48M kind of disappointed in 2-years' gym progress. Maybe I need some help

@nowhereman 48M here as well. I didn't significantly change my eating habits or follow a strict diet either. No counting anything, etc. But one thing I have done which has helped me trim down is a 'just a bit less' approach at meals. Just a bit less became my mantra anytime with food - especially early on (and I was never in bad shape really )

Diet coupled with a good bit more daily walking (on top of gym) and I'm down 25lbs 18 months later. Pretty much at my ideal weight and continuing to improve tone 18 months later.

I'm going more for lean (at our age I think it's the way to go) and I know you're saying you want to be bigger. But diet and cardio definitely help on definition for sure.
 
@cleebrin “Just a bit less” sounds like the same approach as mine. I weigh myself every morning—I know a lot of it is just water and random fluctuation but it does seem to track the volume I ate the day before. If I weigh a bit more then I try to eat a little less that day, and vice versa. I’m happy with my weight, I don’t want to gain or lose weight, I’m just hoping to progress my lifts and bodyweight calisthenics slowly while maintaining the weight, and I enjoy cooking and eating too much to track calories.
 
@mph Yeah I weigh myself daily too and what you say tracks completely. Simple, sustainable and (should I get thrown off track for whatever reason) repeatable was what I was looking for. More power to those who do all the tracking, etc. But at my age (now that I'm at my ideal weight) I'm not looking to grow/gain. I just want to maintain, refine and avoid injury. And my 'just a bit less' when I started is now just everyday, common sense portion control.

TBF I have refined my diet a touch over time - just like my workouts. I don't go out of my way to avoid carbs - but I do avoid them after dinner. And I have peppered in a little bit more protein throughout the day. But other than that it's basically all the same stuff I was eating previously. *high five to the maintenance gang*
 
@cleebrin I like that "just a bit less" idea. I tried something similar before -- eating the same stuff I usually eat, but cutting portions in half. Just a bit less sounds more sustainable.
 
@nowhereman I've found it pretty easy to maintain. I started off just thinking 'whatever I'd normally eat of this - just eat 15-20% less.' 'Leave some for the leftover gods' is what my wife called it. Do that with everything (meals, snacks, etc.) Pretty soon you realize you're full sooner than you think - but you previously continued to eat more than you need just because it's there in front of you. DON'T eat out of containers/bags when snacking. Put everything on a small plate or napkin to limit what's available in front of you, etc. Question if you really need this snack before dolling it out. It's basically just learning then maintaining/practicing portion control.

Once I got in the rhythm of it and lost about 10lbs I guess I started experiencing the 'shrinking stomach' thing where I truly didn't need as much to be full anymore. Once I got over that hump (bad pun) it was a lot easier to maintain. It's great now, particularly when eating out. I'll get a portion of what I used to get and eat in the restaurant. But now I'm already thinking about getting to enjoy this meal twice from the leftovers.

This is of course the opposite of bulking. But I'm not doing the bulking/cutting thing.
 
@itrm I’d lifted in the past, but this was my first time really lifting for at least a decade or so. I do some mountain biking each week, too.

1RM changes:
Bench from 165 to 200
OHP from 105 to 135
Squat from 235 to 275
Dead from 295 to 360
 
@nowhereman Are you mostly training for strength or hypertrophy? If you’re not training to grow (hypertrophy) then you aren’t going to see dramatic musculature changes unless you’re super lean.
 
@999escape Hope OP finds this comment. I have always had an off/on relationship with training. I have always been ‘farmer strong’ (shoulders, traps, tris) due to my physical occupation. The years I got into lifting I would notice some appearance change but nothing significant. For one whole year I trained 5x5s and got strong as hell and barely any appearance change. I’m 35 and just learned the secrets of hypertrophy thanks to Dr.Mike Isratel. Check him out on YT, he can come off a bit sardonic but, he knows what he is talking about and his advice is good. I am on week 2 of my second ‘mesocycle’ (my first meso was 5wks) and I’ve already seen more appearance changes than I have in the past with much longer training durations. Side note: this is happening through a ‘cut’ phase ~1lb week and I’ve noticed some minor strength gains.

Hope this helps you get to your goals and reduces your time/effort:desired results
 
@ca614 Thank you. That's what I found with 5/3/1 and a couple other programs I tried. They were focused more on strength than hypertrophy. Lately I've been trying to find something else. I'll check out Dr. Mike.
 
@nowhereman I think the reality with strength training style of training is that you need to put up significantly higher numbers in the big lifts to look noticeably larger. Your numbers are in the region of what I can do and I’m 170cm and just under 70kg at your age… so am on the small side.

Do volume based training if you want size over raw strength. Better suited to your goals.
 
@nowhereman You should really aim not just for 1rm. Because 1RM someone useless for hypertrophy.

AIM for sub max like max reps for 8.
Max reps for 6.
Then how many you can get for 2-3 sets of 6.

Think of that as your new max. Max for 2 sets of 6.
Not 1rm.
 
@nowhereman You're strength gains are decent though less than what I'd expect given 2 years of training. You started above novice which makes sense given your prior history of lifting but the gains only seemed to go so far. Could be worse but definitely could be better.

Not knowing much details I have a few ideas to put forth. These are all lessons I had to learn that slowed my progress:
  • You listed a number of programs which indicates you might be program hopping too much.
  • Accessories, accessories, accessories: making sure you are hitting those accessories with good technique and effort is key for hypertrophy. Unlike the big lifts most accessories can be done to failure (and sometimes past failure by overloading the eccentric).
  • Volume: you might just need more volume for hypertrophy. For instance, the base 5/3/1 program lacks volume. The BBB version is decent as it includes some high volume back off sets. Not sure the other programs but if their main focus is only in the 5 rep per set, then you may benefit in doing more high rep work.
  • Technique: do you video your lifts? Dialing in your technique is equally if not more important than volume.
  • Protein & creatine: track your protein to make sure you are getting enough. Use creatine if you aren't.
Lastly, you may want to do a short cut. I seldom say that since usually everyone is over focused on cutting on that rather than bulking. You look like have a good amount of muscle on you that will show more with a bit less fat. Doesn't even need to be a serious cut.
 
@andrewm12 Thanks for the advice. I did stick with each of the programs listed for at least one or two full cycles, but maybe I just need to find something good and stick with it for a half year or more?

I watch a lot of form videos and pay attention to my technique, but no, I don't video my lifts. I should, but I feel weird doing so at the gym. I should just get over that, though, since others are doing it all the time.
 
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