Progression beyond intermediate for the less gifted.

[RKazuk]

Hello,

I have sat on the sidelines of this forum for long enough.

As a reformed endurance athlete, I arrived at the door of a true gym late at the age of 24. I weighed around 75kg. I am almost six feet tall. My first months' test day resulted in an olympic lifting total of 132kg. Not terribly impressive, you need not remind me. As much as I would like to indulge you all in my prior, <75kg athletic exploits, they mean little to me here, and I'll save us all the ego masturbation via omission.

Five years down the road, I have scratched and clawed my way to a 246kg total in the two current olympic lifts, with a 180kg back squat and a 223 kg deadlift. I can honestly admit that, at times, my training progression has been interrupted by illness, grad school, wet weather and the like; in other words, I've existed in the world. I have rarely dropped below a weekly training frequency of 3x, and have attempted to progressively increase my work capacity/food volume and quality/rest volume and quality over time. I have made a conscious and consistent effort throughout this time to adhere to a progression respecting my technical abilities and time in the sport, moving from a novice progression with several stalls and much food to a Texas method program, which, after several stalls in the squat, I have moved to a higher intensity and frequency plan which anticipates PR efforts along >greater time spans.

In spite of all non-anabolic options, I have hit this unremarkable roadblock again and again, which in spite of my best efforts, has been an albatross. So after all this preamble bullshit, here is my question: I am curious as to whether you have encountered personally any strength athletes who simply have reached the end of their tether as far as strength and power development, save for >7x/week training sessions and any ergogenic aids. If so, what the hell do you recommend, save for a reasonable bottle of whisky to wash down a double dose of reality?

I'm not asking for some cure-all training protocol, nor do I expect that some pie-in-the-sky ambition of mine will catapult my similarly slow-twitch progeny into international olympic lifting compeitions. I am broaching this topic (with advisement of the search function) in hopes that you have a word for us hopelessly non-elite athletes, who have accumulated years and responsibilities beyond those which would allow us a Jim Moser style "do work" training regimen. I really do not give a flying fuck whether I ever make a national championship or greater, however, I would like to think there are possibilities of
future improvement to less-than-elite ends. I am asking for advice on how to get to this point, or barring this, whether I should consider something less abrasive, like bridge or functional alcoholism.

Thanks for all your work, I have purchased the books and recommended them several times over.

Robert

[Mark Rippetoe]

You have omitted, strangely enough, your bodyweight.

[RKazuk]

You have omitted, strangely enough, your bodyweight.

Brilliant.

At 5'10", I am between 97-99kg. I also took a hydrostatic test six months ago and measured 11.4% BF, for what it's worth.

[Mark Rippetoe]

At your muscular bodyweight and age, I see no reason for a persistent stall like this. Unless your vertical is about 10 inches, you cannot be topped out genetically. Thus, I think it would require a systematic analysis of your program, technique, and recovery, because there is a hole in it somewhere.

[RKazuk]

Unless your vertical is about 10 inches, you cannot be topped out genetically. Thus, I think it would require a systematic analysis of your program, technique, and recovery, because there is a hole in it somewhere.

Understood. Sounds a lot like the role of a coach. I know that something is missing or at least not being applied properly, and though I have been reasonably successful at correcting problems to this point (thanks in part to the great resources here), in trying to move my numbers forward, I am running out of things to implement. It does seem to me that I am both a little young and a little weak to give up the ghost on getting stronger, irrespective of my shitty vertical. I am not hampered by any past acute or current chronic injuries. I would like to think this is due to my diligent practice of proper form; the devil's advocate says that I am simply not strong enough to really hurt myself with PR attempts.

If there are any suggestions on the next step from here (apart from the obligatory "find a coach"), I'm all ears. If it's someone I should talk with, something I should read, I'm keen to learn and improve. If you are reading this and would like any clarification or detail, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer you.

Thanks for the reply.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Find a coach or come to a seminar. That's why we do them.