When you add calories at what point do your lifts start going up?

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dave_in_ni
dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I'm a former fat guy so I'm very cautious when it comes to adding more food. I've always sort of lived around maintenance but the problem with that is you get to a point where you're just going through the motions getting nowhere.

I've only tried bulking a couple of times, I last about a month then get scared and go back to maintaining but during that month I see no improvement in my lifts, I'm still stalling. I added 500 extra calories above tdee, In a month I gain 6-8lbs but as I say it doesn't improve my lifts.

Its all well and good saying not pushing hard enough but you can either lift the weight or you can't, when you do the bb roll of shame I think its a pretty good indicator you can't lift the weight.

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    "When you add calories at what point do your lifts start going up?"

    They don't.

    My progress is in line with my training not my calories.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    One shouldn't eat there way to progress lifting. Very bad strategy.

    If your lifts are stale for a long period of time, its almost always lack of volume at the correct dosage.

    Adjust your volume and/or average intensity correctly.


    If your doing any kind of LP such as starting strength, strong lift, etc...they are inferior programs once you begin stalling.
    Best just to move onto more advanced programming.

    I've never done any kind of strength program, always bodybuilding type routines, Upper Lower/PPL/Bro Split etc.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    "When you add calories at what point do your lifts start going up?"

    They don't.

    My progress is in line with my training not my calories.

    Can you explain this more? I always thought calories give energy, I mean if cutting strength drops so it stands to reason eat more strength should go up?
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    No my friend that isn't the way it works.

    That line of thinking means anybody can eat there way to a world record.

    Cutting doesn't equate to strength dropping. I get stronger on a cut just as I get stronger on a bulk. Its about adequate volume at the correct dosage.

    A hypertrophy program better have strength built in otherwise you won't get very far. Vise versa a strength program needs hypertrophy built in as well.

    Both strength and hypertrophy govern each other and both are driven by volume.

    Not enough volume? Stall.

    Not enough strength to lift progressively to build muscles? Stall.

    Muscles tapped out and can't produce enough force to move weight(strength)? Stall.

    The body is amazing yet way more complicated then eat more and lift and things progress forever.

    We need to build up enough useful stress to disrupt homeostasis. If we can't do that. Stall.



    This makes a lot of sense, if I had to pick one thing that I think could be the issue it’s my strength. I’m not very strong as it’s something I never was interested in. Moving heavy weights nope, working the muscle and feeling da pomp as Arnie says yes.

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