Newbie Gains are slowing, best way to move forward?
bmakenzie
Posts: 9 Member
I'm a 5'5 female CW 122, started at 125 with 29%body fat last fall. After getting a Dexa scan and realizing I was 'skinny fat', I started weight training (2-3 times/week) And for the past 3 months I have also begun tracking calories and eating at a slight deficit (300 under maintenance). Despite the deficit I've been gaining strength and only lost 3 pounds-- leading me to assume that I've gained some muscle and lost some fat.
I've been having a difficult time increasing my weight or reps for the past two weeks and am thinking I've reached the end of my newbie gains. Now I'm trying to decide if I should up my calories to maintence and continue lifting as recomp OR if I should try bulking/cutting. If I bulk/cut should I continue cutting for a while to keep lowering my body fat? Not sure what my current body fat is.
Here's a recent photo:
Any advice would be much appreciated!
I've been having a difficult time increasing my weight or reps for the past two weeks and am thinking I've reached the end of my newbie gains. Now I'm trying to decide if I should up my calories to maintence and continue lifting as recomp OR if I should try bulking/cutting. If I bulk/cut should I continue cutting for a while to keep lowering my body fat? Not sure what my current body fat is.
Here's a recent photo:
Any advice would be much appreciated!
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Replies
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You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.7 -
What strength training program are you running?0
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Your details are about the same as mine when I decided to do my first bulk. My first bulk was far from perfect, so advising that might not be a grand idea, but you certainly look quite lean to me. You can go either way with the recomp or bulk.
You lifts will improve when you add back additional calories to mainenance, building more muscle will be slow.
If you are leary of fat gain, bulking will be a mental hurdle for you to overcome. When any anxiety about it are gone you are good to bulk imho. Time and patience doing either is needed for both, but recomp can give you a break from dieting and get you ready for a bulk if you need more time.2 -
You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.
I need to check to see if you posted first before I do.. pretty much said the same thing.
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I started this bulk around where you are. I started at 126 lbs (5'5") at 16.5% body fat. I've been bulking for five months now and am currently about 10 lbs up. My advice is low and slow like good BBQ. I lift 5x a week with an upper/lower split (extra leg day), average around 15,000 steps a day, and am eating 2700 cals. If you need any help, let me know!0
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I agree that you could go recomp or bulk at your current build.
The thing I wonder about is your programming. If you are following a novice program it might be nearing its end. 3 months is around the average for these programs to run before needing to move to an intermediate program.0 -
You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.
Thanks for the advice! It's been hard for me to gauge my leanness. I didn't really think I looked overweight when I got my body fat % measured, the scan was just a free perk of a hydration study I was taking part in. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture to have a better idea.
I'm thinking transitioning through maintenance for a couple weeks, then a bulk might be my plan. For bulking, how many extra calories do people usually consume?
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Your details are about the same as mine when I decided to do my first bulk. My first bulk was far from perfect, so advising that might not be a grand idea, but you certainly look quite lean to me. You can go either way with the recomp or bulk.
You lifts will improve when you add back additional calories to mainenance, building more muscle will be slow.
If you are leary of fat gain, bulking will be a mental hurdle for you to overcome. When any anxiety about it are gone you are good to bulk imho. Time and patience doing either is needed for both, but recomp can give you a break from dieting and get you ready for a bulk if you need more time.
Thanks for the insight! It sounds like spending a little time in maintenance first might be a good route.
What were some of the pitfalls of your first bulk, if you don't mind sharing?0 -
Davidsdottir wrote: »I started this bulk around where you are. I started at 126 lbs (5'5") at 16.5% body fat. I've been bulking for five months now and am currently about 10 lbs up. My advice is low and slow like good BBQ. I lift 5x a week with an upper/lower split (extra leg day), average around 15,000 steps a day, and am eating 2700 cals. If you need any help, let me know!
Thanks for sharing, it's super insightful.
Are you using a specific program? If so do you like it or have any recommendations?
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I agree that you could go recomp or bulk at your current build.
The thing I wonder about is your programming. If you are following a novice program it might be nearing its end. 3 months is around the average for these programs to run before needing to move to an intermediate program.
I actually haven't been, so any program recs would be appreciated!0 -
Davidsdottir wrote: »I started this bulk around where you are. I started at 126 lbs (5'5") at 16.5% body fat. I've been bulking for five months now and am currently about 10 lbs up. My advice is low and slow like good BBQ. I lift 5x a week with an upper/lower split (extra leg day), average around 15,000 steps a day, and am eating 2700 cals. If you need any help, let me know!
Thanks for sharing, it's super insightful.
Are you using a specific program? If so do you like it or have any recommendations?
I'm doing a mishmash of programming, which I wouldn't recommend unless you've been lifting for a few years. The main program, however, I would recommend, which is the hypertrophy-focused upper/lower split from Steve Shaw's Massive Iron.0 -
Your details are about the same as mine when I decided to do my first bulk. My first bulk was far from perfect, so advising that might not be a grand idea, but you certainly look quite lean to me. You can go either way with the recomp or bulk.
You lifts will improve when you add back additional calories to mainenance, building more muscle will be slow.
If you are leary of fat gain, bulking will be a mental hurdle for you to overcome. When any anxiety about it are gone you are good to bulk imho. Time and patience doing either is needed for both, but recomp can give you a break from dieting and get you ready for a bulk if you need more time.
Thanks for the insight! It sounds like spending a little time in maintenance first might be a good route.
What were some of the pitfalls of your first bulk, if you don't mind sharing?
My ignorance and patience got the best of me. My starting point was too high body fat. Coming straight from weight loss with no diet break to reverse to maintenance proved a disadvantage mentally and physically as well.
I am 4 1/2 years doing this now, with several successful bulks. Each bulk brings something new for me. This last time I reversed from my cut and it took longer to stabilize weight to add proper surplus. It took longer to start gaining weight.
As far as recommendation on strength training programs, here is a list of well known established programs. x
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p10 -
I think there is a reasonable chance that your progress has stalled because you aren't following an appropriate program. I would pick out an appropriate beginners program from the following link, and follow it:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
(I like starting strength, but I see a lot of people recommend New Rules of Lifting or StrongCurves to women)
If you're only thinking about bulking because of stalled progress, I would hold off until you have stalled while following an appropriate program.5 -
You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.
I need to check to see if you posted first before I do.. pretty much said the same thing.
I do this all the time !! Great minds 1 -
You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.
Thanks for the advice! It's been hard for me to gauge my leanness. I didn't really think I looked overweight when I got my body fat % measured, the scan was just a free perk of a hydration study I was taking part in. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture to have a better idea.
I'm thinking transitioning through maintenance for a couple weeks, then a bulk might be my plan. For bulking, how many extra calories do people usually consume?
I would say it varies depending on how lean of a bulk you are going for... Typically anywhere from 125-250cals on top of maintenance for women, so 0.25-0.5lbs per week or so. I wouldn't go higher than that (to reduce fat gained) and best to aim towards the leaner side especially if you have hesitations about bulking.1 -
I think there is a reasonable chance that your progress has stalled because you aren't following an appropriate program. I would pick out an appropriate beginners program from the following link, and follow it:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
(I like starting strength, but I see a lot of people recommend New Rules of Lifting or StrongCurves to women)
If you're only thinking about bulking because of stalled progress, I would hold off until you have stalled while following an appropriate program.
I also like Starting Strength and many of the strong women here really like Strong Curves. I also agree that if OP never ran an NLP she could benefit greatly by doing a run at it.0 -
Most likely it is your diet. Up the calories. For example, you might only need 2500 calories per day before, but now that you have more muscle compared to when you started, you need more calories to maintain the muscle let alone to induce more hypertrophy. Also, because training-wise even if you are doing the same program but you are progressively overloading the weight, sets, or reps; you will gain muscle nonetheless.0
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You seem fairly lean from your photo so you could go into maintenance to recomp or into a bulk. Either option should help your lifts go up.
I don't think you need to cut more but it depends how comfortable you would be putting on weight if you really want to bulk. However it also depends on your physique goals moving forward.
Maybe spend some time at maintenance, then see how you feel after a certain point. Then you can decide if you want to run a bulk or not.
I agree, you're lean enough, don't go in the forever cutting mode, you will struggle to build any muscles.0
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