5x5 SF - Stagnant

[anotherbutters]

Haven't got much time, gotta run...!

Quickly though, if your squat is still increasing, then carry on. I think the others are right on the arm work - drop out the beach work and keep the back off sets. My guess is that you're doing too much on arms.

I do military rather than incline bench and go heavy just like the other lifts, trying to set PRs week on week, ramping up to one heavy set.

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

I tend to agree with what the others have already said regarding the arm work.

One thing I will add though, is that you should see if you can get some 0.5kg microplates. Increasing your bench and row by 1kg for an indefinite amount of time seems far more realistic than increasing it by 2.5kg indefinitely.

Also, I think Anotherbutter posted a quote from Mark Ripptoe somewhere on these boards. I can't remember the exact quote, but the gist of it was that each time you go to the gym, theoretically you should be a bit bigger than last week, so theoretically you should be able to increase the weight week to week in small increments.

 

[Micker]

Becoming stagnant on a routine can be from a few things.

Diet, make sure you are getting enough protein and calories. Some people think they are eating enough, when actually they are far from it. Go for a gram of protein per lb. body weight.

Rest, not just sleep, but make sure your energy is going towards lifting. My friend wondered why he couldn't gain lifting, and he was biking/running a lot on off days. He was using up too much of his recovery energy on other things besides lifting.

Routine, Your body gets used to the same routine after awhile. Its not a shock anymore and your body doesn't respond to the stress. Sometimes you need to change up the rep ranges or add/remove exercises.

In your case I think it might just be routine. I would do a deload week Maybe do a 3x3 with the same weights you used the week before for 5x5. Take it easy and don't go to failure on anything.

 

[anotherbutters]

DJBJ has a good point - increasing your bench by 5lb per week won't continue for very long as you're not using big muscle groups like your legs or back. Try to get hold of some of the microplates that are 1lb each, then you can make smaller increases.

It's easier to keep making small increases than it is to stall on bigger increases and trying to get going again. The small increases add up very quickly.

The quote DJBJ referred to was Mark Ripptoe referring to setting PRs every week in the gym. A person new to lifting that's putting on weight is basically a different person each time he/she goes into the gym as they're a little bit bigger. So their PRs don't really make sense as they can generally beat them every week just by trying to lift a slightly heavier weight.

When your squat slows down, you might want to try a 5lb per week increase.