“Why have I been working out for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AND STILL CAN CURL MORE THAN I SQUAT!?”
I doubt anyone in history has ever said that! I doubt anyone actually will…BUT now that I have your attention, I want to talk about gains and why some of us aren’t having any.
You may have been lifting for a while and hit a plateau, and you may even seem to get weaker. These things happen, but as long as you stay consistent
you will grow stronger.
About as strong, in fact, as this stick figure that I hastily drew in Microsoft Paint. Look at those biceps!!
However, he did skip leg day which I would say is pretty bad!
Now jokes aside, all of us hit plateaus or walls in our training and it can be pretty depressing. I know because this has happened to me, and is happening to me now. So I write today as optimistic as I can! I don’t know from experience that I will overcome this plateau, but I am optimistic!
Without further ado I want to list some possible reasons why I, or you, are hitting a plateau and how I, or we, can overcome this:
- Diet
Diet is probably the easiest to call out because, without proper nutrition, how can your body grow? There is a lot of controversy on diet(feel free to post your opinion in the comments). A lot of bodybuilders and strength coaches say you should eat whatever your basal metabolic rate calls for while eating a gram of protein per pound of body weight. However, some text books say you should eat no more than 60% of your body weight in protein and other people recommend 50 grams a day.
I personally feel that the gram per pound approach will be most effective for me personally. This is because, when I look at other people who have been bodybuilding(natties included), I notice that most heavy lifters recommend eating a lot of protein. A lot of them have good aesthetics too, and it doesn’t look like they converted any excess protein into fat.
Simply due to my own preference and based off what I have seen I will choose the gram per pound method. Again, feel free to comment your own opinion below and I suppose I will show you how mine works over time 🙂
- Complacency
This is my other point and what I feel is the kicker for me lately.
As I work full time, have a part time job, and enjoy some time to relax..
it gets REALLY hard to even want to lift on some days. It even becomes difficult to write these posts on other days. However, I am consistent and self-motivated! No matter what life is tossing me, I will strive to continue what I started. Now, it has become depressing to work out and see little results lately but as I’ve been consumed by other things I realize that it is a feat in and of itself that I’ve made it to the gym and maintained.
..and I’d like to add that today I worked out hard!! And it felt GREAT! So no more complacency in the gym, and a better diet is not my recommendation; no complacency in the gym and a better diet is my prescription!
It’s always time to continue fighting the resistance we have in front of us and put our best foot forward! Today is that day, and so is tomorrow.
Do your best and make some gains!
M.O.M 