Building muscle, yet weight unchanged.

M

MarkMyWords

2
Hi everyone, hope your new year has started OK! Let me first cover basics. I'm 6'4'', and weigh 208 pounds. I have been into exercise for many years, but only really got into it a few months back. Even then, my routines were poor, so I've only been on a real routine for 2 months. Anyways, I have made a lot of progress, I look better, have had several people comment that I was getting stronger. I also feel better than ever, it's nice to not have back pain like I used to (those deadlifts go a lonnnnnggg way :D ). I remember the first time I did a lunge 2 months back, no weight at all. It almost killed me, and I was a shaking mess after finishing that workout. Now, I include squats, do lunges with 35 pound weights, and have just gotten more strength. That was just an example, I have gotten better with all muscles.

So, my concern is this. My weight has not floundered too far from 208. You know, a couple pounds more or less from time to time, but usually right at 208. I have read a lot of information, and I understand that very new lifters can sometimes get away with gaining muscle and losing fat, but that eventually slows, and the body either builds muscle, or loses fat, not both. So what the heck is going on with me, since my weight isn't changing yet my strength is. Is a 2 month lifter still new enough to get away with that? Last time I checked 2 weeks ago, my BF% had not changed from the previous check 6 weeks before. I'm a little confused, but not dissapointed, since as I said, I have been making major improvements.

Thanks for reading!
 
You are young (<30), your body fat is high and you are not that heavy for your height, so I would expect you could realistically loose body fat and gain muscle simultaneously for quite a while. At least until your body fat gets down under 15% or so. You also are probably exepriencing strength gains due to other factors besides hypertrophy (increased muscle mass), like CNS development, technique improvements, increased endurance, etc.

What does your routine look like?
 
2 months is about the limit.
but if you haven't lost bodyfat in 6 weeks, you might not be eating enough food to gain weight...instead you're eating at maintenance, and doing a very very slow recomposition.
it works, but its painfully slow.
 
Thanks for the replys guys. My routine is as follows, although I will be changing it in 2 weeks, and am considering a full body type deal. Right now it's like this:

Day 1:
Hammer Chest Press 3x10 (superset with...)
Diamond Push-ups 3x10
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x10
Cable Flys 3x10
Dumbbell Kickbacks 3x10

Day 2:
Deadlifts 3x10
Widegrip Lat Pulldowns (Cables) 3x10
Bent Over Rows 3x10
Close Grip Lat Pulldown (Hammer) 3x10
Assisted Chin-Ups 20 total in as little sets, 3 last time
Bicep Curl 3x10, then hold a 45 lb. plate for 15 secs.
Cardio Session

Day 3:
Squats 3x10
Dynamic Lunges with 40 lb. per hand 3x16 (counting both legs)
Wall Sit 30 sec.
Moving Lunges with 20 lb. per hand 12 total
(Repeat Wall Sit and Lunges)
As many calf raises as possible in a minute
Wall Sit with 35 lbs on lap 30 secs
Moving Lunges with 20 lbs
Repeat Calf raises in minute
Wall Sit 45 secs. with 35 lb weight
Some isolation work...

Day 4:
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x10
Barbell Shoulder Press 3x10
Shrugs 3x10
Super Sixes 3 times
Cardio Session

I work very hard, always push myself to the limit on every workout. These aren't usually a full week either, for example: I did the Chest stuff Monday, Back stuff Tuesday, and did Legs today. Tommorow is my first day of classes and I need a day off anyways. Friday will be the Shoulder routine, and I will restart with Chest on Sunday, Back Monday, Legs Tues...etc. It has been bothering me that I'm not doing a full body, but I figured I'd just finish this out for the last 2 weeks. I'll give an example or two of days of eating in another post...
 
Oh, and I suppose it's worth noting that I have been doing mostly endurance workouts the last few weeks. The weights have been improving, but slowly, since I have been doing 3 sets of 15 on most exercises...I just changed to the 3x10, and loaded the weights on, it was amazing how much more I was able to lift...

When doing the 15 rep stuff, I would just get ridiculously fatigued at the gym. Since doing the 3x10, I get fatigued, but it's a much more fufilling feeling. Those extra 5 reps really make it difficult to know how much you can lift in shorter rep situations...
 
Could I have just been going nowhere doing 15 rep sets for 8 weeks? I'm reading The New Rules of Lifting, and the author explains that it can be good for upping muscular endurance, but after a "few" weeks, it can stifle muscle growth...hmmm
 
not nowhere, but you'll have plateaud a few weeks in. ive been doing hypertrophy I for 6 weeks using the 5x5, 3x15, 4x10 and i like cycling the routines. its a bit of a pain keeping track of what weights you're using each time and it could be easy to underwork but it certainly keeps it interesting.

the 15 reps scheme is generally not so popular, people prefer to keep the reps low and use heavy weights. but i think endurance work is heavily underated amongst amateur bodybuilding or non-competing weightlifters.
 
Thanks for your replies. Switching the rep schemes seems like a good idea, but so far I've been liking the 3x10. It's only my first week doing it, so I'll give it a few rounds and see what kind of improvements I make. I agree with you on endurance work, it was very beneficial to me when I was starting, since my muscles were a mess...

Weightloss is a goal of mine, but not necessarily an immediate one. In other words, I am more focused on building muscle right now, but I do plan on a cutting cycle eventually to burn fat. I just think it'll be much easier if I have more muscle all over. My diet is decent, but I'm not sure if it's right on for what I'm doing. As malkore said, I could very well not be eating enough. I can throw out a couple recent days of what I ate as an example...

Meal 1: 45g. protein shake, 1/3 cup oatmeal w/ bit of honey
Meal 2: PWO shake (banana, 1/3 cup oats, 45g. protein, 16 oz. 1% milk)
Meal 3: Odwalla Peanut bar, 4 oz. sliced turkey
Meal 4: 8 oz. chicken breast, 1.5 cups veggies
Meal 5: 6 oz. ground chicken w/ half cup veggies
Meal 6: 35g. protein shake, 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Meal 1: 45g. protein shake, 1/3 cup oatmeal w/ bit of honey
Meal 2: Half turkey sandwich on WW bread, apple
Meal 3: Half turkey sandwich on WW bread, Odwalla oat/banana bar
Meal 4: PWO shake (45g. protein, 16 oz. milk, 1/4 cup oats)
Meal 5: WW pasta w/ tomato sauce, 4 meatballs
Meal 6: 45g. protein shake, 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Just examples, it does vary. I pretty much always have the same breakfast, and I'm good about having my PWO shake, even if I don't work out that day. I just recently started having cottage cheese at night, it's rough since I am just not a fan. I have a multivitamin everyday, as well as 6g. of fish oil. I also drink at least 3 liters of water every single day...
 
ditch the milk and oats in your post workout shake. the milk will slow the rate at which the protein is digested and post workout you should be looking to get your nutrients into you as quick as possible also oats are more a slow digesting carb and so isn't the best either. simple sugars should be what you are looking for post workout so something like glucose would do or more fruit.
After around an hour I would then put in oats or some other low GI carbs to help give your muscles the steady stream of energy they need to help recover.

Also you say that you have a PWO shake on days that you don't workout which makes them just a shake and not a PWO shake. For these leave out the sugar as it is not needed and can contain milk. Just remember that you should be eating more during the 24hours post workout and eat slightly less then on non lifting days. have a look at this and see what you think of it anacat.teamtestforum.com

Other then that I would put some nuts and seeds into you diet to help boost your good fat levels
 
Good point on the milk and oats being a bad idea, I think I have heard that before. The taste is gonna suffer, but if it's for the good of my body and muscles, I have no problem using water. I have heard bananas are very carb dense, does this mean they are a bad idea for PWO shakes? I sure hope not, they are my favorite fruit to put in. If so, what is a good suggestion? I have heard of people using dextrose, I believe it is, in their shakes as the simple carb replacement...

Then an hour later, some heavier carbs, such as oats works...I think I can handle that. That article was a very good read, and it makes sense, I just never knew the body worked in that manner. I thought the rebuilding was kind of a constant thing, as opposed to only needing a lot of food the first 24 hours. That's going to make it a bit harder to manage eating, but again, if its a good idea, I know I can adjust. So since I did a heavy workout midday yesterday, I should have been eating a lot, which I did. And today, I should taper it off, especially the carbs, since I'm not going to be active in the gym. I think that makes sense to me, thanks for posting it up.

As for getting good seeds/nuts, I've never been a fan of any nuts other than peanuts, which I have occasionally. I already get 6g. of fish oil everyday, but I'm also in the process of getting either flax pills or flax oil, depending on which is more effective and easier to take...

Thanks!
 
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