Dsa

So long that your strength is beginner level again

look above for program. around 5'8, 160 lbs, ~18-20% BF according to some online BF calculators. TDEE is at around 2500 or probably even more since i bike around 16 miles daily.

currently eating ~1900 kcal/day and ~160g protein. pretty much all of the fat i have is around my waist. most of the people said that i should keep eating at a deficit and lift until i hit ~12-15% BF and then do a slow bulk (200-300 kcal over maint).

my first day was just looking around and focusing more on form with very low weights.

my squat has been stuck at 143 since last friday. i struggle at the last few on the last set and i feel like i won't even be able to complete the whole 3 sets if i increase my weight. it has been like this for the past week and a half.

deadlift was fucking strange. on wednesday i finished with 132. my form was shit so i looked up some videos and pulled a 176 on friday without much effort. did 220 this monday and now it's pretty much the same as squat; i struggle at the last two (doing 5x1) and i feel like my form will go to shit if i add more weight.

my bench has been stuck at 132 and my press at 70 since last wednesday.

And what particular part of the Starting Strength program led you to those weights in your second week of lifting?

Sounds like you started a bit too heavy, m8.
Put that together with the fact that you are cutting quite heavily while biking 16 miles a day.
ANother thing is:
>. i struggle at the last few on the last set and i feel like i won't even be able to complete the whole 3 sets if i increase my weight. it has been like this for the past week and a half.

If you get 3x5 reps without breaking form just increase the weight the next time, it's a lot about confidence too, most people are stronger than they think and you wont notice a 2,3 increase that much. Besides, so what if you don't get the last rep? then you just de-load. Just make sure to use safety bars.

2,5 kg increase*

If you get 3x5 increase the weight next time.

>program
SS

>Weight you started with in each llift
>Weight you have stalled on and in which lift
>Your own weight/height
>Caloric intake, Protein intake (per day)
>Male/female
male

>Prior training (sports, jsut fucking around at the gym etc.)
i bicycle a lot.. around 16 miles per day. apart from that i work around the house and that's pretty much it. haven't played sports for over 5 years.

>Are you certain your form is good? (shouldnt matter that much in progressing at this point though)
i'm 90% positive that my form is good on deadlift and press after i've checked out some videos.

quite some time ago i've been in an accident and when i started going to the gym i noticed that i have problems with my left ankle dorsiflexion. when i push my knee over my right ankle i can go quite far over my toes, but i have troubles reaching the toes on my left one.

been doing some stretches and i can tell that it's getting better.

if i try to squat without plates under my heels i have troubles reaching proper depth so for now i just use plates and i have no issues; at least from what i can tell.

no clue about bench.

all in all i have no pain after doing exercises so i guess that my form ain't that bad.

>Sounds like you started a bit too heavy, m8.
well the book said to keep increasing the weight until you feel that the next increase will compromise your form so i did exactly that.

>Put that together with the fact that you are cutting quite heavily while biking 16 miles a day.
i feel pretty rested though. i sleep 8-10 hours per day and biking is pretty much all the cardio i do. after that i sit on my ass most of the time unless i have to do some shit around the house.

On a vaguely related topic is there any significant benefit in 3 vs 5 reps?

Alright mate.
Well I'm just gonna agree with this anonAnd like he said don't be afraid to fail, mate. just keep increasing the weight if you get all your reps with proper form. No matter how heavy it feels.

Have you really stalled as in not getting 5 reps or are you just afraid to increase the weight because last time you lifted felt so heavy?
If you get all the reps (with proper form), increase the weight. Every time I squat it feels like I'm barely going to get all my 5 reps, but I do. YOu just have to get used to it.

so should i just scale back on weight on every lift and focus more on form for the next couple of weeks?

>Besides, so what if you don't get the last rep? then you just de-load. Just make sure to use safety bars.
what do you mean de-load? like in taking the weight off and repeating the last set or do it with less weight the next workout?

fear might have something to do with increasing the weights. the gym that i go to has no power rack and they only have 1 of these: physicalcompany.co.uk/fitness-images/olympic-squat-rack-product-large-4035.jpg

i'm not afraid of increasing weight on squat since i can safely crouch down and rest the bars on those side things but i'm terrified of increasing the weight on bench press. can't use the above for bench press because the weight pins are too high and they can't be moved so i have to do it on a normal bench press machine which has no safely bars.

i usually work out early in the morning and there are hardly any people there to spot me so i don't want to risk it because it gets terrifying on the last few reps enough as it is.

>what do you mean de-load? like in taking the weight off and repeating the last set or do it with less weight the next workout?
I meant like if you don't get your 3x5, go down let's say 5kg for the next workout, I'm not sure if there is anything about De-loading in SS. Usually you wanna fail at least a couple of times before you de-load though. LEt's say you fail with 100 lbs, try the same weight next workout and then if you don't get it de-load.

>i'm not afraid of increasing weight on squat
But the last time you worked aout you didn't get a 3x5 squat?

>i usually work out early in the morning and there are hardly any people there to spot me so i don't want to risk it because it gets terrifying on the last few reps enough as it is.
Ohh ok now I understand why you are stalling in bench at least. Do you know what a roll of shame is? Just get comfortable dong that, and practise it a couple of times. As long as you don't let it down the bar over you throat or anything the weight your benching wont hurt you.

Pretty much the only other thing is that you aren't eating enough.

>But the last time you worked aout you didn't get a 3x5 squat?
i did but like i said, i don't think i would be able to do all 3 sets if i added more and my form would probably be terrible.

i was under the impression that you should only increase the weight if you are certain you can do 3x5 with it.

i'll go down in weight in my next week and focus more on form while i watch some more videos and then slowly go back up and if i can't i'll just de-load like you said.

i'll also up my calories until i find that sweet spot that allows me to continue losing fat while eating closer to maint.

one last question, i'm currently eating 2.2g/kg of protein which equals to around 160g/day. is that enough or should i increase it? i've seen people saying 200 or even 300g/day.

thanks for your help

160g is easily enough, mate.

And you should really add weight next time, if you got got your last 3x5 without breaking for add weight.
You'll be stronger next time so you'll be able to lift more. If you get 3*5 without form breakdown ALWAYS add weight.

If you fail your lift so what? Just keep adding weight linearly until you fail your 3*5 that's what SS is all about. No matter how hard your last workout felt. It's just your mind screwing with you