SL5x5 Recovery Issues

Training
1

Hello,

So, I have been doing great with SL5x5, strictly following the program… My main goal is strength, and I would like to add some mass too, and it works. My back and legs developped a lot, my chest/shoulders seems to lag a bit but it’s ok.

My numbers are very humble, and I mean by that I was quite a weakling when I began, but after 2,5 months with straight progress, I start to have a real hard time to recover.

I spend the whole week feeling like I have been thrown under a bulldozer, with very strong DOMS, and fatigue.

I have now hard time training 3 days a week and my progress is stalling.

I wake up crashed, with bad mood (very bad sometimes), and feeling that I need to rest more, even if I sleep 8 or 10 hours.

My doc said that my sleep was inefficient, and that I should try sleeptime restriction( going to bed later, waking up earlier), to have a more efficient sleep. He explained me that in a very persuasive way and wants me to try to sleep 4h30 to 5h30 max a night for some months.

I am confused with all I read here and there saying 8 hours sleep is a must.

I am 160 lbs, 5’9. I eat something like 3000 KCal a day, with 150g protein.

My life is very active too, I work something like 45 hours a week, 2 hours of commute every day, have a stepson and a young puppy to take care of, and the wife.

Should I try to train less ? Or eat more ? Any insights for the sleep ?

2

lol wot, yes you do sleep more efficiently if your deprived but your doctors advice is BAD on so many levels. Your probably not eating enough, imo. I’m 16, still growing quickly going to school etc been doing stronglifts for 3 weeks now and my sleep has been horrible because of school but i still feel fine. I am tired and yawn throughout my entire day but i hardly have any DOMs. My advice is to eat more and it wouldn’t hurt to sleep more if you can, if you manage to naturally sleep an extra hour or two then go for it.

3

Doesn’t stronglifts have guidelines on what to do if you are struggling with recovery? Since you haven’t specified what you’ve tried I can only assume you haven’t looked into that. So my advice would be track that info down and follow it and then find a doctor who understands some of the tradeoffs you need to make when training for strength.

4

socialized medicine strikes again!

5

How did you come up with 3000 calories? What is your breakdown? what was your weight 2.5 months ago? How long have you been working out?

Any other issues you havent told us?

Input your new numbers in the spreadsheet and reload.

And, as stated, he (Medihve spl?) has the answers. Did you check them out?

6

We’re with JFG, there can be umpteen reasons for such issues, and without more details it’s hard to say.

Let us know more and there maybe something very simple holding up your progress.

7

Maybe it is the quality of sleep. Maybe try some Melatonin. I am also doing the SL 5x5. I have found not to over do it. I have back pain wrapping around to my groin now from either shitty form at some point or increasing weight to early.

8

Sounds like you need to Deload and then move on to 3x5. The 5x5 is not meant to be followed forever and you are suppose to progress to 3x5 and then 1x5 eventually

What weights are you using?

Do not sleep less, that would be stupid, sleep more if anything . Take naps if you can. I have never heard of increasing your sleep efficiency but maybe your doctor knows something nobody else on the planet does… But I doubt it.

9

Hello,

Some news, a bit in a hurry

Did some tests with another doctor. Found out I was srsly lacking magnesium. I also have some shoulder imbalance probably due to bad posture at work (fucking bad chair given by my employer) that can impede the recovery. My diet sucks too (I eat a lot to grow, but I eat a lot of junk to add calories like a dumbass)

I started to took magnesium + zinc + B6 + 1 mg melatonin at night and I sleep far better. It seems like I need to sleep an entire day as I am badly in sleep debt. I am also changing slowly my food habits…

In some days, magnesium seemed to improve a lot of things. Digestive issues, sleep, and I feel far less tired.

10

Good to know all those things… Dont forget what I said above though. At some point you WILL stall on this program, and then you will need to go to 3x5 and then eventually 1x5.

If you dont know how to reset and continue on look it up, the info for this program is out there.