Overcoming beginner plateau

[FamilyBeer]

I am essentially a beginner and have been doing the 5x5 Stronglifts program for a couple of months. I've hit a bit of a plateau with my overhead press, I'm close to plateauing with my bench press however, I have more to go with my squats and deadlifts. Because I'm plateauing or close to it on a couple of exercises, I have some questions.

 

1. I have heard of a few things to improve my strength, do you have a preference for one of these (or another preferred option)?
   1. deloading then having a run at increasing again
   2. 50 reps (any number of sets, just reach 50) at 80% 5x5 plateau (another number was given in relation to my 1RM but I don't know my 1RM, I do know this other number)
   3. supersets
   4. pyramids
2. Do I wait for everything to plateau before using any of the above options or do I just start adding volume to an exercise as soon as it plateaus and leave the others until they plateau?
3. Is there anything else I should consider or know about?

Thanks

[navis]

11 hours ago, FamilyBeer said:

1. I have heard of a few things to improve my strength, do you have a preference for one of these (or another preferred option)?
   1. deloading then having a run at increasing again
   2. 50 reps (any number of sets, just reach 50) at 80% 5x5 plateau (another number was given in relation to my 1RM but I don't know my 1RM, I do know this other number)
   3. supersets
   4. pyramids

 

Deloading is recommended in the program, as well as smaller increments and switching to 3x5 (https://stronglifts.com/what-to-do-after-12-weeks-of-stronglifts-5x5/).

 

Have you tried smaller increments yet?  For me, using micro plates was the most effective to make progress on upper body lifts (I can personally vouch for these).

 

I can't speak for the other methods you've mentioned.  #2 seems a bit extreme for a novice program, and I don't know what the rationale is behind #3.

I've done pyramids and had some success with it (mostly mental, I think), but I'd personally prioritize the recommendations made by the program.

 

11 hours ago, FamilyBeer said:

Do I wait for everything to plateau before using any of the above options or do I just start adding volume to an exercise as soon as it plateaus and leave the others until they plateau?

 

It's pretty typical to plateau on ohp and bench before squats or deadlifts.  Keep doing what you're doing on the latter until they plateau as well.

Milk those newbie gains!
 

11 hours ago, FamilyBeer said:

Is there anything else I should consider or know about?

 

Food and sleep. Make sure you get enough of both.

 

Form: have you had the opportunity to get your form checked by trustworthy and knowledgeable lifters?  If not, I suggest the form check section.

Sometimes just tweaking your breath or setup can make a big difference.

[Orion Antares]

Agreed with the final point. The major factors for dealing with a beginner plateau are form, food, and sleep.

[SpecialSundae]

My first suggestion would be to look at your form. Even if everything else is on point, if your form is dreadful you can wind up stalling.

 

I had a friend who was a big guy (120kg+ lifter) and after 6 weeks was banging out 5x130kg squats but completely stumped on OHP. Turned out that all he needed was a form tweak (getting his elbows under the bar by pushing them slightly forward) and he went from failing a single at 40kg to nailing 5x5 in that session (and progressing on as programmed for another couple of months).

[FamilyBeer]

20 minutes ago, SpecialSundae said:

My first suggestion would be to look at your form. Even if everything else is on point, if your form is dreadful you can wind up stalling.

 

I had a friend who was a big guy (120kg+ lifter) and after 6 weeks was banging out 5x130kg squats but completely stumped on OHP. Turned out that all he needed was a form tweak (getting his elbows under the bar by pushing them slightly forward) and he went from failing a single at 40kg to nailing 5x5 in that session (and progressing on as programmed for another couple of months).

 

I've had form checks for my squats, deadlifts and bench but not OHP, I'll do that, thanks

[FamilyBeer]

48 minutes ago, Orion Antares said:

Agreed with the final point. The major factors for dealing with a beginner plateau are form, food, and sleep.

 

Form, for the most part, I think is good except possibly the OHP which I will check soon. Food is good, sleep is variable but generally I get between 6 & 8hrs a night, sometimes less, sometimes more. My wife is going through a hard time at the moment and it worries me but there isn't much I can do (I certainly can't ignore her and just go to bed).

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[miss_marissa]

To some of the other points, you could switch up rep/set scheme for upper body lifts while still progressing on lower body on a 5x5 scheme. If you're stalling on upper body, I would recommend a deload week and then starting back up again with different set/rep.

Also, not sure what point of the lift you are failing at, but adding specific accessory work based on your weak point is never a bad idea.

[Brovatar Korra]

^^^ all good advice above!

 

I just want to second that 50 reps sounds awful. Yuck.

 

And it definitely makes since to treat your progression on each individual lift separately and uniquely. It is totally common to stall on a lift (especially OHP and BP) before squats and DLs.