The Great LP Stall Thread of Shame

[convergentsum]

If nothing else, some previous experience of gym or sports makes people more confident in their first weeks or months. If when a person is learning a movement they're interrupting the trainer to say, "I can't do this," rather than simply listening and trying their best, and if when confronted with a PR weight they feel much more fear than excitement, this slows things down a lot. I can't quantify it, but having lifted a weight or kicked a ball or the like does make a difference.

Perhaps this sort of thing can help quantify it, but I suspect we'd need a lot of data for it.

Maybe a bit, but I think lack of proprioception is a bigger issue for the untrained.

This is the spreadsheet, which anyone can view.

Thanks for doing this. I edited my entry to add missing data.

[KyleSchuant]

Try again, convergentsum. I just changed the settings so anyone with the link can edit it, too.

[TheDuke]

@KyleSchuant I didn’t have previous experience with lifting weights. I did play sports as a kid and a young teen, and did running and calisthenics sporadically in my early 20s.
Starting bodyweight was 195 lbs I think, and 26 years old. Injured few times during the SSLP, back tweaks, hip and knee pain.

Edit-I just edited my data in the sheet

[KyleSchuant]

You put on eighty pounds? A hogshead of milk a day?

[TheDuke]

Yea I was overeating all the time.
Initially got to around 230 lbs, but tried to eat through my sticking points with few resets lol. 4 plates squat for fahves or your not doing the program and shit like that.

[convergentsum]

Try again, convergentsum. I just changed the settings so anyone with the link can edit it, too.

Awesome. We're the only ones doing the science!

[BenM]

Completed the missing details for mine, so everyone can have a giggle

[snah]

Here's another one for the low responder team.

Late 2016/early 2017 -> September 2018.
25 years old when I started. 175 cm. Bodyweight 62 kg -> 83 kg, though I was up to 86 kg at one point.
I think my final numbers on SS were something like:
Squat: 107,5 kg x 5
Bench: 65kg x 5
Deadlift: 130 kg x 5
Row: 65kg x 8 (I didn't do power cleans.)
All lifts were close to RPE 10, with the exception of the deadlift, which was probably closer to a 9.

I did some physical therapy for my shoulder in the gym for a few months before starting SS and then slowly dropped the PT exercises and turned it into standard SS with rows instead of cleans. I got sick a lot during this time so there were a lot of short layoffs (1-3 weeks) during this time, and I also had a lot of trouble with shoulder and arm pain from the squatting. I had one longer layoff at the start of 2018 due to a very hectic time at work where I didn't really have any free time at all outside of working and sleeping, and I also got sick right after things were starting to clear up at work. I think it was something like 2-3 months where I didn't really train. This is also when I went from 86kg to 83kg since I didn't really have time to cook or to eat consistently. My waist was still over 100cm so I was pretty damn fat still. I ended LP at the start of september 2018 and started The Bridge.

I haven't had enough time under the bar yet to find out what works for me. My numbers are still similar to my end of LP numbers, but I've managed to get my waist down to 87cm and shortened my rest times to 3-4 minutes instead of 6+ minutes like on LP.

[cole]

I started my LP as a novice beginning 2017. i was a high responder.

beg--->end in about 3-4 months
squat-185x5--->340x5
bench- 155x5--->245x5
DL - 205x5--->365x5

i wasnt a rank novice bc i had lifted during college a D2 athlete with a strength and conditioning coach, so to be fair, some of that was probably re gained strength. SS LP worked really well for me bc all my previous lifting had been random and never linear, which meant i never increased weights. i thought i was strong bc i looked strong lol but i couldnt squat 2 plates even once. LP changed that, and it worked.......for about 3-4 months. unfortunatly i got the idea that thats the only way to get stronger ie: grinding 5's resetting, more grinding with 10 min rest between sets so i spent a good year or more trying to replicate that and i could have made better progress with BBM or RTS. the truth is it WORKS EVERYTIME, ALL THE TIME.....ONCE! i would LP again after a layoff or injury, but otherwise, no more SS model ever.

[throwinshapes]

This is the spreadsheet, which anyone can view.

Thanks for this, I was going to suggest starting a sheet so you don't have to do the entries yourself!

Entered both of my LP runs in.

[cwd]

I am tabulating the data in this thread.
...
Most commonly people are not mentioning previous training history, if any, their age or height.

I'm updating my line in the chart, changing "previous training history?" to No, as SS was the first time I'd ever done any of the power lifts, even bench.

Also, I'm using my first run's starting point, and the last 3 runs' ending points. I didn't really "run out" SS the first time, I got injured and derailed too early.

I guess the other way you could do it is to have multiple rows for the same person, for different runs.

[SquatsALot]

I started my LP at a bodyweight of 160, working with a SSC.

May 2018 -> September 2018

Squat 135 -> 255 lbs (3 resets, argh)
Deadlift 175-> 290 lbs
Bench Press 45 --> 120 lbs (Special case, didn't bench most of the time, bad shoulder)
Press 45 -> 97.5 lbs (Trained Press regularly, just weak AF lol)

Ending bodyweight 180 lbs.

No previous training, always unathletic and skinny kid, etc. Also i have low T and an autoimmune disorder - I'm sure none of that helped my LP.

[anelson]

Thread of Shame, you say?
I had a 3 year history of program hopping, ill-advised cuts, and resets before running my LP for ~5 weeks (yes, weeks) in June/July of 2016.

Age: 32
Body Weight: 191 -> 198 at 6'2"
Squat: 3x5x175 -> 3x5x225, 1x1x265
Bench: 3x5x135 -> 3x5x150, 1x1x175
Deadlift: 1x5x235 -> 1x5x285, 1x1x335
Press: 3x5x85 -> 3x5x95, 1x1x117.5 (including a detour to try to learn P2.0)

In half-hearted defense of "The Program", I probably could have gone further with more weight gain, and better sleeping habits. On the other hand, I still have crappy sleep habits, and the higher volume, lower intensity approach seems to have me on a much more sustainable path, minus the nagging aches pains.

[Paul]

Just under 6'4".
Start: 320lbs
End: 295lbs

History: Some random half ass starts in the gym with bro split type stuff. No measurable gains. Did not squat, press or deadlift.

Main goal was weight loss at first. Low kcal keto mostly.

Not 100% on numbers, as I logged with the Stronglifts app, then lost my data. Used SS recommendations for the most part. Watched all the videos. Still did rows instead of cleans.

Squat: 5×5@75lb - 5×5@275lb

Bench: 5×5@45 - 5×5@155lb (at one point a random bro had to save me from a missed 115lb rep )

Deadlift: 1×5@115lb -1×5@335lb

Press: 5×5@45lb - 5×5@115lb (might have been slightly less)

Row: ? - 5×5@115lb?

Peaked to 2@315lb squat on a short upper/lower Texas method from PPST. Did a few months of 531 with all the plugins. Zero gainz.

Ran a second LP, determined to DTFP to the letter. Power cleans, cheeseburgers and all:

Start: 270lb
End: 290lb

Squat: 3×5@275lb - 5RM@335lb

Bench: 3×5@155lb - 3×5@180lb

Deadlift:1×5@295 - 1×5@350lb

Press: 3×5@115lb - 3×5@125lb (?)

Power Clean: 5×3@95lb - 5×3@145lb (I love them, but I still suck at them)

Honestly, I had few years of frustration with the program, and dragged it out too long because "strength standards" and it took a long time to "de-program" myself for success at the intermediate level. I don't think anything else would have kept me in the gym though. The easy to track "just add 5lbs" progress was hugely motivating and allowed me to be okay being weaker than everyone for now, because I knew I was getting stronger.

[BigE]

Started out with SL 5x5 and switched over to SS 3x5
Started out with bar per SL. Final weights, never had to reset. Just got bored and switched to a different program.

Squat 245 3x5-marked as “easy”
Bench 140 3x5-marked as “easy”, but had chronic shoulder issues flare up.
Dead 305 1x5-marked as “medium”
OHP 130 3x5-marked as “medium”
6’4” and 210 to 215lbs

[augeleven]

@KyleSchuant I think it is totally cool that you’re doing this. this is your spreadsheet, and I don’t want to tell you how to tabulate the results, but I think there should a differentiation in previously trained between “D1 javelin thrower with a brotastic bench” and “started LP halfway through the Hal Higdon Novice half marathon program”. Personally I’d be more interested in if the person’s LP is the first time doing barbell stuff.

[Ragholmes]

Maybe a mod or @Griff could edit the link to Kyles spreadsheet into the first post so it's easy to find

[mbasic]

Maybe a mod or @Griff could edit the link to Kyles spreadsheet into the first post so it's easy to find

yeah, this ^.


Someone with some clout should start a similar thread over at BBM Forums with the link.
...because data.

Also, I changed Clean to POWER Clean.

I never did the SSNLP.
I LP'd my squat once, and that was LB actually.
I figured my upper body was "further along" because of all my acculmated bro-work ... benching once or twice a week made absolutely no sense to me.
I stalled the squat at 315x5x3.
320 was absolutely crushing, I had built up so much fatigue at the point it was ridiculous. Did not get one set.
I bet I could of not even have done 300x5x3 that day. Retarded ... LP'ing shit to failure with 7 minute rests.
Then what ever you decide to go into ... no matter what the program, you're fucked for a week or more (IMO).

[KarlM]

I stalled the squat at 315x5x3.
320 was absolutely crushing, I had built up so much fatigue at the point it was ridiculous. Did not get one set.
I bet I could of not even have done 300x5x3 that day. Retarded ... LP'ing shit to failure with 7 minute rests.
Then what ever you decide to go into ... no matter what the program, you're fucked for a week or more (IMO).

This is so accurate. The end of LP crushed me. I probably should have taken at least one week of deload (probably two). Instead I did the 90% thing for the Texas Method and tweaked my back a week later.

[mbasic]

This is so accurate. The end of LP crushed me. I probably should have taken at least one week of deload (probably two). Instead I did the 90% thing for the Texas Method and tweaked my back a week later.

yeah, but then with two weeks off, motorpattern-coordination-wise you are totally off your game.

point is, its really really really stupid to ever incur THAT much fatigue....for me anyways.

DOES NOT WORK