One of the things that helps me most when I stall at any weight is to increase the reps. If you can do 5 reps of OHP at 45lbs, then shoot for 5 sets of 6 reps. Then 7 reps, etc. I usually go to 10 reps then increase the weight and go for 5x5, 5x6, 5x7, you get the idea. You can also get fractional plates so you can increase in 2.5lb (or less) increments instead of 5lbs.

I started many of my weights lower than the recommended. I couldn't do the deadlift and it was one I was newest too as well, so I had it at a much lower weight the first couple weeks. In fact, week 5 is the first time I've done it with the regular size, 45 plates and no plates under to add height. And OHP I haven't increased much at all as I started below 45 and just now have 55 but couldn't get 60. I suppose if I fail at 60 a couple more times I will deload to below 45 again. Only one I consider a real stall/fail so far has been bench. I haven't gotten 80 yet, though I did make it 2 whole sets last time. One more fail and I'll drop down then work my way up again. My row is just now increasing a bit but may stall a little soon too but me and that have issues and I may switch to dumbbells for it.


As already mentioned, I'm pretty sure the deload is just focused on the lift that you can't increase on in hopes of working up from lighter will help break through the struggled spot. Then, I would assume that if you can't get it higher a few times, that is when people tend to suggest a 3x5 on it as even the hard ones might be possible for a few sets, just not the whole 5 sets.


There are some impressive lifters here. But the best is to focus on what you can do and what you can increase. When I started at the gym back in the end of October, I struggled to bench the bar. Now my struggle is 80 lbs. I did 115 in squats, but my coworker who is bigger than me (height and everything) just now started adding weights when she does squats and it's awesome she is up to 60.

Basics - You're awesome either way.

crabada wrote: »

- My impression is that it takes a while to get to get to the point where you'd be thinking about 3x5. You have to fail a lift 3x before deloading 10%, and then you have to deload 3x before moving to 3x5.

And to clarify a tiny bit further, the three fails are session fails, not reps and not sets. So if I fail my bench press at 80 lbs. on Monday, I do 80 lbs. again on Friday. If I miss a rep or set on Friday, I try 80 lbs. again Wednesday. If I fail on Wed., THEN I deload the 10%.

deluxmary2000 wrote: »

And just hearing that I'm not the only one who started out light makes me feel a lot better and more motivated. I was honestly just worried there was something wrong with me.

remember too that sl is written and marketed towards men. i think he has about half a page somewhere dedicated to anecdote about how women can do sl because his girlfriend does sl (and as i've said before, i find it hard to imagine any self-respecting woman who'd be willing to be his girlfriend, he's such a noisy machoid twit) . . . but that's it. so when it comes to sl, i honestly feel like the way to preserve your sanity and your self-confidence is to take the parts that work (basic workout structure, form tips) and fill in your own blanks for the rest.

as far as starting light - me too. i started sl in mid/later june and just struggled. for me, a lot of that was about fine-tuning and making slow little new discoveries about form as i went along the whole time. i'd progress by 10 pounds or so, mildly hurt something or become worried i was about to hurt something, and slow down again just to try and work out the answers to each little individual-muscle-action setback that came along.

i've never ever lifted before, and i'm also very much one of those people who has to find things out for herself, or actually experience/discover them in person before they make any sense. so i've been extremely slow too . . . by mehdi's standards. but

a) i'm much stronger now than i was in april or may anyway, even if i never add another ounce to a single lift . . .and

b) now that i am starting to get my form together in a way that seems like it works well for me, i AM making progress again. but that wouldn't ever have happened if i hadn't gone through those first original months of hands-on 'finding out' first. so

c) don't quit unless you really really don't feel as if lifting's for you and/or you just don't wanna do it. you're probably making progress even if you're not adding weight, you just don't realise it yet.

i've just had some shoulder/neck stuff that's slowed me down again, but my progress (since late march when i first heard/thought about lifting at all) has been:

squats: bodyweight to mixed sets of 95lb/100lbs atm
bench: 20-lb bar to 70lbs at last serious pre-chiro workout.
rows: well, never mind. i just straight-up suck at rows. but when i'm not sucking i seem to be able to manage 65lbs and sometimes more.
ohp: 20lbs to 50, last time.
deadlift: i cna't remember what i started with. but i do remember that in july sometime i tried 80lbs and couldn't get it even halfway up my shins. most recent number was 135 although i usually do working sets at anywhere from 100 to 120 right now, still working on form.

lifting weights is actually not that different from losing weight in this one sense: getting too hung up about the numbers on the 'scale' can blind you to all the other forms and definitions of 'progress' you make.

also, hi. glad to see you here and looking forward to your posts in the daily-workout thread, if you feel like posting in there.

canadianlbs wrote: »

he's such a noisy machoid twit

Have I told you lately that I you?

Hi there. I'm a newbie too. I started SL about a month ago and have been doing squats on a Smith Machine which I have recently found out is a big NO NO. My community workout facility doesn't have a power rack. So I'm signing up at a gym that has one. I'm so glad you ladies are here and I'm very impressed with this group and the progress being made.

crabada wrote: »

jo_marnes wrote: »

I've only just started SL but I really feel it isn't for real beginners - it's a hard slog, especially with the amount of squats. You need to make sure your form is 100%. Nutrition and diet is also important. I stalled with strength gain until I increased calories. So you need to also assess what your goals are if you are currently going for a deficit.

Agreed about nutrition and increasing calories if you want to keep adding weight to the bar, but I disagree about SL5x5 not being a beginner's program. I'd never done any heavy, compound lifting (only isolation machines) before doing this program and I've found it to be easy to follow with just the right amount of challenge to keep it interesting. As long as a person takes it slow and pays attention to their form, I think it's a great beginner program.

Easy to follow, yes. Easy to do without injury? Only if you are very careful - which many are, but newbies will not always understand their body's limits with weights yet. This is my fourth lifting program - I'm no expert by any means but I think NROL is probably better for the complete novice. It has a broader focus and includes lots of options for people to choose from whilst providing a structured training program. SL is simple but has a narrow focus and does not provide enough info on accessory lifts IMO.

Yes, SL is less to learn but that does not necessarily make it best, depending on your goals. I'm doing it now to improve form and increase upper body strength, but I don't feel there is much longevity in it. NROL and NROL supercharged have kept me busy for 2 years. Of course, I may change my mind depending on results. But I'd hate to lose the strength and skills already learnt as they are overlooked in this program.

Maybe a little. Though I'm also glad I won't be doing this exact routine for 2 years. I like mixing things up and chose SL starting from nothing. I'd looked at a few novice programs on bodybuilding.com and Ice Cream Fitness (which has a weird name) but in the end, felt more comfortable using SL as my starting point. Hopefully after a few more weeks or so, and some reading, I'll feel comfortable enough to branch out and maybe try the NROL4W setup.

i skimmed through new rules and a few other books in a store early this summer and decided it wasn't for me. 'total novice' in my case means that you don't know enough to know what to do with all the options presented, which was exactly the problem i had with the taster-pack courses i took through my rec centre at around the same time.

i preferred sl specifically for the fact that it covered most muscle groups without my having to mentally divide my own body up into different sections like one of those butcher's pictures showing the different parts of a cow - and then allocate specific exercises to cover the entire map. it was just a very straightforward, digestible way to get me started.

so long as you don't take the rate of weight increase as a chunk of gospel (i didn't), it's worked out really well for me to just pick five compound lifts, do them consistently, and let doing them teach me the best ways of learning to keep track of my body and listen to things that it's telling me.