How to overcome a weight training plateau

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Deleted User 11453

Striker
Yo lifters!

I've been weight training since last September and I appear to have hit my limits. I'm currently doing x3 sessions per week, 3 sets of 5 reps on the greyskull LP programme. Basically this:

WEEK 1
Bench - row - squats
Overhead press - deadlift - chinups
Bench - row - squats

WEEK 2
Overhead press - chins - squats
Bench - row - dead
Overhead press - chins - squats

I cannot add any more weight even though I have .25kg fractional plates. The current status is:

Bench - deloaded 10% and still not back to PB from 16/01/2017.
Row - cannot add any more weight without poor form.
Squats - hopeless at them and using leg press machines and goblet squats instead.
Overhead press - reached PB on 13/01/2017 and haven't been able to add more weight since.
Deadlift - deloaded 10% on 09/01/2017 after 3 fails, worked back up to within PB but struggling to add more weight.

Is this article accurate with ideas as to how to lift more weight? Or do I need to eat and sleep more?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/7-ways-to-bust-any-plateau.htm

Thanks for any help.
 


Are you consistently putting on weight? If so, it could be any one or a combination of multiple. Speaking from personal experience, a rest/deload week should do you the world of good, and if that doesn't work, drop all your weights and work back up, concentrating on improving your form.
 
EreManYaLittleDivvy said:
Are you consistently putting on weight? If so, it could be any one or a combination of multiple. Speaking from personal experience, a rest/deload week should do you the world of good, and if that doesn't work, drop all your weights and work back up, concentrating on improving your form.
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Ta for the reply. I was adding weight at first, 2.5kg or even 5kg for deadlift. I bought some fractional plates so that I can do smaller increments, e.g. on bench press I deloaded 10% and now I'm working my way back up.

Greyskull is good in that the final set of 3 is 'as many reps as possible' so if I get 8+ I increase the weight.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Yo lifters!

I've been weight training since last September and I appear to have hit my limits. I'm currently doing x3 sessions per week, 3 sets of 5 reps on the greyskull LP programme. Basically this:

WEEK 1
Bench - row - squats
Overhead press - deadlift - chinups
Bench - row - squats

WEEK 2
Overhead press - chins - squats
Bench - row - dead
Overhead press - chins - squats

I cannot add any more weight even though I have .25kg fractional plates. The current status is:

Bench - deloaded 10% and still not back to PB from 16/01/2017.
Row - cannot add any more weight without poor form.
Squats - hopeless at them and using leg press machines and goblet squats instead.
Overhead press - reached PB on 13/01/2017 and haven't been able to add more weight since.
Deadlift - deloaded 10% on 09/01/2017 after 3 fails, worked back up to within PB but struggling to add more weight.

Is this article accurate with ideas as to how to lift more weight? Or do I need to eat and sleep more?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/7-ways-to-bust-any-plateau.htm

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Are you monitoring what you eat? If so, increase your calories and see how you progression comes along. If not, get yourself on MyFitnessPal! At some point you'll need to control your diet if you want to keep progressing.
 
mattT said:
Are you monitoring what you eat? If so, increase your calories and see how you progression comes along. If not, get yourself on MyFitnessPal! At some point you'll need to control your diet if you want to keep progressing.
Click to expand...
Ta I used mfp almost religiously when I lost 2 stone about 18 months ago.

I had some good initial gains but I got a bit chubby too. Weight is static so maybe I need+100 cals more per day
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Ta I used mfp almost religiously when I lost 2 stone about 18 months ago.

I had some good initial gains but I got a bit chubby too. Weight is static so maybe I need+100 cals more per day
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I'd say an additional 100-200 calories a day would be a sensible start - see if your strength improves in the gym and keep an eye on your body weight/fat% and tweak as necessary. Hope it goes well.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Ta for the reply. I was adding weight at first, 2.5kg or even 5kg for deadlift. I bought some fractional plates so that I can do smaller increments, e.g. on bench press I deloaded 10% and now I'm working my way back up.

Greyskull is good in that the final set of 3 is 'as many reps as possible' so if I get 8+ I increase the weight.
Click to expand...

Nee bother. Btw when I asked if you're putting on weight, I meant you, not onto the bar:lol:
 
EreManYaLittleDivvy said:
Nee bother. Btw when I asked if you're putting on weight, I meant you, not onto the bar:lol:
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Oops!

When I re-started the weight training in September I was only about 10.5 stones, I did a bit of a 'dirty' bulk to be honest and the body weight was going up as fast as the weight on the bar. Like I said I then got a bit too flabby so I stopped eating as much and even started to do a bit of cardio which is probably explaining the lack of gains.

The problem is that I want to add muscle and strength whilst still being able to fit into my clothes. There have been plenty of thread re: 'lean' gains and I think that the trick is to add just enough calories to add muscle and not too much %age body fat.

I could continue as before, get as hefty as I can and then cut a bit for when I get my speedos out for Cornwall. I'll look git lush.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Oops!

When I re-started the weight training in September I was only about 10.5 stones, I did a bit of a 'dirty' bulk to be honest and the body weight was going up as fast as the weight on the bar. Like I said I then got a bit too flabby so I stopped eating as much and even started to do a bit of cardio which is probably explaining the lack of gains.

The problem is that I want to add muscle and strength whilst still being able to fit into my clothes. There have been plenty of thread re: 'lean' gains and I think that the trick is to add just enough calories to add muscle and not too much %age body fat.

I could continue as before, get as hefty as I can and then cut a bit for when I get my speedos out for Cornwall. I'll look git lush.
Click to expand...

As long as you only gain a pound a week, the fat gains will be very small. I've gained 12 pounds in the last 12 weeks, but only added an inch to my waist, and most of that is muscle.
 
EreManYaLittleDivvy said:
As long as you only gain a pound a week, the fat gains will be very small. I've gained 12 pounds in the last 12 weeks, but only added an inch to my waist, and most of that is muscle.
Click to expand...

No, it's not. You aren't gaining anywhere near 12lbs of muscle in 12 weeks. The majority is likely water retention, glycogen etc. A pound a week is usually fine for novices and enhanced trainees but past that training status you'll just get fat eventually.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Oops!

When I re-started the weight training in September I was only about 10.5 stones, I did a bit of a 'dirty' bulk to be honest and the body weight was going up as fast as the weight on the bar. Like I said I then got a bit too flabby so I stopped eating as much and even started to do a bit of cardio which is probably explaining the lack of gains.

The problem is that I want to add muscle and strength whilst still being able to fit into my clothes. There have been plenty of thread re: 'lean' gains and I think that the trick is to add just enough calories to add muscle and not too much %age body fat.

I could continue as before, get as hefty as I can and then cut a bit for when I get my speedos out for Cornwall. I'll look git lush.
Click to expand...
From your posts on this forum I think you sound a lot like me in terms of size and strength and goals. There's a YouTuber called Radu Antoniu who you may find interesting. He's just released an app to called "Think, Eat, Lift" which is also his website. He addresses the issues of plateaus so may be worth a watch. I enjoy his videos because he's got the whole "lean" thing down to a tee. He's not huge at all but got a tremendous physique, exactly what I'm aiming for.
 
DufraisFTM said:
From your posts on this forum I think you sound a lot like me in terms of size and strength and goals. There's a YouTuber called Radu Antoniu who you may find interesting. He's just released an app to called "Think, Eat, Lift" which is also his website. He addresses the issues of plateaus so may be worth a watch. I enjoy his videos because he's got the whole "lean" thing down to a tee. He's not huge at all but got a tremendous physique, exactly what I'm aiming for.
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Thanks for that I'll take a look later today.
 
If you want to push through your PB's put Rocky Soundtrack on whilst lifting but the probability is if you are exerting yourself 100% to continually increase weight you're going to injure yourself at some point?

How many times have you dropped the weight and gone back up Steve?

Its an interesting question and one that I have been wondering about as well as im pretty much at my most in 5X5. The first time I failed squat, I dropped everything 10% and have beaten the former pb and then some.
 
Coeus said:
If you want to push through your PB's put Rocky Soundtrack on whilst lifting but the probability is if you are exerting yourself 100% to continually increase weight you're going to injure yourself at some point?

How many times have you dropped the weight and gone back up Steve?

Its an interesting question and one that I have been wondering about as well as im pretty much at my most in 5X5. The first time I failed squat, I dropped everything 10% and have beaten the former pb and then some.
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I tried to explain in post #1 mate, I'm at a point where I've deloaded 10% on bench and deadlift but I haven't yet exceeded the maximums that I first set.

I was adding weight for each session but now I'm doing x2 sets of 5 reps and then on the 3rd set I do as many reps as possible. If I can do 8-10 on the final set then I add more weight at the next session. I have 1.25kg and .25kg fractional plates so I can add smaller increments.

I just seem to have become more pathetically weak recently!
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
I tried to explain in post #1 mate, I'm at a point where I've deloaded 10% on bench and deadlift but I haven't yet exceeded the maximums that I first set.

I was adding weight for each session but now I'm doing x2 sets of 5 reps and then on the 3rd set I do as many reps as possible. If I can do 8-10 on the final set then I add more weight at the next session. I have 1.25kg and .25kg fractional plates so I can add smaller increments.

I just seem to have become more pathetically weak recently!
Click to expand...

Yea sorry Steve, Im not the best at actually reading, I just seem to scan.

If you have been feeling weak recently, maybe try velocity based training although that doesn't really help what you were asking. Ill shut up now.
 
Coeus said:
Yea sorry Steve, Im not the best at actually reading, I just seem to scan.

If you have been feeling weak recently, maybe try velocity based training although that doesn't really help what you were asking. Ill shut up now.
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You're being harsh on yourself I've appreciated your replies.
 
As an update if it helps anyone else...

I added a massive .5kg to bent over row and an even more impressive 1kg to de
maygo said:
https://www.t-nation.com/search?q=plateau
Knowledge is power
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Thanks for the link I have read this article and I have some ideas of what to do next

https://www.t-nation.com/training/plateau-busters

Interesting that the author listed how to improve sticking points for each exercise. I need to review each of the compound movements for my weak spots instead of just thinking that I am a total wimp. I can improve form on bench press in particular.

For what it's worth, yesterday I added a massive 0.5kg onto bent over row and 1kg to deadlift to set new PBs. I think that I was under the weather on Monday and shall see how I get on tomorrow.
 
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