Frustrated after 6 months lifting weights

[cthelight7]

Hi all! I just starting strength training about 6 months ago after been pretty sedentary for a few years (thanks covid). I've been following a strength programme laid out by my gym - kind of a group personal training situation. It's 3 times a week and I have been fairly consistent. I've been feeling quite disappointed and frustrated with my progress lately. I feel like I should see a more noticeable change in my body by now and also have made more progress strength-wise. Here are my stats:

I am 5'2" and around 56kg/123lbs. My weight hasn't changed much since I started lifting, neither have my measurements.

Deadlift: 5x6 @ 35kg/77lbs ----> 5x5 @ 45kg/99lbs

Squat: 4x6 @ 28kg/62lbs ----> 5x5 @ 40kg/88lbs

Bench : 5x5 @ 20kg/44lbs ----> 5x5 @ 25kg/55lbs

The only difference I can really see in my physique is more defined biceps when I flex and maybe a slightly perkier butt. Diet wise I am trying to eat at maintenance as I have a history of getting obsessed and under eating. I'm also trying to eat more protein. Feeling quite deflated - is progress normally this slow or am I doing something wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[swalker183]

@cthelight7 Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night, only way you will get stronger/gain muscle. Eat at a surplus, 500 calories and do light cardio for health and so you won’t get fat. Eat 100-120grams of protein. Workout like you mean it, boom you’ll see some crazy gains. Worked for me.

 

[dawn16]

@cthelight7 "I eat at maintenance" well that's something you have to address first. I know CICO gets frowned upon to an extent these days but if you're trying to bulk up you gotta punch above your TDEE. How's your rest looking like? How many hours of sleep do you get? 6 months and 20lbs increase is usually a bit on the slower side of linear progression.

 

[jcfg]

@cthelight7 Late to the party and only skimmed the comments so sorry if this is a repeat. Are you taking measurements? That's been my primary motivator because the scale hasn't moved in months. I measure once a month and take pictures (wearing the same thing in the same spot in the room with the same poses) but even though the pictures aren't showing much, the tape says things are going in the direction I want. Like weighing yourself, it's best to do it right when you get out of bed in the morning, measure each area twice and average.

 

[dawn16]

@cthelight7 First few months are neuromuscular adaptations so just continue to be consistent and with progressive overload and you'll be getting results soon

 

[isika]

@cthelight7 You’re still seeing some progress, so that’s awesome! I used to have the same issues, I felt like I was putting in a ton of work but the numbers weren’t changing. Like other people have suggested, diet has a ton to do with it. A lot of women tend to under eat without meaning to. If you have a habit of getting stressed about it, increase your intake slowlyyy. Once you feel comfortable, start adding more and I think you’ll feel a big difference. Good luck!

 

[dawn16]

@cthelight7 I was kind of in similar shoes to you as I had anorexia for a year and got down to 40kg at 5’5 when I was 15. Now I am 18 and weigh a lean 70kg, it probably sounds a lot for a 5’5 female but it’s weird that I have little visible fat making me think it’s a lot of muscle and water weight.

Lifts went from the bar for everything (or less I had to use machines and dumbbells for some lifts) to
All 5x5 except deadlift

Squat - 80kg
Bench - 50kg
OHP - 37.5kg
Rows - 55kg
Deadlift - 90kg

That is still weak but I have only been lifting on my stronglifts program for 4 months, and will run it until I stall.

Here is what I would do if I were you, and what I did end up doing….

You have to eat big to get big and strong, that can even be maintenance calories…you’re not overweight for your height so don’t worry about getting fat as long as you eat clean and not until you feel crazy full.

Personally I am Pakistani so eat curry my family or I make everyday, either chicken, beef with vegetables or beans/lentils everyday. With whole meal chappatis. If you can learn to cook some solid high protein healthy meals like chicken curry, cottage pie, chicken and rice… it would be a great thing to have pre/post workout for a meal.

If you prefer snacks to 3 big meals, perhaps muesli, granola bars, spiced nuts, a glass of milk, hummus and bread….

For a program take a look at the stronglifts 5x5 program. Really handy app and got me from struggling with the bar to these lifts. You add 2.5kg each time but personally I stayed with the weight until I had better form and felt comfortable and then increased it when I was starting off so weak.

I also did accessory work for my weak points, my legs were very small and weak after being malnourished so I did a ton of heavy leg press, goblet squats ect…. Building them up for normal back squats.

Good accessories would be (aim for 8-12 reps 3 sets)
Squat - leg press, front squats, goblet squats, quad machine, leg curls
Bench - dumbbell bench, close grip bench, incline, decline, tricep work like extensions, pec flies
OHP - more tricep exercises, seated press, push press
Deadlift - loads of deadlifts, rack pulls, lat pull downs, glute exercsies like hip thrusts
Rows - cable pulls, bicep curls, lat pull down, dumbbell rows

Aim for 7 hours sleep minimum and I would stick to 3 full body workouts as a beginner. Go for a walk or do some low impact cardio on the rest days to help you recover. Maybe get a coach for a one off session to check all your lifts for form. I got a great guy to teach me the basics for an hour.

Best of luck, you’ve got this!

 

[cthelight7]

@dawn16 Sorry to hear about your past struggles but I'm glad you've come out the other side! Ive come to learn that the actual number on the scales isn't really a great indication or your health or fat/muscle mass so 70kg doesn't seem crazy to me for your height. You must have a lot of muscle!

Those stats are definitely not weak in my eyes - major congrats on that! Especially for only 4 months! That's some really great advice and it's great to hear from someone in a similar situation. I'm definitely going to check out the stronglifts program and take your advice on the high protein meals too. Your diet sounds absolutely yummy haha! I also like big meals as I feel like things can get out of control with snacking sometimes. Those accessory suggestions are also extremely helpful, especially for leg stuff.

The sleep thing is definitely another thing I should work on - I definitely notice that I have worse sessions if my sleep is bad.

Thanks so much for your advice, it's really really helpful! I wish you the best of luck on your own journey too!

 

[lyn81]

@dawn16 Hello! You have made the mistake of writing "ect" instead of "etc."

"Ect" is a common misspelling of "etc," an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase "et cetera." Other abbreviated forms are etc., &c., &c, and et cet. The Latin translates as "et" to "and" + "cetera" to "the rest;" a literal translation to "and the rest" is the easiest way to remember how to use the phrase.

Check out the wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.

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