Stalling

[twoton]

I'm stalling. For a while I was building strength for the first time in ages, and now I'm stalling out. On the plus side, I've gained about 5 pounds and my waist isn't bigger, so I'm hoping it's gone into muscle growth.

Not sure which way to go. I tried "resetting" by dropping weight, but that doesn't seem to be helping. It could be that I'm not eating enough, but I'm not sure eating more is the way I want to go unless that's the way I need to go. (it also gets into $$. our grocery bill is high as it is)

Who has stalled/plateaued and been able to resume the upward progression?

 

[276992]

Superset, drop set, very rep ranges, change your program, German volume training... all these can and will shake things up if you've hit a plateau. However you should examine you're Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) and your caloric intake. Your intake should be at least a few hundred cals over your TEE in order to grow. Also dial in your macros. There are cost effective ways to add calories so look into that if your below where you should be. You can't build a castle without stones bro.

 

[FastNHard]

You were probably seeing the biggest gains at the beginning, first 8 months or so? That's normal. I've hit three or four plateaus in 3.5 years. For me it had nothing to do with nutrition but the workout itself. Don't bust your butt in the gym 2-2.5 hours like everyone says to. I'm there no more than 30-50 minutes now. I've put on 10 pounds this last year doing so. No more than 4 sets of Anything and stick to about the 8 to 10 rep range. Get in, do your thing and get out. If you stick to a 3x10 or 4x10 and are not gaining you need to eat a little more. Not sure of your age, weight, nutrition now, workout routine.

 

[twoton]

I’m in 3-4 Days a week for about an hour each time. Mostly I’ve been doing 5x5. And I’m 50 so it’s probably harder for someone my age to build strength than it is for someone who’s 25.

 

[276992]

I’m in 3-4 Days a week for about an hour each time. Mostly I’ve been doing 5x5. And I’m 50 so it’s probably harder for someone my age to build strength than it is for someone who’s 25.

I'm 40 and yes it is harder for us but not impossible. Just means you have to work harder and eat way cleaner than the 20-30 somethings.

 

[twoton]

Yeah....it's that "eating clean" thing that doesn't quite seem to happen for me.

 

[695092]

So give me the details!

Age, Ht, Wt
Squat Bench Deadlift, Press

Chances are if you aren’t consistently gaining a little bit of weight every week you are underrating. Also make sure you are getting 1g/lbs of protein and following a proper strength program like SSLP.

 

[276992]

Yeah....it's that "eating clean" thing that doesn't quite seem to happen for me.

Eating is 80 percent of the battle. I struggled for years until I got my diet together. I've made more progress in one year of clean eating than I did in the previous 5

 

[twoton]

So give me the details!

Age, Ht, Wt
Squat Bench Deadlift, Press

50, 6'2", 198+/-

My 1RM squat is 275lbs, bench 235lbs. Haven't deadlifted in ages but had gotten to 430lbs. Press I don't do with a barbell. With dumbbells it's at 65s. My sets for squats are around 230, bench is around 215. I have two herniated discs in my lower back and so am very careful about squats.

 

[FastNHard]

50, 6'2", 198+/-

My 1RM squat is 275lbs, bench 235lbs. Haven't deadlifted in ages but had gotten to 430lbs. Press I don't do with a barbell. With dumbbells it's at 65s. My sets for squats are around 230, bench is around 215. I have two herniated discs in my lower back and so am very careful about squats.

Heck, you're way better off than me. My squat is like 110lbs, bench is 130 on a good day, dead lift is 150, maybe?? I've been at it 3.5 years. I'm just a puny ass is what I am.

 

[twoton]

Well...I've been at it since I was 18 and now I'm 50. In comparison, after all those years, I should be setting records by this point.

 

[FastNHard]

Well...I've been at it since I was 18 and now I'm 50. In comparison, after all those years, I should be setting records by this point.

I'm impressed with what your doing. Those numbers are good in my opinion. Anyone that can bench, squat and dead lift their body weight or more has my respect. I am still green to be honest at less then 4 years, I've came a long way from day one at 129 pounds, now 173. At my age not sure I'll gain much more or get stronger. Not really getting anywhere with either to be honest. I did just hit my first goal weight of 170 but want to be at 8% bf and I'm 11%. Gaining muscle and leaning fat for me is a huge struggle, my body wants to store fat and lose muscle so easily. Ok, I've rambled enough.....

 

[695092]

Everyone looking to get stronger and train should look for a competent coach to teach them how to properly low bar squat, deadlift, press, bench press, row and do chin-ups.

From there buy the Starting strength book read it and follow the programming. (Those 40+ should also buy their book for training 40+ year olds)

Now that you know what exercises to do, how to do them and how to program them. Work on your diet. Eat around 1g/ lbs of body weight of protein every day. Also eat a lot, try to consistently gain around 1-2 lbs every week. You don’t really need to track macros, just weigh your self every morning (some fluxuation is normal).

Buy a good quality whey (~3g of leucine per serving, 90% protein) to help meet your protein requirements, and a simple quality creatine (take 5g everyday)

Aside from that just make sure you are getting a lot of rest every night and don’t do extra work outside of the program.