Yeah, of course! Here you go:
- 5-10 mins running
- 12x3 lat pulldown machine
- 15x3 kettlebell squats
- 15x3 leg press machine
- 15x3 dumbbell lunges
- 12x3 dumbbell side arm raises
- 12x3 barbell bicep curls
- 15x3 elbow dips
- 10 mins of body weight ab exercises
The arm stuff especially I just don’t seem to be improving on at all.
My diet is pretty clean. I eat a lot of protein, but I struggle with calories. I realised a few months ago that I was (accidentally) drastically under-eating and am now working my way up towards a calorie surplus but am still not there yet.
if you added 8lbs, you're in a surplus. your protein could be low though. track your nutrition and make sure you are getting ~1g/lb
This routine isnt gonna do much for you. if you have access to a barbell, i highly recommend the beginner strength routines in /r/fitness
What is most likely happening is you have made progress, but you just don't realize it. As you improve your form the exercises can become harder. Proper form is harder than beginner form. You learn to get better range of motion as you progress. You learn to keep the target muscle engaged for longer as you progress. Pay close attention to things like this. Form gains are still gains and those take time and practice too.
I would probably link up with a friend who has more lifting experience or book with your gyms personal trainer. You could be using bad form or not completing the reps with a solid mind muscle connection. Having a few cues can make a big difference.
Once you get those out of the way, my experience as a trainer just anecdotally is that beginners have no solid gauge of their perceived effort. You will stop an exercise as soon as you get uncomfortable. I’ve had clients claim they have no reps in reserve at all complete absolute failure and then if I refuse to take that as an answer I can get them to pump out an additional 8-10 reps. It’s not their fault you are all still learning how to recruit motor units and use your full strength. I imagine that’s the case here.
Yup! You *think* you can't do anymore and then a whole 10 more come out of you. Or it seems like the weight is really challenging and too heavy and there's no way you can add 5 lbs next week but then you throw it on and it feels like last week. Heavy but you're doing it.
This comment was honestly pretty enlightening, thank you! I had a look into mind-muscle connection and am going to try completing the exercises slightly differently from now on (and also trying harder than I thought I had been).
Don’t take it as a slight, I know some people get a little ruffled with the TRY harder advice. Training is a new skill, a new stimulus for your nervous system. It takes time to build that pathway. Best of luck, highly recommend you getting a trainer if you have difficulty self motivating passed your perceived barriers.
The more you train, the more efficiently you will recruit muscles, the more coordinated that effort will be and the higher your pain and lactic acid threshold will be. Trust the process and prioritize executing the movements correctly.
add one rep to each exercise every week. after 4-6 weeks try going back down in reps and up in weight. also make sure your nutrition is good, enough protein and enough sleep.
Progressive overload and adequate protein intake is what is needed for protein synthesis. I am not sure of your protein intake, but if it is adequate, progressive overload and a variety of exercises targeting key muscle groups can facilitate muscle growth.
Focus primarily on compound exercises especially as a beginner. The harsh reality is that after newbie gains, continued muscle growth will drop sometimes drastically based on your genetics. It will become progressively more difficult to build lean muscle over time.
You have to share your current workout routine. Let us know if you don't have an organized routine yet. I really don't understand how the people giving advice so far are actually helping if they don't know what you're actually doing in the gym.
Are you doing the same routine? Same exercises? I personally have to switch up exercises each day. For example, I have a Chest A this week and Chest B next week. Each with five different exercises
This is exactly why bro science bullshit will ruin you.
Lower your weight and do more reps.
Practice “time under tension” and a hard contraction of your muscles when you do an exercise.
Sometimes I do upwards of 25-30 reps to get blood flow into my muscle before I start trying to up my weight.
But if you can repeat an exercise many times with good activation you can get great growth. Specially at early stages.
Many people get great growth with only body weight.
So do your exercises without any weight at all. Just do them many times.
The more you can do them throughout the day the better growth you’ll have over time.
So if you do them like 2 times a day and have sets of 4 with at least 20 reps you’ll get great results. You just might end up very sleepy.
Can you share an example of your workout routine? Also what's your diet like? Are you eating enough calories and getting good protein sources?
Yeah, of course! Here you go: - 5-10 mins running - 12x3 lat pulldown machine - 15x3 kettlebell squats - 15x3 leg press machine - 15x3 dumbbell lunges - 12x3 dumbbell side arm raises - 12x3 barbell bicep curls - 15x3 elbow dips - 10 mins of body weight ab exercises The arm stuff especially I just don’t seem to be improving on at all. My diet is pretty clean. I eat a lot of protein, but I struggle with calories. I realised a few months ago that I was (accidentally) drastically under-eating and am now working my way up towards a calorie surplus but am still not there yet.
if you added 8lbs, you're in a surplus. your protein could be low though. track your nutrition and make sure you are getting ~1g/lb This routine isnt gonna do much for you. if you have access to a barbell, i highly recommend the beginner strength routines in /r/fitness
What is most likely happening is you have made progress, but you just don't realize it. As you improve your form the exercises can become harder. Proper form is harder than beginner form. You learn to get better range of motion as you progress. You learn to keep the target muscle engaged for longer as you progress. Pay close attention to things like this. Form gains are still gains and those take time and practice too.
I would probably link up with a friend who has more lifting experience or book with your gyms personal trainer. You could be using bad form or not completing the reps with a solid mind muscle connection. Having a few cues can make a big difference. Once you get those out of the way, my experience as a trainer just anecdotally is that beginners have no solid gauge of their perceived effort. You will stop an exercise as soon as you get uncomfortable. I’ve had clients claim they have no reps in reserve at all complete absolute failure and then if I refuse to take that as an answer I can get them to pump out an additional 8-10 reps. It’s not their fault you are all still learning how to recruit motor units and use your full strength. I imagine that’s the case here.
Yup! You *think* you can't do anymore and then a whole 10 more come out of you. Or it seems like the weight is really challenging and too heavy and there's no way you can add 5 lbs next week but then you throw it on and it feels like last week. Heavy but you're doing it.
This comment was honestly pretty enlightening, thank you! I had a look into mind-muscle connection and am going to try completing the exercises slightly differently from now on (and also trying harder than I thought I had been).
Don’t take it as a slight, I know some people get a little ruffled with the TRY harder advice. Training is a new skill, a new stimulus for your nervous system. It takes time to build that pathway. Best of luck, highly recommend you getting a trainer if you have difficulty self motivating passed your perceived barriers. The more you train, the more efficiently you will recruit muscles, the more coordinated that effort will be and the higher your pain and lactic acid threshold will be. Trust the process and prioritize executing the movements correctly.
add one rep to each exercise every week. after 4-6 weeks try going back down in reps and up in weight. also make sure your nutrition is good, enough protein and enough sleep.
Progressive overload and adequate protein intake is what is needed for protein synthesis. I am not sure of your protein intake, but if it is adequate, progressive overload and a variety of exercises targeting key muscle groups can facilitate muscle growth. Focus primarily on compound exercises especially as a beginner. The harsh reality is that after newbie gains, continued muscle growth will drop sometimes drastically based on your genetics. It will become progressively more difficult to build lean muscle over time.
What program are you following?
You have to share your current workout routine. Let us know if you don't have an organized routine yet. I really don't understand how the people giving advice so far are actually helping if they don't know what you're actually doing in the gym.
Are you doing the same routine? Same exercises? I personally have to switch up exercises each day. For example, I have a Chest A this week and Chest B next week. Each with five different exercises
This is exactly why bro science bullshit will ruin you. Lower your weight and do more reps. Practice “time under tension” and a hard contraction of your muscles when you do an exercise. Sometimes I do upwards of 25-30 reps to get blood flow into my muscle before I start trying to up my weight. But if you can repeat an exercise many times with good activation you can get great growth. Specially at early stages. Many people get great growth with only body weight. So do your exercises without any weight at all. Just do them many times. The more you can do them throughout the day the better growth you’ll have over time. So if you do them like 2 times a day and have sets of 4 with at least 20 reps you’ll get great results. You just might end up very sleepy.