Should I switch from Strong Curves to Strong Lifts?!

roxyyrainy123
roxyyrainy123 Posts: 44 Member
edited November 15 in Fitness and Exercise
I lost so much weight and slimmed down immensely on a caloric deficit and following the Strong Curves workout sets. My issue is I'm looking to gain muscle in my lower body in general (legs, calves, and glutes). I've increased weights steadily but can't seem to gain muscle mass I'm just leaning out. I'm eating 1400-1600 calories a day is this the culprit? Picture available. 5'4" 135lbs.. I can leg press right around 180lbs 3 sets of 10. I can squat about 160lbs so I'm getting stronger I just am not seeing it?! Maybe strong lifts 5x5 would yield results?! oa9hnx5lq0b3.jpg

Replies

  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Ya gotta eat to grow.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    It's not the program if you're not gaining mass. You're not eating enough.

    You need to eat in a calorie surplus to gain mass. Calculate your TDEE and add 250 calories.

    Eat at that level for about a month and continue your program. If you haven't gained weight, then you need to eat more.
  • roxyyrainy123
    roxyyrainy123 Posts: 44 Member
    @sammyliftsandeats I'll give it a whirl. It's hard to retrain your brain to now eat at a surplus after a year of eating such low cals. And kind of dumb question but will the weight gain be steady?! I don't want to be overweight again.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    roxyyrainy123 wrote: »
    @sammyliftsandeats I'll give it a whirl. It's hard to retrain your brain to now eat at a surplus after a year of eating such low cals. And kind of dumb question but will the weight gain be steady?! I don't want to be overweight again.

    If you keep your surplus low, then your weight will increase in small amounts. Less fat will be gained, but in return, less muscle. It's all depending on how much you want to gain and how fast.

    Definitely hard to retrain your brain, but as mentioned above, you have to eat to grow.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    How long have you been at this and how much scale weight have you gained in that time?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Strong Curves will give you results.. provided you are following the program and eating adequately (in surplus ideally). I only saw a significant increase in size when I bulked.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You have to eat to put on muscle mass...
  • roxyyrainy123
    roxyyrainy123 Posts: 44 Member
    @richardgavel I've been strength training now for about 3 months consistently and I've gained nothing. I've leaned out tremendously. When I lost weight I got that skinny fat now that I'm actually strength training no scale difference just body fat percent went from 24% to 21% in 3 months.


    @sardelsa You're right Strong Curves is giving results it's just not fast. I guess nothing is.. I'm going to try and up protein and start eating more than 75g of carbs a day and see what happens.
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 347 Member
    You need to eat more to see muscle growth.
  • kaizaku
    kaizaku Posts: 1,039 Member
    Eat meals with high protein. In order to maintain and build muscle its essential.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Your calories are too low. You are eating in a deficit, so it will be nearly impossible to gain any muscle mass. You need to eat a slight surplus and keep lifting. Strong curves is a great full-body lifting program that focuses on the lower body, which seems to fit your goals. You just need to increase calories and keep progressing with your weights.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    roxyyrainy123 wrote: »
    body fat percent went from 24% to 21% in 3 months.

    i'm too lazy to do the math that would tell me what 3% of 135 is, but i'm pretty sure it's more than three pounds. so if your bottom-line weight hasn't changed, i guess that must be what you're saying about your muscle growth for the three months.

    muscle grows slowly for women. last i looked, i seem to recall a pound a month was about realistic during noob phase - which it sounds like you're still in. so there's that to consider, if you trust whatever methodology gave you those 24 and 21 percent scores.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
    just stopped in to say you look amazing!
  • roxyyrainy123
    roxyyrainy123 Posts: 44 Member
    @Iknewyouweretrouble <3 Thank you.. we're so hard on ourselves sometimes!!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    If you're continuing to get stronger, it suggests your muscles are 'improving', even if not quite how you were hoping.
    At some point, either you're super-girl, or you'll have to have your muscles increase in size to increase in strength :).

    However, yes; it seems you're likely at a calories deficit and the body doesn't do losing weight and gaining muscle mass very well at the same time.
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