III. Programming
**A. The basics
**B. Stalling and Resetting, Part 1
**C. What to do after Rippetoe
**D. General Questions
*****1. How much weight should I use?
*****2. What about sets and reps?
Stalling and Resetting, Part 1
My bench is stuck now, and it won't go up. Why did I stall?
You will "stall" on some exercises faster than others. This is going to be a function of the following:
1) Experience with each exercise - if you have been benching for years or even months and you are only now deadlifting for the first time, you will stall on the bench long before you stall on the deadlift, unless you make enormous weight jumps on the deadlift. This is the most typical "reason" for the bench stalling so soon.
2) Mechanical Complexity of each exercise - the mechanical complexity of the squat is far greater than that of the bench press. You have far more going on in each of the involved joints with the squat than with the bench press. As a result, you will hit a wall on the bench press before the squat.
3) Musculature involved with each exercise - You use far more musculature in the deadlift and squat when compared to the press. This means that you have a larger host of potential weak points in the deadlift and squat that gets fixed with training. As your weak points get stronger, your lift will get stronger, so you will "stall" later in the program on this exercise because you have a greater # of potential weak points to address (and improve). The press is much easier to perform properly, so technique will be a limiting factor for a much shorter period of time.
4) Total "upper limit" of the exercise - this is a function of the musculature and complexity of the exercise. The more you can POSSIBLY lift on an exercise, the longer it will take to reach your genetic potential, and thus the longer it'll take before you actually stall. Generally, your strength will be as follows, from strongest to weakest (once you are "fully and proportionately developed")
Deadlift > Squat > Bench press/power clean > Barbell row > Standing press
What this means is that, once you are "fully and proportionately developed", assuming you don't have any type of injuries, oddities in your structure (i.e. super-short, stumpy arms; very small hands/weak grip; genetic deformity/malformation of your spine, etc), or problems with your mindset (i.e. you're a pussy who is afraid to squat or deadlift), your deadlift will end up being your strongest exercise relative to the others, and your standing press will be the weakest.
Now that you can recognize that it is normal for your presses and rows to stall before you deads and squats, you must determine WHY you are stalling.
There are 4 different reasons for stalling, in addition to the basic guidelines above. Rip mentions 2 of them in Practical Programming, I'm going to expand that to 4 due to the questions I've seen asked via the internet.
Are you stalling because:
1) You aren't doing what you are supposed to be doing for recovery? This includes dietary considerations (enough protein/carbs/fats? Enough vitamins? Enough water? Skipping meals or eating every 2-4 hours?) as well as rest considerations (go to sleep at 10 PM or 1 AM with an 8 AM class that morning?)
2) You aren't adding weight properly. Yes, I'm talking to you greedy bastards who decide that you can jump 10 lbs between bench workouts, or you decide to add a 25 to each side of the bar for your next squat workout.
3) You have recently added exercises (such as dips/chins/arm work) or made your own adjustments to the program in whatever manner.
4) You are doing everything right WRT rest, recovery and weight progression, but you are simply advancing closer to your genetic limitations.
#1 is easy to fix. Get your ass to sleep on time, eat properly. Don't change anything about your training for at least a week until you have made 100% sure that you got your 8 hours of sleep, and that you ate your necessary calories EVERYDAY, didn't skip meals, got proper protein/carbs/fats during the day and at crucial times (especially post-workout, breakfast, and before bed). You screwed yourself on this one, but this one is easy to fix. Fix it and progress as normal until #4 describes you.
#2 is easy to fix as well. Drop 5 lbs on your presses and rows (and cleans, drop 10 lbs on your squat and deadlift, and start back up. This time, however, be sure to only add 5 for presses/rows/cleans, and add 10 for squats and deadlifts. This will USUALLY fix the issue, depending upon how rapidly you added the weight. A problem exists when you were adding weight to exercises that you had no business adding weight to. We'll get to you folks in a moment, because you may have induced overtraining (systemic overtraining, not "biceps overtraining" or "pectoral overtraining", both of which are misnomers)
#3 is usually pretty easy to fix as well. Stop EVERYTHING, strip back to the basic 3 exercises for the day, add a set or three of abdominal work, and THAT IS IT. Make sure you have #1 above in line, and train for a few weeks with only the basic 3 and the ab work. You greedy bastards were CONVINCED that 10 sets of barbell curls and triceps pressdowns wouldn't hurt, and instead of teh big gunz and teh bicept peak, you got your asses buried! Good for you. Listen next time ya damn teenage know-it-all!
(Yes, I was a teenage know-it-all.) (Hell, I'm a middle-aged know-it-all...nothing's changed, I'm just older and fatter!)
#4 is a "true stall". In other words, you are a coach's dream because you listened, did exactly what you were told, put forth full effort and intensity, you took your training (and especially your recovery/rest/nutrition) seriously, and yet you still hit the inevitable wall. See the questions regarding stalling and resetting.
Question - How do I know if I've 'officially stalled' and need to reset?
The following serves as an example. The #s are not exact, but they ARE representative, so if the weight change differences seem to describe you, then it applies to you, even if the exact poundages are different.
This assumes the average 150-200 lb teenage male. Make adjustments if you are older, smaller, or female.
Here is how training progression might look from week to week, assuming rest/recovery is ideal. When I say "bar speed", I'm making reference to your speed of movement in the concentric portion, i.e. are you really struggling and barely getting that last rep (bar speed very slow) or are you making that last rep nice and solid (bar speed good)
Squat:
135 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
145 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
155 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
165 x 5/5/5 (bar speed very slow)
175 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - note missed reps workout after "bar speed very slow"
180 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good) - note 5lb jump = no missed reps + good bar speed, therefore, try a 10-lb jump again
190 x 5/5/5 (bar speed very slow)
195 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good) - note slow bar speed = 5lb jump = no missed reps + good bar speed
200 x 5/5/5 (bar speed slow)
205 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - note attempt to correct bar speed and missed reps by very small incremental jump
207.5 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow) - missed reps, small jump, bar speed slow
210 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow) - more missed reps, very small jump, very slow bar speed, keep weight the same
210 x 5/3/3 (bar speed very slow) - again, missed reps with NO boost in weight used, attempt one more time
210 x 4/4/3 - time for a reset
Note how the weight progresses. 10-lb increments with steady bar speed means more 10-lb increments. Bar speed slows down or missed reps = half the increments (down to 5 or 2.5). Smaller incremental jumps in weight should eliminate missed reps as well as produce good bar speed. If you are missing reps, even after the smaller incremental jumps, then keep the weight the same. If you cannot hit your 15 reps even after keeping the weight the same for three consecutive workouts, then it is time to reset.
Bench:
135 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
140 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
145 x 5/5/5 (bar speed slow)
150 x 5/5/4 (bar speed slow)
155 x 5/5/4 (bar speed slow)
160 x 5/4/4 (bar speed very slow)
162.5 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
165 x 5/5/5 (bar speed good)
167.5 x 5/4/4 (bar speed slow)
170 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow)
170 x 5/4/3 (bar speed very slow)
170 x 4/4/4 - time for a reset
Deadlift:
135 x 5/5/5
150 x 5/5/5
165 x 5/5/5
180 x 5/5/4
190 x 5/5/5
200 x 5/5/5
210 x 5/5/4
220 x 5/5/3
225 x 5/5/5
230 x 5/5/5
235 x 5/5/5
240 x 5/5/4
245 x 5/4/4
250 x 5/3/3
250 x 4/4/4
250 x 5/3/3 - time for a reset
By now, you should get the idea. Once the bar slows down, make note that you will probably need to reduce the weight jumps pretty soon. When you start missing a rep here or there, assuming you are resting and recovering properly, then you'll need to reduce the weight jumps. Once you start missing reps in multiple sets or multiple reps in one set, then keep the weight the same. If you can't get your 5/5/5 after using the same weight for 3 workouts, then it's time to reset.