Thread: plateau

Keep training. If you feel like you're overtraining take a week off. Thats really all there is to it. You can't continually increase all the time, it's peaks and troughs. The more experienced you are the longer it takes to increase.

And don't "try" to eat more, you either eat more or you don't. Add olive oil to all your shakes and get a few extra hundred calories from that. Drink a pint of full fat milk with every meal instead of water. Thats an extra 1000 calories easy, if you can't gain on +1000 then you have a tape worm or you're adding up your calories wrong.

i know what you're saying i have added more calories, i dont want to add so much i add loads of fat, i have gained a little fat which is fine, im taking in between 3000-3500 cals each day, for my height and weight that should be ample?

Originally Posted by dteller1

i know what you're saying i have added more calories, i dont want to add so much i add loads of fat, i have gained a little fat which is fine, im taking in between 3000-3500 cals each day, for my height and weight that should be ample?

goto fitday.com and type in ur stats, it'll give you maintence calorie amount, go over and gain, under and lose. Obviously theres a little more to it, but you'll be surprised to log ur food and see what ur REALLY taking in.If some middle aged woman with the sweetest set of abs youve ever seen stops by listen to EVERYTHING she tells you, its all gold!

Originally Posted by dteller1

i know what you're saying i have added more calories, i dont want to add so much i add loads of fat, i have gained a little fat which is fine, im taking in between 3000-3500 cals each day, for my height and weight that should be ample?

You said yourself that you aren't gaining weight, so based on that information it obviously isn't enough. Gaining weight takes calories, gaining strength takes programming. If you want to gain weight you have to gain some fat, if you want to gain strength be prepared for it to be a journey of ups and downs.

Re-assess your diet. If you aren't gaining weight after two weeks consistently on that level of calories, you need to increase it. It's all very well assigning an arbitrary number or formula to how many calories somebody of X weight should eat, but they're just guidelines. The proof is in the pudding - if you're not gaining weight you're not eating enough no matter what the maths say.

Re-assess your training program - is it too much? Is it too easy? Are you putting enough thought into how your periodization is structured? Are you taking enough rest? All the best training programs for strength (5/3/1, Westside, Texas Method, Starting Strength etc etc) are all incredibly well structured and planned - this structure is important.

i am still gaining weight i dont think i put anywhere that i wasnt or if i did i didnt mean to, im not gaining strength! periodization is something that has always baffled me if you're constantly changing the weight your using how do you know your making progress? where as if you stick with the same weight you know you're getting stronger when you can lift it for more?, so i generally just stick with a given weight i can do at 6 until i can do it for 12 and then up the weight? my routine is definitely not to easy, i really do put in maximal effort, what would people suggest is a really good program to try?

Originally Posted by Gazhole

Keep training. If you feel like you're overtraining take a week off. Thats really all there is to it. You can't continually increase all the time, it's peaks and troughs. The more experienced you are the longer it takes to increase.

And don't "try" to eat more, you either eat more or you don't. Add olive oil to all your shakes and get a few extra hundred calories from that. Drink a pint of full fat milk with every meal instead of water. Thats an extra 1000 calories easy, if you can't gain on +1000 then you have a tape worm or you're adding up your calories wrong.

This was some of the best advice given on this site that I've seen in a long time!

i appreciate the advice given, i am still gaining weight slowly though and am in actual fact adding some fat, there has to be more than just "eat more" otherwise every person could turn into a weight lifting monster by just stuffing there face! i will take on board the food aspect although i dont think that is the only issue. in terms of routines, which ones are best for people like me?

Originally Posted by dteller1

i appreciate the advice given, i am still gaining weight slowly though and am in actual fact adding some fat, there has to be more than just "eat more" otherwise every person could turn into a weight lifting monster by just stuffing there face! i will take on board the food aspect although i dont think that is the only issue. in terms of routines, which ones are best for people like me?

You have gained about almost 20 pounds in a year, that sounds good to me. Just keep at it take time off then get back into the saddle

its a roller coaster enjoy the ride

Originally Posted by dteller1

i am still gaining weight i dont think i put anywhere that i wasnt or if i did i didnt mean to, im not gaining strength! periodization is something that has always baffled me if you're constantly changing the weight your using how do you know your making progress? where as if you stick with the same weight you know you're getting stronger when you can lift it for more? so i generally just stick with a given weight i can do at 6 until i can do it for 12 and then up the weight? my routine is definitely not to easy, i really do put in maximal effort, what would people suggest is a really good program to try?

If you stick with the same weight you're always going to lift that weight and nothing but that weight. Progress will be slow because there is absolutely no leeway or opportunity to improve. There is little stimulus to lift more weight. Even the basic linear progression of increasing % of 1RM by 5% every week gradually ramp up and end up with an increase.

Periodization isn't about random weights and rep ranges, periodization is a planned progression of how you WILL increase your lifts. For example:


Week 1 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 70%
Week 2 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 75%
Week 3 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 80%

Week 4 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 75%
Week 5 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 80%
Week 6 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 85%

Week 7 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 80%
Week 8 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 85%
Week 9 - Warmups, 1x5 @ 90%

Week 10 - Rest Week
Week 11 - Begin Cycle again with increased 1RM.


This is something i just made up on the top of my head as a way to progressively increase your 5RM strength. Generally your 5RM is roughly 80 percent of your 1 rep max. If you consistently lift at this intensity you'll quickly burn yourself out. You'll probably get a little stronger, but not much - especially in the long term.

With the above cycle, you start off really light. 70% is bugger all for 5 reps. As you can see, you gradually ramp up the percentages in three ever increasing waves which eventually surpass 85% at which point you drop back to the start, but increase your 1RM (100%) by a little. This way, you start off heavier than before but still light enough to be able to progress on the second run-through of the program.

Each week you are training your body to do a little bit more, untill those little bits build up into a big increase. Adding 100lbs to your bench is impossible, but adding 1lb every workout (if you have small plates) is probably un-noticable, but after 100 workouts (say, once a week for two years) you've added 100lbs. Its been so slow and gradual that your body barely notices.

Thats periodization. And thats what it takes to get stronger. Nothing else. Just planning, time, and effort.

Originally Posted by dteller1

i appreciate the advice given, i am still gaining weight slowly though and am in actual fact adding some fat, there has to be more than just "eat more" otherwise every person could turn into a weight lifting monster by just stuffing there face!

Not really, because not many people want to stuff their faces 365 days of the year, get up an hour early to prepare their food for the day, drink neat olive oil for extra calories, spend half their pay on meat, or pass up the opportunity to get drunk on the weekend because they know they won't eat right for a few days afterwards.

Food + training = big + strong. There literally is nothing else to it than that except waiting for it to happen to an extent you're happy with - which never happens, trust me. even though you reach PRs, theres still plenty of space on the bar and another few t-shirt sizes above the one you're wearing.

Don't worry about getting fat. If you can add 150lbs to your frame you can take 50lbs off it one day and get ripped. If you can't add even 50lbs to your frame because you're scared of getting fat, you've hardly got anything to cut down to or even show for it at the end of the day.

Originally Posted by dteller1

i will take on board the food aspect although i dont think that is the only issue. in terms of routines, which ones are best for people like me?

Don't buy in to all this hard-gainer or genetically gifted stuff. You're normal. I'm normal. Juggernaut is normal. I'm bigger than you, he's bigger than me. We both train according to the same principles and so should you. We've both put on a lot of muscle and strength since we started, and so will you.

Genetics aren't like a light switch, they're like a dimmer - it's a sliding scale of capacity that you'll only be able to realize if you do everything right. Nobody is born with huge muscles whatever their genetic capacity is. I've seen 40 year olds walk into the gym having never touched a weight in their lives, and change their physiques drastically in 12 months - the 'good genes' have been there the whole damn time just aching to shine.

This post is unfeasibly long now, much like my penis, so to answer your question - the best routine is the one that you do. Go and do it.

Sound advice here.