The Great LP Stall Thread of Shame

[mbasic]

At WFAC in 2014 I didn't see anyone doing the 200/300/400/500. None of the 65 members. It was just a bigger and emptier version of my garage, with lots of ordinary people with fucked backs or whatever plugging along trying to improve their lives, but not letting weights dominate their lives.

wow

To be fair in looking at the numbers in this thread, bear in mind that this site collects people who are disappointed in SS.

It seems so far, just glancing at this thread from a distance, the numbers in line with the averages they came up with when they mined the SS-forum logs for data .... and that little study they did more recently.

They are building a big franchise around all this glory ya know

[convergentsum]

To be fair in looking at the numbers in this thread, bear in mind that this site collects people who are disappointed in SS.

Sure, but if Rip has more flattering data he should publish it, or at least describe the shape of it. Otherwise, we must admit the possibility that his claims are baseless.

I would say that there's plenty about SS over the last couple of years to disappoint even a highly successful novice.

[jwilson625]

At WFAC in 2014 I didn't see anyone doing the 200/300/400/500. None of the 65 members. It was just a bigger and emptier version of my garage, with lots of ordinary people with fucked backs or whatever plugging along trying to improve their lives, but not letting weights dominate their lives.

wow

To be fair in looking at the numbers in this thread, bear in mind that this site collects people who are disappointed in SS.

It seems so far, just glancing at this thread from a distance, the numbers in line with the averages they came up with when they mined the SS-forum logs for data .... and that little study they did more recently.

They are building a big franchise around all this glory ya know

The raw numbers also don't necessarily indicate which of those with average results had to fatfuck themselves to get there.

[CamLeslie]

Never did one. I just kept upping weights and then eventually did TM, Sheiko, BBM Stuff... all badly.

[Les]

Guys that had strong numbers after SSLP, usually had previous experience with the weight room and decent/good numbers before SSLP. And good genetics.

@Hanley how much you benched before SSLP?


Guys like Justin Lascek and Bryan Fox already had a +400 lbs squat before going through SSLP. Wolf was also a gym bro for years before SSLP.

Wolf also had a 405 bench. Karl was always a fantastic bencher. I think he was benching 420-440 when he first came onto SS.com as byzkarl.

[Hanley]

Bench bro workout>>>>>SSLP bench program

Took me about 2 years to admit this ^ but it's really, really, really true.

As a young, dumb bro, I'd just show up and rep out with 225# for 3 sets. Worked better than SS.

[Les]

At WFAC in 2014 I didn't see anyone doing the 200/300/400/500. None of the 65 members. It was just a bigger and emptier version of my garage, with lots of ordinary people with fucked backs or whatever plugging along trying to improve their lives, but not letting weights dominate their lives.

wow

To be fair in looking at the numbers in this thread, bear in mind that this site collects people who are disappointed in SS.

It seems so far, just glancing at this thread from a distance, the numbers in line with the averages they came up with when they mined the SS-forum logs for data .... and that little study they did more recently.

They are building a big franchise around all this glory ya know

The raw numbers also don't necessarily indicate which of those with average results had to fatfuck themselves to get there.

That's part of the program. 1 sheet cake a day and GOMAD. Responsible lifters will also get their tren levels checked. All that check it are shocked to find out that it is zero.

[quikky]

I did LP on and off between 2012-2016. Always exercised with weights for a long time, but only trained occasionally. Started training consistently summer of 2016. LP during that time ended with:

SQ 300x5x3
BP 250x5 or so. I started 4 day TM the week after with 245x5 on intensity day
DL 310x5
PR don't remember, something around 150x5.

This was at 5'11" and around 205lb. I didn't start benching as a total novice, as I did bro stuff for years before SS. My first run at LP in 2012 I was squatting 205x5, and benching around 225x5.

[deant]

LP from Aug 2016 to Oct 2016 (47, 5'10" and 218 (no weight gain))

Squat: 6-315 to 3x5-375 1RM 345 to 415
Bench: 1RM 340 to 315
Deadlift: 5-325 to 5-365
Press: BW to BW (started with mon/fri benching then went to benching 3x per week as my bench was going down)

I got to 3x5-284 on bench the first time through...then I reset and went back up 3 times and each time my 3x5 got worse. I finished LP (finally) after missing reps on 3x5-270

[nealstar]

At WFAC in 2014 I didn't see anyone doing the 200/300/400/500. None of the 65 members. It was just a bigger and emptier version of my garage, with lots of ordinary people with fucked backs or whatever plugging along trying to improve their lives, but not letting weights dominate their lives.

wow

To be fair in looking at the numbers in this thread, bear in mind that this site collects people who are disappointed in SS.

It seems so far, just glancing at this thread from a distance, the numbers in line with the averages they came up with when they mined the SS-forum logs for data .... and that little study they did more recently.

They are building a big franchise around all this glory ya know

The raw numbers also don't necessarily indicate which of those with average results had to fatfuck themselves to get there.

I'm not really disappointed with the NLP, btw. It worked reasonably well for me, especially my Squat. Adv.NLP and GSLP also worked somewhat. It's more the intermediate programming that failed me. TM fucked me up somewhat. OMTM actually got me some nice Squat and Bench PRs, but also led into the longest run of injuries I've had in my "career."

[KarlM]

I did my LP from mid August, 2016 and finished about three months later. My results were:
Squat, started at 145 X 5 X 3, finished at 280 X 5 X 1
Bench, started at 135 X 5 X 3, finished at 180 X 5 X 1
Deadlift, started at 135 X 5 X 1, finished at 305 X 5 X 1
Press, started at 90 (I think) X 5 X 3, finished at 118 X 5 X 3
PC: finished at 160 X 3 X 5

I started at about 165 lb body weight, and finished LP at about 175 lb. I tweaked my back twice in three months, then again almost immediately after when I tried to run the Texas Method. At the time I believed that had something to do with less than ideal technique, but in retrospect, it was probably just improper fatigue management. LP worked fine for me. I only bothered to reset my press and bench once. I dropped power cleans because my achilles was always sore after and I didn't really think they were doing much.

*ETA: for @KyleSchuant, I started at 42 years old. In high school I played football, wrestled and played tennis. I trained weights for sports, mostly circuit stuff. As an adult I trained judo seriously for about 6 years, with several competitions thrown in there. I’ve also dabbled in soccer and rock climbing. Prior to LP, I ran p90x successfully (i.e. I got abs and built up my back and arms). I did that stuff on and off for about 3 years. I’m 5’9”.

[Stoop]

I've done LP at least 7 times with different lifts.


RUN 1 was BW 205 to 215. 6'3

Front Squat 5RM: 185 to 230
Squat 5RM: 245 to 310
OHP 5RM: 115 to 160
Weighted Chinups 5RM: +25 to +45
Weighted Dips 5RM: +45 to +100


Run 2 was by the book SS BW 215 to 240.

Squat 5RM: 265 to 365
OHP 5RM: 135 to 167.5
Bench 5RM: 205 to 240
Deadlift 5RM: 305 to 365.
Cleans 3: 155 to 195


I've novice tapered (3x5 to 3x3) my OHP and Weighted Dips. That got me to 175x3 and +135x3. And when I switched back to 5's I realized my numbers there didn't move at all. I had essentially peaked and detrained.

After a serious surgery and torn ankle ligaments, a year later I just did this on BMM programming at 25lbs lighter:

Squat: 310x6@8.5
OHP: 155x6@9
Bench: 255x6@9
Deadlift: 385x6@8.5

[KyleSchuant]

Note:

I am tabulating the data in this thread. Not everyone is reporting everything, for example mentioning their weight but not their height, though of course 200lbs at 5ft is one thing, and 200lbs at 6ft is another.

I have recorded, where people mentioned it,

Name
Previous training - this is any sport at all, and is also used to record last novice numbers where the person did multiple runs of SS NLP
Injured in NLP - "sore all the time, pain stopped when I stopped lifting" isn't an injury, but "golfer's elbow" etc is.
Age
Height
Starting bodyweight
End NLP bodyweight
Best workset squat, press, deadlift, bench and clean, I've not distinguished between 5,5,5 and a single set of 5 and triples and all that, so long as it was more than one rep.

and I have added a calculated value, BMI. Pushing themselves to BMI 30+ seems to be common.

Most commonly people are not mentioning previous training history, if any, their age or height. Cleans seem to be rare. I've left unreported data blank, except injuries; people might not think their height is important, but I feel confident if they'd been injured they'd say so.

If those reporting their numbers after this could mention all that data, that would be helpful. And at a glance none of the women on the board seem to have reported so far, it'd be good to hear from them.

Obviously I'll share this later.

[anniemichael]

Was just wondering about women's numbers...

Unfortunately I have no log of my first run of LP, so this is all pretty vague and mostly guessing.

July-November(?) 2008:
age 21
No prior training, no prior sports, kid who got stomachaches to get out of PE etc. I did dance as a kid.
Squat: <45 --> 135ish
Deadlift: 65ish --> 135ish
Bench: 35ish --> 75ish
Press: 25ish --> 55ish
Didn't weigh myself much then, so I don't know about any weight gain or loss. I was around 165 at that point.
This was truly BARELY DTP...no shoes, no log, form was probably atrocious... but I still went from being extraordinarily weak to like, a normal "fit" person.

Next time I did a dedicated LP was in 2014. Not sure how long I went on it. Again, records are terrible and/or nonexistent. Age 27-28.
Squat: 85ish --> 155ish
Deadlift: 95ish --> 175ish
Bench: 55ish --> 75ish (ugh)
Press: 45ish --> 60ish
Weight by then was 170.

I've done lots of mini LP runs since then, but I don't think those are worth noting really. Never more than a month.

For reference, current weight is 180, best singles are SQ 297, DL 330, B 123, P 91. I've been training pretty consistently since 2015. I think I'm way on the not-genetically-gifted side of things, and all progress I've made has been slow and hard earned.

That first exposure to SS though... I genuinely could not squat the bar at first, and when I put the 45s on, I thought I was the strongest person in the world. It was pretty cool, and a big deal for me. Life-changing, in retrospect.

I have two female trainees who I put on SSLP (minus power cleans), I can dig up some numbers for them too if more female numbers would be helpful for people to see.

EDIT: forgot height -- I'm 5'6"

[KyleSchuant]

Thanks, anniemichael. The more numbers we have, the better, particularly if they're not from here, which as I said will tend to collect people who got poor numbers or injuries (the guy who squats 400lbs in eight weeks without pain probably doesn't question Rip as much as they one who squats 250lbs in twelve weeks and gets hurt).

Average BMI so far... 29.9. People are willing to put on weight.

[iamsmu]

I don't seem to have data on my LP. Strange. I'll keep looking.

Before the LP I had never done a barbell squat, deadlift, or press (in front of my head) ever. I had done bro work in my late teens and 20's and then done some Scooby programs for about 6 months.

The SSLP added weight to my bench at first. The 3x5 LP worked for a couple months.

I never did the program properly. When I started I was running 7 miles 3 times a week, or something like that. I stalled out in the mid 200's on squat. I think my deadlift was about 315.

My numbers weren't good, but I was starting from zero and running at the same time.

I got stuck on the press at 145x5 on the LP. My estimated 1rm for bench was 275, though I never tested. I think I got stuck trying to get 250x5x3. I pretty early moved to sets of 3 and pyramids. My volume was higher than the SSLP prescribed after about a month in. But I had been doing some lifting for a few months prior.

I did the power cleans. I think I got to 205 or close on the LP. I never got higher than 235 after though.

I probably lost weight on the LP. I think I was 205-210 at 6'2" at the end of the LP.

For true novices on the big lifts, it seems pretty useful. Just don't GOMAD and add in more volume on bench. It's just 3 months or so to get a decent foundation. Optimizing the initial 3 months doesn't seem all that important. . . . It is fun to see the numbers keep climbing. That is a huge motivation boost, for a little while. . . .

[cgeorg]

I genuinely could not squat the bar at first, and when I put the 45s on, I thought I was the strongest person in the world. It was pretty cool, and a big deal for me. Life-changing, in retrospect.

That's awesome! I had a few of those moments on my way as well, they are really wonderful.

[Griff]

Most commonly people are not mentioning previous training history, if any, their age or height

I didn’t think to post previous training history, but it’s relevant. I got into fitness around 17 and have done some form of weight training (mostly casual, bro stuff) and cardio pretty consistently since then. In that time I’d weighed everywhere from 145 to 210 (during my one bodybuilding bulk). Generally hovered between 165 and 180 though. At my heaviest (around age 28) I benched 225x5 pretty easily and I think I pulled 405 on a trap bar. Back in college I did a bunch of squatting and got up to 300x1 to parallel at around 185bw.

So... my LP results weren’t totally novel strength, although it had been 6+ years since I’d really focused on strength, and had gotten pretty weak in the interim due to a demanding job, having kids, etc.

[KyleSchuant]

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.

This is the spreadsheet, which anyone can view.

[mgil]

I ended LP around (all sets of five) in late 2014:

OHP - 185
BP- 275
SQ - 405
DL- 425

I’d been lifting for years before, but wanted to get my lifts in better order and actually got SSBBT3e for the form advice. It helped for squats, and I’d never pressed overhead before in earnest. Thinking back, I’d torn my VM and was having squat problems and that’s how I stumbled on SS. I was already pulling and benching.

When I ended LP, things were heavy, but I probably had a couple weeks left. I was mainly tired of how long sessions were taking. Plus, I’d had enough time under the bar to know sets were nearing failure.

I think I weighed about 265 at the start and ended around 275. Was 39 at the time. I wouldn’t expect similar results from others.