Squat not increasing as specified in SS/Incongruency in SS vs online material

[FastQ]

So I'm on week 6 of Starting Strength. I did phase 1 for about 3 weeks, then added cleans and chins for the past 2 1/2 weeks, seeing my squat go from 135 (sub-maximal) to 205, which I failed twice, then 210, which I failed again before progressing, to 215, which I failed yesterday. The problem I'm facing is that my squat isn't going up every workout- I'm seeing it go up more along the lines of 5lbs per 2-3 workouts.

Alongside this I saw my bench stall on 130lbs twice before hitting 135lbs yesterday. Yes I have 1.25lb plates, I was just trying to get away with faster progression while my bench was low (it's my lowest lift according to strength standard sites, which I'll chalk up to monkey arms. I'm more worried about my squat.)

I've rested across the spectrum, resting less (3-4 mins) which I find keeps my mind in the lifts and resting more (5-8 mins) for the obvious benefit of... more rest.

Now I've done everything to not be a YNDTP twerp, I've gone from 152lbs to 176lbs at 5'10 in the past 6 weeks. I used to be FAT (5'7 230lbs), and despite my weight I'm no stranger to eating as you might see from my weight gain- I've actually gained more than Rip outlines in http://startingstrength.com/articles...n_rippetoe.pdf.

I got away without the milk for the first while of my program, then started drinking a half gallon a day, and now about 3/4 of a gallon a day on top of my ton of food, a change that saw minimal increases in strength- if the advice is to drink a full gallon I'm going to throw a tantrum because I'd find it hard to believe that extra quart would be the difference, especially seeing I'm gaining weight faster than the breakneck speeds rip outlines. My diet is pretty clean, a lot of unsweetened peanut butter with banana, whole grains, and meat. I eat very little added sugar. I get above 1g/bodyweight of protein every day- no shit, I eat meat and when you're on 5k cals of clean food it's hard not to- I sleep 9 hours a night, and have experimented with half mile speed runs on off days- recently removing them but seeing no improvement in my lifting progression for it.

So, I'd like to be progressing at 5lbs/workout on my squat a little longer. This brings me to the inconsistency in SS material online. On the article I linked above, rip says 225-245lbs is normal for a squat after 6-7 weeks on the program. By this standard, next week if I'm not squatting 225 (I MIGHT hit 225 on friday at this pace) I'm pretty behind, despite being up on weight gain. In Starting strength: 3rd edition Rip has this number at 205-225. This would make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but still it would be nice to add another 40lbs in the next 4 weeks- a rate of gain which FAR exceeds what I'm currently gaining, and associated by rip with a total gain of 30lbs, which again, I'll have exceeded by then.

I even got myself a pair of Nike Romaelo IIs, which I previously thought where pretty exclusive for oly lifts and high bar squats, but I'm fully indoctrinated into the Starting Strength cult and rip told me to. They feel nice and secure but I didn't notice an improvement over a few workouts in any of my lifts for it.

So now that I've provided all the information: am I one of the few that actually is doing the program? Is this slowdown normal enough? Or should I try to force out faster improvement, and if so, how?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Video of your squat?

[Rob Thomson]

How recently did you stop the running?

[FastQ]

How recently did you stop the running?

About a week ago. Like I said, these runs were 3 minute speed runs for about a half mile and I incorporated in them after a few weeks of doing SS without seeing any negative progress. Since removing them, I've seen no improvement either.

Video of your squat?

[Joe Jaloszynski]

Stance and back angle, young man. Those are your hindrances. Reread the book.

[FastQ]

I try to visualize the bar over the mid foot and don't really think about my back angle- I find thinking about lowering back angle leads me to "good morninging" the squat. As far as stance (I assume you mean width) goes, isn't that variable from person to person? I find this stance works best for me in the short term, should I train for a difference stance in spite of this?

FWIW, I hit all 5 reps this set. The set before I only got 4 reps and the set after I hit 5. I believe if I can recreate this form I'll see 215x5x3 next session and maybe 220x5x3 the session afterwards- it's possible these new shoes are taking a while to acclimatize to.

I'd also ask rip for clarification on 2 things:

1. Expected Squat after 6-7 weeks- is the more up to date recommendation the 205-225x5x3 from SS 3rd edition or "A clarification" found on the internet? I've found pretty good congruency with what has been outlined by rip and I'm not trying to get my hopes for progression up higher than what's feasible- it's already moving at a fairly impressive rate.

2. Deadlift progression- If the squat goes up 5 pounds a workout for quite some time, then why is the deadlift outlined as only being able to move up 10lbs/session for a few weeks? Doesn't it stand to reason the deadlift will be strong enough to add 10lbs a session for as long as the squat can add 5lbs/session? It's pretty irrelevent to me as I'm stalling on both, but I'm less worried about my deadlift progression as I find it hard to judge good form with a skeletal abnormality in my thoracic (structural kyphosis- can't straighten back, spine is made of wedges instead of blocks.

[Joe Jaloszynski]

I try to visualize the bar over the mid foot and don't really think about my back angle- I find thinking about lowering back angle leads me to "good morninging" the squat. As far as stance (I assume you mean width) goes, isn't that variable from person to person? I find this stance works best for me in the short term, should I train for a difference stance in spite of this?

FWIW, I hit all 5 reps this set. The set before I only got 4 reps and the set after I hit 5. I believe if I can recreate this form I'll see 215x5x3 next session and maybe 220x5x3 the session afterwards- it's possible these new shoes are taking a while to acclimatize to.

I'd also ask rip for clarification on 2 things:

1. Expected Squat after 6-7 weeks- is the more up to date recommendation the 205-225x5x3 from SS 3rd edition or "A clarification" found on the internet? I've found pretty good congruency with what has been outlined by rip and I'm not trying to get my hopes for progression up higher than what's feasible- it's already moving at a fairly impressive rate.

2. Deadlift progression- If the squat goes up 5 pounds a workout for quite some time, then why is the deadlift outlined as only being able to move up 10lbs/session for a few weeks? Doesn't it stand to reason the deadlift will be strong enough to add 10lbs a session for as long as the squat can add 5lbs/session? It's pretty irrelevent to me as I'm stalling on both, but I'm less worried about my deadlift progression as I find it hard to judge good form with a skeletal abnormality in my thoracic (structural kyphosis- can't straighten back, spine is made of wedges instead of blocks.

You should read the book. Stance width and torso angle are all clearly laid out, including the *why*. Reread the book.

[FastQ]

what does "normal" mean to you?

Normal as in expected progress with what I've provided about my training. I haven't altered the program, short of phasing in chins a little early, and I've been gaining and sleeping above what's outlined. I'm perfectly happy attributing this to form, but since I'm new to this forum I'd prefer to see someone with a "coach" badge at least chime in.

You should read the book. Stance width and torso angle are all clearly laid out, including the *why*. Reread the book.

Forgive me but I'm not going to reread the entire book over a single poster I don't know about- I've been on too many forums and heard too much shit. What I have done is read through the squat stance section and I can't find anything that would convince me of a narrower stance. I'm hitting proper depth, no? That seems to be the main concern about too wide of a stance. My stance is quite narrow compared to many powerlifters I see- using them as a guideline as I figure they tend to know how to low bar squat.

What I'm referencing regarding stance: " An excessively wide stance causes the adductors to reach the end of their extensibility early...prevent you from reaching proper depth".

[greywar]

I can't find anything that would convince me of a narrower stance.

Aside from the failure to progress that lead you to post this right?

The one where you asked for a fix, people told you the fix, and then you reject the fix?

[Jeremy Tully]

People who ask for advice then reject it when they receive it are funny.

FastQ: these squats are very wrong. Your stance is way too wide, your back angle is too vertical, you are not looking down, and I am not convinced from this video that you are consistently hitting depth (because of the wide stance). Take some weight off and fix these things.