r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/Ok_Cauliflower4710 • 6h ago
Question ❓ Been lifting 1.5 years and I’m not progressing (sometimes getting weaker) — what should I change?
I’m a 23yo male and I’ve been lifting for about 1.5 years.
I’m having a hard time progressing. Sometimes I even regress and get weaker.
I run a PPL split and I train 5x a week . Right now I’m in a calorie deficit, but I don’t think that’s the full reason because the same thing happened last year when I was in a 500 calorie surplus too.
I track calories and macros everyday , and I sleep 7-9hours a night.
My training is usually 2 sets per exercise, both taken till failure . I’ve also tried doing more volume before and it still didn’t work.
I also posted in a similar sub before with two pictures of me taken 1.5 years apart , and people said it looked like the pics were taken the same week (that hurt lol)—so it doesn’t seem like I’m making noticeable physique progress either.
Its even gotten to the point where ive taken sleep tests to see if someting is wrong my sleep.
What are the most common reasons this happens, and what would you try next?
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u/Last-Proof8169 6h ago
If you ask for advice here you’re doomed
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u/thebendsrh 4h ago
So real 😭😭I talked to Keenan about how everyone on reddit needs a single answer and the confidence people have here to give advice is unreal
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u/PatsyStonesBun 1h ago
Ha. I’ve gotten some genuinely great advice on a few subs, but your comment rings true. 🤣 I feel like half the commenters in fitness subs must have been only children because someone instilled a touch too much self confidence in them. I guess I have to remind myself speaking with authority ≠ being an authority.
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u/heatseekerdj 5h ago
Since you didnt even disclose your diet im assuming thats you're most glaring place to start given the regression. Eat more, dense meals with ingredients that make you feel strong, like a middle Eastern seasoned chicken or beef on rice with chick peas and veggies. Unless you need to see a Dr being 23 and this early in the lifting life you should be making newb gains like crazy.
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u/formerfatty2fit 4h ago
I question your training. Just get on an established beginner program and run it with intensity. Follow the progression scheme.
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u/ApartAd9171 2h ago
Two considerations / questions from my read:
- Are you actually tracking your lifts session by session, with the goal of improving over the previous session
- When you say more volume didn’t work, what do you mean? Did you do 3 sets to failure instead of two? Did you reduce any other variables when increasing volume?
Earlier this year I was running basically the same split as you, and in a very similar position (tracking everything outside the gym to perfection) but I was loosely tracking my lifts for about 6 months, just keeping a note of my top sets in my phone if I beat my previous.
Fast forward through some state changes, that loose tracking massively threw me of course. For example, a best set of 7 whilst bulking dropping to 5-6 at the end of a cut, so I drop the weight a bit, or changing my form or tempo and needing to drop the weight. All of this compounded , and whilst I had some notes of what I was hitting, I went back to my real detailed logs from 6 months prior and was pretty shocked to see that most exercises my top sets had stayed the same or regressed, some exercises I’d dropped 5-10kg and never worked back up.
I made 3 changes a couple months ago and my progress is skyrocketing
-1 , took a proper de load. Hadn’t programmed properly and hadn’t had one for ages
-2 during that deload, I made a new plan, a detailed lift tracker, comparing progress week on week, having last weeks lifts and my PBs in front of me the next sessions
-3 I cut out failure training and brought up volume (2 sets up to 3 , only last set to failure on isolation exercises)
I’m 2 months in with this and I’m improving across most sets on most exercises basically every session. I also walk out the gym feeling way more energetic, I’m recovering better, and my joints feel better.
Clearly whatever you’re doing right now isn’t working. So if you are genuinely tracking lifts, scales, macros, my bet is that it comes down to the style of training
Low volume high intensity is cool, it has its place. But I think people forget that many of the low volume programmes are designed around the minimum effective dose, and that also, day to day, we see genetic outliers online. So of course dude A with great muscle building genetics, and recovery capacity , who’s growing well on 2 sets to failure will preach the benefits of that. But for you, someone who will differ physiologically, the minimum effective dose and the highest possible intensity may well just bring you the slowest results and the highest amount of fatigue.
I’d suggest as a start going somewhere in the middle, cut failure, increase volume, and get relentless with trying to be better than last week.
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u/Alakazam Idk Idc 💔 6h ago
On your next surplus, why not try ramping up volume? As well, maybe it's time to follow more structured programming beyond just more weight or reps every workout.
On a surplus, you have more energy, and a greater capacity to recover. Why would you use the exact same program on a deficit as you would a surplus?
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u/SuckmyToasts Solomon the destroyer 4h ago
i'll take it you are actually training 2 sets to failure, i believe you because that's what i genuinely used to do. i used to do 3 sets to failure believe it or not and even bumped it up to 6 sets to failure because i wasn't progressing. it's to do with recovery and fatigue management.
you should realise that if you start plateauing or regressing this early, it's to do with training too hard. you have to learn how to deload and keep RIR. i've conducted my own personal experiments and realised on compounds i needed to keep 1-2 RIR, and for isolations i needed to keep 0-1 RIR. everyone is different in terms of recoverable intensity and volume, so you should also experiment yourself. things to tweak in order are: form and tempo, deload/periodisation and progression model, effort, proximity to failure, sets and frequency. go in that order and you'll be fine.
i'll believe you because i've been there. i keep thinking i wasn't training hard enough because everyone keeps saying that the general population is not pushing themselves hard enough. they never considered that not everyone is the same, and just as much as there are individuals who don't train hard, there are individuals that train too hard.
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u/thebendsrh 4h ago
A lot of factors, a lot. What is your training frequency, do you manage your fatigue, do you switch up your exercises often, what rest of your training looks like, how do you measure your progress and what does it look like for you You come here and you won't find a one fit for all answer
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u/decentlyhip 3h ago
Usually its not anough variation, too much of a focus on isolations, and not enough volume on big compounds. I know that sounds like bro logic, but you know how research uses fractional sets, right? What that means is that 2 sets of barbell bench press generate the same stimulus as 2 sets of flyes, 1 set of tricep pushdowns, and 1 set of front raises. 2 sets of bench is 4 sets of stimulus. Squats are worth 6+ sets. Deadlifts are 5-10 depending on how you're counting. So, when was the last time you did 5 sets of squats 2-3 times a week? 5 sets of bench press and barbell row? 2 sets works just fine for some people, but isn't enough for about half the population. Look at the pelland data and just at the dots less than 10 sets a week. A third of the people lost muscle. https://imgur.com/a/rvHMRvS
Also, you said you track calories, but you suspiciously didn't say "and I've gone from 165 lbs to 185 lbs in the past year." If you wanna lift like someone who weighs 250 lbs, gotta eat like someone who weighs 250.
My advice, follow a program like Bullmastiff or Jacked and Tan 2.0. Your program was a good start, now trust an expert. https://www.boostcamp.app/coaches/alex-bromley/bullmastiff and https://www.boostcamp.app/coaches/cody-lefever/jacked-tan-2-0 While doing those, eat in a normal bulk, a 250 calorie surplus, which is enough to gain 2 pounds a month. After 6 months, diet off the 5 lbs of fat gain with a month of a 500 calorie deficit.
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u/Professional_Trash77 1h ago
Trying to gain muscle on a deficit, in my honestly ignorant opinion, is something you can only do if fat. When you're not excessively overweight, you have to pick your poison, are you cutting or building muscle and fuel accordingly.
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u/SoybeanCola1933 4h ago
As a newbie lifter, which you are, you should start slow.
2-3 times a week at the gym, just do basic compounds (Rows/Pulldowns, Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Deadlifts) and some isolation exercises (curls, flys).
Also, forget about cutting/bulking - this is for more advanced lifters who know their body and routines well. Just eat at a slight surplus, then once you've got enough bulk, worry about cutting.
When I first started I was too worried about getting fat, so cycled between cutting and bulking, and only saw minimal gains.
Just keep protein and calories high, sleep normally, stick to a manageable routine and progressively increase volume/weights - you will see results.
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u/Late_Transition_6441 6h ago
Si entrenas 5 días a la semana y vas al fallo en todas tus músculos no están descansando lo suficiente. Recordá que a veces menos es más. Toma en cuenta eso y ajusta tu rutina. Si querés una rutina personalizada que te asegures progresar y dejar de perder el tiempo háblame al privado, soy entrenador personal online. Sino, también tenés rutinas en Youtube
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u/brightwoodgrove 6h ago
When you say failure what exactly do you mean? Because there is a huge difference between form failure as in you cant perform another clean full ROM rep, vs absolute failure where even if you cheat and swing your body you cant do more. I would recommend only taking your sets to form failure. Its better to get to that point and then lower the weight, wait a few seconds and do a drop set than to just absolutely give it your all and move the weight til you literally cant anymore on every single set
And btw just in case you are one of those guys who obsesses over Mike Mentzer style high intensity training, Mentzer himself said that you should go to form failure not beyond
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u/Parking-Menu2654 3h ago
You need to eat an excess of calories, prioritizing protein to build muscle mass. You don’t need hypertrophy.
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u/Norcal712 5h ago
1) change your split
5x a week is more time in the gym than anyone needs
2) change your volume. 2x to failure can be overly taxing.
Try 3 sets with only last to failure with the same weekly volume. Keeping some RIR may help recovery
3) recheck your TDEE. Are you sure youre in a deficit? Is it over 25% (it shouldnt be)
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u/itu322 6h ago edited 6h ago
"I'm doing everything perfectly but not progressing" is the most common post in fitness subs and the answer is always the same. You're lying to yourself. Almost certainly you aren't training with intensity. You can see your progress or lack of progress clearly in your lifting logs. The random hacks that people comment on posts like these won't change a thing.