Originally Posted by
tiny&mighty
I'm a 40-year-old female, not quite 5'1". I started my NLP in late 2020 at a BW of 112 and now weigh 125.
Deadlift. During my late NLP I was deadlifting for two triples once a week on my light squat day.
I then transitioned to a 4-day split, with deadlifts for 2 triples once a week. My deadlift was in the low 200s at that point, and whenever I tried to increase deadlift frequency, it bit me in the ass.
A better alternative has been to introduce the snatch-grip deadlift as a medium pull for 3 X 5. I find this lift helpful so far and wish I had discovered it earlier into my intermediate training. It is helping me internalize the "push the floor away from the bar" cue and does not seem to fatigue my lower-back like the squat and the deadlift do. Lower-back fatigue had been an issue during my late NLP and during my very first months of intermediate programming.
Bench & Press. I started micro-loading with 2.5lbs pretty much right away on both lifts.
For the press, I was able to keep progressing with 3 X 5 with lower weight increments (1lb), and eventually made the switch to 5 X 3. It worked well for me, but others might have a different take on this.
For the bench, I switched to 5 X 3 before I started using smaller weight increments, but had to use 1lb jumps shortly after that.
Since transitioning to the 4-day split, I have been doing the compressed TM for the upper-body lifts, with 5 X 3 on intensity days and 5 X 5 on volume days. For volume, the books recommend 6-8 triples for women, but I enjoy fahves and have been getting good results from them. I also like that doing 5 X 5 is less time consuming than doing up to 6-8 triples.
Rest. During my NLP, I was resting for 3 minutes between sets, except for the squat. I started resting for 5 minutes when it got into the 160s.
For the squat and deadlift, I now rest 5 minutes between heavy doubles or triples, but up to 7-8 minutes after a heavy set of 5.
For the bench and the press, I still take 3 minutes between sets 1, 2 and 3, but often extend that to 4-5 minutes before the last two sets. For those two lifts, it doesn't matter whether I am doing sets of 3 or 5 reps. Even with press singles (a very recent addition to my program), I need 2 minutes between sets.
If grip is an issue for the deadlift, do not hesitate to encourage her to use straps. I use figure-8 straps that I had custom made for my tiny hands. On a more controversial note, when my deadlift reached about 150lbs during my NLP, I started using a women's bar since the shorter shaft circumference makes it easier to hold. I know that women's bars are not intended for the deadlift but this enabled me to hold on to the bar (with an alternate grip) until my deadlift reached about 225. I then introduced straps and have been using a standard barbell ever since, except for the snatch-grip deadlift. It makes more sense to do this lift with the bar I use for actual power snatches.
On a last note, lots of people seem skeptical about micro-loading, but it does work. I started using 1lb increments when my press reached 58lbs, and when my bench was in the low 90s. It sure takes patience but, so far, this has added almost 40lbs to each lift over time.