Getting into a calorie surplus can be hard for some
Options
Replies
-
If you put in half the time lifting that you put in making calculations and scheming you would have gained much more than a few pounds in your bench press. During the time that this thread has been going on (since Jan 9th) I have gained 7.5 pounds in my bench. Maybe it's not as stellar as some of the other people on here that have tried to help you but then again I am a 50 (soon to be 51) year old woman. You should really just get to it and stop with the nonsense. Lots of wise people here. They inspire me. I am using SL 5x5 and love it. You should find a similar program with compound lifts, go to your gym, and go for it!
ETA: And I want to be included in the Brazilian steakhouse visit!!0 -
Agreed. And while you may have exercises you "want" to do, you will get farther with a pre-designed program. And just because you increase strength, that does not correlate to mass gain. I've greatly increased my strength while eating at a deficit. When I was deadlifting regularly I could deadlift more than my bodyweight, even at a deficit.
You still need to be eating at a sufficient surplus.0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »OK, so this is a long post, but some real changes may be coming next week. Today has been a somewhat revealing day. Based on a 1 rep max test with my weight machine, I have concluded that I really have not added more than a few pounds (if that) to my max bench press in the last 20 workouts I've done.
I was discussing some things over with some of my family members. I'm not kidding; they were almost shocked when I told them what I was bench pressing on the machine and the fact that I can overhead press with the two 20 pound dumbbells for up to 18 reps. They said I really can't complain about my strength given how small my arms and the rest of my upper body is. I guess they do have a point. If it really is true that the 40 reps of floor presses I can do with the dumbbells is about equivalent to a 1 rep max of about 105-110 pounds with a barbell, it does put me right in line with the kind of strength I should have based on my experience this website.
At this point, I do plan to go to my college gym one day next week and see if I can even use the equipment (since I am no longer a current student there). Although it was something that I knew was an issue for a long while, the weight increments on my machine is a chief factor in why I'm now doubting the amount of additional progress I can make. After rerunning through some calculations, I believe bench pressing on the machine with 6 plates may be about equivalent to 75-80 pounds with a barbell, and 7 plates may be about 100-105 pounds. This seems reasonable given that the weight resistant chart (assuming I have the right manual) shows a 27 pound difference in weight resistance between the 6 and 7 plates, even though each plate only weighs 10 pounds. So the fact that I can do 8-12 reps at 6 plates but not even 1 rep at 7 plates says something.
Now, assuming I can still use the college gym, I don't know that I would necessarily jump right into a pre-made program. For one thing, that would be somewhat dependent on the overall extent of their equipment. There are certain exercises that I want to do, and I'm also not sure how many days each week I'd want to commit. Also, given the likelihood of muscle imbalances I want to make sure I don't do too much of certain exercises that would make it worse.
I also don't have much of a plan yet in terms of what I'm going to do with my calorie intake, as I don't know how much more (if any) newbie gains I can get. It is true that strength is definitely the primary factor with why I am deciding to do things a little differently now.
Dude, you have NO muscle so there's no chance of you having any muscle imbalances. STOP over-thinking this and just get in the gym and lift heavy weight. Eat at a 300-500 calorie surplus and you'll be on your way in no time. Or just keep number crunching every possible scenario and don't take action and stay small and weak.
0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »OK, so this is a long post, but some real changes may be coming next week. Today has been a somewhat revealing day. Based on a 1 rep max test with my weight machine, I have concluded that I really have not added more than a few pounds (if that) to my max bench press in the last 20 workouts I've done.
I was discussing some things over with some of my family members. I'm not kidding; they were almost shocked when I told them what I was bench pressing on the machine and the fact that I can overhead press with the two 20 pound dumbbells for up to 18 reps. They said I really can't complain about my strength given how small my arms and the rest of my upper body is. I guess they do have a point. If it really is true that the 40 reps of floor presses I can do with the dumbbells is about equivalent to a 1 rep max of about 105-110 pounds with a barbell, it does put me right in line with the kind of strength I should have based on my experience this website.
At this point, I do plan to go to my college gym one day next week and see if I can even use the equipment (since I am no longer a current student there). Although it was something that I knew was an issue for a long while, the weight increments on my machine is a chief factor in why I'm now doubting the amount of additional progress I can make. After rerunning through some calculations, I believe bench pressing on the machine with 6 plates may be about equivalent to 75-80 pounds with a barbell, and 7 plates may be about 100-105 pounds. This seems reasonable given that the weight resistant chart (assuming I have the right manual) shows a 27 pound difference in weight resistance between the 6 and 7 plates, even though each plate only weighs 10 pounds. So the fact that I can do 8-12 reps at 6 plates but not even 1 rep at 7 plates says something.
Now, assuming I can still use the college gym, I don't know that I would necessarily jump right into a pre-made program. For one thing, that would be somewhat dependent on the overall extent of their equipment. There are certain exercises that I want to do, and I'm also not sure how many days each week I'd want to commit. Also, given the likelihood of muscle imbalances I want to make sure I don't do too much of certain exercises that would make it worse.
I also don't have much of a plan yet in terms of what I'm going to do with my calorie intake, as I don't know how much more (if any) newbie gains I can get. It is true that strength is definitely the primary factor with why I am deciding to do things a little differently now.
Dude, you have NO muscle so there's no chance of you having any muscle imbalances. STOP over-thinking this and just get in the gym and lift heavy weight. Eat at a 300-500 calorie surplus and you'll be on your way in no time. Or just keep number crunching every possible scenario and don't take action and stay small and weak.
Agreed. And what I forgot to explicitly say is that it's clear you don't have the experience to be designing your own program. And I agree that you likely don't have imbalences, so just pick a beginner program and run it as written.0 -
I assume I would be better off with a hypertrophy program as opposed to a strength one?0
-
ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »If you put in half the time lifting that you put in making calculations and scheming you would have gained much more than a few pounds in your bench press. During the time that this thread has been going on (since Jan 9th) I have gained 7.5 pounds in my bench. Maybe it's not as stellar as some of the other people on here that have tried to help you but then again I am a 50 (soon to be 51) year old woman. You should really just get to it and stop with the nonsense. Lots of wise people here. They inspire me. I am using SL 5x5 and love it. You should find a similar program with compound lifts, go to your gym, and go for it!
ETA: And I want to be included in the Brazilian steakhouse visit!!
Nice increase on the bench!
0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »I assume I would be better off with a hypertrophy program as opposed to a strength one?
Pick one, anyone and just do it. I would go strength first but it really doesn't matter because ANYTHING is better than what you are doing now.
0 -
Wheelhouse15 wrote: »ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »If you put in half the time lifting that you put in making calculations and scheming you would have gained much more than a few pounds in your bench press. During the time that this thread has been going on (since Jan 9th) I have gained 7.5 pounds in my bench. Maybe it's not as stellar as some of the other people on here that have tried to help you but then again I am a 50 (soon to be 51) year old woman. You should really just get to it and stop with the nonsense. Lots of wise people here. They inspire me. I am using SL 5x5 and love it. You should find a similar program with compound lifts, go to your gym, and go for it!
ETA: And I want to be included in the Brazilian steakhouse visit!!
Nice increase on the bench!
Thanks very much!!0 -
0 -
All your calculations are pointless because you are comparing a machine to a barbell, they are totally different.
Pick a beginner programme and the empty bar and get to work.0 -
Haha I think I've said it about 5 times myself so f@ck knows
0 -
Well at any rate, I won't be able to try out any of this for a few days. I do expect it to snow on Monday, which means the college may not be open then, so the earliest I could go will probably be Tuesday.
I don't know why, but I seem to have an unusual fascination with the weight conversions. This has been something I've been curious about for months. Before beginning a program, I'd like to see what I can do for 8-12 reps.0 -
I'm 20, just under 5'8" and hover around 120-123 pounds.
I'm sad for you.
at 5'8" you should weigh much closer to 160 pounds- you aren't "blessed to have abs" honestly. ... you should be genuinely concerned about how under weight you are.
here's me at 155ish last year- same height as you
Just took these in my kitchen- I'm about 7 pounds heavier- post bulk- technically pre bulk weight- still not as shredded- why- because I'm bigger. (and stronger)
Still look good though
no- abs aren't as fierce but did you check out these quads???
which means- i'm pretty sure I'm bigger than you- and that's just- sad.
BULK ALREADY PLEASE.
Just bumping for this for the next guy. You're welcome. Nice work Jo!
0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »Well at any rate, I won't be able to try out any of this for a few days. I do expect it to snow on Monday, which means the college may not be open then, so the earliest I could go will probably be Tuesday.
I don't know why, but I seem to have an unusual fascination with the weight conversions. This has been something I've been curious about for months. Before beginning a program, I'd like to see what I can do for 8-12 reps.
LOL ….more excuses….
Jason when you actually get on a program and start eating more for a month, come back and talk to us..
this is the most tiresome post in MFP history ….
people have truly tried to help you, you blow them off, then come back in here and say you are going to do something, only to then come up with more excuses…
just do it man, or stop posting...
0 -
Suddenly fascinated by weight conversions? No. Apparently you missed this thread, which I started months ago. Like I said, when the college is next open and the weather is not inclement I do plan to "do something". It's kind of hard to go the gym when it's not open…ForecasterJason wrote: »Well at any rate, I won't be able to try out any of this for a few days. I do expect it to snow on Monday, which means the college may not be open then, so the earliest I could go will probably be Tuesday.
I don't know why, but I seem to have an unusual fascination with the weight conversions. This has been something I've been curious about for months. Before beginning a program, I'd like to see what I can do for 8-12 reps.
LOL ….more excuses….
Jason when you actually get on a program and start eating more for a month, come back and talk to us..
this is the most tiresome post in MFP history ….
people have truly tried to help you, you blow them off, then come back in here and say you are going to do something, only to then come up with more excuses…
just do it man, or stop posting...
Seriously, have to agree. Just loads of excuses. Now you're suddenly fascinated by weights conversations but you listen to no one.
Either start doing something or just abandon the bulking section, it's not for you obviously.
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 398 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 976 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions