My gains have slowed... why?

R

realworksuks

2
It's been 6 weeks or so and i've gained 10 pounds, 2.4 pounds of fat and the rest lean mass (also started creatine, so whatever the water weight is from that).

Today I had my bodyfat checked again by a professional using calipers... and over the past two week period I only gained one pound and .6 of it was fat!

Before, I usually gained about 2 pounds, 1.5 lean mass, and .5 fat every 2 weeks.

So a few things were different about these past two weeks...

1. I started to do an upper/lower split routine 4 times per week... I use to do full body workouts 3 times a week.

2. I had a really big cheat meal. My parents came into town and we went to red lobster, I ate like 12 biscuits in a two day period (because I brought some home with me.) plus a meal of breaded chicken (in a two day period).

3. Also, this week I ate the most calories each day out of any week prior to this, but only gained one pound... and it was over half fat!

4. I pulled my left lat last friday so I removed deadlifts and put isolation work in for my back and hams... and took a couple days off my lats, got back on them today.

Other than those things everything was the same.... I am not sure why this happened? Obviously the cheat meal screwed me over, but shouldn't I still have gained as much muscle mass as before?

My split routine seem to be working much better... I feel a lot more worked when I leave the gym. The full body routine I just hit all the compounds and tried to get out of there in an hour.

Any advice?????
 
Dude, it's 2 weeks. Give it some more time. Results come in sawtooth style. There are ups and downs, there is forward progression.

I would give the change in workouts a couple months, you will have a better feel for how things are going then.

Over all I would not sweat it. If you results keep declining over the next 4 or 6 weeks. Then re-evaluation will be needed. :D
 
as a newbie IMO you should have stuck with your fullbody 3x a wk obviously it worked so why change.
fullbody workouts also burn more cals so are better for fat loss.

and eventually your gains do slow down no matter what training you do.

try not to be so impatient it takes time and wont happen overnight.
 
buzz said:
as a newbie IMO you should have stuck with your fullbody 3x a wk obviously it worked so why change.
fullbody workouts also burn more cals so are better for fat loss.

and eventually your gains do slow down no matter what training you do.

try not to be so impatient it takes time and wont happen overnight.
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hmph, who said I was a noobie? I've been lifting since I was like 13. I only learned of the nutrition part of it a little over a year ago, but still..

Yeah, I did recalculate my calories CCR. About 100 extra.

I'll keep doing my split routine over Christmas, then get my body fat checked again after... if I am making the same slow gains i'll go back to the full body workouts...

That sound like a good plan?
 
Yeah, but why do you need numbers to gauge your progress? Either your lifts and/or reps are going up, or they aren't. That's how I gauge my progress...strength.
 
MarkMyWords said:
Yeah, but why do you need numbers to gauge your progress? Either your lifts and/or reps are going up, or they aren't. That's how I gauge my progress...strength.
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Heh, because in this picture I was 140 or so pounds and could bench 200.

I can't believe I could somehow want to cut with that body instead of bulk....

Strength increases doesn't mean mass gains all the time.... does it? (honestly asking, not being sarcastic)
 

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Very true, strength gains don't always equal increased mass. Your CNS making adaptations, and recruiting more motor units can play a huge role in increasing strength.

I guess what I was saying was, as long as your lifts are going up, and your weight is going up a reasonable amount, things are working right. If lifts were going up, weight was staying the same, you could chalk that up to CNS improvement, more motor units used, etc. If weight was going up, and you weren't lifting more, that'd be an obvious problem. If weight is going up, and lifts are going up, you can pretty much bet you are adding SOME muscle tissue. I guess it depends how strict you want to be. Me personally, my lifts are improving at a great rate, sure my weight is going up, sure my belly is slightly more fatty, but hey, that will make cutting all the more satisfying when it comes the time.
 
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