Dreading the end of the NLP

39 year old female, 15 weeks into my NLP. Height just over 5 feet, BW 117 lbs (up from 112 in December, thanks to my training and LOMAD^TM diet). 155 lbs squat, 100 lbs bench, 69 lbs press, 180 lbs deadlift. Slow but steady progress on all lifts. Just started learning the power clean and the snatch this week.

I am under the impression that some SS trainees are eager to move from the NLP to intermediate programming, and I do not understand that urge at all.

To be honest, I am dreading the end of my NLP. I find this program simple, effective, rewarding, and exquisitely predictable (the right kind of boring). I wish this could last forever, even if that required nano loading.

I am not looking forward to starting a more complex program at all. Anyone else feeling the same way? Or are you all super excited about doing fancier stuff?

I still smirk every time I read the title/subtitle of the forum "Intermediate Training Logs: Justified or Not".

53 year old male here, in-between NLPs (finally got all of the home equipment mid-October and ran it until the New Year, then focused on snowboarding as I do every winter). I have been running a maintenance program through the winter to not lose everything, trying to get at least one set of intensity each week of the four main lifts, and knowing that I'll restart my NLP in the next few weeks with higher lifts than October, even with a slight reset for volume.

But I suspect that where I am now, I'll quickly run out my deadlifts, even after incorporating power cleans (which I love [you'll get there]). I think I can milk my squats a while longer by switching from 5x3's to 3x5's, but I may be looking to box squats soon after. Same with the press and bench. I do have a full set of micro-plates that I can creep upward with if I want to get really stubborn, but at that point, the volume of NLP 5x3's or 3x5's will be beating me up more than anything.

Like you, I'm not looking forward to jumping into more complicated programming. I like the predictability and simplicity of the NLP and I don't get bored by it. But I suspect that this year I'll have to deal with some intermediate programming. You'll get there too. Just don't feel rushed.

Towards the end of your NLP the weights can get brutal, so it's not uncommon for people to be eager to move to intermediate programming so they get a bit of a break, but in that situation the desire to move on is justified. For those who aren't there yet in their NLP and want to move on, it is often a situation of them mistakenly thinking intermediate is a better or more worthy type of training. However, once they switch and realize that the gains are slower, they will usually see how their viewpoint was mistaken.

Thanks to both of you for responding! I am glad I am not the only one to enjoy simplicity. Rip touched on that subject (complexity) in yesterday's show. Very timely!

I doubt my weights will ever qualify as "brutal", but I know what you mean. Perhaps being a smaller person gives me a bit of an advantage too, as far as expectations are concerned. When I started my NLP, pressing 75 lbs was my ultimate goal, and I was not quite sure it was even possible. Today I pressed 70 lbs for the first time, not even 4 months into my NLP, and I am able to do sets of 5. I am going to milk the NLP as much as I possibly can!

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Originally Posted by tiny&mighty

I am going to milk the NLP as much as I possibly can!

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That's the spirit! That's my intent this year again, knowing that come November/December, I'll switch to a maintenance phase while I snowboard more.

Your post got me to digging into different methodologies for slowly progressing to intermediate programming, if needed. Your introduction of power cleans and snatches is the first step, even in your NLP. Once I restart my NLP (probably week after next), I'll introduce the cleans right away, as my current workset x5 is only 5% off of my 1RM; everything else will remain a standard NLP. As the squats start to beat me up more, those will need to switch to a Heavy-Light-Medium (HLM) program while I continue to milk NLP for the presses. If you haven't run across it yet, Andy Baker has a great article on HLM programming here. It keeps everything simple-ish relative to the NLP without crazy variations for the lifts.

If you haven't yet, pick up copies of Practical Programming and Barbell Prescription for different ideas on not only slowly shifting each of the lifts to intermediate programming, but milking the NLP even longer. And if you don't think you're ready for The Barbell Prescription, keep in mind that the subtitle is Strength Training for Life After 40, which will be sooner rather than later for you.

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Originally Posted by tiny&mighty

I doubt my weights will ever qualify as "brutal", but I know what you mean.

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Don't sell yourself short. Brutal is relative, and different for each of the lifts. You may be only 20lbs away from that first brutal squat session for you, or you may be 70lbs away. But when you get there, you'll know during your first set of 5. And you'll be scared for your second set, then thinking about ways to set the bar into the safeties for your third set. But you won't. Then you'll think that there's no way in the world that you can add 2.5lbs as you have been, but you do. Rinse, repeat. Carl Raghavan has a great article on this here. The truth is that this will happen for each of the lifts, but the squat is special, since it really feels like you're going to get folded and pinned against the ground. But you won't, as long as you use your safeties.

ETA: as you get closer to those brutal lifts, you'll start hitting points where you'll be thinking about a reset. Here's a good read by Rori Alter with scenarios on how to do that.

Keep at it!