Getting Less Gains - Plateau

[Andrew]

i've been roughly around the same weight for nearly 3 months now despite not really changing a thing. am i doing something wrong? as its kinda depressin to be workin out hard and standing on the scales and notices i'm not gaining much anymore. i'm currently around 187-190lbs. i actually consume more protein powder now too and try and eat as much 'good' food as i can so its kinda puzzling me.

[bronson]

Originally Posted by Andrew

i've been roughly around the same weight for nearly 3 months now despite not really changing a thing. am i doing something wrong? as its kinda depressin to be workin out hard and standing on the scales and notices i'm not gaining much anymore. i'm currently around 187-190lbs. i actually consume more protein powder now too and try and eat as much 'good' food as i can so its kinda puzzling me.

Weight Gain Tips:
http://www.davedraper.com/gain-weight.html

http://www.davedraper.com/forum/pmwi...iki.WeightGain

[bronson]

Originally Posted by Andrew

i've been roughly around the same weight for nearly 3 months now despite not really changing a thing. am i doing something wrong? as its kinda depressin to be workin out hard and standing on the scales and notices i'm not gaining much anymore. i'm currently around 187-190lbs. i actually consume more protein powder now too and try and eat as much 'good' food as i can so its kinda puzzling me.

Those are two links above Andrew.Read them both.I had trouble gaining weight when I was younger.Now I can smell food and gain a pound.I know it can be frustrating.Good Luck!

[SarahPT&SN]

Hi there,
it's frustrating to not make the gains you want. When was the last time you took a good break from training? A 9-12 day break might make a difference. Also, when was the last time you made some changes in your program?

Sarah

[Andrew]

My programme has been roughly the same for the past 5-6 months, well, i work the same muscles just do different exercises. i.e. month one bench press month two dumbell press, month one fly machine month two cable crosses, for every bodyport pretty much like that if you get.

but i am changing workouts this weekend.

[Moody]

change up routine,change up exercises,take a break

[Chris]

Well, I've mentioned this before on this board, but I think it bears repeating on the thread. The general adaption syndrome states that the human body will only elicit a response when either a varied or greater amount of stress is applied. To sumarize this, you cannot train the same way every week with the same amount of weight and expect to continue to develop. The human body is an amazing adaptive machine, and will adapt to a training program fairly quickly. So you must constanty change the way you train to get continued growth. So for example if you're a bodybuilder and your only goal is to gain muscle, you still have to incorporate strength training into your routine. You can't simple do hypertrophy training all the time.

Think of your training variables like excercise choices, volume (rep and set schemes), tempo (how fast or slow you perform a rep & how you pause and contract thru a repetition), rest periods, loads (amount of weight), ect. Most hypertrophy programs, which basically means muscle size programs have more total volume, lighter loads, shorter rest intervals, and slow tempos with a focus on paused contractions or exagrated eccentric portions. Whereas a strength program with typically use compound lifts with heavier loads, less total volume, longer rest periods, and a faster tempo. Even if ones sole goal is muscle gain, you still need to incorporate strength training as well.

So, to make a long story short, vary your training. Changing excercise selection is not enough if you're always training in the same rep range, at the same tempo, with the same loads, and with the same amount of rest. You have to force you body to adapt, or grow, and to do that you must constantly change the stress you are placing it under. Hope that helps