Adjustments (if any) for very flat strength curve

[dmworking]

Hi all,

As the title suggests, I'm interested to hear what adjustments you suggest for lifters with very, very flat strength curves. (Also interested in fun anecdotes of extremes.)

By "strength curve," I'm referring to the relationship between the weight a lifter can do for a 5RM and for a 2RM or a max single. (Haven't been around this corner of the internet for a while so that terminology may or may not still be in use.) For instance, I was a mediocre college athlete, but always on the fast/quick side, and as an intermediate lifter my 5RMs have always hung out in the 80-82% range of my 1RM. Reasonably explosive but nothing off the charts.

My wife, on the other hand, is much different. Never an explosive athlete as a collegiate distance runner (and then a marathoner through her 20s), I convinced/coerced her into more dedicated strength training. She is stubborn and her programming has been inconsistent, but despite those barriers, she's developed a solid base of strength.

She's about 5'1" and 110lbs, and for her work sets (fives across) squats 170lbs, presses 70lbs, and deadlifts 210lbs (for sets of 3, 3, and 1 respectively). What's interesting is that for each of them, she's not recovery-limited in the slightest; she could squat 170lbs for 5s, rest 2 minutes, and then bang out the next set. But if you bumped up the squat weight to 175lbs, she might grind out 1 or 2 extremely slow reps before arriving at staple city. In other words, I think her 5RMs are more in the neighborhood of 96-98% of her 1RM.

Note that I'm not convinced this is even a problem, as she is progressing in her lifts at a pace she finds acceptable (for now) and has remained injury-free. I am just continually amazed at either her inability to recruit any additional strength reserves for a lower-rep set, or her ability to run out additional reps on a weight where most people would fatigue out after fewer reps.

Normally I would say she needs some practice, and would benefit just from the mental experience of preparing for and executing singles or doubles. At the same time, that's not going to give her much in the way of training stimulus, so it would need to be combined with something else. Maybe work up to a heavy single or two before doing slightly lower weight for 5s in a normal session?

Anyways, interested to hear how others have approached this (and other fun anecdotes of lifters on either side of the explosiveness spectrum are invited as well).

[Mark Rippetoe]

She's about 5'1" and 110lbs, and for her work sets (fives across) squats 170lbs, presses 70lbs, and deadlifts 210lbs (for sets of 3, 3, and 1 respectively). What's interesting is that for each of them, she's not recovery-limited in the slightest; she could squat 170lbs for 5s, rest 2 minutes, and then bang out the next set. But if you bumped up the squat weight to 175lbs, she might grind out 1 or 2 extremely slow reps before arriving at staple city. In other words, I think her 5RMs are more in the neighborhood of 96-98% of her 1RM.

This is a perfectly normal female presentation. Training Female Lifters: Neuromuscular Efficiency | Mark Rippetoe

[dmworking]

Well I'll be damned.

Thanks for linking the article, Coach.