Hey guys,
Long time listener, first time caller. Appreciate all the knowledge I’ve gleaned from this site over the years.
Male, 37,6’4”, 245
Lifting on and off since I was 13 - put in a solid run over the last 2 years:
Feb-March of 2022:
Squat - 442.5x3@9.5
Deadlift – 540x3@9.5
Bench(TnG) – 347.5x3@9.5
Press (strict) – 215x5@10
Was sick (cold symptoms, weird energy depletion, GI distress) from mid-March to early-April. Upon recovering I decided I’d give an actual training template as progress had been slowing significantly over last 6 months.
Currently in week 8 of Strength III program and e1RM’s for main lifts are as follows:
Squat: 442à449 (range 437-488)
Deadlift:514à524 (range 513-552)
Bench: 346à356 (range 345-366)
Supplemental lifts and press have all progressed at faster clip.
My weight has stayed the same between 242-245. Sleep is good. I consume 5 meals a day with at least 30 grams of quality protein per meal. Probably a bit too much fat, but carbs are within the optimal range and I never feel sluggish for workouts.
My main question is: is this type of nominal progress in the first half of the program typical, or cause for reevaluating my approach? I’ve never done programming based upon such a long time-horizon so maybe just treading water in my ERMs and increasing volume is fine, with the realization of gains coming in the latter half of the program?
If this is not the optimal rate of progress, are there any tweaks I can make for this final third of the program which could help me salvage all the hard work I’ve put in so far?
Thinking I may…
…not be eating enough?
…overshooting my 1@8 first set (often end up with a 8.5-9, but then the back-off sets end up feeling great and often lower than the target RPE of the prescribed weight)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
- Joe