Tweaking Novice LP

[kris90]

TL/DR:
-On week 10 of SS Novice stats:

• Bodyweight: 155 lbs / 170 lbs
• Squat: 135x5 / 285x5
• Bench: 125x5 / 200x5
• OHP: 65x5 / 120x5
• DL: 185x5 / 360x5

-Missed a rep on squats 265, and again currently at 285
-Diet, stress levels, rest/recovery, sleep and general health are all as optimal as can be (I'm a fat adapted/keto lifter, and have fueled this way for year
-Main goals: I literally just want to lift as much weight as possible and potentially get into powerlifting. I don't care about muscle mass gains/bodybuilding crap, just want to add weight to the bar. I want to be as strong as humanly possible while still remaining as small as possible (hoping to stay around 170 lbs, or potentially even cut back to 165). I don't care about my physique anymore, keto takes care of that anyhow

So with the above in mind, I'm wondering if at this point, I should add a light squat day in my training week? As mentioned, I missed a rep twice now on squats, I did a minor reset for OHP as well. Luckily, I didn't have to deload/reset squats, I just rested, and re-attempted. But I feel like I'm in the "overreaching" phase, and I do not want that to turn into overtraining.

I was thinking of:

A) Keep going on squats and adding weight regardless of hitting my 5 reps, eventually doing 3x4, and then 3x3
B) Adding a light squat day on day 2, and continuing to hit 3x5 (resetting if failing 3x)
C) Both the above
D) Transition to a RPT style (i.e. Martin Berkhan) where I try to hit a PR on only the first set, and do 2 drop sets (to maintain volume)

Any suggestions? I'm strongly considering keep adding weight even if losing reps, and am interested in a 3x3. I seem to respond extremely well to low volume/high intense training, and I'm not looking for size gains.

Kris

[Mark Rippetoe]

Height/age?

[kris90]

5'8 29 years old with superior health. About 12% bodyfat.

[kris90]

5'8/29 years old just under 12% bodyfat. In fantastic health.

[g4string]

Is there a possibility that the lack of carbs in your diet is what could possibly be contributing to your early stall?

Per you, you’re not concerned about your physique. However, you seem extremely proud of your 12% body fat and keto diet.

I wouldn’t shift to a 3x3. You still are novice. You need sets of 5. Maybe try putting some carbs in your diet and see what happens. I’d bet the results will surprise you.

[kris90]

Is there a possibility that the lack of carbs in your diet is what could possibly be contributing to your early stall?

Per you, you’re not concerned about your physique. However, you seem extremely proud of your 12% body fat and keto diet.

I wouldn’t shift to a 3x3. You still are novice. You need sets of 5. Maybe try putting some carbs in your diet and see what happens. I’d bet the results will surprise you.

The diet is more for longevity. I'm on pretty well a carnivore diet. Fueling on fats and protein is a much "cleaner" source of energy for our mitochondria. We produce far less ROS and thus lower levels of inflammation. 1 mole of fatty acids produce 147 ATP versus only 38 per 1 mole of glucose. I understand glucose provides quicker ATP though, but with a healthy liver, gluconeogenesis should support glucose requirements during a 1 hour weight training session especially with adequate protein levels. Also the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) can replenish liver and muscle glycogen levels SANS carbs. I've been doing this for about 3 years, so I am definitely fat adapted (do some research on Volek's work on fat-adapted athletes).

I do appreciate the advice though. I'm currently looking at running a HLM style program, but dropping to 3 reps. Something like:

Day A (Volume):
Squat 5x3 (90% 3RM)
Bench/OHP 3x5
Row 2x5

Day B (Recovery):
Squat 2x5 (80% 3RM)
Bench/OHP 3x5
Deadlift 1x5 (OR 2x3)

Day C (Intensity):
Squat 1x3 (3RM)
Bench/OHP 3x5
Chins 3x5

I'm still going LP on pressing and Deadlift, so this would moreso be a modification for my squats which seem to be stalled around the 295-305 mark for 3-5 reps. (Got 295x5 and 305x3).

[Mark Rippetoe]

The diet is more for longevity.

Then why are you worried about your training?

[kris90]

Then why are you worried about your training?

After all my experience of burning out my HPA and HPT axis' in my younger days overtraining and fueling on carbs, I'd like to explore a pathway I've learned about that links performance with longevity. Most of the time, they cannot go hand-in-hand because most athletes train on carbs in a warm adapted state. This leads to higher levels of ROS in the cell, and faster cell turnover/stem cell depletion.

Using cold/fat adapted pathways, one can better tap into autophagy and higher levels of GH, plus improved androgen receptor sensitivity allowing less stem cell depletion, and more cell recycling.

[wiigelec]

Wow!

Are you a writer for Star Trek?

[8odin8]

OP, how long do you plan on living?