I’ve been running SSLP since the end of July. I have made progress but I’m at a point where I feel like I’m failing. I started out 32 years old, 180lbs, 5’10. My lifts were;
Squat - 105 lbs
Press - 70 lbs
Dead lift - 115 lbs
Bench - 105 lbs
Since than I have gained 3-5 lbs of weight and hit the following in my lifts;
Squat - 190-195 lbs
Ohp - 80 lbs
Dead lift- 220 lbs
Bench - 145-150 lbs
I recently was sick and skipped the gym for 4-5 days. After those days I went into the gym with a deloaded workout. I found it was a struggle to get 150lbs squat, my bench was only able to get 2 reps of 150 lbs when last time I benched I was able to get 5x150lbs. 200lbs dead lift was a struggle. I don’t know if this is normal or if its time to move on? I have plans to move to the bridge but wanted to get as strong as I could on LP before doing so. Lately its just been seeming like its 1 step forward to take 3 steps back. Any advice would be great. Thank you.
Hey man. It’s not unusual to feel a little detrained after missing 5 days, especially as a novice and on a program like SSLP.
But, you sound like you’re a little frustrated with LP and are having a hard time adding weight to the bar - to me that sounds like a great reason to transition to The Bridge. I don’t ever think it’s “too early” to move on to something like The Bridge. A year from now, it will make no difference whether you spent an extra few weeks grinding/milking/squeezing out any last LP gains. I really don’t think those last few weeks of LP where everything is a grind is really worth it, especially if you’re not even enjoying it.
While I would start by saying this is normal for missing a week, stick it out and switch if you stall when not missing workouts, getting enough rest, and eating well, and you have reset a couple of times. I think more importantly It really depends on how your body feels and your goals. Are you young and need the strength to play a sport next season like football? Are you older and out of school and just play beer league sports but want to be strong and healthy? Do you want to look good and be strong? In case 1 SSLP might want to be milked for all it is worth so you are fit for your sport season. In the other cases, it depends on how competitive you are with yourself. Are you happy setting PRs every week? Can you build up by lifting an increasing percentage of 1 rep maxes at descending volume and test your max for a set reps every month? Are you happy testing a 1 rep max every 3 months?
What motivates you determines some of your program. If making PRs every work out or every other work out keep you in the gym by all means milk SSLP until you can’t anymore. If you can defer gratification maybe a long term idea of a program in blocks to get to a 1 rep max test is the thing. Also can you handle the aches and pains of SSLP later in the program or can you delay PRs so your body recovers better but you advance slower? Where I am now it might be possible to go back to LP and still make some gains faster. Yet I am ok with a slower build up, work more on getting my BF% down to 20% and recovering better between workouts. From a min/max view maybe going back to Starting Strength is best. Yet I gained a lot of weight when I went off the program, and it is dropping more slowly now. So I went to more intermediate programs so I can condition more and still recover. So it really depends on short and long term goals. If you just want to be strong and don’t care about competing or you aren’t playing a sport at a higher level of competition, there isn’t a best way. Almost all roads will lead to a healthier stronger you. If you are hurting a bit too much adding weight every training session maybe start with a light day. If that isn’t working Practical Programming suggest lowering sets and even reps. If you stall then go to intermediate. If you just want to be strong and aren’t competing in sports or for the most weight on the bar, an intermediate program might allow you to do more cardio activities like cycling or playing pick up basketball without hurting your recovery. It really depends on your goals and other activities, if you want to take Krav Maga or Judo classes and be strong for instance you might find a intermediate program is better if you are training harder on martial arts. Remember novice and intermediate is just a label and don’t get stuck on the labels. Novice in starting strength just means you can add weight to the bar every or every other workout. It doesn’t mean you have to. You have to eat right, get a lot of sleep, and be careful not to overdo cardio to do that. Getting sick sets you back the worst, going on vacation for a week also sets you back but not as bad. Programming is all about your goals, how fast you want to get there, and what you are willing to sacrifice.
So I’m a corrections officer and while strength isn’t a qualification I would like to have some to hold my own. On top of that I want to be healthy. I’d like to lean out a bit. I decided yesterday to make the switch to the bridge. I went in and did sslp program and yes I broke my previous squat but the press killed me and the deadlift was a struggle. I left the gym feeling worse than when I went in and feeling beat up. No reason to continue if I’m not feeling it and leave feeling worse. Tomorrow I start the bridge.