Weight Training

I'd do this twice a week:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary


If your plateauing it might due to water and glycogen storage from the exercise you are doing. I'd also make sure you are weighing and measuring accurately and that your deficit isn't too large. Also, make sure you are getting enough sleep and recovery for all that you are doing.

Heavy is different for everyone. I'm currently plateau on my deadlift but I also deadlift 220 pounds. Can you post a little more information like lifts and how much weight for each? I agree with the other posters as well on their advice. Also maybe a little less cardio, it just seems like a lot to me I could be wrong though. How's your protein in take? Maybe adding more protein may help or even changing up your routine entirely may be enough to squash that plateau.

Here's what my workout schedule looks like....

Monday's - 10 minutes of cardio at the gym, 45 minutes (to allow for rest between sets) of legs/core at the gym . Walking my dog's.
Tuesday's - 10 minutes of cardio at the gym, 45 minutes of arms/chest/back/core at the gym. Walking my dog's.
Wednesday's - rest day...babysitting my niece.
Thursday's - repeat Monday
Friday's - repeat Tuesday
Saturday & Sunday - only cardio of walking my dog's

My trainer has me eating 1800 calories right now. It's a new program so I don't have much to report yet. But I have upped the amount of protein I take in and that has helped with gaining muscle and seeing gains.

Maybe talk to someone at your gym and see if they have any suggestions for you. It can't hurt to ask.

After going through and checking out some of your diary entries I'm going to add eat back MORE calories especially on days when you have a larger burn from working with your horse, etc. That may be why you have stalled. Before I started lifting I was in the "less calories I eat the quicker it will go away" frame of mind netting less that 1200 calories. Now especially when lifting you have to take in more calories to fuel your burn. On your MFP homepage under net try to shoot for a net of at least 1200. Right now you are under fueling your body.

Muscles become quickly accustomed to routine. If you want your muscles to grow, even a little and to overcome plateaus, you have to keep your muscles confused.

Best way to confuse your muscles is to add more weight. Don't expect to see muscle or strength increases beyond a point if you are eating under maintenance calories.

You can still increase strength in a calorie deficit.

That would depend upon one's goals.

jrhanna wants to increase his deadlift above 220. He'd have a very difficult time doing that in a caloric deficit. Women's strength goals are different from men - on average. The OP is most likely looking to be more toned and add a bit of muscle. For her, perhaps in a slight, very slight deficit would she succeed, but she would still need to add weight to her lifts. Consistently doing bicep curls with 2,5kg DBs, will not work. There is a reason the old phrase of "Eat to Grow" still exists and is a tried and true phrase.

Just wanted to commend you on a very informative & respectful response. Don't see that often on these forums / topics

My apologies for the mistake jrhanna. I assumed male based upon the deadlift amount. May I add that I am quite impressed. I know quite a few men your age who couldn`t come close to 220. Well done!

I wish you loads of luck on continuing that streak and hope you will able to surpass that with a new PR!

@jharris, thank you for the kind words. Compliments are always welcome and appreciated!

Contrary to what many MFP members believe, any strength training will do exactly what it says it does: increase your strength. If the goal is to get more defined/toned muscles, it will happen with more reps or greater weight. Yes, you can get toned muscles with 100 reps with the pink 2 kg dumbbells, and actually if the goal is only toning, not bulking, while still losing weight, this might be more effective than 10 reps with the 20 kg dumbbells. You can get stronger and more toned on a deficit. You cannot bulk, but you can still completely change how your body looks regarding muscle definition.
So, to the OP, do what you enjoy more. If you love the challenge of lifting heavy or want to bulk, then increase weights and get into more "serious" lifting. If you want to get toned, lose the loose skin etc, then a circuit training program, increasing reps or whatever you find easier to fit in your routine and do based on the equipment you have etc will also work.

Actually, doing 100 reps is going to increase your endurance, adding weight will increase your muscle size.

That would depend upon one's goals.

jrhanna wants to increase his deadlift above 220. He'd have a very difficult time doing that in a caloric deficit. Women's strength goals are different from men - on average. The OP is most likely looking to be more toned and add a bit of muscle. For her, perhaps in a slight, very slight deficit would she succeed, but she would still need to add weight to her lifts. Consistently doing bicep curls with 2,5kg DBs, will not work. There is a reason the old phrase of "Eat to Grow" still exists and is a tried and true phrase.

It is actually very hard for a woman in general to add muscle in a deficet. But we can add tonnes of strength...you do eventually slow on those gains at a deficet and eventually hit a stall, I have yet to hit that stall.

Building strenght comes from a progressive load lifting program as some of us have described. This aids in the maintenance of the LBM (with adequate protien) and the calorie deficet aids in fat loss.

As for muscle confusion I don't subscribe to that at all. I have been lifting the same routine in the same order for 6months the only difference is adding 5lb a lift each time I succeed at the 5x5...

I personally believe "muscle confusion" is a catch phrase used by the fitness industry...

Contrary to what many MFP members believe, any strength training will do exactly what it says it does: increase your strength. If the goal is to get more defined/toned muscles, it will happen with more reps or greater weight. Yes, you can get toned muscles with 100 reps with the pink 2 kg dumbbells, and actually if the goal is only toning, not bulking, while still losing weight, this might be more effective than 10 reps with the 20 kg dumbbells. You can get stronger and more toned on a deficit. You cannot bulk, but you can still completely change how your body looks regarding muscle definition.
So, to the OP, do what you enjoy more. If you love the challenge of lifting heavy or want to bulk, then increase weights and get into more "serious" lifting. If you want to get toned, lose the loose skin etc, then a circuit training program, increasing reps or whatever you find easier to fit in your routine and do based on the equipment you have etc will also work.

Actually, doing 100 reps is going to increase your endurance, adding weight will increase your muscle size.

No, it will also increase your strenght and will make your muscles more toned. It will not lead to bulking for sure. So it all depends on what the goal is.

No you wont increase strength with high reps you build endurance.

rep range 1-5 strength
rep range 6-12 hyperthropy
rep range 15+ endurance.

The best way to increase strength is low reps with a progressive load lifting program. This will not build bulk without a surplus.

No you wont increase strength with high reps you build endurance.

rep range 1-5 strength
rep range 6-12 hyperthropy
rep range 15+ endurance.

The best way to increase strength is low reps with a progressive load lifting program. This will not build bulk without a surplus.

20 years spent in gyms, numerous discussions with trainers and personal experience, tell me we will have to agree to disagree

BTW, here is a link with the data to support my position. Actually this guy says it makes no difference in muscle growth either :
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/ask-well-more-repetitions-vs-more-weight/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

a blog isn't really a study...it's an opinion.

but from that blog

But lifting the lighter weights, Dr. Phillips said, also builds muscular endurance, far more so than grunting through fewer repetitions with heavy weights, and results in less risk of muscular injury. As a bonus, completing more repetitions with lighter weights also results in “a greater amount of total work” per session, meaning more calories burned than fewer repetitions with heavier weights.

so you actually linked an opinion that supports what I said...

To become stronger and leaner, you do need to lift weights until your muscles are exhausted.

but no where does it say low reps/high weights didn't do just that...

I am not saying you have to do 5x5 to get strong what I am saying is that high reps that don't exhaust the muscle doesn't build strength and the best use of time to exhaust the muscle is low rep high weights.

I do 5x5 for strength...my husband does a decending pyramid increasing weights for each set..he too is building strength but he is exhausting the muscles each set with the weights.

Do not misunderstand, I am not saying heavy weights are bad. But, you can have good results, with lower weights, more repetitions. For some reason, this seems to never be a popular opinion on MFP and beginners are always encouraged to do things like stronglifts. I am saying it is not the only way. One could do a circuit class, do body weight training, use smaller dumbbells for more reps, or lift heavy. Same as if you want to get more cardio done, it can be be workign for 2 hours, or running for an hour, or doing a Zumba class or going to the pool and so on. There are several ways to get the result you want Of course with any scenario you will have to put in the work, no one is saying that doing 20 relaxed bicep curls with 0.5 lbs weight are going to get you anywhere.

Agreed...my sister does a lot of resistence training, cardio and karate and has a very nice figure...nice shoulders, great abs (v cut) etc...and she doesn't lift heavy but she does spend at least 2 hours a day doing her workouts, and she is not strong. She started with 3lb pinks now is up to 15-20lb pinks...which is great...at least she doesn't just do cardio now and understands my point of view. She will never lift like I do...she has no desire to.

She is 125 and can't do a chinup...I am 159 and can do two.

It is all in your goals on what you want to do...if you want a look and don't care about strength resistence training of any sort is the way to go...

however if you want strength and that look, heavy is the way to go.

ETA: I encourage resistence training and when someone says 30DS or body rev doesn't work I disagree with them as I know it does work and it's not just "cardio".