What is your recipe for strength gains?

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briannasnyder12
briannasnyder12 Posts: 14 Member
edited February 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
Over the past few months, I have noticed an approximate 25% decrease in my strength which I assume is secondary A) lack of sleep (thanks, MCAT) and B ) switching my macros to 45% p 20% c 35% f from 45% p 35% c and 20% f. For example, rather than benching 185lbs I can barely get 3x5 at 135, and rather than squatting 225 I struggle with 185 for more than 3 sets.

To get to the point, what have you guys found to be the best way to gain strength without putting on mass?
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Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Sleep will be a big factor... how is your overall intake? Getting sufficient calories? If you're getting enough cals, the shift in macros shouldn't have a big effect. Is your diet even remotely balanced?

    Are you on a decent lifting program? Have you deloaded recently?

    To your question, sleep and focus have always been my limiting factors. If I'm on a decent program with scheduled progression, I can usually make that progression without any significant problems/delays.

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.
  • JRiveraRodriguez
    JRiveraRodriguez Posts: 71 Member
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    Shoot for 7 hours of sleep atleast, it plays a huge factor. Also you need more carbs. On my heavy bench days doing 5x5 or 3x3 I like to get 500 grams of carbs the day before and the day of. That's just to put it in perspective you obv won't need that many carbs but just adjust it to your weight. Also being in a total calorie surplus helps tremendously, if you're currently dieting then it is only natural to lose strength.

    Hope this helps :)
  • briannasnyder12
    briannasnyder12 Posts: 14 Member
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    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Sleep will be a big factor... how is your overall intake? Getting sufficient calories? If you're getting enough cals, the shift in macros shouldn't have a big effect. Is your diet even remotely balanced?

    Are you on a decent lifting program? Have you deloaded recently?

    To your question, sleep and focus have always been my limiting factors. If I'm on a decent program with scheduled progression, I can usually make that progression without any significant problems/delays.

    I almost always get around 1300 calories per day, if not more (I try to get at least 1600 on leg day) as I'm only 128 pounds, ~17% body fat, and have maintained this weight for about 1 year (while dropping ~2% body fat).

    I wasn't sure if maybe I wasn't providing enough carbs in my pre/postworkout at ~65 total grams per day, and thought maybe that was causing such a dramatic regression in strength.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Thems cutting carbs. OP, you look nice and lean...ever consider spending a little time in a surplus.

    What is your programming like?
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    edited February 2017
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    I find that I just have off weeks sometimes, especially when I'm doing a pretty intense program. Your body needs to recover. Try a deload week; just come in the gym and focus on some really light weigh stuff and follow up with a bike ride or rowing, something of that nature - Something active but not heavy.
    I'd drop your percentages during the workouts to like 65%or70% the following week and progress back up. You'll be shocked how your body responds to it.

    Good luck!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.

    Bingo.

    Keep in mind, carbs are energy, eating less is going to reduce strength, period.

    Final note, adding strength without size only works for so long. At some point you can't add strength without adding more muscle, it's just the way it is. If you're a petite woman and you are (were) benching 185 and squatting 225 then you are probably at or near that limit already. It might be time to adjust the goals.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    could be you're ready to move on from 3x5 and try something cyclical like 5/3/1? those seem like pretty good weights, which is one reason why it occurs to me.

    there's also the fact that 1300 calories seems pretty low for an intermediate lifter. i started stronglifts on 1200 and maintained that for a few months but there was a definite wall.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Sleep will be a big factor... how is your overall intake? Getting sufficient calories? If you're getting enough cals, the shift in macros shouldn't have a big effect. Is your diet even remotely balanced?

    Are you on a decent lifting program? Have you deloaded recently?

    To your question, sleep and focus have always been my limiting factors. If I'm on a decent program with scheduled progression, I can usually make that progression without any significant problems/delays.

    I almost always get around 1300 calories per day, if not more (I try to get at least 1600 on leg day) as I'm only 128 pounds, ~17% body fat, and have maintained this weight for about 1 year (while dropping ~2% body fat).

    I wasn't sure if maybe I wasn't providing enough carbs in my pre/postworkout at ~65 total grams per day, and thought maybe that was causing such a dramatic regression in strength.

    Well, assuming an average of 1400 cals per day, your percentages put you at

    157g protein
    70g carbs
    54g fat

    That is pretty lopsided, IMO. The lack of carbs probably isn't the single determining factor in your struggles, but it certainly isn't helping you. You'd probably be safe cutting back the protein a bit in favor of some more carbs.

    That said, I still tend to think what you're describing is more closely tied to sleep and/or training, not diet. Sleep is a *kitten* and impacts pretty much everything - including both training and recovery. What is your training program like? How long have you been on it, and are you taking periodic deloads?
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    DopeItUp wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.

    Bingo.

    Keep in mind, carbs are energy, eating less is going to reduce strength, period.

    Final note, adding strength without size only works for so long. At some point you can't add strength without adding more muscle, it's just the way it is. If you're a petite woman and you are (were) benching 185 and squatting 225 then you are probably at or near that limit already. It might be time to adjust the goals.

    Is that something that people really need to consider? Based on OP's profile pic, assuming that's her, she's not the average MFPer... but I always thought of this type of strength ceiling (for lack of a better phrase) much the same way I thought about overtraining - sure, it's a thing, but it's only an issue in extreme cases, and not really applicable in the MFP world.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    As others have said, sleep is likely to play a part. But, although I can see that macro ratio will have an impact, I would suggest that total calories in will have a greater impact. Not sure on your stats but 1300 is pretty low for an exerciser/lifter.

    I'd double check those numbers and see if you can find a few more cals to play with.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
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    If it could be programming, lack of sleep, too little calories. For myself I switched from PHAT to a wendler template and in less than 2 months I've increased all of my rep PRs.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    My strength gains hierarchy:

    Sleep>food>heavy training>stims

    For maintaining strength when cutting, it changes a lot:
    Heavy training>sleep>stims>food
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
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    Everyone is different of course, but key things that work for everyone is Sleep well, Eat Well, & Train Hard, meaning, being on a program with liner progression (meaning, always adding weight to the bar).

    OP-your lifts are strong for the calories and lack of carbs that you intake. I would work on getting better sleep, eating more carbs and upping your calories. I literally eat twice the calories a day you do, consume 300+ grams of Carbs a day, and I hate to admit this but I'm 21 years older than you! If you want to up your strength you need to properly fuel your body for it.
  • mgalovic01
    mgalovic01 Posts: 388 Member
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    If you are only interested in strength, then focusing on it is important. That means little, to no cardio style workouts. Do both low weight, high rep sets, pushing through the burn, and high weight, low rep sets struggling against your max. Exhaust the body parts you are working on, trying best your previous workout each time, even if only by very little. And, give your body parts plenty of rest between workouts.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.

    Bingo.

    Keep in mind, carbs are energy, eating less is going to reduce strength, period.

    Final note, adding strength without size only works for so long. At some point you can't add strength without adding more muscle, it's just the way it is. If you're a petite woman and you are (were) benching 185 and squatting 225 then you are probably at or near that limit already. It might be time to adjust the goals.

    Is that something that people really need to consider? Based on OP's profile pic, assuming that's her, she's not the average MFPer... but I always thought of this type of strength ceiling (for lack of a better phrase) much the same way I thought about overtraining - sure, it's a thing, but it's only an issue in extreme cases, and not really applicable in the MFP world.

    I mean, of course. Strength potential is more or less a function of muscle size and leverages (assuming proper technique across the board). Once you've mastered technique and have trained enough to reach that limit you really have no place to go other than to put on muscle. A small female like the OP doesn't have a ton of muscle mass so that limit is going to be fairly low. If she's benching 185 that's is extraordinary for a small woman (any woman really) so that's why I'm guessing she's probably near her limit at her current size and calorie intake.

    Someone like a large, young male might be able to go a lot further/a lot longer without gaining any size, just due to larger base muscle mass but we all hit a limit somewhere. Personally, I was stuck at a plateau after about 18 months of lifting and I was only able to get stronger by bulking and cutting from there on. And even then it's just been tiny increments. 18 months of lifting is a drop in the bucket and just about everyone from the casual to the hardcore will hit that limit if they are putting in nearly any effort to their lifting over time.
  • mgalovic01
    mgalovic01 Posts: 388 Member
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    DopeItUp wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.

    Bingo.

    Keep in mind, carbs are energy, eating less is going to reduce strength, period.

    Final note, adding strength without size only works for so long. At some point you can't add strength without adding more muscle, it's just the way it is. If you're a petite woman and you are (were) benching 185 and squatting 225 then you are probably at or near that limit already. It might be time to adjust the goals.

    Is that something that people really need to consider? Based on OP's profile pic, assuming that's her, she's not the average MFPer... but I always thought of this type of strength ceiling (for lack of a better phrase) much the same way I thought about overtraining - sure, it's a thing, but it's only an issue in extreme cases, and not really applicable in the MFP world.

    I mean, of course. Strength potential is more or less a function of muscle size and leverages (assuming proper technique across the board). Once you've mastered technique and have trained enough to reach that limit you really have no place to go other than to put on muscle. A small female like the OP doesn't have a ton of muscle mass so that limit is going to be fairly low. If she's benching 185 that's is extraordinary for a small woman (any woman really) so that's why I'm guessing she's probably near her limit at her current size and calorie intake.

    Someone like a large, young male might be able to go a lot further/a lot longer without gaining any size, just due to larger base muscle mass but we all hit a limit somewhere. Personally, I was stuck at a plateau after about 18 months of lifting and I was only able to get stronger by bulking and cutting from there on. And even then it's just been tiny increments. 18 months of lifting is a drop in the bucket and just about everyone from the casual to the hardcore will hit that limit if they are putting in nearly any effort to their lifting over time.

    If muscle size is directly proportional to strength, how do you explain Dennis Rogers and The Mighty Atom?
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    To get to the point, what have you guys found to be the best way to gain strength without putting on mass?
    I have tried a lot of things over the years, but for me I incorporate more rest days which vastly improved my strength and performance. I also finally settled on many smaller meals through a day for my timing.

    Lack of sleep can definitely be a factor though.

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    edited February 2017
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    mgalovic01 wrote: »
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Sleep. Diet. Daily undulating periodization (after doing all I could on a linear program), schedule deloads, working in mesocycles, not being in too much of a deficit-or any at all.

    Bingo.

    Keep in mind, carbs are energy, eating less is going to reduce strength, period.

    Final note, adding strength without size only works for so long. At some point you can't add strength without adding more muscle, it's just the way it is. If you're a petite woman and you are (were) benching 185 and squatting 225 then you are probably at or near that limit already. It might be time to adjust the goals.

    Is that something that people really need to consider? Based on OP's profile pic, assuming that's her, she's not the average MFPer... but I always thought of this type of strength ceiling (for lack of a better phrase) much the same way I thought about overtraining - sure, it's a thing, but it's only an issue in extreme cases, and not really applicable in the MFP world.

    I mean, of course. Strength potential is more or less a function of muscle size and leverages (assuming proper technique across the board). Once you've mastered technique and have trained enough to reach that limit you really have no place to go other than to put on muscle. A small female like the OP doesn't have a ton of muscle mass so that limit is going to be fairly low. If she's benching 185 that's is extraordinary for a small woman (any woman really) so that's why I'm guessing she's probably near her limit at her current size and calorie intake.

    Someone like a large, young male might be able to go a lot further/a lot longer without gaining any size, just due to larger base muscle mass but we all hit a limit somewhere. Personally, I was stuck at a plateau after about 18 months of lifting and I was only able to get stronger by bulking and cutting from there on. And even then it's just been tiny increments. 18 months of lifting is a drop in the bucket and just about everyone from the casual to the hardcore will hit that limit if they are putting in nearly any effort to their lifting over time.

    If muscle size is directly proportional to strength, how do you explain Dennis Rogers and The Mighty Atom?

    I'm not really sure what you're getting at, are you trying to debate the basic science at play here by citing some gimmicky showmen? Or were you just making a joke?

    If anyone wants to read a lengthy explanation of what affects strength, Mr. Nuckols has a great article here: http://www.strongerbyscience.com/size-vs-strength/

    The long and short of it is, the areas you can actually influence are your training/technique and your muscle size. As I already mentioned, if the OP could already bench 185 as a petite female her training and technique are probably very near optimal which means muscle size is pretty much going to be the main determining factor at this point in the quest to get stronger. More calories would be the prescription which conflict with the OP's desire to not put on any size. Hence why I mentioned she's probably going to have to change her goals (either be content with current strength levels or be willing to put on size). I'm trying to keep the explanation and advice simple and on-point for the sake of brevity, but if you want to read dozens of pages then just visit the link above.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    Strength is not always relative to size.