Phase 1 - Getting close to max; what next?

Hi All,

I'm just about to start week 5 with session number 13 tonight. My last bench session (day 11) was a real grind on the bench press. I managed it though so I'll be adding 2.5kg tonight and taking a good rest in between sets.

My current weights are;
Squat - 70kg (3x5) ~155lb
Press - 40kg (3x5) ~ 88lb
Bench - 55kg (3x5) ~ 121lb
DL - 90kg (3x5) ~ 198lb

I'm about 105kg (230lb) and 5' 9" (69") but definitely overweight.

My question is; I've got loads more to go with squat and deadlift but my bench and press are getting close; should I maintain weight on the presses and wait for squat and DL to max before moving to phase 2 or can I change something up to try and keep progressing the presses?

Thanks for any tips or advice.
Paul

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Paul, no offense intended, but you aren't anywhere close to max on any of those lifts, presses included. Reduce increments to 2kg if you must on the presses (and eventually reduce to 1kg), but you should be able to double most of those numbers before you even need to think about advanced novice or intermediate programming. No way you are actually grinding yet; it is just starting to feel like work now. Keep lifting the presses 1.5 times a week.

Hey, no offence taken. That should be good motivation to keep pushing. I’m brand new to lifting so it’s hard to know what to expect. I increased the bench to 57.5kg Last night and it was hard but I completed 3 x 5’s. 1.25kg are the smallest plates in the gym. Maybe I should look for some smaller myself to take with me in my gym bag.

I’m really enjoying it so far; I just want to keep going and get stronger!

Why is everyone who's asking a question about the NLP lately doing 3x5 deadlifts?
Have I missed the 4th edition of SS: BBT where this was changed?

I honestly have no idea why I wrote that. I only do 1x5 on deadlifts. Sorry. Could have been a copy and paste error!

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Originally Posted by Alexander Dargatz

Why is everyone who's asking a question about the NLP lately doing 3x5 deadlifts?
Have I missed the 4th edition of SS: BBT where this was changed?

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Actually, in my opinion, it is a good idea to do 3x5 when the wheigth is easy to recover from. You get more practice.

There are two problems with this:

1) If you doing it wrong you practice doing it wrong
2) If you don't have a coach who knows when to move to 5RM, you can end up stalling your squat and deadlift to fast.

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Originally Posted by Szymon

Actually, in my opinion, it is a good idea to do 3x5 when the wheigth is easy to recover from. You get more practice.

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When would the deadlift be easy to recover from if you're doing the program correctly?

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Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe

When would the deadlift be easy to recover from if you're doing the program correctly?

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At the very beginig. I mean, you don't put a lifting belt and straps on a trainee at first workout. So what you do for a first few weeks is you look for a weight that is limit effort for double overhand grip and no belt. Than you introduce a belt and new grip. And those two thing are game changer for a deadlift. There is no way unbeltet, double overhand deadlift is hard to recover from for a regular novice.

In my opinion deadlift is the easiest lift in the program from technique perspective. At the same time, I think it is the best lift to develop a habit to "lift your chest up" and "squeez your back". And you need this for every other lift where there is much more things to consider like: "knees out", "stay in the hips", "go under the bar", "squeez your sholder blades", etc.

So, yes, I think that more practice on "lifting you chest up" and "squeezing your back" is beneficial for an early novice. You learn this kind of thing only with your working sets wheigth. There is a good reason why you ask for "tired worst set" in technique section of this forum.

When to move to 1x5 ? Depends on a lifter. This is why I made a suggestion that this think should be decided by coach who knows better.

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Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe

When would the deadlift be easy to recover from if you're doing the program correctly?

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Much wisdom in that simple sentence. Thinking back to my first NLP and how tough it was to consistently lift heavier on squats and deadlift day after day. I longed for the bench press just for a lie down.