I'm plateauing early in my SS program, not sure why?

[ellie210]

I've been doing Rippetoe Starting Strength program for about 3 months. But already I'm starting to plateau in exercises like the squat and bench press. And it's a really light weight I'm plateauing at.

I'm 23 and I weight 170 lbs. It's frustrating to know that I cannot gain any more strength because I'm stuck at the weight I'm currently lifting for squats and bench. I suppose it's normal to plateau, and I do still get sore from my workouts. However, I'm plateauing at a VERY light weight, so it's a huge concern for me.

Are these any possible reasons:

I'm not eating enough - My maintenance number is about 2500 calories. I eat about 3000 calories per day and get about 180 grams of protein. Is that enough for strength gain? If you guys want, I can list what I eat in a typical day and how many calories and protein they contain.

Bad form/technique - This could be a reason, but I made a topic here a month ago and you guys helped me clean up my form!

Not warming up enough - I struggled at the gym yesterday. Pendlay rows always tire me out. But the thing is, after I finished my 3rd set of rows, I felt this surge of energy. My body was all pumped up by that time, so I experimented and decided to do one more set of squats and press. I actually did better than my original work sets! For example, when I did The Press, I was able to press my work set weight with ease! And I felt like I could do more.

So maybe the reason why I'm peaking is because I'm not getting my body into a pumped state to lift hard?

When I hit the gym, the first thing I do for warmup is JOG on the treadmill for about 10 minutes. I take it easy on the treadmill because I don't want to wear out my legs for the squat. However, if I actually run more intense on the treadmill, it will get my muscles pumping to the point where I can lift more.

That could be the solution to my problem: Have a more intense warm up. And yes, I do warm up sets (e.g. 2 sets of benching or squatting the bar).

Deloading - This is something I haven't tried yet, just lowering the weight and working my way back up.

What do you guys think?

NOTE: I want to point out that other than working out, I live a lifestyle where I hardly do any physical labour. I do walk around a lot, but I hardly do any physical jobs. I'm rarely at home, so I don't do a lot of chores. So should I do more things in my life that require physical labour, to help bolster my efforts in getting stronger?

[iphone4s]

we have same stats are you sure 165lb maintenance is ~2500 with activity level i got ~2700 so a surplus of 300 would put you at ~3000 maybe up the calories or deload like you said if im not mistaken doesn't it call for 1 week off every 8 weeks ?

[jammyo40]

Your macros seem ok.

Could still be form issues.
Could be a lack of a warm up.
Could just be mental.
You may need to deload.

[Anzy]

First off, thanks for a well thought out post...so much better than the usual "brah, not makin the gains, what's up with that?"

The answer could be any of those things.

I didn't go visit your form check thread but have you been posting followups to make sure you're still on track? It's easy to slip back into bad habits, especially as weight goes up. This can be especially limiting in squat.

How's your sleep?

Meal timing is not as important as many claim, but I find a good workout meal (I like prot, carbs, AND fat) can really make the difference between accomplishing ish or wasting time.

[wheels30]

Are you training with a partner or by yourself? If your diet really is in check which you claim it is, and there are no injuries to speak of theres really no answer to why you are plateauing besides you are lifting like a b*tch. Get some motivation or someone to push you and lift hard. /thread.

[jammyo40]

How's your sleep?

^ This is something to consider too.

[abg]

At the sake of sounding negative, if your profile stats, which were posted 2 days ago, are correct, and you have really been doing this for 3 months, then you have a lot of things going wrong for you.

These are your estimated 1RM per your profile:
Squat: 124lbs
Bench: 119lbs
Deadlift: 164lbs
Press: 79lbs
Power Clean: chose not to do it so...
Row from the floor: 113lbs

Assuming that you are a normal, healthy 23-year-old male, then these numbers show an incredible lack of progression across the board. (And yes, that may be a faulty assumption.)

Let's look at this a bit.

Using squat as an example, the ideal scenario would be to use the method described in the book to figure out your starting weight. For the sake of argument, we will say you started your very first workout at 45lbs -- just the bar. Now, if you followed the ideal scenario you are adding 10lbs to the bar each WORKOUT (not week) for about 2 weeks, maybe 3 (and starting at 45lbs, 3 is more plausible). We will use 2 for our scenario here. From that point you should be able to add 5lbs/workout for a good 100lbs or more. So, given 12 weeks it would look like this:

Week 1 session 1: 45lbs
Week 1 session 2: 55lbs
Week 1 session 3: 65lbs
Week 2 session 1: 75lbs
Week 2 session 2: 85lbs
Week 2 session 3: 95lbs
Week 3 session 1: 100lbs
Week 3 session 1: 105lbs
Week 3 session 1: 110lbs
...
Week 11 session 1: 220lbs
Week 11 session 2: 225lbs
Week 11 session 3: 230lbs
Week 12 session 1: 235lbs
Week 12 session 2: 240lbs
Week 12 session 3: 245lbs

That is 3 months of progression per the program on squats. That is also what you would be doing for 3 sets of 5. You ended up with 124lb estimated 1 rep max. That's far too much of a difference to think you might be doing something wrong. Again, you are either doing a lot of things wrong or you just aren't trying. The first thing you need to do is decide if you are determined enough to go to the gym 3x a week with regularity. Sure you will miss a day from time to time, but if you aren't in there as best you can to the schedule then you will sacrifice progress.


Now to your questions:
I'm not eating enough - Simple test to this: are you gaining weight? If so, at what rate? If you haven't gained weight you need to eat more. 3000cal does sound like a good start, but you may need to increase.

Bad form/technique - Bad form can definitely keep you behind. That said, I can't imagine how bad your form would have to be to keep your lifts from progressing past where they are. Again, not ridiculing you, just offering advice.

Not warming up enough - 10 minutes jogging is good. I wouldn't go to all out sprint, though. It will impact your squat. Warm-ups with the bar are important, but it's also good to get a set or 2 in there between the bar and your working weight. If you are doing 110lb squat, then I personally would do at least 45x5x2 (just the bar) 75x5, 95x5.

I also find that if I warm up too fast I don't really warm up as well. By that I just mean take a breather between warm-up sets. If you bounce from one to the next too fast you miss some of the warm-up effect. Nothing sucks more than straining a muscle because you rushed into working sets too fast.

Deloading - Honestly, you haven't loaded enough to need to deload.

Now some return questions:
How regularly are you getting to the gym/How often are you missing?
Are you programming progression in there or are you just adding when it feels good? (By programming I mean you got 3x5 good form so you add weight.)
As the others suggested, are you sleeping enough at night?
How long do you rest between sets?

[ellie210]

we have same stats are you sure 165lb maintenance is ~2500 with activity level i got ~2700 so a surplus of 300 would put you at ~3000 maybe up the calories or deload like you said if im not mistaken doesn't it call for 1 week off every 8 weeks ?

I just might eat more.

First off, thanks for a well thought out post...so much better than the usual "brah, not makin the gains, what's up with that?"

Thanks. I want some decent answers in this thread, so I'm doing my part in writing out a researched, elaborate post.

I didn't go visit your form check thread but have you been posting followups to make sure you're still on track? It's easy to slip back into bad habits, especially as weight goes up. This can be especially limiting in squat.

Ironically, it's the exercises with the best form that I'm struggling with. When I posted my bench press video, everyone said my technique was fine. But that's the exercise I'm struggling with the most.

How's your sleep?

My sleep is good. I get 7-8 hours of sleep on most nights. But I do sleep very late and wake up very late. (usually sleep around 5 AM and wake up around 1 p.m. I worked night shifts for 6 months, just getting back to sleep earlier)

Meal timing is not as important as many claim, but I find a good workout meal (I like prot, carbs, AND fat) can really make the difference between accomplishing ish or wasting time.

I drink a protein shake right after the workout (but I only started doing this a week ago). Then I eat something 30 minutes - 1 hour after the workout because I have to travel back to my house or to a restaurant.

At the sake of sounding negative, if your profile stats, which were posted 2 days ago, are correct, and you have really been doing this for 3 months, then you have a lot of things going wrong for you.

Those are my real stats, and that's why I made this topic. Because you're right, there is a lot of things wrong right now for me in the gym.

Now, if you followed the ideal scenario you are adding 10lbs to the bar each WORKOUT (not week) for about 2 weeks,

Well, I usually add 5 lbs per workout, not 10 lbs.

What happened was in October, I made a topic to get people to critique my videos showing my technique and most of my exercises were bad form. So what I did was dropped my weights on most of the exercises, to make sure I'm doing the right form. For example, my squat before the critique, was at 150 lbs. But I realized that I was doing it wrong and not squatting far low enough. So I started at 75 lbs doing ATG, and now I'm at 110.

But still, I shouldn't be struggling with such a light weight, given my own bodyweight.

The first thing you need to do is decide if you are determined enough to go to the gym 3x a week with regularity. Sure you will miss a day from time to time, but if you aren't in there as best you can to the schedule then you will sacrifice progress.

Other than being sick twice and having to take a total of 3 weeks off, I haven't missed a workout. Sure, there are times where I'm freaking tired and don't push myself as hard, but I make a huge commitment to hitting the gym.

Simple test to this: are you gaining weight? If so, at what rate? If you haven't gained weight you need to eat more. 3000cal does sound like a good start, but you may need to increase.

In August, I was 160 lbs. Now in November, I'm 170 lbs. 10 lbs over 3 months a good progression?

Now some return questions:
How regularly are you getting to the gym/How often are you missing?

Again, other than getting sick a month ago, I haven't missed a workout. Always make it on Monday/Wed/Fri.

Are you programming progression in there or are you just adding when it feels good? (By programming I mean you got 3x5 good form so you add weight.)

Every workout, I try to add 5 lbs more than I did last time. However, if I cannot do 5 reps with the increased weight, or I start to feel I'm cheating, then I'll keep it at the same weight. I have trained in the past as a teenager, and learned the hard way that technique is way more important than weight.

SIDE NOTE: Could my weight training in the past have anything to do with my plateau now?

As the others suggested, are you sleeping enough at night?

Yep, 7-8 hours per day, although I do sleep late at night.

How long do you rest between sets?

I used to only rest for 2-3 minutes, until I bought Rippetoe's book and he suggested to do 5-7 minutes per set, which is generally what I do now.


I appreciate all your help, everyone. I really want to get this figured out, why the hell am I stalling so much and on such a low weight. It's the worst feeling knowing that you want something (i.e. getting bigger and stronger) and doing the things necessary to get that something, but knowing you can't have it.

[ellie210]

I'm going to post my starting and current lift stats.

Before I do, I want to point out that a month ago, I drop the amount of weights considerably. I made a topic for people to critique my technique and found I was doing most of the techniques wrong. So I lowered the weights to ensure that I'm doing the technique properly.

Now that I think about it, I've really only done SS for a month, since I spent the first two months ****ing around with the technique. My first workout after the critique was on October 15th (almost 1 month ago).

But anyways, here are my starting and current lifts:

STARTING

Squat: 105 lbs with bad form, 75 lbs ATG squat after the correction.

Bench Press: 95 lbs

Deadlift: 95 lbs

The Press: 60 lbs bad form, 55 lbs after the correction.

Pendlay Row: 80 lbs


CURRENT

Squat: 100 lbs correct form

Bench Press: 105 lbs

Deadlift: 145 lbs

The Press: 75 lbs

Pendlay Row: 105 lbs


Yeah I know, really weak weights that I'm struggling on. But that's my concern, that I'm already plateauing on such low weights.

That being said, I still get very sore most workouts in my chest, triceps, shoulders and abs (sometimes my quads). So maybe I just need to stick with it. It looks like it's going to take me a long time to grow stronger.

[jammyo40]

Warmups - Jogging for 5 minutes or omitting light cardio and simply doing warmup sets should suffice. It's not just about warming up, but keeping your muscles warm too throughout your workout. This might be an issue.

Diet - Enough about macronutrients, how are your micronutrients?

[ellie210]

Diet - Enough about macronutrients, how are your micronutrients?

I'm not really sure to be honest. I only keep track of calories, carbs and protein. Perhaps that's something I should try, getting micronutrients in there.

[jammyo40]

I'm not really sure to be honest. I only keep track of calories, carbs and protein. Perhaps that's something I should try, getting micronutrients in there.

Along with protein minimums, you also have fat minimums. Track your micros.

[flipnch1nese7]

Eat more, dude. See what works for you, and if it doesn't just yet, adjust it higher.

[mellowmarshall]

I actually did better than my original work sets! For example, when I did The Press, I was able to press my work set weight with ease!

My buddy is a newbie to lifting and this happens to him sometimes too. Our last press day, he did 75x5x3 and was really struggling with his last set, his form totally broke down. Then he got pissed when I called him out on it, went back for a 4th set, without resting, and knocked out 5 of his best reps yet. Mental plays a big part here.

Also, your gains don't seem like an issue. You said you were fcking around with form early on, and you probably started too high for what you could handle, so your CNS/muscles are just catching up to the weight you've been subjecting them to. Honestly, I don't think eating is a problem. I was forcing myself to eat at first and just felt like puking all the time trying to hit ~3k cals a day. I stopped that sh!t after about a week and it hasn't affected my gains at all.

Do you have a journal? Post some vids, keep a log. I guarantee results if you follow Rip's program.

[SuffolkPunch]

I'm not really sure to be honest. I only keep track of calories, carbs and protein. Perhaps that's something I should try, getting micronutrients in there.

Then you have all the info you need.

fat grams x 9 +
carb grams x 4 +
protein grams x 4
= total calories.

When we get a nice neat number from a formula (like 2500 cals per day for maintenance), it's easy to treat it like gospel. However, your maintenance level has probably risen. Ultimately, observation > theory. Track your weight gain, if you are not putting on weight consistently, you need to eat more.

[sonti]

I suspect a few things.

You may be starting too high - yes, an "average" 23 year old male should have his lifts at a certain level but sometimes we need to accept that we aren't starting at average. From your pictures, you seem to really lack a lot of muscle mass at your height/weight, and are starting out lower than average. It's okay to start much lower than you feel you should, because slower progress is better than fast progress and a quick stall. I couldn't even lift the bar when I first started SS and that was embarassing, but many years later I can lift at an intermediate/advanced level for my height/weight/gender. It takes time and patience.

Your effort - do you find yourself with a mental block throughout this?

Eating - you may just need to eat even more. Yes, 3000 sounds fine, but if it's not giving you the results you want, then there's no harm in adding an extra chicken breast or two.

Finally, you might want to ask Mark Rippetoe himself. Sign up on his forum (startingstrength.com) and ask for his advice. It's blunt and can be rude but it's straight from the horses' mouth. I have done this myself and found it very valuable.

[ellie210]

Mental plays a big part here.

Hmm, good point. I should psyche up myself to get the most out of my workout!

Honestly, I don't think eating is a problem. I was forcing myself to eat at first and just felt like puking all the time trying to hit ~3k cals a day. I stopped that sh!t after about a week and it hasn't affected my gains at all.

A few weeks ago, I was like this. I was farting every 5 minutes or so, but I think my body has gotten used to eating a lot.

Track your weight gain, if you are not putting on weight consistently, you need to eat more.

Is gaining 2-3 pounds per week a healthy rate for me then?

You may be starting too high - yes, an "average" 23 year old male should have his lifts at a certain level but sometimes we need to accept that we aren't starting at average. From your pictures, you seem to really lack a lot of muscle mass at your height/weight, and are starting out lower than average.

Exactly! I was doing a search on BB.com about guys who are "weak", but they were lifting in the 200s, so that made me feel a lot worse because as you can see, my numbers are very low. But you're right, even at 170 lbs, most of that weight is probably fat. I'm weaker than even the average, untrained male. So it looks like it's no surprise that I'm going to lifting lower than average.

I couldn't even lift the bar when I first started SS and that was embarassing, but many years later I can lift at an intermediate/advanced level for my height/weight/gender. It takes time and patience.

Me too, I could barely squat the bar when I first started. Let me ask you, how long did it take to get your lifting into the "average" strength for your height and weight?

Your effort - do you find yourself with a mental block throughout this?

You know what man, that could be a reason. Ever since I posted that video critique topic, it's tripped me out. I come into the gym feeling intimidated. When I do sets, I think about if I'm doing the right technique or not, feeling like this is hopeless. But when I feel confident (or when some of the guys at my gym push me to do one more rep!), I feel a lot stronger.

So perhaps I need to just:

1) Stop giving a **** what others think. Just do the workout.

2) ENJOY the workout. Know that regardless if I get the technique perfectly down or not, I'm making SOME progress and that's better than where I was yesterday or when I started.

Finally, you might want to ask Mark Rippetoe himself. Sign up on his forum (startingstrength.com) and ask for his advice. It's blunt and can be rude but it's straight from the horses' mouth. I have done this myself and found it very valuable.

I don't think Mr. Rippetoe will be happy about me doing pendlay rows. But I suppose it's worth a try.

[PeterGibbons316]

The only thing I can think of is to deload. It sounds like you are eating enough (gaining a little less than 1 lb/week = good), you are getting enough sleep (7-8 hours/night = good), your progression has been fine (5 lbs/session = good), you are getting enough rest between sets (5-7 minutes = good), and your form is good. These are typically the first things that you can look to as to why people aren't progressing on SS.

So here is what I think has happened:
You started 3 months ago, but with terrible form. Perhaps you started with an appropriate weight, progressed decently enough, but with poor form. So perhaps instead of getting stronger, your form got worse and you were able to add weight to the bar without actually getting stronger. You made your form check thread and got some feedback and modified your form accordingly. So at that point, you were basically starting fresh with correct form, but at a much higher weight than would typically be used for a starting weight, and have been unable to progress since.

A deload would help you to develop that strength with good form and then maybe continue to progress.




Also, as SuffolkPunch said - forget about trying to stick to a number of calories. Come up with a target amount of protein, a target amount of fat, and then eat enough carbs from there to get you gaining ~1 lb/week.

[jgreystoke]

Ellie,

just a few comments from an ol' codger who actually did SS after a long layoff from squats and deads due to knee issues:

I seriously think you didn't start LOW enough. You should read the book again and absorb what Rippetoe said about your starting worset poundage for any exercise:

Empty bar(45lbs) x 5
add weight x 5
add weight x 5
.
.
.
When the bar STARTS TO SLOW DOWN, that is your work set weight x 5
Work set weight x 5
Work set weight x 5

You are done for that exercise. That is WAY LESS than what you could do for an all-out 5 reps. It could be the EMPTY BAR FOR EVERYTHING. For the Deadlift, you only do one work set.

In subsequent workouts, your warmups would look like:

45 x 5
45 x 5
55 x 3
65 x 2
75 x 1
85 x 3 sets x 5 reps

or whatever.

You don't just piss around on the stationary bike. That pumps a little blood into the legs, but is not an adequate warmup to prepare your legs to squat anything more than the empty bar. I might take up to 15 sets of squats, before I reach my top set.

You are right to have only added 5lbs a session to squats. That's 15lbs a week, 60lbs a month, and if you eat enough, and recover enough, +180lbs in a quarter:

If you had started low enough, even the empty bar, the progression should have been something like:

45 start
105 after a month
165 after two months
225 after three months, if everything goes perfectly(hardly ever does).

Rippetoe DOES NOT RECOMMEND ATG squats.

You squat to parallel. That is about right to get the biggest weight through a really decent ROM(range of motion).

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do, SS or anything else.

[abg]

If this was answered earlier, I'm sorry, but what else are you doing? A lot of this post is with the assumption you are doing just what you have posted.

Do you run or do anything else on your off days or even on your workout days that you aren't listing? Basically looking for anything that might impact you lifts.

Otherwise the 2 posts above me are pretty much right on -- restart and if you need to, start with just the bar (going by the book is better). The only thing that might get hurt doing that is ego and that will get repaired when you break your current limits and keep going like they are nothing.

[ellie210]

UPDATE: What a difference the mental part of the workout makes! Today I went into the gym, feeling confident and not worrying so much about things. I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes and worked up a sweat. And I ended up making gains on ALL my exercises today! 5 lbs on the squat, 5 lbs on bench press and 5 lbs on the deadlift. I think I may have cheated a bit on a few reps (felt a bounce on squat, used a closer grip on my bench), but overall my technique was good.

I learned that:

1) Feeling confident and having a good mentality (i.e. not dreading the workout) has an effect on how well you'll lift.

2) Warming up is very important. Getting the muscles warm by running, and doing warm up sets to get your body ready for the work sets helps so much.

Maybe this is why I've been having trouble. But I'll reply to the answers given.

[ellie210]

So at that point, you were basically starting fresh with correct form, but at a much higher weight than would typically be used for a starting weight, and have been unable to progress since.

Well, here's what I did the 2 workouts after the critique:

Squat - I started with the bar and did ATG squats (or at least a lot lower than I was squatting before the critique). It was very easy. Then I just worked my way up and increased the weight by 10 lbs until it started to get more difficult to squat. I stopped at 70 lbs and I've worked my way up to 110 lbs now.

Bench Press - I didn't change anything because everyone said my bench press technique was fine. I did however, deload to 90 lbs after I was struggling to bench 100 lbs. Now I'm at 110 lbs as of today.

Deadlift - This one was strange. I wasn't cheating to be able to deadlift more. My major problem was that my back was rounding, which is dangerous. Partly why I had bad form was because I was using lighter weights (you have to either bend over or kneel lower to lift anything lower than 45 lb plates). So what I did was lift 135 lbs, and my technique got better because I didn't have to bend over as far. I'm still cautious about my deadlift technique though. I look at the side mirror to make sure I don't round my back.

Press - I resetted from 65 lbs to 55 lbs after the critique.

Pendlay Row - I kept the weight the same (80 lbs). Even now, it's hard to row properly because I cannot row 135 lbs and my gym doesn't have rubber plates. I'm thinking of using the power rack to increase the height of the barbell, so I don't have to kneel down/bend over as far.

I could be wrong, but I'm very picky now about technique. I much rather do a light weight and use proper technique than to go heavier, cheat the motion and not get any gains.

I seriously think you didn't start LOW enough. You should read the book again and absorb what Rippetoe said about your starting worset poundage for any exercise:

Empty bar(45lbs) x 5
add weight x 5
add weight x 5
.
.
.
When the bar STARTS TO SLOW DOWN, that is your work set weight x 5
Work set weight x 5
Work set weight x 5

That's what I did after I got the critique with squats and press.

You don't just piss around on the stationary bike. That pumps a little blood into the legs, but is not an adequate warmup to prepare your legs to squat anything more than the empty bar.

You're right. I was always worried if I go too hard on the cardio, my squats will be affected. I've realized that working up a sweat HELPS you lift more.

I might take up to 15 sets of squats, before I reach my top set.

Wow, really? Your gym is good then, looks like no one wants to do squats there.

Rippetoe DOES NOT RECOMMEND ATG squats.

You squat to parallel. That is about right to get the biggest weight through a really decent ROM(range of motion).

Really? I did parallel squats BEFORE I got the critique, and while the guys who critiqued my video didn't say ATG, they did say to squat as low as possible. ****, I got to stop taking BB advice from anyone.

Thing is, as I increased the weight, parallel squats started to work out more my back and shoulders than my actual legs. And when I switched to ATG, I feel it in my legs! My legs are rock-hard solid now because of ATG squats.

I'll re-read Rippetoe's book and see how far I should squat.

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do, SS or anything else.

Thanks. I'm sticking to SS.

Do you run or do anything else on your off days or even on your workout days that you aren't listing? Basically looking for anything that might impact you lifts.

I do very little labour (I spend most of my days on the computer with stuff). But I do a lot of walking in my city. That's all I can think about.

Otherwise the 2 posts above me are pretty much right on -- restart and if you need to, start with just the bar (going by the book is better). The only thing that might get hurt doing that is ego and that will get repaired when you break your current limits and keep going like they are nothing.

Like I was saying, that's what I somewhat did after I got the critique. I lowered my squats and Press to make sure I was doing it correctly.

[ellie210]

Alright, after reading your great advice everyone, I think I've come to the conclusion why I'm not gaining as much as I should:

1) I've really only spent 1 month doing SS. I started in August, but I spent those 2 months ****ing up the technique for most exercises.

2) I'm not warming up enough to be ready to lift as much as I should.

3) I may be 5'10 and 170 lbs, but I live a non-active lifestyle for most of my life, so most of that 170 lbs could just be fat. Despite not getting the most results (yet), I am seeing some physical changes in my body. My quads are rock solid hard now. My chest is larger. My back is MUCH stronger (I don't slouch as much as I used to). I can see more veins in my forearms now. Yeah, I'll probably make mistakes here and there while doing SS, but I'll still be growing.

4) Mental. I'm too worried about doing everything right in the gym, that it's affecting my ability to lift more and actually enjoy working out.

5) I'm not eating enough of the right stuff to gain more muscle.

================================

So here's what I'm going to do:

1) Have an elaborate meal plan. I'm going to start using Fitday.com and keep track of my macros and micros. My plan was, "As long as I get 3000 calories and 180g of protein per day, I'm good." It's more complicated than that.

2) Warm up for 10-15 minutes on the treadmill until I work a sweat. Push myself a LITTLE bit on the warmup sets.

3) Re-read the entire book of Starting Strength, take down important notes that pertain to technique. This will guarantee that I'm doing the exercises and the program the way it should be.

4) Push myself hard to make gains on my lifts and if I cannot go any further, just reset to 10% of the weight.

5) Enjoy my workouts, and feel good that I'm making some progress, even if it's 5 lbs more!

[jammyo40]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=133634471

[sonti]

Me too, I could barely squat the bar when I first started. Let me ask you, how long did it take to get your lifting into the "average" strength for your height and weight?

It took me about 2 years of solid lifting/eating to get into the "average" range but I am also female and my body doesn't respond the same way. I was very thin (109lbs, 5'5) and building muscle/weight from that is a heck of a lot harder than a fat girl losing fat but having more muscle.

It's best not to compare yourself to others because you might be disappointed. Where you start from doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that you put in the food/effort and improve from where you start. Good luck! Looks like you are really criticizing yourself properly and that's the way to progress. Those who refuse to accept their own pitfalls never improve!

[PeterGibbons316]

Deadlift - This one was strange. I wasn't cheating to be able to deadlift more. My major problem was that my back was rounding, which is dangerous. Partly why I had bad form was because I was using lighter weights (you have to either bend over or kneel lower to lift anything lower than 45 lb plates). So what I did was lift 135 lbs, and my technique got better because I didn't have to bend over as far. I'm still cautious about my deadlift technique though. I look at the side mirror to make sure I don't round my back.

Get out of this habit. Take video and make corrections afterward if you have to. Eventually you will be able to feel when your back is rounding and won't need to look in the mirror. Turning your neck when your spine is heavily loaded can cause injury.

Pendlay Row - I kept the weight the same (80 lbs). Even now, it's hard to row properly because I cannot row 135 lbs and my gym doesn't have rubber plates. I'm thinking of using the power rack to increase the height of the barbell, so I don't have to kneel down/bend over as far.

For lifts off the floor, place either some extra plates, or something else under the bar to raise it to the proper height (where it would be if loaded with 45s).

Really? I did parallel squats BEFORE I got the critique, and while the guys who critiqued my video didn't say ATG, they did say to squat as low as possible. ****, I got to stop taking BB advice from anyone.

Thing is, as I increased the weight, parallel squats started to work out more my back and shoulders than my actual legs. And when I switched to ATG, I feel it in my legs! My legs are rock-hard solid now because of ATG squats.

I'll re-read Rippetoe's book and see how far I should squat.

It's VERY clear in the book exactly how far you need to go. The problem is that most people don't understand what parallel is.

Good luck to you man.

[ellie210]

Thanks Jammy040! I'll be using that topic to rewrite my meal plan.

It took me about 2 years of solid lifting/eating to get into the "average" range but I am also female and my body doesn't respond the same way. I was very thin (109lbs, 5'5) and building muscle/weight from that is a heck of a lot harder than a fat girl losing fat but having more muscle.

I see. I'm happy to hear that you've progressed from that weight!

It's best not to compare yourself to others because you might be disappointed. Where you start from doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that you put in the food/effort and improve from where you start.

True, compared to others I am pretty weak. But compared to myself, I'm stronger than I was a month ago.

Good luck! Looks like you are really criticizing yourself properly and that's the way to progress. Those who refuse to accept their own pitfalls never improve!

Thanks! I want to face the music and confront my problems because I want to get big and strong. I'm not going to let harsh words and criticism stop me.

Get out of this habit. Take video and make corrections afterward if you have to. Eventually you will be able to feel when your back is rounding and won't need to look in the mirror. Turning your neck when your spine is heavily loaded can cause injury.

I'm starting to get the hang of deadlifting without rounding the back, so I'll stop doing this.

For lifts off the floor, place either some extra plates, or something else under the bar to raise it to the proper height (where it would be if loaded with 45s).

I was thinking of using the power rack, but I realized that my gym has these step stools I can possibly use.

It's VERY clear in the book exactly how far you need to go. The problem is that most people don't understand what parallel is.

Good luck to you man.

True, but then again, reading 60 pages about the squat, it's hard to remember everything.

Thank you.