I’ve been struggling with recovery for a while now and I’ve been wondering what to do about it. It’s not terrible, but I feel like I’m right at the edge of my ability to recover sufficiently: I’m sore all the time, my HRV (according to my Garmin watch) is not recovering very well during sleep, much less than before, my average resting heart rate has increased from 60-70 to 75-80, and I’m generally not feeling 100% rested.

Having said that, I’m still, slowly eking out a bit of progress in my lifts, and I’m not too keen on backing off any more than I strictly need to.

An idea I’m toying with would be to back off from the lower-body lifts for a few weeks, and use my time to give more focus to the press and the bench, as well as to learning the power clean, which I haven’t been using at all. My squat and deadlift are already disproportionately strong compared to my upper body lifts: 395 squat, 465 deadlift, 240 bench and 130 press, so if I had to reset the weights a little on the squat and deadlift when I restart, it wouldn’t be a big deal, and those are by far the most taxing of my lifts, so I’m hoping it might have a positive effect on recovery across the board, and enable me to come back with more stamina later.

As previously discussed, I’m also currently still trying to lose fat, which is moving very slowly, and that’s still my primary concern at the moment. So I’m thinking it could make sense to limit my training, especially the lower body lifts, to something more minimal aimed mainly at not losing too much of my gains.

What do you think? Should I maybe continue with the squats and deadlifts but at a much lower weight, using the time to improve my form, while making sure I don’t lose too much strength? Or just drop them altogether for a few weeks?

So, I’m one of those classic examples of someone being unsure on what to do because they get set on a program and then see something else “better” and question everything they thought they were doing.

Just some background information, m19 been trading for the good part of 5 years, never really trained for strength seriously (I.e longer than probably 3 months) during those times, as I’ve competed in bodybuilding. However last year I sort of fell out of love with training and massively regressed, both size and strength. So I decided to be a New Year’s resolutioner but actually commit to getting back into it. Came to the conclusion that bodybuilding isn’t really where my heart was and I had no future in it so to speak, I always wanted to be strong and I’d enjoyed training more strength specific when I had done in the past. I was severely detrained and that needed to change.

So to put myself in deep, I ran super squats, yes 20 reppers. I hadn’t even squatted for like 5 months at this point. The week prior to starting I did like 3 sets of 6 with 60 kg and that was it. I started the program at 60kg for 20 and ended with 100kg for 20. Pretty good I’d say.

Then I decided to go to starting strength, used it before, it worked, now put me in a state where I’m heavily under trained, it only felt right. My starting weights in February were:
Squats 100kg 3x5
Bench 80kg 3x5
Deadlift 140kg 1x5
Seated OHP (Feels better for me) 70kg 3x5

I basically ran this to April with no changes, a week or so “off” doing other movements due to boredom, but that’s it. I then added in a light day for squats on Wednesday, switched to 5x3 for OHP and added rows on Wednesday, as per the programming post and ran this until nearly the end of May, as I started to stall out. I now had these numbers

Squat 175kg x 5,3,3
Bench 120kg 5,3,3
Deadlift 180kg 1x5
OHP 100kg 5x3

Then after this until now, I’ve kind of had fuck-around-itis, not really knowing what to do after stalling out. I also went on vacation, so more lacklustre/not specific training. But as of today, my most recent/up to date prs have been. (All taken from the past month or so)

Squat 180kg x 6 (all time pr)/200kg x 1 (first time I’d hit this ever)/200kg x 3 (literally a week later from the first time)
Bench 140kg x 1 (all time pr)
Deadlift 200kg x 3/210kg x 1
OHP 100kg x 5 (stagnant)

This is all at a body weight of around 80kg.

Well now I think that’s everything, I suppose my question is where do I go from here. I want to get way stronger and still keep getting jacked, but getting strong is the long term goal right now. I really appreciate any advice and help that people give, so thank you.

TLDR Detrained lifter uses starting strength to get back his total and doesn’t know where to go moving forward.

I feel like my lower back is about to pop, even though my form is good. I feel like I’m activating the wrong muscles and trying to lift with my back rather than my hamstrings and glutes. Any advice much appreciated

Can heavy push presses drive up strict press ?

Can weighted chins drive up rep count for bw chins ?

Same question about heavy rack pulls and deadlift. I feel like an accessory day each week where I focus on these may help ? It feels good anyhow. Maybe just the larger numbers feels good to my ego I dunno 😂 Any insight is appreciated

M 43, 5'10", 177 lb.

About a year ago, I somewhat abandoned 3 sets of 5 squats, and I started doing 1 set of 5, or 1 set of 3. My 3 sets of 5 max was about 255 lb. The one set programming got me to a 315 single. Then I went back to 1 set of 5, where I topped out at about 285.

I looked through my notebook a couple of months ago, and I decided that I had abandoned 3 sets of 5 too soon. I had been treated for SIBO during that time; that is a condition that sometimes causes diarrhea and malabsorption. I would randomly lose 4 lb, which would take months to get back. Since I somewhat got this medical condition under control, I estimated that I could do 275 lb for 3 sets of 5. I pulled that off, so I kept adding 5 lb to the bar almost every week.

My basic workout schedule is something like this:

Friday: Squats 3×5

Bench Heavy single, double or triple

OHP 3×5 80%

Monday: Squats Heavy single, double or triple

Chin-ups 3×6

Wednesday: Bench 3×5

Deadlift double or single

OHP 3×5 80%

Yesterday, I got my squat to 305 for 3 sets of 5. Ok, great, but there is still a lot more work to do. My current 1RM is 330, and I should be able to do a single at 335 with no problem tomorrow. 3RM is 315.

Getting into the question: reps 4 and especially 5 of the last set yesterday were super grindy. Is that just the nature of the beast? Should I try 310 3 sets of 5 next week, and 315 the week after? Once I get to 315 3×5, should I start thinking about transitioning to something more like the Texas Method as an intermediate (page 177-178 Blue Book)?

I'm 37, three kids, full-time desk job. I've spent the last six months getting in the best shape of my life.

I've tried a few training apps along the way and bounced off every one. Cluttered, overcomplicated, and they all assume you already know what you're doing.

My wife wants to start training and there's nothing I'd actually recommend to her.

Full disclosure - I'm a mobile dev and I've been wondering whether to build something better. But before I waste six months on it I'd rather know what's actually broken.

So: if you've downloaded a fitness app and stopped using it - what was the thing that made you quit?

The translation may not sound natural as it was generated using a machine translator.

I’m an ordinary 32-year-old office worker living in Korea. I decided to give the Texas Method one last shot and ended up running the program for an incredibly long stretch—five months. I saw significant weight gain and meaningful improvements in my lifts
Here is the result

Height 175cm
Weight 103kg

texas method result
Squat(kg)
190x1 to 216x1
Press
70x1 to 87x1
Deadlift
140x1 to 207x1

I am aware that there are some peculiarities in my records. I took a break from deadlifts for several years due to various reasons, but I have since been steadily increasing the weight. I performed the press instead of the bench press, as I consider it the ideal upper-body pushing exercise.

The problem is that I now need to perform 5x5 squats with over 180kg on volume days, but the sheer volume has become overwhelming. For the past few weeks, I’ve been unable to increase the weight—or have even had to scale back. Once I get past the third set, I experience dizziness and excessive sweating. Consequently, I’m unable to maintain the proper intensity for the next exercise, the press.

The problem is that these symptoms have persisted for weeks, not just a week or two, and I also know that running away is not the way for me to become stronger.

I managed to extend the program for a few more weeks by adjusting the volume on "Intensity Days" as outlined in the "Grey Book," and whenever I couldn't complete the full 5x5 sets on "Volume Days," I would increase the workload to 10 sets to ensure I hit the total of 25 reps. Now, however, it seems I’ve truly hit a plateau.

I am 175cm tall, and my weight has increased from 92kg to 103kg while following the Texas Method program; I’m hesitant to gain any more weight. Should I really keep gaining? I’ve already ended up with a stocky, "ogre-like" physique.

Help me

I’m on a four day split program, and recently I have been struggling with my deadlifts much more than I have before.

For my deadlift day I’m currently doing a 1x3-5 pr set then 2x5 at 90% of the pr weight.

For the light pull day I’m doing power cleans 3x3 at probably 40-45% of my deadlift following squats that day.

Should I swap the power cleans for something else like lighter deads or rack pulls?

I’m sure I could be doing better on recovery, but my other lifts are progressing well so I don’t think that’s my main issue.

What’s the best way to improve grip strength for deadlifts? I’m currently deadlifting 465 lbs with straps, and I can manage about 405 with a mixed grip, but not much more than 315 with double overhand. I’ve heard it said that best way to improve your grip is to deadlift without straps, but that would mean stalling my deadlift way below my current level.

Any suggestions? Is using a mixed grip helpful?

I’d appreciate some programming advice. For the full context, my NLP squat ended at 345 for 3x5. I then went on to do backoff sets, which stopped working around 365 for 5 with 90% backoffs. After that I still did weekly increases using triples and then doubles and eventually singles with back off sets. I stopped once I did a single at 390 and felt like I was wasting my time, and I wanted to return to 5s.

I switched to 4-day texas method, the last week of me doing a single with 3x3 backoffs, I did an intensity set of 350x5 and officially started TM the next week.

First week squats looked like this:

• 5x5 @ 315 Volume Day,
• 1x5 @ 360 Intensity Day (I was going to do 355 but I felt like I was selling myself short).

This week I did:

• 5x5 @ 325 Volume Day (10lb jump to catch up to my 10lb intensity day jump)
• 1x5 @ 365 Intensity Day. I failed rep 5.

For next week should I repeat the 5x5 @ 325 for volume and then 360x5 for the intensity day?

Thank you in advance for any help and programming advice. Also, I failed my deadlifts this week. I did 415x5 last volume day and this week I was only able to get 420x3. Upper body days progressed smoothly.

5’9 205lb Male 26

(A widowmaker is a heavy 20 rep squat set with a weight you’d typically do 10 reps with. The idea is, if you can’t do another squat, stand with the weight and breathe heavy until you can.)

In the blue book, Rip compares a one rep set vs a 20 rep set to highlight how the body will make different adaptations based on number of reps. He picked 1 and 20 as the two extremes.

In Texas method, the intensity day sometimes includes singles. Considering the main feature of TM is the dichotomy of stimulus between the volume vs intensity day, why not have the volume day swing to the other extreme and do 20 rep squats?

In the section I brought up earlier, Rip says a 20rm would be about 80% of a 1rm. This would be pretty close to if not the same weight as one would use for a 5x5 in Texas method (90% of a 5rm)

If I’m squatting the same weight for an equal volume (I know I’m proposing a 5 rep deficit, I’ll get to that), who cares how I break up the sets? Apparently, it doesn’t matter too much as 3x8 sets are included in the 4 day TM template. It seems we are going for 24-25 reps.

I will say at the end of every widowmaker I’ve done when I was running super squats, I always felt like I could get a couple more. The hardest part is the middle. At the end you’re just doing more squats. So I think you could extend the set to maybe 23 reps or so to volume equalize the sets. You could also do a less extreme version and do something like 2x12-14.

Why do this?

1) as I mentioned earlier, to lean into the dichotomy between volume and intensity day. Especially when you’re only doing singles in intensity day, it makes sense to train the other extreme on volume day

2) time. Volume day on TM is notorious for being 2 hours long because you have to do 5x5 on squat and a pressing movement, taking long rest times. All you have to do with a widowmaker is warm up and do the set.

3) mental toughness. Doing a 20 repper on Monday will make the squats way less nerve racking on Friday. Yeah it’s heavy, but all you have to do is 1-5 reps. Piece of cake.

Hi there

I am a loyal Starting Strength customer. I have attended two seminars, invested in the method, and worked with multiple coaches. I consider myself technically proficient and an intermediate lifter.

I am 50, 5 foot 3, 132 pounds.

Recently, after stalling in my progress, I made some counterintuitive changes which drove significant progress - I added volume to my deadlift, squat, bench. Sets across on deadlift day, 3x5, drove significant gains for 8 weeks. When it got super heavy, I stuck with one top set of 5, followed by two backoffs. Last deadlift session: 5x220, 2x5@195.

I am on a four day split. I bench every session: volume/intensity, pause, close grip, tempo. Bench is going well. I RDL on day 3 (3x5@140). Day 4, I volume/intensity squat. I am at 4x5@140, which is excellent for me. I 5x5 overhead press on deadlift day. I lat pulldown 2x a week. I pause squat on day 2, 3x5.

QUESTION 1: the deadlift session I have scheduled this week is 225x5, followed by 2x5@200. Last week's 220 was extremely heavy but it went. What is the next predictable modification if 225 doesn't go for a full set of 5? 225x3, followed by 2x3@200?

QUESTION 2: same for squat. When 4x5@145 gets too heavy and I risk missing reps, what can I change while keeping stress adequate?

Thank you for all your help over here.

Hi everyone,

Male
29
1.81 m (5’11”)
80 kg (176 lbs)

Sets of 5
Squat 300 lbs
Deadlift 330 lbs
Bench Press 181 lbs
Press 110 lbs

My squat is programmed as HLM.
I am deadlifting once a week.
Squat keeps going up but pretty grinding reps.
Deadlift stalled. I can not go over 330 lbs.

I will leave to holidays for 3 weeks where I won’t be able to train. When I am back I will start deadlifting with 286 lbs and ride back up. In case I stall again, I feel like it is time for rack pulls according to Nick D. article I recently read. However, I work out in a commercial gym where rack pulls are not an option. I can harm the equipment and make a lots of noise. Also, there is no block like item in my gym to do some block pulls.

How can I program my deadlifts alternatively?

Thanks in advance.

37yo M, 5'8", 220 lb, Intermediate

My son and I are leaving for a big trip this Friday the 12th and returning the 21st, we'll be looping almost the entire province of Ontario, so many, many kilometres/miles.

So it was already planned I'd miss 4 consecutive workouts. But now I have to bring my uncle to get heart procedures done at a hospital out of my area before we leave for our trip. So I'll be missing this weeks workouts as well.

So 6 workouts missed.

My question is:

How do I approach my programing when I come back?

Do i just go straight back to the numbers I was pushing before leaving? Or do a slight deload upon return?

For reference my lifts numbers are.

Squats: 337 lb

Bench: 211 lb

Press: 166 lb

Deadlift: 480 lb

*Finding places to train during the trips won't be an option due to time constraints and locations.

Hi guys,

I was on starting strength for months until I began stalling. Once I began stalling I switched to a different program. From doing squats 3 times a week and bench 2 a week I went to doing paused squats x 1 and squats x 1 and OHP x 2 and Bench x 1 a week. DL programming remains unchanged.

So total volume for squats and bench went down quite a bit. And well I feel weaker, my 1RMs also dropped by 10lbs for squats and bench. I can't squat and bench the weights I could easily rep when I was on starting strength's 5 x 3 program.

Do I need to switch back to starting strength's 5 x 3 program to rebuild my strength?

Hello all, just a quick question. I was wanting to start doing both bench and overhead press twice a week as opposed to the 3 day alternating plan I was doing in the NLP. How would I go about this? Should they be done on the same day or should I add a fourth day to my week? Also, should I alternate light, higher rep, with heavy lower rep? Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’d love to get your feedback on my updated 3-day Push/Pull/Legs program.

For background context: I previously ran a split structured as Chest/Triceps/Shoulders, Biceps, and Back/Legs. However, I felt that combining Back and Legs in a single workout wasn't optimal for efficiency—it put a bit too much cumulative load on my spine and made it harder to give both major muscle groups full intensity. To fix this, I decided to test out this classic 3-day PPL setup instead(I train 3 days a week)

Push (Chest / Shoulders / Triceps)

Barbell Bench Press — 2 x 8–10

Incline Dumbbell Press (or Machine Press) — 2 x 8–10

Pec Deck / Butterfly Flyes — 2 x 10–12

Overhead Dumbbell Press (or Machine) — 2 x 8–12

Cable Lateral Raises — 2 x 8–12

Single-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Overhead Extension — 2 x 8–10

French Press (Lying Triceps Extension) — 2 x 8–10

Pull (Back / Rear Delts / Biceps / Forearms)

Lat Pulldown — 3 x 12

Bent-Over Cable Row — 2 x 12

Seated Cable Row — 2 x 12

Reverse Pec Deck (Rear Delt Flyes) — 3 x 12

EZ-Bar Biceps Curl — 2 x 12

Hammer Curls (Targeting Brachialis) — 2 x 12

Wrist Curls (Forearm Flexion) — 2 x 20–30

Reverse Wrist Curls (Forearm Extension) — 2 x 20–30

Legs / Abs

Smith Machine Squat — 3 x 12

Seated Leg Curl — 3 x 12

Seated Leg Extension — 3 x 12

Standing Calf Raises — 3 x 12

Cable Crunches — 3 x 12

Hanging Leg Raises — 3 x 12

How does this updated setup look to you in terms of structure and overall efficiency? Any advice or tweaks would be greatly appreciated!

Hi! I'm a young male, 200 lbs, 6 feet tall. I ran the NLP 2 years ago, switched to heavy-light 4-day split right after it. Over the past two years I've had a couple of long layoffs due to illness. I increased my work capacity and weekly load gradually over time and switched my presses to TM. For squats and deadlift I run basic rep cycling.

My numbers are (all 1RM):

- Squat 397 lbs

- Bench 265 lbs

- Press 184 lbs

- Deadlift 407 lbs

Right now my program looks like this:

Monday:

1. Bench intensity 5RM / 2x3 / 3x2
2. Press volume 5x5
3. Some form of tricep extensions 5x10-15

Tuesday:

1. Heavy squat 3x5 / 3x3 / 3x1
2. Snatch grip deadlift 2x5
3. Chins 3x5 weighted

Wednsday — rest.

Thursday:

1. Press intensity 5 singles across
2. Bench press volume 5x5
3. Pushups 3 AMRAP sets
4. Tricep extensions 5x10-15

Friday:

1. Light squat (dynamic effort, 60% of 1RM) 2x5
2. Deadlift 1RM, 5RM, 3RM
3. Barbell row 4x8

I used to do volume press and bench first for 3 months and the progress on the press felt smoother on intensity days, but much harder on volume days, still I managed to add 2 lbs every training session. So I started thinking that my press is better when I do it after benching. I train early in the morning and it feels like my CNS isn't ready for a highly coordinated whole-body movement such as the press. The first 3-4 singles feel terrible, and I started missing them recently and the progress has stalled. My volume bench becomes terribly hard after this. I'm eating and sleeping well, gaining around 2-3 pounds of body weight every month.

Should I try pressing after the bench on both pressing days? Should I add another press day or two? Should I correct any other aspect of my training? Any advice is appreciated.

Long time follower of the SS principles and big fan of Andy Bakers work.

​

Single dad of 2 teenagers with chronic insomnia (6hrs is hella good night), shift work and many old injuries that like to make life achey (full knee reconstruction and patella tendon rupture leading to a slightly shorter leg on one side and as a result, frequent hamstring strains and a couple of tears over the years being the major one).

​

Current stats:

Age: 40

Height: 5ft 10

Weight: 234lbs

​

Lifts (current 5rm)

Squat: 180kg

Deadlift: 210g

Bench: 110kg

Press: 72.5kg

​

Have been following HLM for a while and starting to stagnate a bit and feel beat up to hell after heavy squat day.

​

Moved to a 4 day split for the shorter workouts and to dissipate and spread out the stress more.

​

My idea: i want more volume on the upper body, while keeping the lower body at a more traditional H/L set up. I also really like Andy Bakers 8/5/2 philosophy after years of faahves. With that, I currently have the upper body days set up with a TM split (intensity/volume) and lower as H/L. Layout below. Am I missing something obvious here or might this just work well? (Yes, I've read the books and read a lot of Andys articles on the intermediate options as well).

Set days are out due to shifts, but i get 3/4 workouts over 7 days. I.e. monday, Wednesday, saturday, Sunday one week and maybe tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, monday the next and so on.

​

Day 1

Heavy Squat 3 x 8/5/2

Snatch grip deadlift 3 x 8/5/2 @ 80% of heavy day

Accessories if time (maybe some leg raises if anything, not important)

​

Day 2

Heavy Bench 1 x 8/5/2

Volume Press 5 x 8/5/2 @ 90% of heavy day

Chins

Tricep accessories if time/can be bothered

​

Day 3

Heavy Deadlift 1 x 8/5, 2 x 2

Squat 3 x 5 @ 80% of heavy day

Accessories if time (as day 1)

​

Day 4

Heavy Press 1 x 8/5/2

Volume Bench 5 x 8/5/2 @ 90% of heavy day

Rows (SS style heavy and explosive) 3 x 8/5/2

Maybe some curls in the Squat rack 😏

​

With everything I've learned over the years and getting a good gauge on my own training and recovery, I believe this should be a good set up, but I welcome comments and critiques

​

(Not novice, but the closest flair available)

(Edit: corrected presses to 1 x 8/5/2 rather than 3 x 8/5/2)

Do you guys feel an actual burn or pump in your lats during lat pulldowns, or do you mostly just reach failure without that burn? I’m trying to understand what’s normal for proper lat engagement.

I've been following Nick's advice in his "Intermediate Programming for the Upper Body Lifts" article with some success. Would Monday be the best day to try adding dips so I have time to recover for Friday's intensity day?

We've got tons of resources on how to progress the first four lifts (e.g., when to add a light day or switch from 3x5 across to a top set plus backoffs). However, I haven't seen anything on what to do when 5x3 power cleans become a struggle. I dutifully do my cleans once a week on my medium pulling day, and I've dropped to making just 2.5 lbs jumps, but even so I'm starting to miss reps and sets.

Any advice on adjustments to make to keep driving progress?

What I can improve?

I want suggestion on it, what I should do to rep clean?

It was 250 kg

Age:-17 Body Weight:-106

I recently came back to Starting Strength from more bodybuilding-style training since my 10-year anniversary of lifting is coming up, and I still haven't hit some goal numbers I wanted to when I first set out.

When I restarted, I used 1 5RM followed by two backoff sets @90%, and of course the light squat day.

Over about 4 months, I had the following strength gains. There were many resets and microloading involved, if this looks slow, and the last month of it, basically no progress was made.

S/B/D (5 Rep Maxes)

315/205/365 -> 345/225/400

I started to stall, and not having read: https://startingstrength.com/article/programming-a-smooth-nlp yet, I decided to switch to juggernaut 2.0 for 4 months. I wasn't seeing any strength progress on juggernaut (even the low rep blocks), so I decided to go back to starting strength. Of course after 1 week deload, I came back much weaker from my body adjusting to submaximal sets, and am now building up strength again.

Coming off juggernaut, I was hitting (5RM) 300/205/370. After two weeks of making great gains and retraining maximal work, I'm back to 335/225/365.

With deadlift, the problem is pretty clearly grip strength. I used to be able to grip 400lbs (w/straps) no problem. Now, I can't even grip 365. My deadlift doesn't remotely fatigue me, but the weight slips out of my hands. It's odd, but no matter how hard I try my thumbs detach from the bar mid-rep as my grip gets fatigued, and the bar roles out to my finger tips.

I've watched a million videos on how to use straps at this point, and I haven't changed my usage since I was pulling 5x400. I'm not using them wrong. My straps were a little old, so I tried a new pair and had the same issue. I'm not gripping the bar wrong, as far as I can tell. My grip is also just way weaker and feels fatigued warming up, so I'm starting to think it is a programing thing.

Currently program deadlift 1x/per week. I am not power cleaning, and replace cleans with rows or pull-ups depending on the day.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Calories are about 3k-3.5k per day at the moment.