Had insane growth then suddenly no growth, what gives?
- Thread starter hteezy
- Start date
-
- Tags
- natural bodybuilding
virgelhabekott
New member
@hteezy It took me 18 months to gain 15 pounds of muscle I went from 152 to 167 I'm now 180 that 13 pounds took over 2 and a half years. I focus on my strength now This last year I went from185 bench press to 245. I rep 225 for 8 on chest . 245 for 6. As long as I increase strength I know my muscle is growing. Standing bar went from 90 to 125. Im a novice and I'm 54 . So I am realistic about my gains ill get with out the needle.
texas_greg
New member
@hteezy With the limited info provided, the advice can only get so specific so here are some questions:
Have you gradually increased base calories over the 10 months to account for a higher TDEE?
You mentioned protein but are you eating lots of good juicy carbs? Were you eating lots of carbs but are now eating less? Have you made any other dietary changes, specifically sodium related in the last 4 months?
I saw nsuns mentioned somewhere in this thread. Have you tried a program more suited for hypertrophy?
Related to that - Have you tried increasing volume for your arms? Adding extra sets, movements, or a dedicated arm day?
How long have you been training? For most people, 6 months is probably as long as you want to run a dedicated bulk. At a certain point, the size gains just aint going to be what they were at the beginning of the bulk. May be a good time to move to maintenance or cut and let your body get ready for another bulk in the near future.
Forgive me if I'm wrong but I'm gonna guess you're fairly young, in both actual and training age. If I'm right, just hang in there. Growth comes in spurts; sometimes you feel like you're going nowhere and then boom! it hits you like a sack of potatoes.
Have you gradually increased base calories over the 10 months to account for a higher TDEE?
You mentioned protein but are you eating lots of good juicy carbs? Were you eating lots of carbs but are now eating less? Have you made any other dietary changes, specifically sodium related in the last 4 months?
I saw nsuns mentioned somewhere in this thread. Have you tried a program more suited for hypertrophy?
Related to that - Have you tried increasing volume for your arms? Adding extra sets, movements, or a dedicated arm day?
How long have you been training? For most people, 6 months is probably as long as you want to run a dedicated bulk. At a certain point, the size gains just aint going to be what they were at the beginning of the bulk. May be a good time to move to maintenance or cut and let your body get ready for another bulk in the near future.
Forgive me if I'm wrong but I'm gonna guess you're fairly young, in both actual and training age. If I'm right, just hang in there. Growth comes in spurts; sometimes you feel like you're going nowhere and then boom! it hits you like a sack of potatoes.
@texas_greg Appreciate the advice yeah I increased calories and always ate roughly the same amount of carbs. I didn’t make any dietary changes.
I haven’t increased volume yet as I assumed because I was progressively overloading, that increasing volume wasn’t necessary. But I’ll do that from now. Should I just increase sets? I currently do 3 sets for isolation exercises to failure.
I haven’t increased volume yet as I assumed because I was progressively overloading, that increasing volume wasn’t necessary. But I’ll do that from now. Should I just increase sets? I currently do 3 sets for isolation exercises to failure.
texas_greg
New member
@hteezy Ya, so you're going to want to continue to increase calories as you progress on your bulk. Your calories required to grow at 200 will be different than calories required to grow at 220. If you're protein intake is good, add some carbs, especially around training.
Progressive overload is great but volume, coupled with food, is generally what will bring the size gains. I'd start slow and add a set to your arm movements every 2 weeks, e.g., If you're doing 3 sets on a movement, 4 weeks from now you'll be doing 5.
Nsuns can be pretty taxing so try not to add a bunch of volume to all your isolation stuff all at once.
Progressive overload is great but volume, coupled with food, is generally what will bring the size gains. I'd start slow and add a set to your arm movements every 2 weeks, e.g., If you're doing 3 sets on a movement, 4 weeks from now you'll be doing 5.
Nsuns can be pretty taxing so try not to add a bunch of volume to all your isolation stuff all at once.
weaknessofflesh
New member
@weaknessofflesh Sounds like you are right , how do I go about reevaluating my program? I’m currently doing NSuns 5 day split with a few of my own changes. My compound movements are quite high volume and my accessories are low volume high intensity.
@hteezy People seem to forget, a good majority of people that are "overweight" actually have more strength when compared to "regular" people, and having strong initial strength is normal, even people who stop and then return to training. (I don't know if OP was either of those, im assuming because they mentioned losing fat, no offense)
Awesome progress OP, keep going
, Don't listen to the jealous people on here.
Awesome progress OP, keep going
, Don't listen to the jealous people on here.@kevin2006 Thanks brother
@kevin2006 What you said is kinda true, I’d also chalk it down to the fact I’m very good at progressing fast. I’m not necessarily a strong guy, when I started lifting I was weak af, but I’m gifted with being able to progress very quickly, and also I’m extremely passionate about lifting weights, it’s all I care about lol.
sparkielee
New member
@hteezy You need to progressively overload to continue to see growth. Your body was not used to lifting weights, you started lifting weights, your body responded to the stimulus, and now your body is used to the stimulus. So now you need to shock your body again with a greater stimulus for it to readjust and build more muscle.
It’s very common to see large gains at first then plateau. You should also consider changing diet and sleep. The general rule of thumb is to eat one gram of protein per day per one pound of lean body mass (your goal weight). You can eat more protein than that. If you are not eating enough protein or getting enough sleep, then that will affect muscle growth.
Further, if you are not in a caloric surplus, then it will affect your ability to grow. Muscles take a lot of energy to grow and rebuild. You need protein to reform microtears and calories to facilitate the rebuilding process and your exercises. It’s easiest to gain muscle in a caloric surplus because your workouts and rebuild are not limited by the amount of energy that is readily available. If you are in a caloric deficit, then you can still gain muscle if you consume enough protein, but your muscle growth may not happen as efficiently. Further, you may notice your overall weight stays about the same as you gain fat and lose muscle at a similar rate.
I hope this helps. Don’t sleep on nutrition. It is just as important as your workout routine in the gym.
It’s very common to see large gains at first then plateau. You should also consider changing diet and sleep. The general rule of thumb is to eat one gram of protein per day per one pound of lean body mass (your goal weight). You can eat more protein than that. If you are not eating enough protein or getting enough sleep, then that will affect muscle growth.
Further, if you are not in a caloric surplus, then it will affect your ability to grow. Muscles take a lot of energy to grow and rebuild. You need protein to reform microtears and calories to facilitate the rebuilding process and your exercises. It’s easiest to gain muscle in a caloric surplus because your workouts and rebuild are not limited by the amount of energy that is readily available. If you are in a caloric deficit, then you can still gain muscle if you consume enough protein, but your muscle growth may not happen as efficiently. Further, you may notice your overall weight stays about the same as you gain fat and lose muscle at a similar rate.
I hope this helps. Don’t sleep on nutrition. It is just as important as your workout routine in the gym.
@sparkielee I’m still heavily progressively overloading, my progress is rapid compared to normal. Check the other comment I’ve said how my lifts have changed.
I’m in a surplus, and I’m eating the same amount of protein as I did before when I experienced all those gains, which is about 165g.
I’m in a surplus, and I’m eating the same amount of protein as I did before when I experienced all those gains, which is about 165g.
