How to know when DL twice a week is too much?

[farez]

Have been on the NLP per the Barbell Prescription for 10 weeks and at Master 2B phase now ie DL twice a week every other week (Chin ups for the other lift since I dont Power Clean). Have been mostly focused on the squat as being the cue to move to 2C where I rotate the DL with another lift. Last week, I am hitting what I feel is 'heavy' for DL and after increasing weight at 5lb each time, I feel very fatigued for a few days after resulting in Squats failing the following Monday. My previous weeks where DL is once a week, I seen to recover well enough that I can advance the Squat the following Monday without fail. Doing most things the same week in and out ie sleep, eating per the recommendation for Masters (age 50). Am I reading too much into it and should just get on with it and only adjust the program when I fail squats 2-3 times in row?

[Hayden-William Courtland]

It's not a good idea to keep progressing until failure. Sometimes it happens, but if you can anticipate it, it's better to stop just before and modify the program. This is where a coach comes in handy; they can look at your sets and assess bar speed in the context of all the prior sessions and make programming adjustments before things get dicey. If you are on your own, you'll need to try and monitor your fatigue and recovery and make the switches yourself. Ultimately it's not a problem to be conservative and switch a bit too early; you'll still keep moving forward to that next new weight, it just might be a bit slower of a march at that point.

[farez]

Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately I am all the way in Malaysia so getting a SS coach is out for me. Closest is an affiliate in Singapore but with travel restrictions on now, that is a no go too. Spoken too soon (or just on cue), failed Squat yesterday on the last rep of the last work set. DL day coming again and will see how my Squats fare after that. I guess I have to start looking at reducing DL frequency AND bringing in the light Squat day earlier ie Master LP Phase 2C and 2D.

[Nockian]

Thanks for the quick response. Unfortunately I am all the way in Malaysia so getting a SS coach is out for me. Closest is an affiliate in Singapore but with travel restrictions on now, that is a no go too. Spoken too soon (or just on cue), failed Squat yesterday on the last rep of the last work set. DL day coming again and will see how my Squats fare after that. I guess I have to start looking at reducing DL frequency AND bringing in the light Squat day earlier ie Master LP Phase 2C and 2D.

Are you actually failing ? When it gets hard, there is a tendency to give up on a rep rather than actually fail it. Fail means doing the rep and leaving the barbell on the safeties. With the DL it means you pulled for a good 5-10s and it wouldn’t budge.

[farez]

Previous SQ set I left the last rep on the safeties after not being able to get hips past my thigh level. Todays session was 'completed' at the same weight as the last SQ but, man, it was grindy and far from perfect (4th rep hips went fwd, 5th rep could not stay in the hips so bar speed very slow). Not sure now if I shd try one more session at same weight with better form before deciding to alter program.

[cruiten]

farez: Have you ever considered working with an online coach for a period of time?

I realize it is not the same as having an "in-person" coach, but my experience with my on-line coach has been very positive and I have learned much about technique and programming.

I video my work-sets and send them for review and I have learned much from the feedback that I receive.

[Hayden-William Courtland]

Previous SQ set I left the last rep on the safeties after not being able to get hips past my thigh level. Todays session was 'completed' at the same weight as the last SQ but, man, it was grindy and far from perfect (4th rep hips went fwd, 5th rep could not stay in the hips so bar speed very slow). Not sure now if I shd try one more session at same weight with better form before deciding to alter program.

Seems likely that there are form and/or programming issues that now need to be addressed. You can get a lot of help with online coaching, even if it's just for form checks or one-off virtual sessions.

[farez]

Thanks all. Will have a look at the online options.

[farez]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there someway I can PM you to find out a bit more how it works?

[Hayden-William Courtland]

Thanks for the feedback. Is there someway I can PM you to find out a bit more how it works?

Yep, my email address is on my site linked below.