Not sure what to do

[shawnie1]

Ive been going to the gym for almost a year and im definitely fitter and stronger then when i started but it feels like ive hit a wall where i cant seem to make any more progress

My numbers arent going up and when i try to raise them i hit a wall and have to finish the set at my original weight

I dont plan on stopping cause at least id like to maintain the strength/fitness i have but im wondering if anyone has advise to get past a wall

 

[gayman23_23]

Hey,

I'm more lazy than hit the wall, but creatine kinda helped to push my boundaries. Have you tried it? Ashwaganda can also help.

 

[shawnie1]

Hey,

I'm more lazy than hit the wall, but creatine kinda helped to push my boundaries. Have you tried it? Ashwaganda can also help.

Is creatine that different to the whey ive been using?

 

[jswitc]

Is creatine that different to the whey ive been using?

Creatine isn't protein. It helps your muscles with initial explosive movements. You take 5mg daily and you'll notice its effect over time, so consistent use is very important.

 

[jswitc]

Are you eating enough protein? The general suggestions is about 1gram per pound of body weight. Eating enough food in general is also important. You'll want to get enough carbs and water the night before your workout and continue to eat enough carbs on rest days.

Changing your workout routine occasionally to focus on muscles that you may be missing will help your body build general strength that can help you push past current limits. Or working with a personal trainer can be helpful to identify problem areas or creating a new routine based on your current plateau.

Abel Albonetti has some very tough muscle specific workouts that helped me grow.

 

[shawnie1]

I get about 170g protein which is a little under but not far from what you stated

Im gonna try get some routine mixup and look into creatine, appreciate the advice

 

[Rooker]

What’s your recovery like?

 

[shawnie1]

What’s your recovery like?

What do you mean?

 

[Rooker]

What do you mean?

Rest, both in terms of sleep but also time between lifts.

Your protein intake seems good. What about total calories?

 

[shawnie1]

Rest, both in terms of sleep but also time between lifts.

Your protein intake seems good. What about total calories?

I generally just rest till i feel ready to go again, i dont time it and that time can vary and sleep admittedly i struggle with, have always found it difficult to sleep before im tired so i rarely get more then max 8 hours sleep and it can go down to like 4 though i do try to get more
Generally go 1500-1800 calories

 

[Rooker]

The sleep could be what’s holding you back. Most people get stronger early in their lifting, like the first year regardless of their nutrition and recovery, as long as they show up and lift. As you get stronger, the newbie gains level off, especially considering you’re probably lifting heavier weights. Keep that in mind. The more you lift (in months/years), the gains will level off.

Those calories seem pretty low as well. Are you losing weight? It is very difficult for an experienced lifter to add strength while losing weight. I don’t know your body weight. 1500-1800 calories may be okay. My wife is 135 pounds and she is around there. I’m 195-205 and need about 2300 maintenance calories. That shoots up to 3000 or so when I add in activity. Find a BMR calculator and check for your weight, and also track your bodyweight to see how to fluctuates relative to your strength.

Finally the rest thing. I also meant how much time between workouts. Generally resting until you’re ready for the next set during workouts is fine. I rest anywhere between a minute (for light things like pull-ups) to 3 minutes for bigger lifts. Sometimes, if I’m pushing for a cycle PR, I might wait 5 minutes. As long as you’re ready to give a good effort on the next set, it doesn’t really matter.

What IS important is to get enough recovery between workouts. How often do you lift and what muscle groups? Your body generally needs 48 hours in between workouts (for a muscle group). Any more frequent and you need to dial the intensity down.

One last thing, do you ever just take a week off? Your muscles won’t fall off. I lift pretty intensely, and take off a week every two months at the most.

 

[shawnie1]

The sleep could be what’s holding you back. Most people get stronger early in their lifting, like the first year regardless of their nutrition and recovery, as long as they show up and lift. As you get stronger, the newbie gains level off, especially considering you’re probably lifting heavier weights. Keep that in mind. The more you lift (in months/years), the gains will level off.

Those calories seem pretty low as well. Are you losing weight? It is very difficult for an experienced lifter to add strength while losing weight. I don’t know your body weight. 1500-1800 calories may be okay. My wife is 135 pounds and she is around there. I’m 195-205 and need about 2300 maintenance calories. That shoots up to 3000 or so when I add in activity. Find a BMR calculator and check for your weight, and also track your bodyweight to see how to fluctuates relative to your strength.

Finally the rest thing. I also meant how much time between workouts. Generally resting until you’re ready for the next set during workouts is fine. I rest anywhere between a minute (for light things like pull-ups) to 3 minutes for bigger lifts. Sometimes, if I’m pushing for a cycle PR, I might wait 5 minutes. As long as you’re ready to give a good effort on the next set, it doesn’t really matter.

What IS important is to get enough recovery between workouts. How often do you lift and what muscle groups? Your body generally needs 48 hours in between workouts (for a muscle group). Any more frequent and you need to dial the intensity down.

One last thing, do you ever just take a week off? Your muscles won’t fall off. I lift pretty intensely, and take off a week every two months at the most.

I generally do chest and back mondays, cardio i do a spin class tuesdays, legs wednesdays and arms fridays

Sometimes things dont go as planned and i move them around or miss one but generally thats the plan

I havent taken a full week off bar christmas period cause gym was closed, honestly id feel like thats a slippery slope knowing my own ability to procrastinate after giving myself an inch

I do kinda wanna lose weight but i havent lost any in months so i float around 200lb and im still overall happy with where i am in that regard

Also im planning to get an appointment with a trainer to look at my workout plan since its free with my gym and its been 6 months since the last one

 

[Rooker]

How do you measure progress? What exactly is stalling? If you’re happy with your weight, it seems like strength gains are what you’re hitting the wall with. Is that accurate?

The best plan is one you will follow, so please take this as me looking for possible reasons you are stalling.

Legs after intense cardio might be a limiter. Legs are my favorite day, so I start the week with them and prioritize them over intense cardio. I also work my legs (and every muscle group) 2-3 times a week depending on the cycle. If your legs are tired from Tuesday, maybe wait until Thursday? Or work them on Tuesday? If you really like the spin class, it’s fine. You don’t need a drastic change.

Personally, I’d look at adding some bigger movements on that arm day. Arms really don’t need that much unless you are training at a very high bodybuilding/physique competition level. Friday could be another upper body day with arms thrown in.

If you are not completely sold on your plan, look into PPL, Upper/Lower, or full body.

But to me it seems like a lack of calories is the reason.

As for the off-week, I get it. I know people like that. Consider taking a week every month or two where you really lower the weights and use that as your reload week. Instead of working in the 80-95% range, work in the 40-60% range.

 

[JBD_Mikk]

Not sure if this is the case with you, but some of us just have a body type that hits a wall sooner regardless of what we do!

When I started at the gym about 6 years ago (then in my early 30s) I made rapid gains initially, gaining 10 lb within the first month (starting from a mere 128 lb). I gained another 10 lb within the next 7 months, but hit a hard ceiling around 150 lb that I couldn't pass regardless of sleep, protein, recovery, supplements or creatine. I wasn't even sore after workouts or hard sets - I just couldn't progress any further.

Since then I've gone back to around 140 lb after focusing more on cardio - and it's ultimately more satisfying to aim for overall fitness rather than just being muscular.

 

[shawnie1]

How do you measure progress? What exactly is stalling? If you’re happy with your weight, it seems like strength gains are what you’re hitting the wall with. Is that accurate?

The best plan is one you will follow, so please take this as me looking for possible reasons you are stalling.

Legs after intense cardio might be a limiter. Legs are my favorite day, so I start the week with them and prioritize them over intense cardio. I also work my legs (and every muscle group) 2-3 times a week depending on the cycle. If your legs are tired from Tuesday, maybe wait until Thursday? Or work them on Tuesday? If you really like the spin class, it’s fine. You don’t need a drastic change.

Personally, I’d look at adding some bigger movements on that arm day. Arms really don’t need that much unless you are training at a very high bodybuilding/physique competition level. Friday could be another upper body day with arms thrown in.

If you are not completely sold on your plan, look into PPL, Upper/Lower, or full body.

But to me it seems like a lack of calories is the reason.

As for the off-week, I get it. I know people like that. Consider taking a week every month or two where you really lower the weights and use that as your reload week. Instead of working in the 80-95% range, work in the 40-60% range.

Im happy with it in the sense that im not mad at where my weight is i would likevto lose more but i wouldnt be heartbroken if i maintained the body fat i have if i can improve my performance more

In this case im just concerned that ive been unable to up my numbers for months, it could be not enough calories but i dont want to seing the pendulum the other way and regain weight cause while im far from skinny i dont want to undo the difference i have made in that regard

Like as of 4 months ago i had lost 25kg(some of which before the gym) and the weights i could manage jumped from like 15/20 in most machines to about 35/40 and ive been unable to increment any further whenever i try but it feels to have stalled

The spin class is a recent addition as ive been wanting to do more and also work on my general fitness since the cardio warmups ive been doing are no longer extremely tough for me

And I appreciate your continued response man i dont really know anyone that could give me advice

 

[shawnie1]

Not sure if this is the case with you, but some of us just have a body type that hits a wall sooner regardless of what we do!

When I started at the gym about 6 years ago (then in my early 30s) I made rapid gains initially, gaining 10 lb within the first month (starting from a mere 128 lb). I gained another 10 lb within the next 7 months, but hit a hard ceiling around 150 lb that I couldn't pass regardless of sleep, protein, recovery, supplements or creatine. I wasn't even sore after workouts or hard sets - I just couldn't progress any further.

Since then I've gone back to around 140 lb after focusing more on cardio - and it's ultimately more satisfying to aim for overall fitness rather than just being muscular.

That is fair, it can be easy to just keep wanting more everything and its easy to miss the bigger picture, you look great and

 

[Rooker]

Your lifts roughly doubled! That’s great! And it sounds like warmups that were previously difficult are now much easier? Plus you lost that much weight. All good stuff.

I still think your calorie deficit is the reason your strength leveled off. One thing, how accurate are you with tracking both calories and weight lifted? I’m usually very good at it, probably within 10 calories a day, but not always. It is easy to estimate incorrectly. 200 calories a day, over time, adds up. I am very meticulous with tracking my lifts though.

It is really difficult to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Fortunately, losing fat while maintaining muscle, or gaining muscle while not gaining fat are much more attainable. You might just be at a point where you really have to emphasize one. You CAN continue to get stronger, but you might have to change focuses throughout the year.

I also think you’re muscles need more stimulus to grow. 2x a week frequency

This might sound redundant. You’ve gone through the newbie gains and are now at a level where your body needs different type of work to progress. Nothing drastic. Changing rep schemes, lift variations, etc…too many to list as an intro. I’m happy to go into it further with you.

The most important thing is you have reached a level you can maintain and your work paid off. Nailing that consistency is the most important part of this. You can certainly continue to progress though.

 

[shawnie1]

Your lifts roughly doubled! That’s great! And it sounds like warmups that were previously difficult are now much easier? Plus you lost that much weight. All good stuff.

I still think your calorie deficit is the reason your strength leveled off. One thing, how accurate are you with tracking both calories and weight lifted? I’m usually very good at it, probably within 10 calories a day, but not always. It is easy to estimate incorrectly. 200 calories a day, over time, adds up. I am very meticulous with tracking my lifts though.

It is really difficult to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Fortunately, losing fat while maintaining muscle, or gaining muscle while not gaining fat are much more attainable. You might just be at a point where you really have to emphasize one. You CAN continue to get stronger, but you might have to change focuses throughout the year.

I also think you’re muscles need more stimulus to grow. 2x a week frequency

This might sound redundant. You’ve gone through the newbie gains and are now at a level where your body needs different type of work to progress. Nothing drastic. Changing rep schemes, lift variations, etc…too many to list as an intro. I’m happy to go into it further with you.

The most important thing is you have reached a level you can maintain and your work paid off. Nailing that consistency is the most important part of this. You can certainly continue to progress though.

I try to be as accurate as i can with calories but theres days i need to go outside of plan and i dont really track those days, as its not clear what exactly, on days i do track i dont really use sauces or anything that would drive up numbers up and i measure the rice i use in a cup measure, my weight doesnt really rise much after a day or 2 off, ive tightened things over the last couple weeks and while it fluctuates it seems to be trending downwards

Yeah im very happy with the progress ive made its just not as straightforward anymore, not being able to do both anymore is probably the reason why

Could you give more detail on the stuff you brought up?

 

[adude688]

It could be a number of reasons, most of it covered above. But sometimes it’s purely genetics, some ppl build muscles much easier than others, while some it’s more difficult.

 

[Rooker]

When linear progression stalls, switch to periodization. You don’t completely ignore strength or hypertrophy, rather you focus on one or the other. I’m simplest terms, it would look something like this:

Figure out the heaviest weight that you can do the following for each rep amount.

Cycle 1 (Roughly a month)
Week 1 3x12
Week 2 3x10
Week 3 3x8

Cycle 2
Week 1 3x10
Week 2 3x8
Week 3 3x5

Build more muscle fibers with the high rep work, then strengthen them with the lower rep work. This shouldn’t be to absolute failure every time. There is a place for that, but the idea here is to leave one rep in reserve on that third set. You are ramping up to give yourself more runway to take off.

If you set your 5 rep training max correctly, you will hit it in that sixth week. Then all the weights go up five pounds and you do it again.

You can even mix up the reps and weight every week if you like more variety

Week 1: 12-10-8 (weight increasing each time)
Week 2: 10-8-6
Week 3: 8-6-4

There’s are more nuanced ways to go about it. I typically have one 2-3 rep lift, one 5 rep lift, one 8-10 rep lift, and one 12-15 rep lift in each workout. But the percentages and speed of each varies and those rep ranges switch up throughout the year.

The specifics are not really the issue. There are plenty of reputable plans that you can follow. Your dick won’t fall off if you go 3x9 instead of 3x10. The idea is to vary your work between 3-12 reps (or 5-8 or 4-10 or again, it doesn’t matter) and stay in the 70%-90% of your max most of the time. Switch it up, accept slow progress, and you’ll see those numbers go up.