Hey all,
New to the forums, not really sure where i am suppose to be posting but i will try here.
Ive been at the gym for about 7 months now training HARD! i started with 1 rest day a week and got told i needed more rest…so dropped down to 4 times a week focussing specific muscle groups.
I started off weighing 9 stone 7 and now weigh 10 stone 4, i saw a huge improvement reasonable quick but havent gained size or weight in months!
My programme is pretty good, i got given it by a trainer who has known my cousin for years and when i started using it i really felt the burn…as of now…i dont.
I mixed and matched my programmes as i always wanted to feel the ache but rarely get it anymore.
My diet is strict and i only work one muscle group a week.
Ive heard good reviews on the stronglifts 5x5 workout, is this something i should try?
People have mentione its a beginners workout (ok im not too advanced but i dont want to be stepping backwards)
Any advice? do i need to find a new workout? do i give the stronglifts 5x5 workout a go? or stick to focussing on specific muscle groups and be patient?
You only work one muscle group a week? This has to be a typo, did you mean you work each muscle group once a week?
You’re asking if you need to change your workout plan, but you didn’t tell us what you’re doing now (unless you really are just working 1 muscle group per week. If that’s true, you’re doing a terrible plan for beginners, and your trainer doesn’t know what he’s doing). Be specific about your training history, and you’ll get answers. Also, tell us something about your diet, other than ‘it’s strict’. Everyone comes on here saying their diets are good, and they’re mostly wrong.
Finally, tell us more about your goals in the gym.
Hope to hear more from you.
EDIT: Also include current best lifts for reference.
In that page of text where you wanted to give us as much information you could, the only mention of your diet was “my diet is strict and…” as if it was an afterthought, when it is by far, and I really mean by a very wide margin, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR CHANGES IN WEIGHT. Seriously, if you stopped gaining weight, you need to eat more.
Lots of good proven programs for gaining size/strength in this thread Do This Routine Instead of That Dumb One - Competitive Bodybuilding - Forums - T Nation but once again, pay attention to this: if you are not gaining weight, you need to eat more. Eat lots of good food, get a good amount of protein at each meal, but whatever you’re eating now, add to it.
Eat more. Simple as that. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the greatest program in the world, if you’re not eating enough to put yourself in a caloric surplus, you’re simply not going to add size.
I’m on board with all you guys on the eating, I’m sure he’s not eating enough, but what are your thoughts on what he said about working one muscle group per week as a beginner? Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?
thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated. i do back monday, chest/abs tuesday, legs weds, thursday rest, arms friday and shoulders saturday, sundays rest.
I sometimes do classes, crossfit etc.
I eat as much as i can without being sick, and try to get 5 meals in a day, tuna, chicken etc.
Im on One stop extreme shakes, 2 a day.
My goal is to get bigger. I was skinny as anything no muscle or weight to myself atall. Managed to come a little way but hit the famous “brick wall”, i have narrowed down the reps and gone heavier.
if you me to write out my specific diet/workout just shout!
Ohh also, ive been advised to get my thyroids checked?
I can drop as much as 5-6 pounds a week, i will put it back on again but my weight is like a yoyo most of the time.
I’m skinny also, and working on it. I also have come a little way, but have not hit any brick wall by any means.
I would suggest that if your biggest goal is to be, well, not-skinny, to focus on squats and deadlifts primarily… something like 3x a week squatting and/or deadlifting… up the calories, make sure you’re getting AT LEAST 1g protein per lb bodyweight; make sure you’re taking in enough carbs so you’re not burning protein for energy… and make sure you keep gaining strength by progressively adding weight.
I think a split like you’re using is a bad choice for your goal. Later sure, but not now.
As far as known good programs, Starting Strength is a good place, StrongLifts too (similar, but 5x5), stuff like Reg Park 5x5 or another 5x5 programs. In general, getting stronger = getting bigger, at least at this point.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
stuff like Reg Park 5x5 or another 5x5 programs. [/quote]
It’s beautiful…
[/quote]
Lol. I don’t think it’s the answer for everything (that would be FST-7) but in this case, sure, why not. It seems to work for a lot of people, there’s a T-Nation article about it, and 5x5 is a proven protocol for novice lifters.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
I’m on board with all you guys on the eating, I’m sure he’s not eating enough, but what are your thoughts on what he said about working one muscle group per week as a beginner? Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?[/quote]
lol yeah I just figured he meant each muscle group once/week, cause you’re right it would be just ridiculous otherwise
As far as known good programs, Starting Strength is a good place[/quote]
Disagree. Starting strength is good for rank beginners to get good at the movements for a few months, but other than that it’s an incredibly unbalanced program. He said his main goal is to get bigger, which I assume means gain muscle… People who want to gain muscle, even if they’re pretty new, should be working everything. The fear of being the type of guy who only does chest and arms, has somehow turned into “don’t do isolation work,” which is just plain silly if you’re trying to build a good physique.
[quote]myles1992 wrote:
thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated. i do back monday, chest/abs tuesday, legs weds, thursday rest, arms friday and shoulders saturday, sundays rest.
I sometimes do classes, crossfit etc.
I eat as much as i can without being sick, and try to get 5 meals in a day, tuna, chicken etc.
Im on One stop extreme shakes, 2 a day.
My goal is to get bigger. I was skinny as anything no muscle or weight to myself atall. Managed to come a little way but hit the famous “brick wall”, i have narrowed down the reps and gone heavier.
if you me to write out my specific diet/workout just shout!
Ohh also, ive been advised to get my thyroids checked?
I can drop as much as 5-6 pounds a week, i will put it back on again but my weight is like a yoyo most of the time.
thanks for the help[/quote]
Your split is good enough for a beginner, 5x5 or something else would be fine too. Your problem is definitely eating. It doesn’t matter if it’s tough, you HAVE to eat more to grow. That’s pretty obviously your limiting factor here. The fact that you’re ‘eating as much as you can without getting sick’ means eating’s not easy for you (you said you were skinny). You’re going to have to learn to force yourself to eat more, even when it’s very uncomfortable. You have to push your limits to make a significant change in your body.
[quote]Gmoore17 wrote:
Disagree. Starting strength is good for rank beginners to get good at the movements for a few months, but other than that it’s an incredibly unbalanced program. He said his main goal is to get bigger, which I assume means gain muscle… People who want to gain muscle, even if they’re pretty new, should be working everything. The fear of being the type of guy who only does chest and arms, has somehow turned into “don’t do isolation work,” which is just plain silly if you’re trying to build a good physique.[/quote]
Starting Strength + isolation work
I mean it in concept more than anything. From what I understand, it’s important to have heavy compound movements as the core of whatever program you’re doing, as a beginner. Also, to progress linearly for as long as possible on those. You can still do isolation work on top of it, even if Rippetoe disagrees. I guess it’s those concepts I see as the takeaway from SS, more so than the program itself. Is that fairly uncontroversial?
OP, I myself am doing a program built around squats, stiff-leg deadlifts, bench press and barbell rows, with some isolation work, 3x a week. I have also put on 9 pounds in the last 4 weeks, mostly by significantly increasing my calorie intake.
Also, if something I say contradicts gmoore or flipcollar or other much more experienced lifters… they’re right, I’m wrong. It’s a good general rule. I can mostly just share what I’ve read and synthesized from it.
I eat as much as i can without being sick, and try to get 5 meals in a day, tuna, chicken etc.
Ohh also, ive been advised to get my thyroids checked?
I can drop as much as 5-6 pounds a week, i will put it back on again but my weight is like a yoyo most of the time.
[/quote]
Eat more calorie dense foods. 4 oz chicken has around 80 calories, 4 oz of beef has around 250 depending on the cut.
Most peoples weight fluctuates large amounts on a daily basis depending on food and fluid levels.
[quote]Gmoore17 wrote:
Disagree. Starting strength is good for rank beginners to get good at the movements for a few months, but other than that it’s an incredibly unbalanced program. He said his main goal is to get bigger, which I assume means gain muscle… People who want to gain muscle, even if they’re pretty new, should be working everything. The fear of being the type of guy who only does chest and arms, has somehow turned into “don’t do isolation work,” which is just plain silly if you’re trying to build a good physique.[/quote]
Starting Strength + isolation work
I mean it in concept more than anything. From what I understand, it’s important to have heavy compound movements as the core of whatever program you’re doing, as a beginner. Also, to progress linearly for as long as possible on those. You can still do isolation work on top of it, even if Rippetoe disagrees. I guess it’s those concepts I see as the takeaway from SS, more so than the program itself. Is that fairly uncontroversial?
[/quote]
I do agree with you there. Starting Strength + Isolation work could definitely make for a good balanced program centred around the basics. Only problem is, that is completely different than Starting Strength, when as you said, even the creator of Starting Strength says don’t add anything or it’s not Starting Strength.
so much great help here! i appreciate it guys!, i will get eating more, and load in the calories and carbs. i will report back and let you guys how its going…
