of your exercises and that is okay. Don't rush yourself and don't get discouraged. Everybody is different and nobody gains at the same rate. Whether you realize it or not you are gaining strength in your chest. If you have not already downloaded the app head over to stronglifts.com/5x5/ re-read the program and download the app.

Good Luck and Good Lifting!

kami3006

I am several months into SL and there are times I have had to stay at the same weight on my upper body work for a couple sessions before increasing. Nothing wrong with that. I also purchased some micro-weights so I could go up 2.5 lbs instead of 5 when I needed it. They greatly helped bridge the gap.

Good Luck! I hope you're enjoying the program.

mike_bold

Strength gains are hard to come by if you are eating at a deficit. For me I have to eat at maintenance or over to get week by week strength gains. For your goal of dropping bf, lift to preserve your muscle, but don't expect the strength to come as easily. Even if you can squeeze one more rep out than last week that's progress! Bumping up to a new weight, I would go for 3 x 5 the first week, then 4 x 5 next week, then 5 x 5.

contingencyplan

Strength gains while in a calorie deficit are a difficult thing to come by. If your primary goal is weight loss you just have to accept strength gains are going to be very slow in coming, if at all. If you want to see significant strength gains you need to up your calories and put weight loss on the back burner.

mike_bold

snap

Emilia777

I wouldn’t say strength gains are *that* hard to come by in a deficit, I think it’s more a matter of it being harder to see gains in upper body strength. From what I read in my strength training program (Rippetoe’s Starting Strength), women gain strength about on par with men on lower body lifts but quite a bit slower on upper body.

I have seen this in my own experience, in 3 months of training and eating in a daily deficit of over 500 calories. For example, my squats went from 3 x 5 / 90 lbs to 3 x 5 / 130 lbs. My BP and OHP only increased by 5lbs though.

comparetheequipment

If you are wanting to get stronger you don't need to necessarily up your caloric intake. Instead you should try to focus on getting the right kind of nutrients so that way when you go into your workout you have sufficient energy and stamina to complete your workouts.

By completing your workouts and eating the proper nutrients ( protein, complex carbohydrates ) you will see an increase in overall strength.

But like you said women won't gain upper body strength as quickly as men will

cherriegh

Thank you, im buying the fractional plates and see what happens.

workout_junkee

It is not about pounds lost. If you are tightening up then you are moving forward. Muscle weighs too. If you are gaining muscle and losing fat you may not see scale movement. You need to take measurements for a clear picture of loss. Decreasing calories could work against you. I lost inches while lifting and put on 3-4 lbs.

DesertGunR

@cherriegh Your welcome. Picking up 2 sets of fractional plates to start will be a good start and a great help to you. If you need more help feel free to ask me, add me or both.

Good Luck!