Is this normal?

amandap1222

Hi, I've been following a 4 day upper lower split for almost 6 months now. I was making great progress for the first 3 months and able to progress on the exercises each workout. However, for the past two or three months I feel like I'm stalling. I was up to 110lbs on my squat but then had to lighten it and am now working on 90lbs again. I do have some health issues that I know work against me but how do I know if I'm making strength progress? Is it normal to have to lighten the weight sometimes? Should I be able to progress on every exercise each workout? Thank you!

From9five

Tbh, Its kinda depends on a lot more than just the program. How are youre recovery habits? Things like nutrition, sleep, and stress management, etc... are factors that play huge roles in your progress in training and should be focused on just as much if not more.

jdog022

Have you deloaded?

Silkysausage

jdog022 wrote: »

Have you deloaded?

This...you can't go forever like a Duracell Bunny and expect your central nervous system to not be comprised. I deload, meaning I reduce my weights or cut the volume for 1 week then resume my usual routine. I do this every 6 weeks as I have IBS and fatigue.

Chieflrg

Very nornal. Especially since ypu are doing a split and that isn't optimal for strength.progress.

Regardless virtually any program will give you results fot the first two-three months because you were untrained. If you hear a person who just starting a program claim it's great for strength progress, the proof is in the pudding on much later on...not the first couple months.

When a lift stalls or ideally right before, particularly to a newer lifter it's efficient to move onto more advanced training. The same newer lifter can also deload and have slight sucess(especially if only one deload), but it might not be that beneficial for squeezing out the last bit of a program compared to more stimulas.

When is the last time you added more volume or stimulas through another variation of the squat?

Also no, there comes a point you will not be able to progress every workout session. Otherwise the strongest person in the world would be the lifter who trains the most years on the same exact program. Hence the need to build up more stimulas so you can progress every 2-3 sessions.

jdog022

Agree with all the posts . 6 months new to training is like the honey moon period with a new girlfriend or boyfriend.. everything is amazing, we’re gonna get married, And I could do this forever..then it gets really hard haha

I track all my compound lifts now ( bulking ) as the progression is so slow that gaining a rep or 5 pounds here and there over time has to be seen on a scale or as trending data points . I’ve been training for 2.5 years. I Deload every 8-10 weeks

pogiguy05

One thing other have not mentioned is IF you have health problems and I am going to assume that you have consulted your Physician on what is or is not safe to do.

Other then that i am no expert on strength training or anything. ;-) Just thinking be safe you only have one body and one life.

amandap1222

I should have mentioned that I am not new to strength training. I've been training for over 5 years consistently. Once I started having health problems I lost a lot of weight and basically had to start over with muscle building. I did full body 3x a week until the weight became too heavy to recover from. I struggle to recover if I workout more than 4 days so I began a simple upper lower split to just focus on building myself back up. I just want to look and feel strong again. I have taken a week off completely in July and I deload also as needed. Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll just keep doing my best.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

amandap1222 wrote: »

I should have mentioned that I am not new to strength training. I've been training for over 5 years consistently. Once I started having health problems I lost a lot of weight and basically had to start over with muscle building. I did full body 3x a week until the weight became too heavy to recover from. I struggle to recover if I workout more than 4 days so I began a simple upper lower split to just focus on building myself back up. I just want to look and feel strong again. I have taken a week off completely in July and I deload also as needed. Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll just keep doing my best.

are you eating enough calories to fuel your workouts? getting enough sleep? sounds like that may be the issue(s). especially if you arent recovering like you should(health issues aside). I was having that issue and once I started eating more I was fine. I do have days i cannot lift as much as I should be able to,it happens

Chieflrg

amandap1222 wrote: »

I should have mentioned that I am not new to strength training. I've been training for over 5 years consistently. Once I started having health problems I lost a lot of weight and basically had to start over with muscle building. I did full body 3x a week until the weight became too heavy to recover from. I struggle to recover if I workout more than 4 days so I began a simple upper lower split to just focus on building myself back up. I just want to look and feel strong again. I have taken a week off completely in July and I deload also as needed. Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll just keep doing my best.

I went through a few major health issues in recent years that had the same drastic weight loss unfortunately. A great thing is we rebuild very efficiently if we had past training history. You'll get your look and strength back bud. I'm living proof of that. Feel free to PM me if you have questions or just need a ear.

Good luck.

*edit to add if you went from a full body 3x a week to a 4 day split, you actually are detraining with less stimulas.

Also I feel that you more than likely didn't get to a heavy load you couldn't recover from unless you were running a program that is focused on intensity drive instead of volume which would be correct. If so, that rare program would be flawed.

The fix would be to simply drop the intensity lower & add a day of more stimulas of the stalled lift(s). Four day compound lifts programming is very common and easy to recover from as long as you utilize a useful intensity.

amandap1222

I believe I am eating more than enough according to multiple equations and also bc I'm not constantly hungry? I sleep for at least 7-8 hours each night. I make sure to stretch after my workouts and I find that helps a little.

jdog022

Sounds like you may be at a point where a lean bulk is needed to continue to progress on strength goals esp if you have been training for years. If your tracking your tending weight and all your calories then you should know your maintenance and bulking surplus needed already which is more accurate then any equation. Not hungry is irrelevant usually. I’m not hungry at maintenance either and have to eat past full in a bulk

amandap1222

That is what I've been trying to do. I'm eating 200-300 calories above maintenance daily.

jdog022

amandap1222 wrote: »

That is what I've been trying to do. I'm eating 200-300 calories above maintenance daily.

For how long and have you gained any weight?

amandap1222

Over a year now and I have gained weight.

jdog022

Not giving me much to work with so I’ll leave it at this..

If your lifts suddenly and consistently drop then your most likely overtraining , deloading incorrectly or not frequently enough, not sleeping enough, really stressed, sick or not eating enough and/or to low on protein