Thread: Fierce Five: Consequences of staying on beginner program

If you can squat, bench, and deadlift you have plenty of equipment (assuming you have some sort of rack set-up to catch the bar if you fail on squats). Do you have access to a pull-up bar?

You can change your workout scheme completely. If you have been running the same set/rep/progression scheme for almost a year it's not surprising you are stalling.

Originally Posted by JustitiaFiat

Hi all,

I'm plateauing hard on some of my lifts. But I'm steadily building up a home gym, and am disinclined to join a gym again for that reason. At the moment, I only have equipment that allows me safely to do the Fierce Five beginner's/novice program. I've been doing it for the better part of a year now, bulking most of the time (well, gaining weight, anyway. COVID times), and am cutting now.

Present big lifts:

Squat: 175 lbs (it grows slowly because of flexibility issues that I just resolved)
Bench: 145 (coming back from a really serious shoulder injury; took a long time to get the form down as a result)
P. Row: 120

Deadlift (swapped because I despise front squats): 235
OHP: 100 (I've hit this weight for three resets)
Pullup: Bodyweight x 6 (assisted for the rest)

The equipment issue is unavoidable. At this stage, should I be changing my resting days to account for the fact that I'll be squatting/deadlifting near max fairly frequently? Is there a threat of serious injury in my future?

Plateau is because of the cut. Just keep going, in the long run you'll be fine. How steep is your caloric deficit? What's your height and bodyweight?

Equipment sounds like enough to get strong & jacked. You've got all the main lifts. Squatting/deadlifting near max frequently might not be ideal. You can post a form check vid if you're worried about bad form.