Paranoid work-a-holic

[blond bomber]

I have been working out religiously for over a year now and have made some impressive gains in my strength and body, increasing my bench max by over a hundred pounds! But, lately, my gains have begun to disappear. I work out intensely 5, sometimes 6, times a week, just as I always have. I still pig out on protein and calories. Yet, my max has gone stubborn on me, and refuses to go up another 5 lbs. I'm afraid that I am working out too frequently, but it worked for me before, why wouldn't it now? Besides, I'd feel guilty skipping additional days each week to rest. Somebody please help!

 

[TriZZle305]

well its probably time for a new routine,... and definately less frequent workouts... try working out 3-4 times a week... the gains always come fast in the beginning and slow down as you continue.. however maybe if youd give your muscles more time to recover you will rediscover more frequent gains in strength and mass... post your routine for more help from everyone on the board

 

[ZECH]

Yep you need to give your body rest and time to recoup. All your doing is tearing down. You will never grow that way!

 

[blond bomber]

Currently, a week of working out for me looks something like this.

http://www.davedraper.com/advanced-workout.html

These three days, I follow the workouts shown, varying them constantly to avoid routine. I exclude the aerobics though, since I am already playing basketball for my high school and get plenty of aerobic exercise doing that. One thing though. This schedule is supposed to run as follows - 3 days on, 1 off, 3 days on, 2 off. I cut out one of the two rest days at the very end of this schedule, so my calendar looks more like this - 3 on, 1 off, 3 on, 1 off. I don't know if this is too much or not. But, I'm desperate and sure do want to see some gains again.

 

[ragingbull]

Judging by the workout your referring to, your probably working out twice as much as needed. For instance, Day one chest, your already doing 12 or more sets on day one only to repeat that very same routine on day 4. Way.. Way... Way too much. The reason your probably not growing any more is due to over training.

Try taking the same exercises and breaking down into a four day split. Exercise each body part one day a week and see what happens.

For me, total sets per week per body part are:
Legs 9
Chest 9
Back 12
Traps 6
Bis 6
Tris 6
Calves 6
Abs 6

Just a couple of thoughts. Good to have your aboard

 

[ALBOB]

I agree with everything that's been said so far but I have one addition: Before you switch to another/different routine take a week off. Give your body a chance to completely heal up and get stronger before you start to tear it down again. Some body builders take these week long breaks every other or every third month to avoid the exact plateau you're in. Others go until they hit a plateau and then take the week off. Whichever way you decide to go you can't get bigger and stronger unless you give your body enough rest time to rebuild itself. The old saying still applies; "You don't get bigger IN the gym, you get bigger OUT of the gym."