I can't progress on deadlifts and OHP :(

[tvist]

I'm increasing weight on everything quite well except for deadlifts and OHP. I do straight leg deadlifts as I feel them working my hams the most, and I've been stuck on 40kg for about...a few months. Yes, yes, you can laugh. I used to do 5x5, then I changed it to 3x5, and now I changed it to include more reps to change it up and maybe make some progress -- I did 3x10 on Sunday and although it went well my back ached after.

OHP, well. I'm stuck on 12.5kg 5x5.

I'm sure I'm eating enough, I'm bulking and I track my intake religiously. Any help would be appreciated.

[tvist]

Shameful bump

[beyond09]

Are you following any sort of specific program? If not, you should be. Also, why stiff legged deads instead of regular deadlifts?

[Psychdockelly]

When i've stalled out on a lift, assuming my nutrition and sleep are on point, I immediately start checking my form.. I'll record myself and or ask one of the people I trust in my gym to watch me. Usually tightening up my form gets me back on track. Good luck!

[cirion0000]

OHP is just a tough lift to increase in general, it will always be very very slow.

For deadlift, it is the only lift that doesn't do as great for me with anything more than a couple of reps per set, which makes sense if you think about it. It's the only lift where the first rep does not take advantage of hardly any sort of stretch reflex. I get my best gains when I do heavy singles for it.

[tvist]

Are you following any sort of specific program? If not, you should be. Also, why stiff legged deads instead of regular deadlifts?

Here's my routine:

I feel like stiff legged work my hams more

[oregonchick76]

Are you gaining consistently? You say you are eating enough but how much are you gaining and how long have you been in a surplus?

There are several approaches you can take to break through a plateau. A de-load, where you go down in weight and work your way back up, or work in a different rep scheme.

I can't do as much on a straight legged deadlift as I can a regular one. But you should still be able to progress. You'd want to make sure your form was spot on. High reps on deadlift doesn't work for my back - I'd probably stay away from that. You could try sets of 3. I do heavy DL's for sets of 3 - usually about 5 sets. I follow that with other leg work (glute/ham) that is not so taxing on my back, but in the higher rep/volume range.

OHP - I guess I'm a freak? I started out with just the bar and over about 3 yrs I'm up to 105 for sets of 3. You can try using push press to break through that plateau. It worked for me.

[natalii]

Are you following any sort of specific program ???

[Arappuhn]

How long have you been in a consistent surplus?

I know you say SL seems to give you more benefits, but possibly utilizing another variation may aid in the progression for you as well. This seems to work well with me. Typically I pull conventional and work in 3 rep ranges. My stalls haven't been very noticeable, if that's what you could even call them, on a consistent surplus and a good program that really just focuses on compounds then accessories for weak links/as needed.

OHP is slow for the majority of people from what I've gathered. I've been lifting for a solid year now and can ohp 95 easily for reps. I also do accessories, seated floor barbell presses have been a great aid, push presses as well.

Eating has really been the main key.

[tvist]

Are you gaining consistently? You say you are eating enough but how much are you gaining and how long have you been in a surplus?

There are several approaches you can take to break through a plateau. A de-load, where you go down in weight and work your way back up, or work in a different rep scheme.

I can't do as much on a straight legged deadlift as I can a regular one. But you should still be able to progress. You'd want to make sure your form was spot on. High reps on deadlift doesn't work for my back - I'd probably stay away from that. You could try sets of 3. I do heavy DL's for sets of 3 - usually about 5 sets. I follow that with other leg work (glute/ham) that is not so taxing on my back, but in the higher rep/volume range.

OHP - I guess I'm a freak? I started out with just the bar and over about 3 yrs I'm up to 105 for sets of 3. You can try using push press to break through that plateau. It worked for me.

I'll try going back to 5 reps, and maybe 3. The problem is that usually my legs can take it but my back can't.

[-Ironside-]

What's your rest time?

[gbullock32]

Try micro-loading? adding even just 1 pound each session will add up over time; better than stagnation for sure.

[tvist]

What's your rest time?

3-5 minutes

[tvist]

Try micro-loading? adding even just 1 pound each session will add up over time; better than stagnation for sure.

The smallest plates the gym has are 5.5 lbs.

[gbullock32]

The smallest plates the gym has are 5.5 lbs.

You can get magnetic weights in small increments on-line, they are not too expensive, and bring them with you. Stick a few on when you lift and that may help build you up to the 5.5 pound addition, and even further from there.

[rdferguson]

1) SLDL is not a conventional deadlift. I'm not saying don't do it (on the contrary, it's a great exercise when done properly, and for specific goals is often better than conventional deadlifts), but don't expect it to respond to training the same way conventional deadlifts might. It is mechanically less efficient, meaning it will necessarily progress at a slower rate.

2) SLDLs need a lot of focus on technique, and this is made worse by there being different techniques available for use. I'd want to see a video to see where your technique needs improving. The fact that your back ached after 3x10 suggests that you might be putting more/inappropriate loads on your back, which would be a symptom of technique errors.

3) OHP is just a freakin' stubborn lift. My best OHP is just shy of my bodyweight, which sounds impressive, until you find out that I've been strength training for a decade, with a specific focus on squat, bench, dead and press for about 4-5 years. OHP requires a lot of work to add not many kilos to the bar. It's a valuable lift, but it will mock your ego every step of the way.

[BuffMother]

Personally I think you were smart to up your reps a bit gaining a bit more endurance for a couple weeks will help your progress when you switch back to lifting heavier again. Also, I agree with many of the other comments in that you may want to try a different variety of deads. Do some conventional, so some Romanian, do some wide stance, some more narrow stance, do some focused on the eccentric motion (up on a box) etc... hit those muscles differently and certanily DO Work on your back strength too! if your upper body and back are stronger you'll be able to get a heavier dead lift.
Same advice for your overhead press!
Also, do you take creatine? if not try it!

[-Ironside-]

Personally I think you were smart to up your reps a bit gaining a bit more endurance for a couple weeks will help your progress when you switch back to lifting heavier again. Also, I agree with many of the other comments in that you may want to try a different variety of deads. Do some conventional, so some Romanian, do some wide stance, some more narrow stance, do some focused on the eccentric motion (up on a box) etc... hit those muscles differently and certanily DO Work on your back strength too! if your upper body and back are stronger you'll be able to get a heavier dead lift.

Couldn't have said it better.

[sy2502]

Sorry OP did you post how long you have been lifting? If you have been doing it for a while, you are bound to stall eventually, those crazy newbie gains aren't going to last forever

I am right with you about OHPs, they are the bane of my existence too. My shoulders are naturally small and they have been stubborn as hell in terms of getting stronger. It used to drive me crazy but one thing I learned is that the fact you can't progress in weight doesn't mean your muscles aren't growing. I managed to get decent shoulders anyway. So you need to decide what's important to you, strength or muscle size? If it's strength then you should follow the excellent suggestions people here gave you, if it's mass, keep working hard and don't get too hung up on how much you are lifting.
One thing I remember doing when my lat pulldowns stalled was to switch to another exercise, like underhand pulldowns, and different kinds of rows, and not do pulldowns for a while. After a while I went back to the pulldowns and lo and behold, I started progressing again. Maybe you can do that with shoulders too, like switching from barbell to dumbbells (or viceversa), doing more lateral raises, and maybe go back to your good old OHPs in a while and see what happens.

Deadlifts in my opinion are a different beast because I personally am very reluctant going to failure on deadlifts because of the potential for very bad back fukking up, so if I don't progress as much in deadlifts as I do in other lifts, it's probably because I don't push myself as much with those as I do with other lifts.

[tvist]

Sorry OP did you post how long you have been lifting? If you have been doing it for a while, you are bound to stall eventually, those crazy newbie gains aren't going to last forever

I've been lifting "properly" for about 4 months. Before that I lifted using a set of adjustable dumbbells (only went up to 40lbs each) for everything and a pretty ****ty gym where there were only machines. My arms developed quite well since the weights were more than enough, but my lower half is still quite atrocious.

About July 2014 I started lifting in a proper gym and I used the Baby Got Back routine. Changed when I got back from a vacacion and now I'm doing this:
http://i.imgur.com/RXPqErI.jpg

Maybe it's because I'm extremely busy wih school and I go to sleep at 11pm and wake up at 4.40am :/ so sleep has something to do with it?

[sy2502]

I've been lifting "properly" for about 4 months. Before that I lifted using a set of adjustable dumbbells (only went up to 40lbs each) for everything and a pretty ****ty gym where there were only machines. My arms developed quite well since the weights were more than enough, but my lower half is still quite atrocious.

About July 2014 I started lifting in a proper gym and I used the Baby Got Back routine. Changed when I got back from a vacacion and now I'm doing this:
http://i.imgur.com/RXPqErI.jpg

Maybe it's because I'm extremely busy wih school and I go to sleep at 11pm and wake up at 4.40am :/ so sleep has something to do with it?

If you have been lifting for 4 months, you should still be making good gains, so I'd probably go with what others have said about rest and nutrition. You are probably young and can get away with less sleep than us crusty ol' fukks, but still, take good care of your body and it will take good care of you

[Jodie10]

I'll try going back to 5 reps, and maybe 3. The problem is that usually my legs can take it but my back can't.

Try increasing weight on the leg presses, squats, leg extensions and curls. Don't hurt your back.

[tvist]

Try increasing weight on the leg presses, squats, leg extensions and curls. Don't hurt your back.

Leg presses, leg exts and leg curls are increasing nicely. Leg press increasing a LOT every week, by a few kilograms.

[HealthNut12]

You already have some great advice here. I just wanted to say, my OHP is very hard to put more weight on. And my gym has 2.5 lb plates. Right now I'm to 60 for 3 sets of 6. This lift is by far the most stubborn when it comes to adding weight.

Keep up the great work, it'll happen!

[Jodie10]

Leg presses, leg exts and leg curls are increasing nicely. Leg press increasing a LOT every week, by a few kilograms.

I'm experiencing the same. Isn't it great to keep adding weight! You are pretty lean, are you eating enough? Someone else has probably asked. I'm up 8 pounds since joining here weighing 112. Eating has def. helped the gains, especially eating the CARBS.

go girl!

[tvist]

I'm experiencing the same. Isn't it great to keep adding weight! You are pretty lean, are you eating enough? Someone else has probably asked. I'm up 8 pounds since joining here weighing 112. Eating has def. helped the gains, especially eating the CARBS.

go girl!

A few months ago I was 103 lbs! I'm eating about 1850 cals a day and I seem I be gaining weight. It's weird because for most people this would be maintenance calories but for me maintenance is about 1750.