Just Started Lifting But Lifts Not Going Up???

[Equality]

g'day

me: 24 years old, male, 5'9", 60kg, slim build, played sports all my life

so far i've done...
- two workouts to learn the lifts and establish my 3x5 weight for each lift.
- 4 workouts since learning the lifts.

however, my lifts don't seem to be going up in weight.

i planned on...

- 2.5kg increases for bench / press / rows
- 5kg increases for squat
- 10kg increase for deadlift.

but i am stuck on 50kg for squat, 65kg for deadlift and 40kg for bench, for example. if i increased my weight as planned, i would not be able to finish the last set.

might i have started too heavy in the first place? i established my 3x5 weight by finding a weight where the last few reps were very difficult (slower than the other reps) but completed with decent form. if i started too heavy, should i drop lower the weight and start again, or stay on my current weight and let my body catch up?

i am also an insomniac, so wondering if lack of sleep might have something to do with it.

am taking in about 3000 - 3100 calories per day.

[ajs5153]

eat more, sleep more. you may not be giving your body what it needs to recover and grow

[gzt]

Eat a lot more. You need to gain 30kg. Try 5K calories per day for starters, up it to 6K calories once you're used to that. 7K if you're really into it. There's a reason Rip recommends a gallon of whole milk per day: it works. There's too little info to really tell what's wrong - is your form good, etc. If you failed, try the weight again the next workout. Don't get greedy. And push hard. Make sure you give sufficient time between sets.

Also, rows?! I give 10 to 1 odds you didn't read the book and got the program off the internet. The book shows you good form. It's not necessary to read the book, but it's pretty helpful to make sure you're doing this right and it's sort of what the forum is ostensibly about...

[PVC]

Eat a lot more. You need to gain 30kg. Try 5K calories per day for starters, up it to 6K calories once you're used to that. 7K if you're really into it. There's a reason Rip recommends a gallon of whole milk per day: it works.

Seconded. At a height of 5'9, 60kg isn't a "slim build", it's anorexic. You need to gain about 15kg just to look like a healthy adult human being. Eat more, drink the gallon of milk, and your lifts will shoot up. The lack of sleep is probably a contributing factor as well, but the eating thing is more important.

[Tiburon]

so far i've done...
- two workouts to learn the lifts and establish my 3x5 weight for each lift.
- 4 workouts since learning the lifts.

I didn't see
- drank a gallon of milk

on that list

[Graunie]

You screwed up the starting weight. I would say start over like it's your first day only do it right. Reading the book will help. The hint is the barspeed will slow long before you hit a weight that is "difficult".

[Rorschach]

Indeed. 3000 calories is maintenance level for an adult man, so it's no wonder you're not really improving. That's why a gallon of milk is recommended for people in your position, most skinny people have difficulty jumping straight up to 5,000+ calories a day, they have small stomachs. With GOMAD you can eat 3,000 calories of food, and top that up to a more reasonable level for someone training.

You can ask in John Sheafer's forum here if you want help fine-tuning your diet, but he's just going to tell you to eat more atm.

[Equality]

thanks everyone for your replies.

@ gzt, PVC, Tiburon, Rorschach: 5000-7000 calories? i have used several calorie calculators on the net, and they all pretty much say the same thing i.e. for my weight, height and frequency of exercise, I need about 2200 calories per day for maintenance, and 1000 excess calories per day in order to gain 1kg per week (which would have me weighing about 75kg after 3 months, since I weigh about 60kg now). im taking in about 3000-3100 per day, which is fairly close. Are you saying these calculators give rubbish info? Also, I cannot see how I can take in that many calories. At the moment, I am eating as often as I possibly can and when I sit down to eat, I eat until I can eat no more. At the moment, I am drinking about 1/4 - 1/3 gallon of milk per day. I am not sure if I can physically fit an extra 2/3 - 3/4 gallon of milk in my stomach each day. I mean, my stomach has limited capacity right!?
I did buy the book, and read it. The reason I am doing rows is because I thought Rippetoe said it's OK to replace the cleans with rows in the beginning, until the deadlift movement is sound, since a good clean requires a good understanding of how to deadlift first. But I do intend to do cleans as soon as I am confident that I can deadlift properly.

@ PVC: what is the clinical definition of anorexic? I didn't think I am anorexic. My doctor has never mentioned this to me. By my calculations, my BMI is at the lower end of "normal". In any case, yes, I would feel healthier weighing 75kg+.

@ Graunie: can you tell me your reasoning for advising to start again instead of letting the body catch up?

[MrMarbles]

3100 calories is not enough. Im no genius but Ive been on the program for a bit with some pretty good gains and I can tell you that right now. A cheeseburger from McDonalds has about 1000 calories. Even when I was relatively skinny like you, I could have eaten at least 5 of those in a sitting. Getting calories is easy, you just have to be smart about it.

The milk took me about a week or two to get used to. Some days I can manage the milk and others I cant...just listen to your gut.

[NolanPower]

If you're 5'9 and 60kg and have been an athlete for your entire life then 2200 calories per day is far below maintenance. Odds are you have an extremely fast metabolism naturally and you really need to be eating at least 4,000 calories per day, whether you get that from milk or anything else it doesn't matter, milk is easiest but you need 4,000 calories per day, and start the lifts lower and take smaller jumps. 2.5kg on the squat, 5kg on the deadlift, 1.25 on the smaller lifts. You'll actually gain weight fast enough on this type of progression that you won't overeat your progress. You may end up being able to jump faster on the deadlifts than this as most people that do starting strength end up with very poor deadlifts relative to their squats.

Marbles: A McDonalds cheeseburger barely has over 300 calories