Things are getting tiring!

blinker86

I've been doing SL since February, and my current lifts are as follows:

Squat: 130
Bench: 75
Row: 90
OHP: 55
Deadlift: 180

I love the program, but my recent problem is that squats have become so taxing for me and I find myself really struggling through them. This leads me to dreading them at each workout. I'm not necessarily failing to get all 5 reps, but my form is definitely suffering by the 4th and 5th one. What's the best action to take in this situation?

chubby_checkers

You could drop the squats to 3x5 instead of 5x5. If you're having a really hard time recovering, you can drop them to 2 days a week instead of three.

How long do you rest between sets? Longer rest periods can also help.

blinker86

You could drop the squats to 3x5 instead of 5x5. If you're having a really hard time recovering, you can drop them to 2 days a week instead of three.

How long do you rest between sets? Longer rest periods can also help.

I use the 5x5 app and follow the suggested rest time of 3 minutes when I have a hard time getting through a set. I guess I could try increasing rest time to see if there's any improvement and go from there.

jstout365

You can either drop to the 3x5 or mix the squat style up and rotate in front squats, bulgarian split squats, or zercher squats. You would start at lower weights for all of these varieties and that may help you get some active recovery and not necessarily dread squats.

Leadfoot_Lewis

I'd personally go to 5x3 with longer rest periods (3-5 minutes). If form is still suffering, then kick it back up to 5x5 and deload. Bad form is never a good thing, regardless of the cause.