Is it really over?
One failed session isn’t the end. Nor is a bad week. Before you switch, check the boring stuff.
- Sleep. Under seven hours most nights shows up on the bar.
- Food. Adding weight three times a week while eating to lose weight runs out sooner.
- Missed sessions. Three a week that are really two.
- Technique. Depth, bar position or grip drifting as the weights climb.
- Resets. Have you taken 10% off and built back at least twice?
Fix whatever’s wrong and carry on. If it’s all in order and the same weight still won’t go after two resets, it’s done. Lifts rarely stall together, either. The press usually goes first, then bench, then squat. One stuck press isn’t a reason to bin the lot.
The usual next steps
Each one slows the rate you add weight. That’s the point.
- Texas Method. A volume day of 5 × 5 at about 90% of your five-rep max, a light day, and a day to chase a new five-rep max. A 110 kg 5RM squat means Monday at about 100 kg and a light day at 80 kg.
- Madcow 5×5. Ramping sets to one top set. The weight goes up once a week, not every session.
- 5/3/1. Four-week waves off a training max of about 90% of your 1RM. A 140 kg squat gives 125 kg.
- Tiered programs. Heavy, moderate and light work on each lift, each moving on its own, so one stall doesn’t stop everything.
None is right for everyone. Pick one that fits the days you can train, and run it long enough to find out.
What changes
- 01
Slower is normal
2.5 kg a week on the squat is still 30 kg over 12 weeks.
- 02
Start lighter
Stuck at 100 kg for 5 × 5? Start the new program at 85 to 90 kg. You’ll pass the old number fresher than when you stalled at it.
- 03
Lighter weeks get planned
Not after a run of failures. Written in ahead of time. See A deload is not a week off.
- 04
Test now and then
Estimates drift. See Stop testing your max.
- 05
Write down how hard it felt
RPE 8 means about two reps left. It tells you 100 kg for 5 is getting easier before the bar does.
From the Compound founder. Notes on training, not medical advice.