I started doing the Stronglifts program 5 weeks ago. The program has you lifting 3x/week. My problem is with one of the main principles of the program- that of increasing weight on all lifts (there are 5 different ones) by 5 pounds each time you do it, for 12 weeks. I don't think I can do this, or even remotely close, and would like to know how much is because I'm female (the program is written for men), and how much is other stuff, that I could do something about.
When I started, I could back squat 135 for 5 reps (just barely). After weeks of squatting lower weight than that (the program has you start with weight that is ~60% of your 5 rep max.), I'm finally up to 135, and it's all I can do to squat the weight for 5x5, with sub-par form. Same story with my other lifts- I am back to my initial 5RM but definitely pushing the envelope with 5x5 reps. There is NO WAY I can keep increasing the load by 5 pounds each training day for the next 7 weeks. So, what do you all recommend for getting stronger? Do I try increasing the weight less often? If so, how often? I could buy 1.25 lb plates and try to go up by 2.5 each time instead of 5? What is a realistic goal in terms of increasing the weight?
FYI:
1. I am not a newbie to lifting (18 months already), but decided to "get serious" about increasing strength instead of being satisfied with lifting the same weight month after month. So I definitely won't be getting any "newbie gains."
2. I am eating a few hundred calories under my supposed TDEE (which is ~1900-2300/day) so eating between 1600-1800 with min. 100 gm protein/day. But, I definitely haven't lost any weight, and don't think I've succeeded in any recomp because none of my measurements are any smaller - 5'2", 131ish, about 22% BF. Not sure how much this affects strength gains (I know it affects hypertrophy, but that's not my goal).