Ladies trying to gain strength!

MB2MN

So I've been doing some forms of strength training for a few years now but I have only started doing a real progressive program in the last 2 months or so...kind of a variation of stronglifts with a few isolated exercises thrown in. On some of my lifts I have made really good progress. For example I started with 65 lbs for DL and Squats and am now up to 115 lbs for each, and have done so pretty easily, especially the deadlifts. The problem is, I CANNOT seem to get past 65 lbs BP or 45 lb OHP! It is so frustrating because I feel like I should be able to at least progress a little!

I have 2 questions:

1. Have any other ladies (or guys although may not be as relevant for upper body) had this problem?

2. Would this possibly improve if I were to eat at maintenance or a bulk? I am definitely going up to maintenance when I get back from my honeymoon (gone april 5 to 15), but I am also considering a small bulk perhaps.

Thanks!

3laine75

I had the same problem. Moving on to wendlers 5/3/1 helped me improve these lifts.

On starting strength, I constantly worked up to 25 kg then had to deload, rinse and repeat. On 5/3/1 my OHP is sitting at 37.5 kg and bench 40. Haven't stalled yet and I'm on my 4 th month

Oh, I'm bulking ATM but I'm pretty sure I was still in deficit when I started the programme.

vorgas

1: OHP is going to be the weakest lift you have. It's a small muscle group and hard to develop.

2: Make sure you're doing bench presses correctly. Good leg drive, arched back, shoulder blades back, no puppy paws, etc. Elite FS has some good videos on how to do it. If you are, then add in some supplemental exercises depending on where in the lift you are failing (triceps at the bottom, lats in the middle, chest near the top).

3: Deadlifts should always be heavier than your squats. Upping the weight on these will actually help the two lifts you're struggling on.

4: If you've only been lifting for 2 months you are still most likely in the neuro benefit stage. Weight lifting is a neuro-muscular exercise. You're trying to get a lot of different muscles to fire in coordinated rhythm. If you aren't lifting a significant portion of your body weight, it's almost certainly a neuro issue and not a muscular issue. Maintenance/bulk can help, but your best benefit will come from repetition of proper technique. Do some research, find proper technique, video yourself and make sure you're doing it right. There's a great group on MFP for people looking to get their form critiqued: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-

SezxyStef

I have 2 questions:

1. Have any other ladies (or guys although may not be as relevant for upper body) had this problem?

2. Would this possibly improve if I were to eat at maintenance or a bulk? I am definitely going up to maintenance when I get back from my honeymoon (gone april 5 to 15), but I am also considering a small bulk perhaps.

Thanks!

I have had to deload my OHP 2x since starting 6months ago...one deload was this week...My max so far has been 85lbs and I failed (no 5x5 but did lift it for all five sets)

ETA: my bench progressed well for me...I stalled at 120 and deloaded this week...I did read however that you OHP will be appx 65-75% of your bench which worked out for me.

On that note tho I have always had a pretty strong upper body (ex military/combats arms) so I as a young women had to work my arms a lot...

Yes your lifts improve on maintenance and/or bulk...I found after my vacation where I ate/drank lots (4lb gain lots) I progressed on my squats exponentionally and squatted my 165lb bodyweight and got up to 180 before a deload last week due to reinjury...

212019156

Try microloading those lifts. Get some reall small plates 1.25 lbs. I did that with my son and it helped.

sarahstrezo

I agree with what the others have said.
OHP and Bench will always be slower to progress for women. My OHP is the bane of my existence….it seems like it takes me FOREVER to progress in that lift. And even when I do, I seem to slide back a tad a few weeks later. Getting the fractional plates has really helped both OHP and Bench. I think I purchased mine from amazon.

I also agree that you can likely DL a bit more than you actually are…that lift should be higher than your squat.

SezxyStef

Try microloading those lifts. Get some reall small plates 1.25 lbs. I did that with my son and it helped.

Yes these help too...I have weighted collars I use.

As well instead of fractional plates you can get "washers" from hardware stores much cheaper that weigh 1/2lb, 3/4lb etc.

MB2MN

I agree with what the others have said.
OHP and Bench will always be slower to progress for women. My OHP is the bane of my existence….it seems like it takes me FOREVER to progress in that lift. And even when I do, I seem to slide back a tad a few weeks later. Getting the fractional plates has really helped both OHP and Bench. I think I purchased mine from amazon.

I also agree that you can likely DL a bit more than you actually are…that lift should be higher than your squat.

Thanks for the responses, all! And yeah, I know I can DL more than that, I'm just trying to slowly progress but maybe I'll start adding more to my DL every week than I add to my squat since it does feel quite a bit easier than squatting.

rlw911

Besides using fractional weights, I've found this video extremely helpful, Mark Rippetoe (Starting Strength) teaching the OHP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMAiNQJ6FPc