No gains?

[selinamontanino]

I, 49 m, 5-7 and a chubby 180, have been hitting the gym for 2.5 months and have zero gains.i only lost 5 lbs.

I started going when I was very weak, coming off of over a year of severe Lyme disease.

I’ve been doing weight training, cardio on this machine https://csmfitnessusa.com/octane-xr...pFZBmK5BUP5OqgTJWjSkfiF3PAkm5gixoCxAAQAvD_BwE which is easy in the joints, yoga once a week, and HITT type cardio classes involving more strength and weight training twice a week. Every week I’ve pushed myself in these classes and had some type of pull or sprain.

Near the first of every month, I take an in-body test.
I’ve had 3 so far. Once at the start, one may1, one june 4 (yesterday).

On may first, it showed I moved 3% fat to 3% muscle (no weight loss).

Yesterday, the test showed me right back where I started, despite all of my dedication and effort. I’m stronger somehow because I can lift more weight and keep up better in the cardio classes.

Any ideas what the problem can be?

 

[dinafrancis]

@selinamontanino Weight loss will come from a calorie deficit. So you need to eat less
https://thefitness.wiki/weight-loss-101/

Do you have an option other than that machine? I would encourage free weights or better machines tbh. Also, I would follow a proven routine. Read this page for more info: https://thefitness.wiki/muscle-building-101/

In-body tests are pure garbage. Ignore them. They can be so easily skewed based on your hydration and the type of food in your bowels. They are inconsistent AND inaccurate. You say yourself that you're strong and can keep up better... so you HAVE made gains.

 

[selinamontanino]

@dinafrancis Interestingly, I was just talking to my massage therapist. I told her I was in a high dose of methyl prednisone because of a recent injury in cardio class. She said it can screw up the inbody test. Have you ever heard of this?

 

[dinafrancis]

@selinamontanino You could drink a ton of water or eat a ton of food and screw up the the inbody test. Seriously just dont' pay it ANY attention, it's not worth stressing out over.

Basically ANY device that claims to measure this is going to suffer from the same issues. Getting a DEXA scan is the most "accurate", but even that has a margin of error. Your 3% change is well within the margin of error. It's absolutely NOT worth the money.

Also, lets look at this from a different route. Muscle growth is SLOW. Under optimal conditions (calorie surplus, high protein, effective programming, etc) and a ton of other factors, a man can expect to gain 1-2lbs of muscle PER MONTH. You're attempting a deficit (you've lost 5lbs previously, but maintained this last month), and you definitely do not have effective programming. Don't know what your diet is like, so I can't comment there. So you're really not going to make a huge difference. If i'm understanding the 3%, that's 3% of your total weight, I assume. So that's about 5lbs. You didn't build 5lbs of muscle and lose 5lbs of fat in a month. So you didn't undo those changes in a month either.

Focus on your weight on the scale and the weights you move in the gym. If your scale is going down and your lifts are going up, you're doing great. You don't need to know any more info than that. There's nothing to change if you know your bodyfat% or not.

 

[tas00]

@selinamontanino how many steps do you get a day? that is what really boosted my gains, it is the secret that ties all of it together. ditch the hiit and cardio class bullshit and just walk for your cardio. and like others will tell you, move on from that machine and go free weights if you can.

 

[ramona78]

@tas00 I agree! OP get 10k steps in every day for 6 months and cut calories from your diet. You’ll see improvements.

 

[selinamontanino]

@tas00 Why is hitt / strength bullshit? It’s a grueling hour where I’m doing way more than I would on my own. I’m usually sore in many areas for 2 days. It also helps me do better with push-ups and jump higher. I don’t want to get all swole at my age. Dragging around bulk won’t do anything but hurt my joints. HITT is mostly women, but I would like to be able to move like they do before I make any other moves. Does that make sense?

 

[tas00]

@selinamontanino nope, you have much to learn about fitness my guy, go watch some mario tomic videos on youtube, just go to his channel and play all recent vids and just watch that shit for a week straight, and you will figure it out, trust me i had your exact same mindset, but instead of me repeating everything i learned from this dude just watch it yourself.

 

[selinamontanino]

@tas00 I’m not trying to make an argument here, but I have beliefs. I need to ask a question.

How are room full of 55-65 year old women kicking my ass at this? They’re stronger, leaner, and have better lungs than I do. How do we explain this?

 

[maliabean]

@selinamontanino What were your expectations after 2.5 months?

 

[selinamontanino]

@maliabean Lost 15 lbs and gain a little muscle. Nothing crazy.