I’ve been lifting for a few weeks
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patrickrea2002
Posts: 83 Member
I know it take a long time to grow muscle but i haven’t gained a pound should I increase my calories or continue doing what I’m doing? And wait
How do I know my bulk is working?
How do I know my bulk is working?
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Replies
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How long is a few weeks? You need to be in a calorie surplus to gain weight.1
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Been lifting since the start of January, if I don’t see weight gain shall I increase my calories0
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time. more than a few weeks. measurements. also be aware of gaining fat as well as muscle if you go on an aggressive bulk - then you will need to lose all the excess fat to show the muscle underneath.
on a positive note - you may not have gained weight but maybe you lost fat and gained muscle so scale is still the same? positive thinking! do you look any different?1 -
As others have alluded to, measurements (biceps, chest, shoulders, waist, thighs, hips, etc.) & even clothing fit feel may portray a more accurate picture vs. weight alone. Re-measure about every 2 weeks or so and reevaluate (moving target) whether you need to make a change in kcals total0
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Ok yeah I was thinking my chest feels bigger and so do my arms so the scales might be wrong2
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Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,90 -
But I’ve been 141 for ages1
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patrickrea2002 wrote: »Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,9
Patrick, If you’ve only been lifting for a couple weeks, you need to make sure your form is good enough to start progressively overloading compound movements. This is how you get stronger, which leads to increase in muscle size. And you need to eat, you’ll get bigger and won’t put on too much fat since you haven’t been training long. It’s the good old newbie gains, people in their first year of lifting experience crazy gains with minimal fat gain. Just make sure your form is good, you use progressive overload on compound movements, get to the gym as much as possible, rest when you need, and just eat, a lot.4 -
patrickrea2002 wrote: »Been lifting since the start of January, if I don’t see weight gain shall I increase my calories
Yes. If you haven't seen upwards movement on the scale on average after a few weeks, it's reasonable to add a few hundred calories and recheck in a few more weeks.0 -
NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »patrickrea2002 wrote: »Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,9
Patrick, If you’ve only been lifting for a couple weeks, you need to make sure your form is good enough to start progressively overloading compound movements. This is how you get stronger, which leads to increase in muscle size. And you need to eat, you’ll get bigger and won’t put on too much fat since you haven’t been training long. It’s the good old newbie gains, people in their first year of lifting experience crazy gains with minimal fat gain. Just make sure your form is good, you use progressive overload on compound movements, get to the gym as much as possible, rest when you need, and just eat, a lot.
Form is way overstated in importance and way overused in the fitness industry.
There simply isn't a concrete "good form" or "bad form". It's hardly even close to definable.
Load management is way more importance than what someone considers good/bad form.
Strength and hypertrophy is driven by good programming with adequate volume at a useful intensity, not form.
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NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »patrickrea2002 wrote: »Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,9
Patrick, If you’ve only been lifting for a couple weeks, you need to make sure your form is good enough to start progressively overloading compound movements. This is how you get stronger, which leads to increase in muscle size. And you need to eat, you’ll get bigger and won’t put on too much fat since you haven’t been training long. It’s the good old newbie gains, people in their first year of lifting experience crazy gains with minimal fat gain. Just make sure your form is good, you use progressive overload on compound movements, get to the gym as much as possible, rest when you need, and just eat, a lot.
Form is way overstated in importance and way overused in the fitness industry.
There simply isn't a concrete "good form" or "bad form". It's hardly even close to definable.
Load management is way more importance than what someone considers good/bad form.
Strength and hypertrophy is driven by good programming with adequate volume at a useful intensity, not form.
But......some attention needs to be paid to form. Improper form, can lead to injuries. Form does not need to be perfect, but it does need to be good enough so that when lifting, you can feel the proper muscles doing the work. At least, thats how it is for me. But, to each their own, find what works for you.
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Just my two cents but I really don't agree with the fact that form is overstated. I've seen guys throwing 40lb dumbbells for curls. That's cool and all they have a good heavy weight going but when they aren't putting the focus on the bicep they're asking for an injury and possibly not maximizing the muscle tear/repair. I can get just as good of a pump doing more reps on 20lb dumbbells as I can smaller reps with 40lb but the form has to remain the same.2
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Form isn't only important as a means to prevent injury, but if you're training for hypertrophy you need to be able to isolate/target certain muscle groups, not just get the weight from point A to B by recruiting every muscle possible to help. Proper form can help with that.
BUT, I do see how "proper" form can be overstated. Take those with limited joint mobility or long legs/femurs, such as myself. My stance for deads and squats is wider than most and my feet are more angled. That's just how my anatomy works. If I followed what I was taught as "proper" form (as I did the first few months of lifting) I'm forcing my body to bend in ways that aren't optimal, especially when loaded with weight, resulting in knee and hip pain.
So basically, yes, focus on form but also recognize that there isnt a one size fits all. Just about everyones form is a slight variation of what's taught as proper form.9 -
NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »patrickrea2002 wrote: »Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,9
Patrick, If you’ve only been lifting for a couple weeks, you need to make sure your form is good enough to start progressively overloading compound movements. This is how you get stronger, which leads to increase in muscle size. And you need to eat, you’ll get bigger and won’t put on too much fat since you haven’t been training long. It’s the good old newbie gains, people in their first year of lifting experience crazy gains with minimal fat gain. Just make sure your form is good, you use progressive overload on compound movements, get to the gym as much as possible, rest when you need, and just eat, a lot.
Form is way overstated in importance and way overused in the fitness industry.
There simply isn't a concrete "good form" or "bad form". It's hardly even close to definable.
Load management is way more importance than what someone considers good/bad form.
Strength and hypertrophy is driven by good programming with adequate volume at a useful intensity, not form.
It’s more along the lines of good enough, so he doesn’t hurt himself. 🙄3 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »Form isn't only important as a means to prevent injury, but if you're training for hypertrophy you need to be able to isolate/target certain muscle groups, not just get the weight from point A to B by recruiting every muscle possible to help. Proper form can help with that.
BUT, I do see how "proper" form can be overstated. Take those with limited joint mobility or long legs/femurs, such as myself. My stance for deads and squats is wider than most and my feet are more angled. That's just how my anatomy works. If I followed what I was taught as "proper" form (as I did the first few months of lifting) I'm forcing my body to bend in ways that aren't optimal, especially when loaded with weight, resulting in knee and hip pain.
So basically, yes, focus on form but also recognize that there isnt a one size fits all. Just about everyones form is a slight variation of what's taught as proper form.
Great points, what works for you; may not feel best for me, vice versa.2 -
Define good and/or bad form.CharlieCharlie007 wrote: »NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »patrickrea2002 wrote: »Mesurment wise
I’m 141
And 5,9
Patrick, If you’ve only been lifting for a couple weeks, you need to make sure your form is good enough to start progressively overloading compound movements. This is how you get stronger, which leads to increase in muscle size. And you need to eat, you’ll get bigger and won’t put on too much fat since you haven’t been training long. It’s the good old newbie gains, people in their first year of lifting experience crazy gains with minimal fat gain. Just make sure your form is good, you use progressive overload on compound movements, get to the gym as much as possible, rest when you need, and just eat, a lot.
Form is way overstated in importance and way overused in the fitness industry.
There simply isn't a concrete "good form" or "bad form". It's hardly even close to definable.
Load management is way more importance than what someone considers good/bad form.
Strength and hypertrophy is driven by good programming with adequate volume at a useful intensity, not form.
But......some attention needs to be paid to form. Improper form, can lead to injuries. Form does not need to be perfect, but it does need to be good enough so that when lifting, you can feel the proper muscles doing the work. At least, thats how it is for me. But, to each their own, find what works for you.
Form doesn't lead to injuries. That is a common myth that is spewed throughout the fitness world. There are adjustments that might help someone lift heavier, but not prevent injuries outside of trama
Bad load management leads to injuries. Put too much load on your body too frequently without proper recovery from what the person had adapted to and injuries can happen. This is true in any training not just weight training This is why using a well written training program is important.
I have probably been to near 500 gyms in my lifetime, and have seen thousands of differently experienced lifters squat with different form because of different limb lengths, health, speciality traing, etc... The body adapts very well if you practice good load management within a program that regulates the load.
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Just my two cents but I really don't agree with the fact that form is overstated. I've seen guys throwing 40lb dumbbells for curls. That's cool and all they have a good heavy weight going but when they aren't putting the focus on the bicep they're asking for an injury and possibly not maximizing the muscle tear/repair. I can get just as good of a pump doing more reps on 20lb dumbbells as I can smaller reps with 40lb but the form has to remain the same.
I hear what you are saying, but I think your description might be a touch vague of what is actual happening with your example of 40lb dumbbells.
I know people that can curl a few hundred pounds and it is within proper load management and have never claimed a bicep injury and I know people who curl only 45lbs and have used improper load management and claimed they injured themselves.
Use the proper load and the lift and muscles becomes more specific to what is needed to force adaptation. Try to go above the load what your body is adapted to without managing recovery and chances are injuries will happen soon enough.
It's not the movement, but the load of the movement.1 -
Just my two cents but I really don't agree with the fact that form is overstated. I've seen guys throwing 40lb dumbbells for curls. That's cool and all they have a good heavy weight going but when they aren't putting the focus on the bicep they're asking for an injury and possibly not maximizing the muscle tear/repair. I can get just as good of a pump doing more reps on 20lb dumbbells as I can smaller reps with 40lb but the form has to remain the same.
I hear what you are saying, but I think your description might be a touch vague of what is actual happening with your example of 40lb dumbbells.
I know people that can curl a few hundred pounds and it is within proper load management and have never claimed a bicep injury and I know people who curl only 45lbs and have used improper load management and claimed they injured themselves.
Use the proper load and the lift and muscles becomes more specific to what is needed to force adaptation. Try to go above the load what your body is adapted to without managing recovery and chances are injuries will happen soon enough.
It's not the movement, but the load of the movement.
I had a client who’s son was on the high school football team. They were doing deadlifts, big kid; he played offensive tackle. Tore his bicep pulling 225. PS I’ve seen him pull 315 for reps. I didn’t see the injury happen, but I think we all know where his form was off. Form plays a big part of a lift, even if the weight isn’t the heaviest. First thing I learned stepping into the gym.4 -
NaturalGainsRecned wrote: »Just my two cents but I really don't agree with the fact that form is overstated. I've seen guys throwing 40lb dumbbells for curls. That's cool and all they have a good heavy weight going but when they aren't putting the focus on the bicep they're asking for an injury and possibly not maximizing the muscle tear/repair. I can get just as good of a pump doing more reps on 20lb dumbbells as I can smaller reps with 40lb but the form has to remain the same.
I hear what you are saying, but I think your description might be a touch vague of what is actual happening with your example of 40lb dumbbells.
I know people that can curl a few hundred pounds and it is within proper load management and have never claimed a bicep injury and I know people who curl only 45lbs and have used improper load management and claimed they injured themselves.
Use the proper load and the lift and muscles becomes more specific to what is needed to force adaptation. Try to go above the load what your body is adapted to without managing recovery and chances are injuries will happen soon enough.
It's not the movement, but the load of the movement.
I had a client who’s son was on the high school football team. They were doing deadlifts, big kid; he played offensive tackle. Tore his bicep pulling 225. PS I’ve seen him pull 315 for reps. I didn’t see the injury happen, but I think we all know where his form was off. Form plays a big part of a lift, even if the weight isn’t the heaviest. First thing I learned stepping into the gym.
What was his load management specifically lifting and football related?
Bicep tears during deadlifts are extremely rare. Without knowing his programming and recovery or even possibly trama during actual football game/practice that could of contributed to the tear I wouldn't begin.to atribute form specifically on a lift unless he had a MRI prior to lifting that proved no tear prior.
Where did you speculate his form was off during the lift that caused a tear on a suboptimal lift that was solely responsible for the tear?6 -
I’ve been looking closely at my form as I think it’s important but how long should it take for me to start seeing results so i know I’m doing nothing wrong0
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