# Gaining muscle.....



## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Hi guys

i have being training several years now but I have been trying to add some muscle for about year now as I haven't been away so Not had to diet down etc for the beach. Used this time to try and add as much size and will continue until around January.

However, recently my strength hasn't gone up. Can muscle gain stall or is it all down to diet?


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## superdrol (Aug 9, 2012)

I'd guess you need to eat more, up cals by 300/day and see what happens from there...


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Sorry if I'm being dense, but I don't really understand what the question is?

If the weights aren't going up, and you aren't doing more reps at a particular weight then you aren't gaining muscle.


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Ultrasonic said:


> Sorry if I'm being dense, but I don't really understand what the question is?
> 
> If the weights aren't going up, and you aren't doing more reps at a particular weight then you aren't gaining muscle.


I'm in a surplus of calories but my strength is stalling?


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## swole troll (Apr 15, 2015)

rsd147 said:


> I'm in a surplus of calories but my strength is stalling?


gaining size and or strength isnt linear regardless of your caloric surplus

you will get peaks and valleys in your training career and the more advanced you get the more they will taper off and be less pronounced

you'll also stall more the further you progress

are you eating enough? might be worth upping your kcals
are you providing stimulus to grow? you may have adapted to your current training methods and need to switch up: rep range, intensity, volume, frequency ect
are you resting enough?

they all seem like basic questions but sometimes we need to take a step back and really look at the big picture to make sure were not overlooking anything


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

When you say strength, what rep range are you talking? 1RM or something else?

What weight progression strategy have you been using, and do you use any form of periodisation?

Have you been tracking calorie intake? How has your weight and body fat been changing?


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Ultrasonic said:


> When you say strength, what rep range are you talking? 1RM or something else?
> 
> What weight progression strategy have you been using, and do you use any form of periodisation?
> 
> Have you been tracking calorie intake? How has your weight and body fat been changing?


I am roughly 206lbs. Eating around 3500cals. I was doing a ppl just 3 days a week, now following Lyle McDonalds UL routine. Monitor reps and sets, once done the weight for all sets and reps I up the weight


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

rsd147 said:


> I am roughly 206lbs. Eating around 3500cals. I was doing a ppl just days a week, now following Lyle McDonalds UL routine. Monitor reps and sets, once done the weight for all sets and reps I up the weight


How has your weight and body fat been changing? If you've been eating the same calorie intake for a while your body may have adapted to this, such that you now need to eat more. I typically end up increasing calories on a bulk by 50 kcal every 2-4 weeks.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

On the trainig front there are lots of things to try. Here are a few ideas:

Try more of a power/hypertrophly upper/lower split, so one workout is lower rep and the other higher. This is a very basic form of periodisation.

For particularly the major lifts, you could reduce the weight you are currently lifting and then start ramping the weight back up over a time, following a planned weight progression each workout.

Small weight progression can also help, particlularly on accessory lifts. I've used increments as small as 500g before (from a couple of collars) before.

I think you've been trainng a good few years, right? It might be that you need to try training each muscle less frequently. Something like the following routine that @Mingster often suggests may well be worth a try for example:

https://www.uk-muscle.co.uk/topic/170615-advice-wanted-on-a-routine-that-will-get-me-big/?do=embed&embedComment=3011781&embedDo=findComment


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Ultrasonic said:


> How has your weight and body fat been changing? If you've been eating the same calorie intake for a while your body may have adapted to this, such that you now need to eat more. I typically end up increasing calories on a bulk by 50 kcal every 2-4 weeks.


I've obviously added some fat over the time of the bulk but not too much...I think haha! My weight has increased and no I've added quite a bit of muscle so I happy with my progression. I may increase slightly and see what happens.

Thanks


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

> I've obviously added some fat over the time of the bulk but not too much...I think haha! My weight has increased and no I've added quite a bit of muscle so I happy with my progression. I may increase slightly and see what happens.
> 
> Thanks


Were you originally gaining weight at a better rate, which has now slowed?


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Ultrasonic said:


> Were you originally gaining weight at a better rate, which has now slowed?


Sorry for the late response. Over a year I have gone from 175lbs to 203lbs. Now I have stalled with increasing lbs and gym wise I am stalling on my lifts/slowed down.

Routine wise I am doing an UL 4 times a week:

Monday - Lower - 8x3 Squats - 4x10 Squats - 4x10 SLDL

Tuesday - Upper - 8x3 Bench - 4x10 Bench - 4x10 Rows - 4x10 OHP

Thursday - Lower - 8x3 Deadlifts - 4x10 Front Squats - 4x10 GHR

Friday - Upper - Work up to top set of doubles and try to increase every week - 4x10 OHP - 4x10 Chins

Any Advice


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Bump


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

To stimulate muscle growth you need to be training progressively and intensely. You don't necessarily need to be focusing solely on strength progression as increasing reps to failure with the same loading can also help muscle growth. Whatever you do though has to be progressive whilst intense enough to work the muscles hard.

Once stimulated to grow you then have to feed the muscle growth. Old school thinking says if you aren't growing add more calories, but modern advances in understanding of nutritional science suggest a calorie surplus is less important than a high enough protein intake for muscle growth.

A small calorie excess should be fine provided protein intake is high, at least 1 - 1.5g per 1lb of body weight.


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## CopiousOats (Nov 11, 2015)

swole troll said:


> gaining size and or strength isnt linear regardless of your caloric surplus
> you will get peaks and valleys in your training career and the more advanced you get the more they will taper off and be less pronounced
> 
> you'll also stall more the further you progress
> ...


Good advice man. It's amazing but it's taken me years to even get the basics completely right, you can never ever underestimate the importance of each one of these.

One stupid mistake I was making until recently was not jotting down all my workouts religiously. Now I've started being meticulous about that the past month I've seem some gains.


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