My chest has been my slowest to develop, however I had been making gains in strength over the last 9 weeks of my bulk. This week (10th week) I could not press what I had been pressing last week. In fact I had to drop the weight 10% to even get a few reps.

Is this a typical thing people experience? I was very demotivated after my work-out.

On top of that, my weight gain has slowed to stopped. :mad:

2 weeks to go until cut. So far, I have gained about 11 lbs. I suppose not too bad, but I was hoping for more.

Will I lose my strength during the cut throughout my muscle groups?

Thanks for your thoughts!

There's no way you can realistically improve every single week or you would be benching a ton in a year. You need to look at a proper periodization program which will include a proper deloading period... You could try raising the calories to see what happens for a few more weeks but you should be near the end of this "cycle" anyhow. Time to deload for a week and change things up. What rep range are you using now?

If you train properly then you'll lose little if any strength while cutting.


My chest has been my slowest to develop, however I had been making gains in strength over the last 9 weeks of my bulk. This week (10th week) I could not press what I had been pressing last week. In fact I had to drop the weight 10% to even get a few reps.

Is this a typical thing people experience? I was very demotivated after my work-out.

On top of that, my weight gain has slowed to stopped. :mad:

2 weeks to go until cut. So far, I have gained about 11 lbs. I suppose not too bad, but I was hoping for more.

Will I lose my strength during the cut throughout my muscle groups?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Tons of reasons for strength or stamina to be down a little. Lack of rest sleep, stress/tension, illness, weather, etc. are just a few of variables that might have a play here.

Don't worry about small changes, they occur.

I was just talking to JMR yesterday about when I hit my first serious wall. I had been making HUGE gains for months, and got upto the low 300's on my bench, when all of a sudden my lifts started dropping...It went from about 319 to around 269-275 in a couple weeks time. I FREAKED!
You could finish your bulk for your other bodyparts and just try some different chest movements, knowing that the weight just isn't going to be there(hmmm...maybe this is a good place for me to plug Vince's Neck Presses again?). Or...cut your cycle short by a couple of weeks, and remember this happening, so you don't get bummed the next time around.

My chest has been my slowest to develop, however I had been making gains in strength over the last 9 weeks of my bulk. This week (10th week) I could not press what I had been pressing last week. In fact I had to drop the weight 10% to even get a few reps. Have you had a break in there? 10 weeks is a long time to bulk with no break. Take a few days off - or even a week - and recharge.

Is John suggesting taking a week off from training and continue to bulk in the off-week, or to complete the bulk cycle?

I got to admit that I've been real hesistant about going 12 weeks. Especially since this is my first bulk. Maybe I will call it after my 10th week. Take a week off. Cut through the New Year and start another bulk in Feb with more knowledge.


I just get discouraged that I haven't reached the gains that I hoped for. However, I have made some gains. It isn't easy to eat all day when you're not hungry. Easy to forget and miss some food.

11 lbs in 10 weeks is a great bulk. What were you hoping for?

The law of diminishing returns applies to bulking and adding muscle. The more you gain per week, the more fat that will be involved. Over a 10 week period, you might be able to do a 10 lb gain of 8 lbs muscle, 2 lbs fat. But, you could go up to a 15 lb gain and have it be 10 lbs muscle, 5 lbs fat. If you went up to a 20 lb gain it might be 12 lbs muscle, 8 lbs fat. That's just how it works. The body has limits on how much muscle you can over a set period of time.

You just need to find out where the maximum muscle adding and minimum fat adding is for you. Also, realize that as you add more muscle, it gets harder to add more muscle.

I just get discouraged that I haven't reached the gains that I hoped for. However, I have made some gains. It isn't easy to eat all day when you're not hungry. Easy to forget and miss some food.

I guess I get somewhat lost when I see this type of comment. I mean, what kind of gains were you expecting, and what were you comparing that too as far as a personal reference? Consistancy = Gains, that's the simplest truth that will work 100% of the time. From what I can see in here, alot of the members are getting at weights for what is the first time ever in their lives. Results will come...whether you want them too or not. It's just a matter of what result, based on what effort was put into it.
No effort/no result...actually that's not true...No effort would get the result of slipping in the world of obesity, and that is still an end result.
So I wouldn't worry too much, if you didn't see the exact changes that you thought you would. The changes are probably right below the surface, out of sight. They're there...they're just waiting to see if you stick with the program long enough for them to decide to come out and actually show you that they are there. They'd probably be happy if you just let them go back to sleep for the next couple of years, then they wouldn't have to work so hard... :lol:

11 lbs in 10 weeks is a great bulk. What were you hoping for?

No doubt!!! :tu:

Do you bench first? I know the timing of when I do a particular exercise makes a big difference in how much i can lift.

Jason

Ten weeks aint' nothin for a bulk. Try 4- 6mons. Get huge. Then cut.
In ten weeks time you will see results, but really, it's not enough time to see dramatic results.
What i see alot on this forum is something similar to what Kino mentioned.
Too impatient for results. Lifting drug free takes time...a long time.
And it's a bitch staying consistent for months of very hard work without jumping from routine to routine. Let time pass...
:tu:

I was just talking to JMR yesterday about when I hit my first serious wall. I had been making HUGE gains for months, and got upto the low 300's on my bench, when all of a sudden my lifts started dropping...It went from about 319 to around 269-275 in a couple weeks time. I FREAKED!

Just curious, do you know what caused the drop? And how did you reverse it?

I've been having the same problem -- A weight that I got a comfortable 5 reps with is now becoming a difficult 3 reps! In my case, I chalk it up to stress, lack of sleep, and a slipping diet. Once I get these back on track, I am hoping to start progressing again.

this has seemed to always be a concern of mine. Your number one goal is to add mass and if you are adding mass the strenght will come. I would worry about the pyramid of reps and quality of reps(not weight you need to get a good workout every time you get to the gym no matter how u feel). Pushin more weight than you can control and not doing the exercize correctley or without a full range of motion will produce less gains than less weight with attention to detail. Also I really increased my bench by doing super heavy negative presses. But I was able to add the size best when weight was not my number one concern while eating and sleeping and not drinking were.

Just curious, do you know what caused the drop? And how did you reverse it?

I've been having the same problem -- A weight that I got a comfortable 5 reps with is now becoming a difficult 3 reps! In my case, I chalk it up to stress, lack of sleep, and a slipping diet. Once I get these back on track, I am hoping to start progressing again.

It's normal...get used to it. The thing to do when this happens, is be ready to change your goal. Not your GOALS...just your short term goal. Keep in your mind "I was doing this much weight for x amount of reps"...and nobody can take that from you. I had the same routine for quite some time, and it was absolutely the hardest thing for me to get used to the idea that I had to change my routine. But everytime I went back to bench, the weight and the reps just weren't there anymore. Proper periodization is key. How long do you stick with one given routine?...Hell if I know. I do know now how my body responds though, and each person will learn this about themselves in time as well. Like I said previously...this stuff is very new to many members, so learning your body will take a little bit...not that long though.
If you're frustrated about where your trainings at right now...change it. Do something that you've wanted to do, but didn't think you were ready yet. Or something that you told yourself "once I get this, this, this, and these inline...I'm gonna try doing that". You might as well do it now, because what you were doing, ain't working anymore anyway.
Training can be very frustrating at times, and sometimes all the sleep, food, or whatever isn't going to change what is...so honestly...look into some other exercises that you've been wanting to try, and do those for a while. It's easier and more productive than beating yourself up thinking you lost something. :nod:

Sage advice Kino. I notice too that when I change things up improvements start to come back. Lately I've been a bit stubborn, thinking to myself that NEXT week will be the week -- I'll get those reps back! ;) And so I halt changing my routine for yet one more week. A bad cycle. But, you're right of course -- It is best not to let such psychological crutches prevent one from giving things a much needed shake-up. I'll mix things up a bit next week see what happens.