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.

[sup]I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Comments with a score less than zero will be automatically removed. If I commented on your post and you don't like it, reply with "!delete" and I will remove the post, regardless of score. Message me for bug reports.[/sup]

 

[antinomian]

@cthelight7 If you want to see faster progress when you lift, you need to build muscle. In order to do that faster you need to grow.

So, eat more than maintenance and ideally a high protein diet. Most of us will put on about the same amount of fat as muscle doing this, possibly slightly more but it will change your body shape and you will get stronger. You will also get a bit stronger doing what you are doing but it will take a lot longer.

Also, look into your technique. Getting the movement perfect will increase your numbers.

Try lifting heavier during days 1-14 of your cycle.

Also remember glutes and quads are large muscles so not seeing a a difference in them compared to your arms is normal as the same mount of muscle growth is hard to see when the muscle is larger to start with.

 

[dawn16]

@cthelight7 You’ve been lifting for only 6 months on a relatively low volume program which isn’t particularly structured or tailored to you by the sound of things. Group training will only get you so far, if your goal is to make considerable changes in appearance/aesthetics I would recommend finding a strength and conditioning informed coach or PT to write you ongoing programming that is tailored to your goals and interests. A good coach will plan a progression, not just hand you a random group of exercises every month with no clear direction. You should clearly understand why each exercise is in your program - if your PT can’t explain this to you in detail, they’re not worth your time.

Gains take time (like years), consistent progressive overload and enough fuel (not just protein but adequate carbs and fats too). You need to be training and eating in a way that aligns with your goals if you want to make efficient progress. Choose a modality - bodybuilding, powerlifting, CrossFit etc and stick with it for a year or more. Get nerdy and research the heck out of nutrition for female athletes. Great places to start:
bodybuilding.com.

RP Strength

Alan Thrall (YouTube).

Meg Squats (youtube).

CrossFit Kate (Instagram).

Stacey Simms (author and Instagram)

The Powerlifter Dietician (Instagram).

Michelle McDonald (Instagram).

Hattie Boydle (Instagram)

 

[laszlart]

@cthelight7 PT here with 9 years experience…

I think my first question would be to ask yourself, what were/are you expecting in terms of changes?
Like be specific, what do you mean by that?
Did you want to “grow” a bigger booty (that means adding muscle mass measured in inches and ideally in a caloric surplus for that).
Did you want to gain weight? (Again, adding muscle mass usually not always requires a surplus in calories)
Or were you looking at lifting heavier weights? (Increasing strength variables via LBS moved) If so, what do those numbers look like?

Tapping into the realm of strength can be done many different ways and programmed specifically to an individuals training capacity and specificity of goal. Usually works off most main lifts (squats/deadlifts/bench) being done at body weight example; I weigh 145lbs, 5’1 female 27yr old, I can bench 145lbs, I can squat 315lb, and I can deadlift 285lb respectively. I try to get my clients at least working up towards lifting their own body weight, and progressively overload them from there. But depends on that persons goals.

What were your goals when you started vs. What are your goals now?

I mean, for 6 months worth of lifting (unless you have any confounding variables or high risk health concerns) I’d say you’re body has well passed it’s adaptation to that training (occurs in 4-6 weeks) and you’re not training at full capacity. I saw this because I can easily train beginner gym goers to lift body weight in 8-12 weeks should they be cleared to, and you’re still performing less than your body weight (just an observation! Not a bad thing here).
But again, it comes down to what you value as something you want to work towards and that comes from being specific with what you mean “I’m disappointed with my progress lately, I feel like I should see a more noticeable change”.

That means so many different things, so first things first! Be specific!
Do you mean, you want low enough body % to see your abdominals?
This frustration you have which is so common, has so many different meanings.
Side note: you can also be working on more than 1 goal

Example: my current personal activity goals for the next 4 months are:
1. Train 5-6x weekly (complete)
2. Diet down to reduce BF % to 18% (2200cals)
3. Hip Thrust 550lbs (current: 500 for 2 reps)
4. Boxing/Muy Thai minimum 2x/week (complete)

 

[laszlart]

Okay perfect! And yeah recomps are very common. So I mean, at your stats I’d start with a gradual increase in calories just with whatever number you’re comfortable with. When I first dieted, I was initially scared of this, but don’t be! Try to slowly creep up to 1800-2000calories, up your 1400 cals by 100 each week. Some trainers will say “add 500 cals a day” and I personally don’t like that because it’s too much too soon and makes a pre-existent anxiety to food worse. If you slowly introduce more food it allows you to be more ok with the idea of eating more with the intention of training better!

It’ll make your lifts SO MUCH EASIER. You’ll learn quickly the importance of energy availability.
As long as you’re eating enough protein/ nutritious dense foods, you won’t “get fat” I promise. I have to have this convo with all my female clients hah that’s why I mention it.
Quick log of foods I love suggesting that are cheaper and quick (mind you I’m vegetarian but I see nothing wrong with meat):
Beans
Oats
Any nut butter
Avocados
Dark chocolate
Chickpeas/ hummus
Any and all veggies
Any and all fruits
Eggs
Soy milk
Protein powder
Tofu
Full grained breads

With these things I make:
French toast with berries and dark chocolate on top
Pancakes (out of oats and eggs)
Fajitas (protein wrap or grained tortilla)
Tacos (I use a protein wrap)
Nachos (regular nacho chips with corn/beans/olives/peppers/mushroom)
Avocado and egg toasts
Chili
Soups with my veggies/rice/potatoes
Anything you like!

Hope this helps and sorry I didn’t see that you replied until now

 

[cthelight7]

@laszlart My original goal was body recomposition - I wanted to see more definition in my body and gain muscle. I guess simultaneously lose some fat and gain muscle. Alongside this I obviously wanted to see strength gains in all of my lifts, not just one in particular. I set goals in my head of being able to do at least bodyweight in my squat and deadlift. My 1 rep max deadlift is 57kg although my form really struggled at that weight so I've only partially achieved that goal. My squat 1 rep max is about 50kg.

My goal is still to body recomp. I have body image issues and a history of bad dieting so I don't love the idea of bulk/cut cycles. My calorie intake is apparently quite low already at 1400 so the thought of doing a cut kind of scares me. So I was hoping to eat at around maintenance and up my protein intake which I have done. There is a petite fitness influencer/personal trainer called Smalletics who talks a lot about body recomps for petite women and she highly recommended this approach since small women have a small margin of error when it comes to diet.

I'm starting to think the program im doing is a big part of the problem. I think I'd like to switch that up and potentially also hire a pt for a few sessions.

Your stats are really inspiring btw, love to hear from other smaller women!

 

[edhall]

@cthelight7 6 months is nothing honestly. Going from 0 to noticeable changes takes longer. For one, there’s so much to learn and that can take a while to do, years even. There will be a lot of trial and error along the way.

I’m not sure what your goals are. My general thoughts are if you are wanting to lose weight you need to eat in a calorie deficit. If you are wanting to gain muscle your best bet is to count macros and especially protein. If you are very serious and want the fastest changes possible you need to get your nutrition on point and i suggest to weigh and track all food in an app like myfitnesspal.

 

[ironfeather]

@cthelight7 Sounds like your doing strong lifts 5x5, while I love it a lot of people do complain that it’s not enough weekly volume for big gains. You might want to incorporate some accessory work. If it’s any consolation I’m the same height and weight as you, my 1RM on bench in 2010 was a 12kg barbell and right now my max is 37.5kg.

 

[dawn16]

@cthelight7 Use that frustration in the gym! Eat more! Diet plays a waaaay bigger role than most realize, more calories but good ones, 6 months isnt long bro give it a year or go to 5x a week and dont rest too long bt sets, you should be in there an hour or so, if its longer you are chillin too much bt sets

 

[nicholehe]

@cthelight7 I’m a similar height and weight (5’4, 120lbs), but when I started lifting I was around 125-130lbs. Just from my own experience (in my first 5 months (starting from absolutely no gym or fitness experience at all) my DL went from 50kg to 67.5kg, squat from 30kg to 70kg and bench from 20kg to 37.5kg), that’s relatively slow progress but it’s likely due to the programme you’re running. I started off with StrongLifts which for all its faults is a good starting point for beginners. Are you deloading at any point? If you’re not managing fatigue your progress will be massively hampered

Edit: seconding another commenter, I use Renaissance Periodization’s programming now, but I built the programme myself using their Hypertrophy Guide/YouTube channel. Can’t recommend enough

 

[cthelight7]

@nicholehe Thanks for the advice, definitely seems like things are moving a bit slowly for me! I haven't really been properly deloading actually, more just some weeks I am not able to lift as much so I take it a bit easy that week. There is next to no advice in my gym program about that so I will definitely look into that as well.

Totally going to check out Renaissance Periodization!

 

[tlb73737]

@cthelight7 You gotta eat more