When you first begin strength training, you’ll typically experience some strength gains relatively quickly.
This can be exciting because you’re seeing the results of your hard work pay off.
Over time, your gains become a little harder to achieve and this can make you feel as though you’re not improving.
One of the first things to remember is that progress comes in many different forms.
Not to mention that maintaining higher and higher levels of strength and conditioning take progressively more work.
Once you’ve hit a Personal Record (commonly referred to as a PR), your body doesn’t simply get to “Click Save” and forever hold that level of performance. You’ll have to put in the necessary work to maintain it.
At some point, you’ll likely notice that you’re not making progress as quickly as you once were.
When you feel like you’ve hit a wall with your progress, it can be frustrating.
Here’s what to do when progress stops.
Define Progress
Breaking through new barriers can be exciting.
The first time you lift more than 100, 200 or 300 pounds is incredibly empowering.
It’s easy to get caught up in chasing the number or the weight on the bar.
However, the linear progression of weight lifted is only one type of progression.
You may need to get out of your head and define progress.
In many cases, several other types of progression may occur before the weight on the bar increases and it’s important to recognize that this is also progression.
If you’ve been lifting 95 pounds for 8 repetitions and you’re now able to perform 10 repetitions at this weight, this is progress.
Just because you rarely see someone jumping up and down or ringing a PR bell because they increased from 8 reps to 10 reps doesn’t negate the fact that this IS progress.
Progress can also be an increased range of motion for a given lift.
Increased bar speed for an exercise would also be progress.
Maybe you’ve been doing 3 sets of 10 reps and you’re now able to perform 4 sets of 10 reps. This is an increase in volume which is significant progress.
If you still feel frustrated despite the different types of progress, maybe this next change will help.
Change The Movement Variation
If you’ve been using the same movement variation (barbell bench press) for months and are frustrated with your progress, you may want to consider changing the movement variation.
A dumbbell bench press provides a different challenge with stability and is most likely more friendly for your shoulders. Dumbbells also provide the option for alternating presses or single arm presses which are not typically performed with barbells (despite what you may see on social media).
You could also incline or decline the bench, use a Multi Grip or Swiss Bar to change the width of your grip.
For your squats, you could move along the spectrum of Goblet Squats, Double Kettlebell Front Squats, Landmine Squats, Barbell Front Squats, Zercher Squats and Barbell Back Squats. Each of these varieties will have a different upper limit which will allow you to progress with a different variation within the same movement pattern.
Different varieties of deadlifts provide a large range of weight maximums. In addition to single leg varieties, the upper limits for Romanian Deadlifts, Sumo Deadlifts and Hex Bar / Trap Bar Deadlifts may vary by more than 100 pounds.
However, if you’re focused on making progression with a specific variation and don’t want to change, this next option may be exactly what you need.
Change The Set Rep Progression
One of my favorite strength training quotes comes from StrongFirst:
“If you don’t have heavy days, then you don’t need light days.”
World class strength athletes don’t set new records every day they train. In most countries, these athletes will only attempt a Maximum Effort Lift during a competition and even then only if necessary.
There is significant benefit to exploring with different weights and different repetitions within your working sets.
From the DeLorme Protocol (3 Sets of 10 Reps) to Easy Strength (2 Heavy Sets of 5 Reps) to Jim Wendler’s 531, there is something valuable to be gained from each of these.
Many people fall into the trap of using the same Set Rep Progression. Progressing through a variety of Set Rep Schemes will help build both muscle strength and muscle endurance.
There is a tendency to associate the amount of weight on the bar with progress and when this happens, this next concept is especially helpful.
Drop The Floor To Raise The Ceiling
One of our favorite Set Rep Schemes is 3 Progressive Sets of 8 Reps (which is a slightly modified version of the DeLorme Protocol).
Assuming you have determined your One Rep Max, this Set Rep scheme is as follows:
Set 1 – 8 Reps at 55% of your 1RM
Set 2 – 8 Reps at 65% of your 1RM
Set 3 – 8 Reps at 75% of your 1RM
Let’s say an athlete has progressed to 8 Reps at 95 pounds with their Bench Press. This would put their 1RM at 125 pounds and leave their sets for 3×8 at 75 lbs, 85 lbs and 95lbs.
This is where we see many athletes get stuck and not be able to progress specifically with the weight on the bar.
If you drop the floor, you can raise the ceiling.
Set 1 – 8 Reps at 75 lbs = 600 lbs
Set 2 – 8 Reps at 85 lbs = 680 lbs
Set 3 – 8 Reps at 95 lbs = 760 lbs
Total Training Volume = 24 Reps at 2,040 lbs
Now lets drop the floor (weight of the light set) and raise the ceiling (weight of the heavy set).
Set 1 – 8 Reps at 65 lbs = 520 lbs
Set 2 – 8 Reps at 85 lbs = 680 lbs
Set 3 – 8 Reps at 105 lbs = 840 lbs
Total Training Volume = 24 Reps at 2,040 lbs
In this instance, the Total Training Volume is exactly the same for both approaches but the Average Rate of Intensity (difficulty) is higher for the 2nd example.
We regularly use this same logic with heavier Set Rep progressions such as our 5-3-2 approach. With this Set Rep Scheme, we use 75% 1RM for 5 Reps, 85% 1RM for 3 Reps and 92.5% 1RM for 2 Reps. Assuming the same 1RM (125 lbs) as above, we would have the following Sets and Reps:
Set 1 – 5 Reps at 95 lbs
Set 2 – 3 Reps at 105 lbs
Set 3 – 2 Reps at 115 lbs
Total Training Volume = 10 Reps at 820 lbs
When the weights are compressed together this closely (95, 105 and 115), making progress with the weight on the bar can become frustratingly difficult.
On a regular basis, we find that dropping the floor will again allow us the opportunity to raise the ceiling.
Set 1 – 5 Reps at 85 lbs
Set 2 – 3 Reps at 105 lbs
Set 3 – 2 Reps at 125 lbs
Total Training Volume = 790 lbs
You’ll notice that although the 2nd approach has a lower Total Training Volume, there is an increased level of difficulty on the 3rd set. However, this approach often helps athletes progress the weight on the bar which ultimately impacts their calculated 1RM.
Using this example, after completing 2 Reps at 125 lbs, the new calculated 1RM would become 135 lbs. This would then affect the standard application of percentages the next time this Set Rep Scheme is used.
Set 1 – 5 Reps at 105 lbs
Set 2 – 3 Reps at 115 lbs
Set 3 – 2 Reps at 125 lbs
This will be significantly more difficult for the athlete to perform and they may need to work into these numbers.
As the weight on the bar increases, we often increase the amount of weight between sets (potentially more than indicated by the direct application of percentages).
An athlete with a 1RM Bench Press of 240 pounds recently was having difficulty completing the reps of the final set (2 Reps) with the 5-3-2 approach.
Set 1 – 5 Reps at 185 lbs
Set 2 – 3 Reps at 205 lbs
Set 3 – 2 Reps at 225 lbs
Total Training Volume = 10 Reps at 1,990 lbs
Although there is a 20 pound difference between the sets, we helped the athlete successfully complete the 3rd Set with 2 Reps at 225 lbs by dropping the floor.
Set 1 – 5 Reps at 165 lbs
Set 2 – 3 Reps at 195 lbs
Set 3 – 2 Reps at 225 lbs
Total Training Volume = 10 Reps at 1,860 lbs
Dropping the floor (overall training volume) helped the athlete successfully perform 2 Reps at the higher weight.
Every rep and set of training within a given workout will have an impact on the reps and sets not yet performed.
The cumulative effect of your training will affect performance during the workout and potentially during subsequent training sessions.
Athletes often mentally struggle with the concept of dropping the floor (weight on the bar) of a given set to raise the ceiling (weight on the bar) of another set.
When this happens, our final and best recommendation comes into play.
Work With A Coach
The best athletes in the world wouldn’t be able to compete at that level by themselves.
People perform better with a coach.
If you’re the only person looking at your own training, you might be looking at everything through a lens that doesn’t allow you to see the full picture.
A coach can help you with increasing / decreasing volume, intensity and so many other variables that we aren’t the best at recognizing in ourselves.
It’s hard to read the label from inside the bottle.
If you’d like to see if the experienced trainers at No Limits Fitness would be a good fit for you, click the button below to schedule a free consultation.
