I just started over again (did my second workout yesterday) and actually kept it at 45 lbs because the first time I spent too much of the lift using my knees for leverage. When I did SL the first time, I only progressed to 55 lbs and wasn't able to pass that before I stopped lifting to concentrate on marathon training.

OHP is a b#$$#! The most I've ever done was 75 lbs and I could only do 3 reps the last 2 sets. Make sure your hands aren't too wide, if I let my hands go wider than my shoulders even 45 pounds becomes too difficult.

I weigh 125lbs and can press 60lbs for reps. It is a PITA lift to progress on. Agree w/Chubby Checkers, fractionals do come in handy for this lift in particular.

I'm at 57.5lb (i.e. stalled), I think I can do 5x5 on that next workout then attempt 60lb the one after.... we'll see .... I agree with the others that it's a really tough lift to progress on. I'm currently going up in 2.5lb increments but I'm wondering if 1lb increments would be better. I tend to be stalled at the same weight for 3 weeks at a time, I've done one deload so far on this, and got only 2.5lb further since then.

Thanks for posting the video... will watch it when the kids are making less noise...!

I am working on my second round of SL and I have progressed to 60lb. I can't make all 5x5 but I can do 3-4 sets at this weight before I have to take it down a notch. Its a rough move to advance in I have found. Make sure when your pushing up your whole body is tight from your core to those buns of steel breath and push. Good luck!

My last go around, I got up to 80 pounds on OHP. Right now I'm back up to 60 pounds and it is a b*$%h!!!!! This is the one lift that I both hate and love at the same time. My first round of SL, I went through 3 deloads on this baby. It is sooooo frustrating. And my chest constantly hurt! Especially at night when it hurt to turn over in bed. I kept thinking to myself "is this really worth it?" lol. It is :bigsmile:

I agree that this is the toughest lift to progress on. Don't feel bad! But it feels so bad *kitten* to push heavy weights over yer head! :drinker:

I'm at 57.5lb (i.e. stalled), I think I can do 5x5 on that next workout then attempt 60lb the one after.... we'll see .... I agree with the others that it's a really tough lift to progress on. I'm currently going up in 2.5lb increments but I'm wondering if 1lb increments would be better. I tend to be stalled at the same weight for 3 weeks at a time, I've done one deload so far on this, and got only 2.5lb further since then.

Thanks for posting the video... will watch it when the kids are making less noise...!

I was just wondering (literally, a few minutes ago) whether I should go up in 1 lb increments, too. I FINALLY got 60 pounds on my last workout, and today 62.5 feels 10 pounds heavier.

I HATE THIS LIFT!!!! That is all.
I can't get above 60lbs. Oh well at least I got over my bench pressing fear.

I'm only at 40 lbs. Not my favourite lift.

I started with Stronglifts in February. I weigh 190 and I am pressing 56 pounds. I started with 20 pounds and I weighed a lot more then, so I've actually made great progress! :laugh:

These days I progress in 1/2 pound increments, and I make sure I rest enough in between sets -- at least three minutes. Checking my form has occasionally gotten me several pounds jumps.

I am FINALLY up to 75# on OHP, but it is my nemesis and I have been working for months on this. It finally got better when I started doing clean & press (which I LOVE) and some other accessories. Us women struggle more with upper body stuff (which pisses me off now that I have stalled on bench press).

Some day around Christmas time, when you can haul your Christmas tree box out of the attic without needing help from your significant other, and lift it over your head like a boss, you're going to be like "thank you OHP". Keep it in perspective and don't let the numbers discourage you. :flowerforyou:

I remembered the press fondly while wrestling a memory foam mattress pad onto the top shelf of my closet earlier this summer. Let's just say that last summer, it was a lot harder.

Have to chime in - as this lift is my nemesis.

12 weeks in (1 week break), deloaded down and working back up - and I am still stuck at 25kg/55lbs - changed my grip, I clench my bum, tiny hip thrust, tense biceps and nope, stupid thing just doesn't let me get 5x5 in!

one day - reckon I just need to keep chipping away and someday I will get it or get past it.

Would love to get a 5x5 @27.5kg/60.6lbs!!!

Have to chime in - as this lift is my nemesis.

12 weeks in (1 week break), deloaded down and working back up - and I am still stuck at 25kg/55lbs - changed my grip, I clench my bum, tiny hip thrust, tense biceps and nope, stupid thing just doesn't let me get 5x5 in!

one day - reckon I just need to keep chipping away and someday I will get it or get past it.

Would love to get a 5x5 @27.5kg/60.6lbs!!!

At what point are you failing? I don't do any lift in 5 sets of 5, but the press would be particularly tough to do at such a volume... If you manage to do three sets of five, I would say it's progress.

There are a few variables that can be manipulated to get the upper body lifts unstuck. Small increments are important--if you overreach and try too big a jump, you might not recover in time for the next session, in which case your working weight might not only fail to progress but actually regress. Regression can happen for other reasons (such as the sad end of noob gains), but overly high increments are a major one.

Another variable that really needs to be tracked is rest between reps. I actually time mine now--I didn't before, and now that I do, I realize that my "internal clock" is set to about 1.5 min between reps. Whereas what I need is more like 5 min. If you get through your first work set and fail halfway through the second, or the third, then time between reps might be the limiting factor--smaller muscles get fatigued faster.

The third variable is warm-up structure. If your warm-ups are so heavy that they drain you before you ever get to the work set, adjust them downward. Constructing a proper warm-up structure is especially hard for women on the press. If your work set is 55 lb and you only have a 45 lb bar to work with, I would suggest to not do not do much of a warm-up. If you do your press right after squats, you should be warm from that, so one quick set of 5 at 45 lb might be enough to get you ready for the 55 lb work sets. Or you could do 5 reps of 45, then two reps of 50, then your work set. If you are working at, say, 70, then try 5 reps of 45, 5 reps of 60 (or 57.5), one rep of 65, and then your work set.

And finally, there is the possibility that you have exhausted noob gains and that you need to move to a periodization scheme in order to make further progress. My impression is that many people move to periodization way too soon, before correcting form or addressing the tweaks I mentioned above. But at some point, you will lose the ability to adapt to increases in the manner of a novice, and periodization is the only way to proceed from there.

Bumblebums - thank you for you feedback. Will time my rests better to see if I can break through this - one thing I've not yet done is increase this. Xx