plateau page

[Kingofturtles]

Wondering what you people recommend for beating them. I ve been doing starting strength and its moved my bench from 45 and 25 to 45 and 35 but, iv been there forever and feel like ill stay there forever.

thx

[magicmerl]

IF and potato gorging seem like the popular fads at present.

[mike_h]

Magicmerl I think the OP means a strength plateau, not a weight loss one.

King of Turtles what do you mean by 45 and 35?

[Kingofturtles]

Yes, I mean weight lifting, not losing weight.

I put a 45 plate and a 35 plate on. I used to put a 45 and a 25 on but, I gradually worked my way up. I was just expecting more from the SS program than 20 combined lbs.

[wolfman]

How long have you been doing it? It takes months, also you need speed work, focus on weak points, up calories of you are skinny, lift for heavy singles, band work.

[Coach Palfrey]

Fractional plates, bands and patience.

[Miscellangela]

Sleep! Eat! Rest when you're not working out. Also, make sure other workouts aren't interfering with your lifts - i recently dropped my metcons because of this. Are your other lifts stalled as well? It may be time to add a couple of assistance moves.

[kmc]

Are you doing the SS program by the books, or is it modified at all? Have you tried the plateau busting methods Rippetoe recommends? (dropping to 80-90% and working back up?)

It might be time to consider transitioning toward an intermediate program. Either Reverse Pyramid Training or, if strength is your main goal, I recommend Wendler's 5/3/1. It's got built in monthly periodization, allowing you to work your big lifts in different rep ranges while still increasing your theoretical max on a monthly basis.

Overall, expect slower progress... you're benching 205x5, which is a pretty big bench. Using 1 lb plates might help you to squeeze out a bit more linear progress from SS, but eventually you'll need a more advanced program. Eat a lot + sleep a lot, too... as others have said.