3 Cycles, Strength Gain, No Growth

S

silenthand

New Member
Hi

New to posting here. With some questions...

Started: Aug, 2010.
Goal: Lean muscle achieved slowly without the cycle of big weight gains and cutting.
Me: 48 years old, 158lbs, 5-9, BMI 23. Body Fat (Military): 21%.
Food: Low carb, high protein, high greens/fruits. Protein drink before workouts.
Training Type: Vanilla
A: Squats, Bench Press, Seated Rows, Standing DB Shoulder Press, DB Bicep Curls
B: Deads, Dips, Chins, Upright Row, Curls Bar.
Days Off: Cardio for 30-40 min. Rest on weekends.
Completed: 3 cycles.
Results: regular 5-10% stength gain in all exercises per cycle (!)
Comments: I plateaued in my previous training and this method helped me break through with strength gains. Also at 48, this has really cut down on pain. However, my body shape, BMI and Body Fat counts all remain exactly the same since I started. Ideally I would like to "express" lean muscle mass more, and reduce my waist. But I am not keen to change other aspects of my suit size. Hence I do not eat big and cut.
Questions: Will I soon plateau with strength gains again without "eating big"/cutting? Is this the way to lean muscle? Anything I could improve here or change? Suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

Greg
 
You aren't going to be able to significantly change your body composition or waist size without either losing weight or gaining weight at some point unless you start using steroids. You can do a little using diet schemes like Intermittent Fasting but in the end, you aren't going to lose waist size without cutting. You aren't going to be able to increase muscle mass without bulking. It just isn't possible for naturals who aren't newbies.
 
Where do you carry your body-fat? All over or mostly around the waist? If it is the latter, then you have an uphill battle no matter what and I just can't imagine the slow, lean gains approach working very well.

Are you eating maintenance calories or over/under?

Sounds like you want a recomposition of your body mass. More muscle, less fat. Also sounds like your body may not be discriminating between fat and muscle as a fuel source so you are adding to and burning both equally. The human body seems to love the status quo.

First thing I'd do is try to figure out under what conditions your body DOES respond to stimulus/diet. (Appears that the only thing responding right now are your strength levels.) For example, try cutting calories significantly below maintenance during the first half of your HST cycle (light weight, high reps - a cardio environment) and then raise them significantly above maintenance during the second half (heavy weight, lower reps - a bodybuilding environment).

Sounds like it should work at least ;)
 
Thanks iwealth and Totentanz,

The weight is a bit all over, but mostly in my typical middle-aged waist (35").

I tried eating big during the first cycle, and the strength gains were wonderful, but my body and waist expanded. I knew this is to be expected, but wasn't interested in buying a new set of clothes. I have not counted calories, and simply adjusted my eating to what I saw on the scale to maintain my same weight. I hoped that strength gains would eventually become lean muscle.

Yes, a recomposition of my body mass would be great. But I am not keen on steriods. I never thought that my body may be gaining and then eating away at both muscle/fat (!) I am concerned that as I continue, without eating/cutting, my strength gains will eventually stop.

I like the idea of cutting for 15s and 10s and eating big for the last two 5s. Do you, or anyone here, know of people who have tried this approach?

Any other ideas?

--Greg
 
Never cut during the 15s, the stimulus of the 15s is not enough to spare lean mass. Ideally, you would want to stay at maintenance during 15s or just don't do 15s when trying to lose. You want to keep the weights as heavy as possible when cutting back calories - this is what makes your body hang on to the muscle and drop the fat instead.
Considering you are at a 35 inch waist, you wouldn't have to diet for very long to drop your waist size. If I were you, I'd just drop the calories a bit, run a couple HST cycles without 15s, just 10s and 5s, and add in a bit of cardio. You should be able to lean out pretty easily.
 
Thanks again

Ok, so, lower my calories a little below maintenance, do only 10s and 5s, with cardio. My weight, in this case, will drop, but I won't lose too much muscle mass. Basically this is the recipe for cutting. I,m good with this.

Then, once I am leaner, but at a lower weight, I can gain weight to where I am now in the standard way: eat bigger, do HST, then cut again. But do it slowly. This way, I don't have to buy new clothes ...

Sounds like a plan. Any caveats or things I should look out for?

Greg
 
Don't cut too fast and don't bulk to fast. Cut too fast and you lose too much muscle. Bulk to fat and you will gain too much fat.
 
OK, tahnks again.

I suppose that I begin to actually count calories to ensure that I am a little below (or above) my maintenance level. I was trying to avoid this.
 
Counting when cutting was necessary for me. I had to know when to stop or I would have kept eating. Doesn't seem as necessary on a bulk. Now I eat until I'm full and then add a little more on top of that.

But ultimately, since cutting/bulking is extremely dependent on calories taken in/out, yeah, you probably want to make sure you are getting the numbers right.
 
silenthand said:
OK, tahnks again.

I suppose that I begin to actually count calories to ensure that I am a little below (or above) my maintenance level. I was trying to avoid this.
Click to expand...

If you've gone three cycles gaining strength without growing, your problem is likely your diet, rather than your workout.

If you want to get serious about growth, don't just count calories. Count protein. Cournt Carbs. Count fat.

Get a set of measuring spoons and cups. Get a scale. Just "eyeballing" hasn't been working for you, so try measuring instead. You don't need to spend the rest of your life overanalyzing, but you really ought to spend at least one full cycle measuring everything. That will help you to understand what portion sizes are, and how much you are actually eating.
 
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