Why is it that I'm gaining muscle at an extremely slow rate?
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shehzadaali2384
Posts: 3 Member
Hi there! I'm Talat. Its been almost 2years since i have started doing resistance training or bodybuilding as you may call it. But still i have yet to see a considerable changes in my physique. Is it because that during my newbie gains period. I didn't properly focused on nutrition and only taking about 20g protein roughly every day. And now that i am eating proper protein and nutrition that I'm experiencing very slow muscle gains.
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Hi there perhaps try looking into a muscle gainer protein. If you have one already try adding 2 scoops instead of one to your shakes. drinking water with you shakes limits you if your trying to bulk so switch it out to a milk based liquid so you can start your bulking journey.
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How are you training, how often, what exercises and with which weight? What about increasing weights?0
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Do you have the opportunity to hire a coach that has knowledge of nutrition? 20g's a day, why? and how many g's now.0
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What's your total protein intake? And what's your training program?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Do you have a lot of body fat still to lose? The fat can easily hide the muscle beneath, so you may in fact have had a decent amount of gain but be unable to see it until you lose the blanket covering first.1
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To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.0 -
You don't have to go to failure every time. Training like that day in and day out is rough on the nervous system and can impede recovery (which is where you grow, not when you lift). Also, need to know if the OP is supplying enough protein and calories to grow.allief6819 wrote: »To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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allief6819 wrote: »To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.
Is going to failure for squats not necessarily very recommended? I'm talking about a case where you don't have anyone to assist you. Same concern for the bench press.
For squat, I'm always too scared of not being able to get back up and/or hurting myself, so I never go to the point of failure. Some might say it's less effective, but since you can get hurt, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Or maybe, I've seen too many gym fails with people doing squats or bench press to failure, where things went really wrong and I've become paranoid about it lol.0 -
allief6819 wrote: »To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.
Is going to failure for squats not necessarily very recommended? I'm talking about a case where you don't have anyone to assist you. Same concern for the bench press.
For squat, I'm always too scared of not being able to get back up and/or hurting myself, so I never go to the point of failure. Some might say it's less effective, but since you can get hurt, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Or maybe, I've seen too many gym fails with people doing squats or bench press to failure, where things went really wrong and I've become paranoid about it lol.
Does your gym have a safety rack? If so, you should be using that... if not... then, personally, no I wouldn't go all the way to failure. But that's my opinion.0 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »
Does your gym have a safety rack? If so, you should be using that... if not... then, personally, no I wouldn't go all the way to failure. But that's my opinion.
In the place where I do my squats, no, but it's not really made for squats.
The "real" squat racks, I think they probably have them - but those are right in the middle of the gym, I just don't feel comfortable using those with everyone around, and they're never available anyway.
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Failure means you cannot do another concentric. Another way of saying that is zero RIR (reps in reserve). You didn't say what level you are, but if you're a beginner you definitely shouldn't be training to failure. It isn't necessary for your growth, and you could risk injury. Two RIR is fine for a beginner. Aside, a bodybuilder called Justyn Vicky died while ego lifting a squat with inadequate spotter and safety rack support last week.Is going to failure for squats not necessarily very recommended? I'm talking about a case where you don't have anyone to assist you. Same concern for the bench press.
For squat, I'm always too scared of not being able to get back up and/or hurting myself, so I never go to the point of failure. Some might say it's less effective, but since you can get hurt, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Or maybe, I've seen too many gym fails with people doing squats or bench press to failure, where things went really wrong and I've become paranoid about it lol.
As an intermediate/advanced, maybe go to failure some times then, but with the knowledge that it increases fatigue. As you said, probably not a good idea with barbell squats, but there are plenty of other exercises for legs which can be done safely to failure. And with bench press, if you were doing dumbbells, you can do a final eccentric and then drop them from chest level. Or use a machine, or maybe Smith machine.2 -
Retroguy2000 wrote: »
As an intermediate/advanced, maybe go to failure some times then, but with the knowledge that it increases fatigue. As you said, probably not a good idea with barbell squats, but there are plenty of other exercises for legs which can be done safely to failure. And with bench press, if you were doing dumbbells, you can do a final eccentric and then drop them from chest level. Or use a machine, or maybe Smith machine.
I wouldn't say I'm a beginner, I've been weight training for a while now, but I haven't been 100% consistent, so my performance is sometimes a bit low compared to someone who would have trained for the same amount of time. And I've also had several periods of caloric deficit, so that's slowed my progress. I think I'm in the intermediate category.
I go to failure on most of my exercises and when I feel it's 100% safe for me, like leg press, squat with the smith machine, RDL etc etc. I do bench press at failure if someone is there to assist me otherwise, like you said, there's a whole bunch of machines for chest I like to use.
And, I'm a woman and I don't want to excessively develop my muscles (as a woman, it's complicated anyway) nor get crazy performances. I just want to progress gradually (while still putting in the intensity) so it's not a problem for me if my training isn't 100% optimized. I go to the gym more for pleasure and to stay in shape than anything else. And I always (or almost always) manage to increase the weight or rep from one session to the next, so for me it's the most important thing!
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Then there is no reason to go to failure on every set. I have many clients increasing strength through a moderate resistance program and just incrimentally increasing the resistance by a few pounds has them eventually moving more weight.Retroguy2000 wrote: »
As an intermediate/advanced, maybe go to failure some times then, but with the knowledge that it increases fatigue. As you said, probably not a good idea with barbell squats, but there are plenty of other exercises for legs which can be done safely to failure. And with bench press, if you were doing dumbbells, you can do a final eccentric and then drop them from chest level. Or use a machine, or maybe Smith machine.
I wouldn't say I'm a beginner, I've been weight training for a while now, but I haven't been 100% consistent, so my performance is sometimes a bit low compared to someone who would have trained for the same amount of time. And I've also had several periods of caloric deficit, so that's slowed my progress. I think I'm in the intermediate category.
I go to failure on most of my exercises and when I feel it's 100% safe for me, like leg press, squat with the smith machine, RDL etc etc. I do bench press at failure if someone is there to assist me otherwise, like you said, there's a whole bunch of machines for chest I like to use.
And, I'm a woman and I don't want to excessively develop my muscles (as a woman, it's complicated anyway) nor get crazy performances. I just want to progress gradually (while still putting in the intensity) so it's not a problem for me if my training isn't 100% optimized. I go to the gym more for pleasure and to stay in shape than anything else. And I always (or almost always) manage to increase the weight or rep from one session to the next, so for me it's the most important thing!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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She said "most exercises" which could mean going to failure on the final set of each exercise, which would be fine. Or it could mean every set, which I agree would be too much, and lead to too much fatigue.0
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Hun, you won't suddenly become very muscular overnight just by lifting up something heavy. That requires years of dedication, very difficult training and the right diet at a surplus. Just train hard, and once you get the feeling it's getting too much then scale down.4
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No i mean beginners many times don't know what it feels like to really get to failure. I said go to failure once or twice ever to feel what failure is like so you know where it is then leave like 1 in the tank after.0
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That may have been what you meant, but it's not what you said nor how others read it.allief6819 wrote: »No i mean beginners many times don't know what it feels like to really get to failure. I said go to failure once or twice ever to feel what failure is like so you know where it is then leave like 1 in the tank after.
I agree it's important for beginners to understand where failure is so they can train to about two RIR.0 -
Hi there perhaps try looking into a muscle gainer protein. If you have one already try adding 2 scoops instead of one to your shakes. drinking water with you shakes limits you if your trying to bulk so switch it out to a milk based liquid so you can start your bulking journey.
We have no idea on the poster's weight/BF %. Bulking most likely isn't what he needs.1 -
allief6819 wrote: »To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.
Is going to failure for squats not necessarily very recommended? I'm talking about a case where you don't have anyone to assist you. Same concern for the bench press.
For squat, I'm always too scared of not being able to get back up and/or hurting myself, so I never go to the point of failure. Some might say it's less effective, but since you can get hurt, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Or maybe, I've seen too many gym fails with people doing squats or bench press to failure, where things went really wrong and I've become paranoid about it lol.
As an aside (as the OP doesn’t appear to have come back), it’s a good idea to learn how to safely fail a squat and bail from it. There are different techniques and it depends on your squat style (high bar / low bar / depth of squat), but it’s good to learn with a light weight in case you ever need to do it for real. It means you won’t panic if you’re not with a spotter or don’t have safety bars.
If you have a friendly PT at your gym or some experienced lifters you can ask them, or look online for techniques which match your squat style ie I squat high bar Olympic style so I can push the weight back from the bottom of a squat and launch forward. Low bar squatters may lean forward more and so need a different bail technique. Defo worth practicing if you can 👍2 -
claireychn074 wrote: »allief6819 wrote: »To get stronger focus on the compound lifts increase weight decrease reps go closer to failure.
Just do bench shoulder press squats barbell rows squats and cleans. sets of 6-7. Do more weight every time you lift GO HARD and go to failure just so you know what failure feels like. Intensity is key. There is no way you won't get bigger and stronger if you do this.
Is going to failure for squats not necessarily very recommended? I'm talking about a case where you don't have anyone to assist you. Same concern for the bench press.
For squat, I'm always too scared of not being able to get back up and/or hurting myself, so I never go to the point of failure. Some might say it's less effective, but since you can get hurt, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
Or maybe, I've seen too many gym fails with people doing squats or bench press to failure, where things went really wrong and I've become paranoid about it lol.
As an aside (as the OP doesn’t appear to have come back), it’s a good idea to learn how to safely fail a squat and bail from it. There are different techniques and it depends on your squat style (high bar / low bar / depth of squat), but it’s good to learn with a light weight in case you ever need to do it for real. It means you won’t panic if you’re not with a spotter or don’t have safety bars.
If you have a friendly PT at your gym or some experienced lifters you can ask them, or look online for techniques which match your squat style ie I squat high bar Olympic style so I can push the weight back from the bottom of a squat and launch forward. Low bar squatters may lean forward more and so need a different bail technique. Defo worth practicing if you can 👍
Oh yes, that's an important point! Fortunately this has never happened to me. Fortunately also not with my most problematic movement (overhead press). But my muscles failed once during bench press. I just about managed to break down the falling barbell to not damage my ribcage. But then it rested there and I was stuck.
Add some female anatomy into the mix and you're in from problems. I did manage to roll it downward in the end, and then let it slip to one side. But I'd rather not repeat.
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