Strength progression while cutting

[Mooska]

I've been doing SL5x5 for nearly 4 months and I'm getting to a point where I don't feel I can move up further while on a deficit. Doing workout A(squats, bench, pendlay rows) on Monday, I felt like my squats, at 295, went great. Today, I failed on rep 5 of the very 1st set. It's hurting my confidence in this program, which is affecting my motivation. All my lifts, besides rows, feel like they're at the point where moving up 5lbs, assuming I get past the current weight, is going to yield less reps overall. In my head it seems less effective towards keeping as much muscle through cutting.

My idea is to keep lifting at the weights I'm super struggling to finish and not move up 5lbs. I would move up if the weight felt like it wasn't such a struggle, but I really don't feel like I'm adding as much strength as I was in the 1st 3 months. This is just what I came up with and I know I'm not anywhere close to as knowledgeable as most people on here. I just want to have that confidence back that I had in the beginning, knowing I am on a good path.

[musikguy72]

Someone once said (was it Ironwill? can't remember) that motivation while bulking comes from looking at the new weight your lifting but motivation from cutting comes from looking in the mirror.

There's no magic to giving you confidence while watching your routine get harder and harder. That's the nature of cutting. And the longer the cut, the harder it gets. Welcome to the club.
Start micro loading weight, lower and ramp back up, lower weight and raise reps (both slightly), add back a hundred calories or so...there are many ways to get through it but that's what you're doing at this point. Just trying to get through your cut.

Things will go back to normal when you are eating at maintenance and above again.

[Mooska]

If continuing SL as it was designed is the way to go, knowing that gives me a bit of that confidence I needed. Doing the past 2 workouts gave me doubts is all.