Insufficient recovery? (Stalling at measly weights)

[JTT]

Hey,

I'm having huge problems with my linear progression. I'm more than two months into "the program" now. I'm failing to increase the weight each workout even tho I'm still only lifting measly weights. I suspect my recovery isn't sufficient.

23yo, male, 5'10"
I weigh 156lbs right now (less than 140 when I started). I started with creatine a few weeks back so it might be a lot of water weight.

Squat - 185x5x3
Bench - 115x5x3
Press- 100x5x3
DL - 205x5 (only lift that is still increasing each workout)

I can squat 185x5x3 with decent form, but today I tried 190 again (for the third time..) and I had to stop after 3 reps on each set. My form was breaking down and it felt horrible.
Same with both presses, if I add weight, I can only grind 3-4 reps before total failure.

The stress should not be too low, because I really give it 110% and grind every rep like a madman. I feel both physically and mentally drained afterwards and I can feel that my body is fatigued.

So it must be a recovery issue, right? I wake up at 4am, workout between 4:30 and 6:00 and go to bed at 7-8pm. I do work at a warehouse at the moment, 8hours of standing/walking around, picking up boxes, squatting down etc. Could this interfere with my recovery?

My sleep has been kinda low quality, I go to bed early and plan on sleeping 8-9h but I wake up several times each night for no reason.

On a typical day I eat 3400-3500 calories. I try to eat clean - oats, eggs, milk, meat, rice - all that good stuff. 180-200g protein a day. But not everything is clean food, some days I will eat add pizza, chips, snickers etc to my diet just to up the calories.

I've gained more than 15lbs in two months.

I must be doing something fundamentally wrong because I shouldn't be stuck this early! I really need your input and any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[MBasic]

155 is still pretty light for 5'10". Can't imagine 140.

How long do you rest between your worksets?

What weight increments having you been trying to use workout to workout?

If your reps have been so grindy from the onset, you probably picked a starting weight that was too high.

[JTT]

155 is still pretty light for 5'10". Can't imagine 140.

How long do you rest between your worksets?

What weight increments having you been trying to use workout to workout?

If your reps have been so grindy from the onset, you probably picked a starting weight that was too high.

I look pretty much the same 140 compared to 155. Thighs are a bit thicker, overall more fat on the body. I have thin wrists etc.

I rest 5-6 minutes. I increase 2.5kg (5.5lbs). I know there's fractional plates to buy but less than 5.5lbs to squats seems too low?

The grind is mostly for the presses, it might take 3 sec to get the last rep. But on squats, the grind isn't too slow, maybe 1 sec slower than doing with an empty bar. It's just that my form breaks when I squat heavy (for me), like I shift onto my right leg and start to twist. Only happens when I'm extremely fatigued or trying too heavy.

[TurtleBack]

How much sleep are you getting per night?

[JTT]

How much sleep are you getting per night?

"I wake up at 4am, workout between 4:30 and 6:00 and go to bed at 7-8pm. I do work at a warehouse at the moment, 8hours of standing/walking around, picking up boxes, squatting down etc. Could this interfere with my recovery?

My sleep has been kinda low quality, I go to bed early and plan on sleeping 8-9h but I wake up several times each night for no reason."

[TurtleBack]

"I wake up at 4am, workout between 4:30 and 6:00 and go to bed at 7-8pm. I do work at a warehouse at the moment, 8hours of standing/walking around, picking up boxes, squatting down etc. Could this interfere with my recovery?

My sleep has been kinda low quality, I go to bed early and plan on sleeping 8-9h but I wake up several times each night for no reason."

My bad for completely missing that. Try boosting your calories to 4000 to make up for the lifting at your job. Maybe even more, you have to play around a little bit with the calories.

[mangen]

I wake up at 4am, workout between 4:30 and 6:00

Try to get a few hundred calories down as soon as you wake.

Also, video your sets and review your form. If you've read the book and spent a month or so looking at the videos on this site and the associated comments - you'll know if/where you are screwing up.

I struggled at slightly above BW squat, saw a coach, reread the chapter and spent time reviewing form checks and boom - squat started moving!

[JTT]

Try to get a few hundred calories down as soon as you wake.

Also, video your sets and review your form. If you've read the book and spent a month or so looking at the videos on this site and the associated comments - you'll know if/where you are screwing up.

I struggled at slightly above BW squat, saw a coach, reread the chapter and spent time reviewing form checks and boom - squat started moving!

I usually drink 6-7dl 2% milk when I wake up. About 300 calories.

I have improved my form quite a bit since I started. But it is obvious that my form is breaking down when I add too much weight.

I do have some problems with being asymmetrical. I've been to a Chiro and she noticed that my pelvis was rotated counter-clockwise. If watched from above, the bar will be slightly rotated. I can squat 185 without twisting but I really have to que knees out and also actively rotate clockwise to compensate. As soon as I add weight (190) the asymmetry gets amplified and my form turns horrible, I'm afraid of getting injured because of this. Confidence under the bar is really low right now. I've read that the cure for most imbalances/asymmetries is just getting alot of reps and practice to correct and learn the body how to execute the movement.

This might explain why my squat are stalling, but my presses shouldn't be stuck because of this. Right?

Right now I'm trying to add more volume for the squat at low weights just to get a lot of reps/practice. I do my squat workset of 185x5x3 and then an additional two sets of 165x5.

I have tried a 215 squat for a single and it didn't feel heavy, I got it up but my body was leaning onto my right side and one knee caved when I was ascending.

[BrewinBombers]

Maybe my experience will help you. I'm in my third start at LP as the previous two were interrupted by kids, life, moving etc.

I was 5' 9" 155lbs in my first attempt and I had the same problems. I ate my way up to what felt like a heavy 165 (I was an idiot) After years of neglect, laziness and crappy eating, I ended up at 195lbs when I started my most recent attempt. Everything is easier at 195 even a weak 195. Gain weight. At this point, I'm having to eat 3,000+ calories to try and STAY 195 and my day isn't nearly as calorie burning as yours. I'm targeting about 205lbs. If I keep working, I'm pretty sure I'll be 205 and not remotely fat/chubby. I bet you could be 225 without an issue.

All the other posts and repetitive questions are right. You need to keep eating; if you can eat more, I think that you should eat more.

Also, if you don't have them already, you should buy some fractional weights. You can probably keep going up 1lb or 1/2lb at a time on LB while you gain weight. At your weight, if you're trying to bump up by 5lbs, you'll hit a ceiling pretty quickly.

Your Milage May Vary

[BrewinBombers]

I just saw your 185 to 190 3x failure note in the OP. Fractional plates are your friend. 185 to 186 you can do. Then 187, 188...