Guest guest Posted December 29, 2001 Report Share Posted December 29, 2001 I would like to ask the experts is this group a few questions. I am a 37 year old man 5' 11'' 158 pounds 7 percent body fat.After years of a running only exercise program I was down to 142 pounds with 11 inch arms and felt rather weak.Using run of the mill weight lifting books and about a year of hard work I now feel 200% stronger and my wife says I look 500% better. And now comes my problem. When I first started lifting it seemed like every time I picked up the tape measure I was getting bigger and bigger,and although I understood that this could not go on forever I did not expect it to completely stop like it has for the last 3 months. Another thing that is puzzling to me is that on most of my lifts I am still getting stronger (more weight more reps), yet no size gains, how can this be? Does Dr Siff's " Supertraining " 2000 book address this problem? Could my age be limiting my gains? Lastly, I would like to thank anyone who takes the time to offer me some assistance. I have never seen so many helpful and knowledgeable people in one group such as this. Mike Pyle mpyle@... town, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 --- mike pyle <mpyle@...> wrote: > I would like to ask the experts is this group a few > questions. > > I am a 37 year old man 5' 11'' 158 pounds 7 percent > body fat.After years of a running only exercise > program I was down to 142 pounds with 11 inch arms > and felt rather weak.Using run of the mill > weight lifting books and about a year of hard work I > now feel 200% stronger and my wife says I look > 500% better. And now comes my problem. > > When I first started lifting it seemed like every > time I picked up the tape measure I was getting > bigger > and bigger,and although I understood that this > could not go on forever I did not expect it to > completely > stop like it has for the last 3 months. Another > thing that is puzzling to me is that on most of my > lifts > I am still getting stronger (more weight more reps), > yet no size gains, how can this be? > Does Dr Siff's " Supertraining " 2000 book address > this problem? Could my age be limiting my gains? > > Lastly, I would like to thank anyone who takes the > time to offer me some assistance. I have never seen > so many helpful and knowledgeable people in one > group such as this. > > Mike Pyle > mpyle@... > town, PA > I don't know your routine, but rotating exercises may create a different stimulus and cause a growth spurt. Furthermore, two-joint (or more) exercises build more size as a general rule. Don't get discouraged. It happens to everyone at some point. Mims Dothan, AL > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2001 Report Share Posted December 30, 2001 " mike pyle " <mpyle@e...> wrote: > I would like to ask the experts is this group a few questions. > > I am a 37 year old man 5' 11'' 158 pounds 7 percent body fat. After years of a running only exercise > program I was down to 142 pounds with 11 inch arms and felt rather weak.Using run of the mill > weight lifting books and about a year of hard work I now feel 200% stronger and my wife says I look > 500% better. And now comes my problem. > > When I first started lifting it seemed like every time I picked up the tape measure I was getting bigger > and bigger,and although I understood that this could not go on forever I did not expect it to completely > stop like it has for the last 3 months. Another thing that is puzzling to me is that on most of my lifts > I am still getting stronger (more weight more reps), yet no size gains, how can this be? > Does Dr Siff's " Supertraining " 2000 book address this problem? Could my age be limiting my gains? > > Lastly, I would like to thank anyone who takes the time to offer me some assistance. I have never seen > so many helpful and knowledgeable people in one group such as this. I also would concur with the person responding to your question. To elaborate some, one first must have a very basic understanding of adaptation. In layman terms, the body is always trying to adapt to training stimuli so that it does not have to work as hard for the " next time around, " that not necessarily being the literal next workout. When your body is adapted your training progress is retarded, or comes to an apparent halt. This is the so-called " plateau. " It is then that you need to change your training to create neuromuscular confusion or even new pathways. Now, you may ask how often should you change. Well, that varies with too many variables to get into in this passage, so I would recommend simply monitoring your progress and use your own judgement. [What do you mean by " neuromuscular confusion " ? How is it possible to confuse neuromuscular systems and processes ? Are you referring to new central nervous pathways or new peripheral nervous pathways? Mel Siff] Lastly, keep in mind that by a varied training routine, I am not simply referring to as a weight lifting routine. There are many ways to " confuse " the body. I have personally improved people's sports performance, increased muscle mass, provided stimulation of intrinsic and synergistic muscle groups (balance and injury preventative) all while not even touching a weight for several weeks. This can be accomplished many ways, ranging from plyometrics for the trained individual to Swiss and medicine ball work to foam stability work. [This sounds ominously like the much satired Weider " Confusion Principle " , one of the ten thousand principles that Joe Weider apparently discovered, along with almost everything else in the strength world. What exactly is meant by this principle, how does it function and how do we know its results even exist? If we are referring to the use of variety in training to prevent overtraining of certain muscle groups or metabolic systems or to minimise mental stagnation, then it is advisable to leave it at that and not wander into Weider's Confusion Wonderland which has as much scientific validity as Alice in Wonderland in the healthy body. And what are meant by " intrinsic " vs " synergistic " muscle groups? ALL muscles are intrinsic to the body and all muscles act synergistically in normal human movement (see Basmajian, " Muscles Alive " for discussions of muscle categorisation and action) By the way, where did you come across this dubious use of the terminology? Mel Siff] If you, or anyone else has a question or would like an elaboration on any of the aforementioned, I will do my best to explain with a prompt reply. I hope this all made sense. J. Gotshaw San Diego, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2001 Report Share Posted December 31, 2001 Mike pyle wrote: > I am still getting stronger (more weight more reps), yet no size gains, how can this be? Are you gaining any weight whatsoever(as muscle or fat)? If you are gaining no weight whatsoever, it maybe that you are not taking in enough calories. Note that just to maintain a new higher body weight requires that one take in more calories than previously taken in. To add even more size requires even a greater increase in caloric intake. If you are gaining no weight whatsoever, consider taking in more calories before restructuring your training program. As an aside, it's important to note that: 1.To add additional muscle tissue requires to take in more calories than the amount of calories contained in that new tissue. This is especially the case with muscle tissue (protein) as opposed to fat. 2. Regardless of particular macronutrient proportions, timing of food intake and even training routine, individuals with low bodyfat tend to put on a % basis more weight as muscle versus fat. Thus, on the average, thin individuals need not be obsessed with adding too much body fat, when overeating. If however, you're gaining weight but the majority of it is fat, then and only then should you suspect that the training program may be the culprit. Even here, however, don't except size/strength gains to be linear. Gains in both size and strength get progressively harder the more advanced one becomes. Gus Karageorgos Toronto, Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2001 Report Share Posted December 31, 2001 Mike, When I read your message it struck me that you had progressed both in weights and in reps. Maybe you have simply progressed in reps too much and are doing rep ranges that are more conducive to endurance and not size gains? Diego Crespo Quito, Ecuador It it is as simple as that just drop some reps and add more weight. Re: Lack of Size Gains > > --- mike pyle <mpyle@...> wrote: > > I would like to ask the experts is this group a few > > questions. > > > > I am a 37 year old man 5' 11'' 158 pounds 7 percent > > body fat.After years of a running only exercise > > program I was down to 142 pounds with 11 inch arms > > and felt rather weak.Using run of the mill > > weight lifting books and about a year of hard work I > > now feel 200% stronger and my wife says I look > > 500% better. And now comes my problem. > > > > When I first started lifting it seemed like every > > time I picked up the tape measure I was getting > > bigger > > and bigger,and although I understood that this > > could not go on forever I did not expect it to > > completely > > stop like it has for the last 3 months. Another > > thing that is puzzling to me is that on most of my > > lifts > > I am still getting stronger (more weight more reps), > > yet no size gains, how can this be? > > Does Dr Siff's " Supertraining " 2000 book address > > this problem? Could my age be limiting my gains? > > > > Lastly, I would like to thank anyone who takes the > > time to offer me some assistance. I have never seen > > so many helpful and knowledgeable people in one > > group such as this. > > > > Mike Pyle > > mpyle@... > > town, PA > > I don't know your routine, but rotating exercises > may create a different stimulus and cause a growth > spurt. Furthermore, two-joint (or more) exercises > build more size as a general rule. Don't get > discouraged. It happens to everyone at some point. > > Mims > Dothan, AL > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.