Strength plateaus are more often than not the result of central nervous system (CNS) fatigue and partial burn-out. You can not go full-guns 5x5 training every workout every week. You need to work in some de-load weeks where you do 50% of the weight and volume to give your CNS a chance to recover.
Strength training is very taxing on the CNS. A de-load week every 6-8 weeks of training allows the CNS to recover while still keeping the muscles fibers and neural pathways active.
John
Yeah it just sounds like you are in need of a deload week - how long have you been following the 5x5 program? And are you making sure you're getting enough food and sleep daily as well? Recovery is just as important as training!
I was doing the 5x5 for 5/6 weeks, got sick one day. Skipped that session for the week, then hit the plateau the following week
Oh well that's probably your reason right there - that you got sick. If you take an entire week off, you can't really expect to come back into the gym and hit PRs my friend. You typically have to ease your way back into it.
It's normal that you ended up lifting lighter after being sick. Give yourself at least a week just to get back into the swing of things, then you can think about progressing again, getting back to where you were and then pushing past that point. You shouldn't need a deload for at least another 4-6 weeks now that you just had a week off (even though you were sick and fighting a virus, it can still work as a deload to an extent) 💪
Alright, awesome!! Hopefully, everything works out
I hope so @Bamico54! Keep us updated with your progress man! ðŸ‹