Need some lifting input

abdada · 2017-02-25T17:50:35+00:00

Go to /r/nsuns and download his free TDEE spreadsheet.

Enter daily body weight and total calories. Do not look at the advice given until you've done this for 15-20 days.

Then enter your goal weight and pounds of gain per week you want and follow the advice.

Works 100% for me, I always finish bulks and cuts within 1 pound of my goal, sometimes as low as 0.5 pounds.

I'm 5'8", 43M and I have to eat 3300 calories a day to bulk 1/2 pound a week. My TDEE is around 3000 consistently. For cutting, I do 2600 calories a day.

stonepimpletilists · 2017-02-25T19:11:24+00:00

For the past month been eating 2500 cals a day

You're not a hard gainer, you've just never eaten before. My maintenance calories are 3k, and I'm only 190ish

FistFullOfBitches · 2017-02-26T14:57:34+00:00

Eat more.

A lot of people tend to run these diet programs "open loop" meaning they read 2500 cals on the internet, do a food calculator for 2500 cals, then assume they're the same thing. But there are always errors in the measurements, in energy expenditure estimates, in the way you count ingredients, etc. They need to use feedback instead. Eating at "2500" as measured by you doesn't mean much until you find out whether you're actually losing or gaining. Then apply adjustments as needed. If you want to lose eat less, if you want to gain eat more.

gettingmymojoback · 2017-02-25T17:35:16+00:00

Eat more. If your not gaining, then your not running a surplus. It's that simple.

2500 cal/day is probably close to your maintenance once you factor in your workouts. Add 100 cal/day each week until you start adding 1 pound/week. I'd guess that will be around 3000/day for you.

We're similar heights (although I'm heavier) and at 2400/day I'm losing a pound a week with 6 days lifting and 3 cardio/conditioning workouts a week.

Merrywinds · 2017-02-25T17:07:04+00:00

Eat more, lift heavier? There's not that much to it, to be honest. Add protein and carbs into the diet, experiment, add weight to the bar.

Or I could be wrong as well.

UEMcGill · 2017-02-27T14:31:39+00:00

Hmmm, I'm not a 5x5 guy but it seems like you're not progressing very much. I prefer Wendler 3/2/1, and at 44 my one rep max is much more than your 5 reps. So maybe you're not moving to fatigue enough?

Wendler (and other methods) use a cycle up, deload, and cycle up. form. When I first started doing it I had huge gains at the end of each total cycle (4 weeks). So as /u/starryeyedbum has suggested, move away from beginners workout and onto something with less volume and more loading.

The second part is I believe in targeted macros based on workout. Are you drinking a pre-workout? Are you having some white rice within an hour after your workout (Or other simple carb)? Muscles deplete glycogen after a hard workout and will cannibalize themselves if you don't give them a quick boost. Even a banana in a pinch will do. At 70g of carbs you're pretty close to a ketogenic diet, and might want to push more carbs on workout day, less on off days. If I'm in a bulking cycle, I try to consume 100g of carbs on a workout day.

Don't be afraid of calories. Learn to love the peanut butter jar. Use your tracker too, like others have said, you probably aren't eating as much as you think.

My brother is a self proclaimed ectomorph, where as I tend to be a endomorph. He claims he can't keep gains on, but he also runs 7-10 miles for fun, and is one of those guys who "forgets" to eat. Him and I will go on a trip and I'll be like, "Dude we have to stop, I'm starving." Meanwhile he's like "Didn't we just eat?" He can't gain because he's not committed to it.

BobbyPeru · 2017-02-25T18:11:09+00:00

If you're a hard gainer, then you just need to work harder. It's that simple. In HIgh School, I was 6' 0", 140 lbs - working out 3-4 days a week.

Also, squats 2-3 days a week will increase your testosterone

I added a bunch of calories and started to work ou 6 days a week, twice a day. In a year or 2, I shot up to 190 lbs, which is still an ideal weight for me.

screechhater · 2017-02-25T21:01:59+00:00

how much sleep and what are the intervals of the compound lifts with rest in between sets ?

innominating · 2017-02-25T21:03:42+00:00

When do you eat? When do you workout? Do you do cardio?

If you want to gain weight you need to eat more. Do no cardio. Lift heavy. You should move from SL to an intermediate program. I prefer RPT.

Start drinking Casin protein before bed.

Eat before you lift and after.

1_clicked · 2017-02-25T22:17:36+00:00

Have you researched https://renaissanceperiodization.com/ ? Seems to work for a lot of people.

Soberskipper · 2017-02-25T19:58:14+00:00

I'm also a very hard gainer as I have coeliacs but one question are you sleeping enough? When I sorted my sleep patterns out from 6 hours max to 8, especially on lifting days I've noticed I'm getting heavier. Also managing to set prs on a monthly basis etc.

CanisFinn · 2017-02-25T22:31:08+00:00

Thanks for the input everyone! I knew if I asked here I'd get some quality advice! Definitely sounds like I need more calories! I'm on it! Eating is becoming a job!

Terribledragon4Hire · 2017-02-25T22:37:07+00:00

Plain and simple. You are not eating enough.

SeamusAwl · 2017-02-25T23:10:06+00:00

I recently changed up PPL routine. I was always a form nazi. So it was kinda weird for me to so this. But Cheat and Recover has been killing me. Basically you do a really heavy set where you cheat the concentric and then control the eccentric part down the full range of motion. Then the next set you do half the weight with the right form. Do that 2 or three times. It really causes a ton of damage to the muscles you are working on. Where there is damage, there is repair. Where there is repair, there is growth. Of course you have to have your nutrition on par. Lots of whey protein isolate. Go to labdoor.com and get one of their higher rated proteins.

ford_contour · 2017-02-26T04:29:44+00:00

Be patient. If your genes aren't predisposed to getting huge, it may take more muscle to show.

Same old rule applies, of course. It took years to look the way you do now, it may take years to look the way you want to.

If you're not feeling hungry, you're probably not working hard enough during your work outs.

Learn learn learn. Then make your work out more intense. (Not using cardio, though - cardio hunger will lead to lean muscle endurance gains, which you're probably not seeking right now).

Move more weight, or move it father, or move it faster (where you can do so safely).

First and foremost, move small amounts of weight using great form and hitting any muscles you're not used to using - build that foundation, don't get injured.

Standard Disclaimer Applies: Talk to your doctor, lawyer and mother first. But seriously, getting injuries slows you down, so take it slow. Listen to your body. Your work out should leave you hungry, but not in agony.

trp_dude · 2017-02-26T06:02:31+00:00

You're not eating nearly enough. You would be shocked how much you need to eat to gain. You're not eating nearly enough.

starryeyedbum · 2017-02-27T12:06:03+00:00

All good advice re eating more but you need to do more work-you're just not stimulating your body enough.

5x5 is great for beginners and for variation but if you've been doing it for 7 months it's time to change it up.

Your body is used to training and you've got results-now you can push boundaries.

I suggest German Volume Training. GVT is incredibly hard on the mind and body, but for this reason, you will grow.

5x5 is more in a power lifting rep range which induces a stronger neurological response than physiological (i.e. you get better at recruiting the muscle fibers you've already got rather than building new ones).

So, drop the weight and try 10x10 for bench, squat and DL.

One function of muscle built is work done. Let's look at your DL: 5x5@200 = 5000lbs lifted. If you drop it to 150 and do 10x10 you're lifting 15,000lbs.

Recommend drinking protein directly after your workout. It nourishes muscles but also reduces appetite so subsequent meals can be higher quality and lower portions, which will help you lean bulk.

Good luck.

trpbritguy · 2017-02-28T10:18:26+00:00

I too am tall and thin.. My peak non training weight was 11 stone.. Peak training weight (2 decades ago) 15.5 stone @ 6'3".. Even at that weight I just didn't have the size smaller guys had.. The up shot (if your muscles are like mine) was that I was incredibly strong, by an order of magnitude more than other guys at the gym!

IBeMadToo · 2017-03-01T01:59:29+00:00

You need to eat way more carbs and good fats as a hard gainer. I am a hard gainer also and I am 180lbs at ~5'9. In the last 3 months I've gained about 11lbs - yes some will be fat, but I still look ripped because of the fast metabolism. I do zero cardio besides a walk about once a week otherwise I'd gain nothing.

You need to move away from the 5x5 training tbh - I was the same as you, I wasn't putting on weight and only gained a bit of strength with it. I moved to more hypertrophy training and gained heaps and still had decent strength.

Are those lift numbers in kilograms or pounds? If those are kilograms, then that is pretty decent and I probably won't believe you if you said you were 68kg bw doing those lifts in kgs. If it is pounds then you have very far to go.

Paperempire1 · 2017-03-01T16:05:23+00:00

Your carbs are kind of low for too long to be progressing. Low carb and high fat (145g+) for too long will lower your metabolism and make your workouts shitty. When your workout suffers you will stop progressing and that high fat is not doing your physique any favors. I'd do a little reading on carb cycling if I were you.

CanisFinn · 2017-03-03T02:32:39+00:00

Update. OK guys...THANK YOU SO MUCH! Bumped up my calories and eliminated all cardio and...BOOM picked up 2 pounds this week! I can FEEL the difference in my arms and chest. My wife saw my getting out of the shower this evening and even commented that I look more muscular...in just 5 days!

mytrpname · 2017-03-08T03:04:30+00:00

At 5'9" your theoretical max is something like 165-170lbs anyways. You're not that far off for 7months of lifting. You should be gaining about 1lb muscle per month.

Parallax1800 · 2017-03-22T22:07:51+00:00

Add an extra meal. Around 500 cals. Even on non training days. Train as usual for a month a d reevaluate.

Hardgainers usually have problems eating enough food.

victi_vicimus · 2017-02-25T18:22:30+00:00

I'm a CSCS, but I've learned enough to know that lots of stuff works some for most people until they get hurt. So if someone swears by something else, I can believe it's true.

1st, some folks can not get big. They are genetically disadvantaged.

2nd. spend some time reading at http://www.baye.com He does a great job explaining how to get strong, but not hurt.

You may need to work out less often, but more intensely. You don't build any muscle lifting iron. You build it while recovering from lifting.

Wish you luck....

INMrp · 2017-02-26T01:32:50+00:00

Try taking Creatine Monohydrate prior to your workout to maximize your hypertrophy. You can get it at Walmart for around $10

Title	Need some lifting input
Author	CanisFinn
Upvotes	12
Comments	34
Date	February 25, 2017 5:03 PM UTC (9 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MarriedRedPill
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/marriedredpill/comments/5w511x/need_some_lifting_input/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MarriedRedPill/need-some-lifting-input.199045 https://theredarchive.com/post/199045

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