Long time reader, first time poster. I’m 37 years old and haven’t worked out for about 5 years now. I started about 4 months ago and have used two different approaches. The first 2 months I used a full body workout twice a week and for the last two months, a split routine 3 times a week. My workouts have consisted of squats, dl, bench, chins, dips, curls and raises. I’ve been making great gains in strength (for me), but I take measurements each month and have only increased in size by fractions on an inch (1/2 to 3/4 here and there). Through out I’ve used 2 sets with 5 to 8 reps, when I get to 7 or 8 I add weight to get back to around 4 or 5 reps.
I’m using whey/creatine/trib and have tried all the other things, but I’m not so sure any of it really works. I’ve gained about 2 pounds per month since I started.
What do I need to do to increase my size, when I started lifting in the past, after four months I saw increases of 1 to 1 1/2 inches instead of 1/2 to 3/4 I’m seeing now. Could getting five years older really slow me down that much, I know I don’t have the energy I used to?
Just some stats to go with the post (from starting four month ago til now)
Long time reader, first time poster. I’m 37 years old and haven’t worked out for about 5 years now. I started about 4 months ago and have used two different approaches. The first 2 months I used a full body workout twice a week and for the last two months, a split routine 3 times a week. My workouts have consisted of squats, dl, bench, chins, dips, curls and raises. I’ve been making great gains in strength (for me), but I take measurements each month and have only increased in size by fractions on an inch (1/2 to 3/4 here and there). Through out I’ve used 2 sets with 5 to 8 reps, when I get to 7 or 8 I add weight to get back to around 4 or 5 reps.
I’m using whey/creatine/trib and have tried all the other things, but I’m not so sure any of it really works. I’ve gained about 2 pounds per month since I started.
What do I need to do to increase my size, when I started lifting in the past, after four months I saw increases of 1 to 1 1/2 inches instead of 1/2 to 3/4 I’m seeing now. Could getting five years older really slow me down that much, I know I don’t have the energy I used to?
Just some stats to go with the post (from starting four month ago til now)
2lbs/month seems right, I haven’t gained any fat, which means I must have lost some. I started at ~170lb four month ago and am now 178, waist is about an inch larger. Bicep ~3/4" larger, quads ~ 1" bigger. I’ve increased calories and use a whey shake between meals and before bed. I haven’t tried using more than 1g/lb/day of protein, which is what I’m considering next along with a new program:
Alternating 2 diferent full body exercises every other day, alternating 5x5 and 8x3 as follows:
day 1 - routine 1 - 5x5
day 3 - routine 2 - 5x5
day 5 - routine 1 - 8x3
day 7 - routine 2 - 8x3
repeat
2lbs/month seems right, I haven’t gained any fat, which means I must have lost some. I started at ~170lb four month ago and am now 178, waist is about an inch larger. Bicep ~3/4" larger, quads ~ 1" bigger. [/quote]
You say you’ve gained 8lbs and an inch on your waist, and that you haven’t gained any fat, maybe you’ve lost some? Perhaps some of your weight gains have been fat with the addition of muscle.