I have gained 4lb in 8 weeks but not getting any stronger. I have been running a PPL with a 250cal surplus since about April (lifting for about three years). Count calories and macros everyday with proper ratios

I have stalled on all compound lifts for the past 8 weeks, but still gained 4lb. How likely is it that this weight gain was fat? Should I look into doing a mini-cut or should I keep going at my current rate, then maybe up the calories by another 250?

Hi I was just wondering if there were some work out apps that you guys recommend I currently use Fitbod but wanted to see if you guys knew of any better apps that also help you make a work out plan

I love to go 6 days a week. I currently cannot do heavy squats/deadlifts, or even lightweight leg press PT hasn’t been much help for gym related info.

Getting insecure because my legs aren’t growing with my upper body.

I've read the lean gains program and would like to give it a shot. There are a few things I can't normally do with the lifting because of my job, but I can when I'm home.

I am 40m, 5'10", 230lbs with about 33% body fat. Ive been working out 5-6 days a week(lifting weights 2 days, 1 cardio, 1 rest) for about 3 weeks now taking in about 2000-2200 calories a day eating 200-250g protein daily. My daily calorie burn(According to my fitbit) is 3530/day which i got by taking my daily totals burned over a month and dividing by 30. I just got a scale a few days ago, but as of the last few days I've lost 2lbs about every 3 days. I need/want to lose weight, but I would also like to maximize my muscle gain potential while I'm doing it. I'm okay with losing weight slower if it means I can better optimize my muscle gain. I feel like I've gained a little muscle mass, or they at least feel a little denser, but it's hard to tell still having so much fat.

I would like yalls opinion if I 6 use the 3530 as my TDEE and do more of a -500 cal/day like a cut phase to 3000 calories daily or just keep doing what I'm doing until i reach a decent wait to start at? Am I in too much of a deficit to gain muscle? Should I keep the deficit I'm at but try to up my protein(I already have a hard time hitting 250 g/day). I am doing fine energy wise right now being a newbie and excited to be losing weight and working out. I don't know if that will wear off though.

As far as the lifting goes, I work on an oil rig for 4-6 weeks at a time, no room for a bench/gym so I can't really follow the lift heavy program. I work 12 hours a day 7 days a week and to get to town with a gym is a 4 hour round trip, so that isn't really an option. All I have is a few dumbbells I use to workout/bodyweightexercises, so I'm just trying to increase reps each week rather than increasing weight.

Thanks in advance for any help and apologies if I missed anything in the program.

I've tried fed and fasted for both and I love the way I feel working out on an empty stomach. I'm just concerned ill be using my hard earned muscle for fuel.

all feedback is welcome!

thanks :)

edit: Yes I know it's safe health-wise, I just meant am I safe from my body using my muscle as fuel (as was stated by a gym friend). Thank you all for your responses

Does it matter how much protein I eat per meal or is it the total daily that counts? Can I eat less protein in some meals and more in others? And how much should I aim for with all trace protein included?

Hi all,

I used to lift a long time ago (4+ yrs ago), and I fell off and never got back into it. I’m now 26F, 5’5 and just under 130 pounds. I’m not sure what my body fat is because I have no accurate way of measuring it at this moment. Waist is about 27 inches, hips are around 39.

Since I’m just starting up again, not sure if I should be cutting or just maintaining while fixing my diet and increasing my protein intake. I definitely have fat I’d like to lose, but also disappointed at how little muscle mass I have on my body.

Thanks!

Obviously, I understand CICO, limit beer consumption, only hard liquor…

however I was wondering if anyone had tips they used in college

Thank you!

22M 169cm 69kg (5'6 152lbs)

I'm losing weight and gaining muscle mainly just to look better. But I need a specific number, something solid that I could measure the progress and strive towards to.

At first I thought my goal should be 60kg. But from looking through pics of men my height on reddit (r/progresspics etc), men who are 170cm and 60kg seems either straight up skinny, but mostly skinny fat. I dont wanna all of this just to look flabby.

So from the pics it seems 63 ish is ideal if you have low enough body and high muscle %. 60kg with low bf guys seem like body builders but im not interested in that.

So how exactly do I determine the ideal weight that by the end I could be lean (im satisfied eith 15%) and have a decent amount of muscle?

Title

For context, I have been lifting for 12 years. I was a D1 athlete and have some impressive lifting numbers, including a 4 plate bench and over a 5 plate deadlift. I take great pride in maxing out almost every machine for reps (I recently did the 195 lb stack for a single set of 40 for triceps extensions lol).

I have friends and acquaintances that swear by creatine and freak out when they learn I have never used it. They always try to get me on creatine, but I have always had disdain for it since I am a lot stronger than them without it and have never needed it to get where I am.

I am very averse to supplements as I think they are collectively either scams, not cost effective, or not worth the risk of potential side effects. The only "supplement" I use is whey protein (love Gold's Standard). I eat lots of meat, drink over a gallon of water a day, get great sleep, rarely drink alcohol, etc.

That said, I recently learned how cheap creatine is. I also understand on a basic level creatine is naturally occurring and I already get a lot of it with all the meat I eat. I read more about it on examine.com and am intrigued.

So have I been missing out? Would I be even stronger if I started adding it to my daily shake? Any side effects I should be aware of? (I am already balding but don't care, looking forward to what I call my "Kratos era")

Posting on lean gains because I just started a cut and am wary about the extra water retention affecting my visuals.

I've been dealing with depression and illness for much of the past year, which led to a significant break from training. I only managed to train for about two months out of the year. Prior to this, I had a decent amount of muscle mass. Now that I'm back to working out, I’m in a calorie deficit to lose the fat I gained. My question is: Can muscle memory help me regain my previous muscle mass while I’m in a deficit, or do I need to be in a caloric surplus or maintenance to effectively rebuild muscle? Any advice or experiences with muscle memory in similar situations would be greatly appreciated!

Currently my goal is to burn body fat while trying to get stronger. I'm down 40lbs in the past 9 months. Right now I think it's ok to go over calories once in a while but I'm not trying to make it a habit.

Hi guys

I love intermittent fasting but I also want to gain muscle. I have to eat close to bedtime or else I am unable to sleep. I can fast from 11 PM to about 3 PM or 4 PM. I can only train in the morning.

If I train at 8.30 in the morning I.e during fasting and start eating at 3 PM, will that lead to muscle loss or minimal to no gains even if I am in a surplus ??

Hi Guys What would be the right plan for incline and flat bench press on the same day if I’m using RPT? Which one should go first and which one should be heavier?

Yea, like the title says 😂 I am looking into factor. I have done so many crockpots that I am sick of it and need actual good meals that taste amazing. I also been doing lots of eggs and chicken and it’s become bland. I gotten busy where I accidentally skip meals. I can literally go a day with just one meal but if I do the next day I am very sluggish and not focus because I forgot to cook and eat…

Any recommendations?

I want to get much stronger. Everywhere I read says the best approach is to bulk, adding muscle, and then cut. I'm 47, 5'11", and weigh 175 lbs. I've always carried belly and back fat, so I'm unsure if bulking is the right move. I recently lost 70 lbs, dropping to 155 lbs in six months with intermittent fasting. Even at my lightest, I still had belly fat. I'm sure I had basically no muscle at that point. I was doing light dumbbell workouts, situps, and pullups during that time. Most of family was overweight, not that I buy into any excuses.

I recently started a 5x5 program with more protein, training 3x a week. I began with Stronglifts but adapted it to a Greyskull-style program, swapping one squat day for chin-ups. So, my routine is:

• A: Barbell Row, Bench Press, Squats

• B: Chin-ups, Overhead Press, Deadlift.

I'm new to weightlifting and understand progress takes time. I know I'm weak, though I'm seeing a linear progression. After losing all that weight, eating at a surplus to gain muscle feels counterintuitive, and while my weight seems normal, my belly fat remains. I'm eating more but not hitting 3000 calories. Does a "clean bulk" actually work? I like my current size but want to get stronger. I do want to "appear" strong and lean, not simply be "stronger than I look". I'd be happy at 185 lbs if it meant being strong, but all this eating feels wrong. Is it possible to maintain weight and add significant strength? And I'm wondering if Leangains would be ideal for that, as I already have a lot of experience with Intermittent Fasting... Thanks for any advice!

22M, 5’11”, 170 lb

My goal by the end of next year is to be 10%-12% body fat, and around the same weight I am right now (if that’s possible). Noticeably muscular and lean.

I’ve worked out in the past but nothing too crazy. I really am focused on strength and muscle training, but I’m also about the mental benefits.

gonna be a nursing student with very limited time to workout or even have some free time. the thing is my dorm has a gym 24hrs BUT it’s not high quality + i have very little time and most importantly i can’t diet. i’m broke as hell so i can’t buy eggs, chicken breast and all that good stuff i would eat at home.

i’m gonna have to be eating cafeteria meals, and i don’t know if that’s efficient for me. i brought protien powder but it only gives me like 40g and it’s supposed to be a supplement not a replacement

Hello everyone! I will try to keep this as sort and on point as possible. I have been into working out and dieting for many years now. Every now and then, the subject of protein powders comes up. I have spent many hours on research about third party testing, informed reviews etc and apart from labdoor and some here and there personal assessments and limited private tests, I have found nothing of substance. I have been using brands like scitec nutrition and on. I read some shady situations about on and could find nothing on scitec so I switched to myprotein due to the labdoor reviews. I am curious about other brands that I have been seeing trending as Immortal nutrition, Kevin levrone proteins, Dorian Yates proteins, Galvanize, Ostrovit and Bulk. My question is this.

1. Is there any site or information source about the actual quality and ingredient warnings concerning protein powders?
2. Do you have any knowledge or opinion about the brands I mentioned above?

20M/180lbs/5’10/3,200-300calories daily

Been bulking on and off for awhile now but in all honesty the food I’m eating isn’t really that great. It’s not a dirty bulk but it’s definitely not the cleanest of bulks, definitely need to incorporate more greens. I plan to bulk up to at least 200lbs maybe 215lbs depending on how I’m looking by that stage.

Any recipes or things that you eat that could get me good on macros that I could eat to really help me be healthy in my diet? I don’t have any food allegories other than I can’t take powdered protein because it makes me breakout like crazy. Would really appreciate the help and support thanks!

Hi all I'm looking for ideas of extra protein to add to my diet. Ideally low carb as I eat enough carbs anyway. I eat a lot of chicken, chicken mince, tuna & am looking for more easy ideas of protein calories when I need higher calories on a busy day Unfortunately I can't have protein shakes, puddings etc as I'm intolerant so can't use those Edit forgot to say, I eat lots of eggs already too

I just went through a cut for the summer where I went from 195lbs to 175lbs (5'10"). The results were ok. My abs were more visible and defined but not exactly shredded. But I lost about 40lbs on my bench and squat.

I'm turning to LG because I hate the feeling of losing strength on a cut and hate feeling slow/fat on a bulk. However, Martin's book only talks about being in a calorie deficit. He has a chapter on gaining strength but again, it's while on a deficit.

Does LG only work on a deficit? Or can I eat +500 while doing IF to gain strength and lose fat?

It’s my birthday and I don’t know whether I should relax my restrictions on a lean bulk of 2650 calories per day or should I let go just for the day I’m 61.5kg at 183cm

Hello

I cant seem to find it: What does Martin reconmmend to track outside eating?

I remember he somewhere mentioned to „just jot down xxxkcals with the following macros. Just trust me“

Thank You very much!

Hey guys been researching leangains for 4-5 days reading as much of the book and articles as I can on one hand seems simple on the otherhand just super overwhelmed, so figured id come here and get a few things explained.

Im 30 years old, 183 cm, 25-29% BF, my TDEE is looking to be about 2930 or so, visibly got a dadbod but been working out with a shitty diet 80% consistently for a year now

1. Diet: looking at the protein requirements for 55-60% thats about 300-340 grams of protein for me, which is not doable, with my digestive issues and financially while 1g/lb of bodyweight which is a massive hurdle as is will result in only about 40% of my calories coming from protein, how much will this hurt? do i keep my other numbers the same?

So far I have this using chatgpt but another calculation is showing the fats as 81gs, which one is correct(if any)?

Your target calorie intake on training days is 2,355 with the following macros:

• **** protein: 227g.
• **** fat: 41g.
• **** carbs: 270g. 40-50%

Your target calorie intake on rest days is 1,884 with the following macros:

• **** protein: 227g.

• **** fat: 51g

• **** carbs: 129g. 20-30%

2. Lifting, please correct me if im wrong:

3-5 sets of warmups, can be expected to warm up for up to 20 mins on things like squats and then go ass to grass full range of motion.

Deadlifts: Only 2 sets after warmups? seriously?

2 sets x 6 means i do 1 set at 6 and reduce the weight an do another set at 8 reps?

I know there’s been previous threads on this topic before, but I was wondering - would it be optimal to do Intermittent Fasting, in particular 16/8 on a bulk? I know people typically like to bring up the points of how it’s harder to gain because of the shorter window of eating, but I have no problem when it comes to achieving my calories for the day to bulk. I also like the mental/physiological feeling I get from the 16 hour fast, and although this might be somewhat of a broscience, I believe the increased HGH from a 16 hour fast could also help me with the quality of my workouts, recovery, and potentially even gains. Is there any reason a 16/8 form of IF wouldn’t be as optimal on a bulk compared to say, a normal bulk with no regards to Time restricted eating?

I love IF and do it for about 6 months every year when I'm trying to lean down. Then, when I'm trying to bulk I find it really difficult to get enough food and protein in and end up ditching IF and just "bulk". About 5-6 months later I step on the scale and realize I've put on a lot of fat and some mass. I then decide to use IF to lean down again. My weight hovers between 195 and 205 pounds. When I'm 195 pounds I feel really good, and when I'm 205 I feel like crap. I really like the idea of being closer to 190 all the time for health benefits but the thought of not being "big" is hard for me.

I know there is a ton of new research out there about IF and building/maintaining muscle. I'm listening to a Huberman Lab podcast now where he talks about eating protein earlier in the day to better build/maintain muscle.

Curious if everything that was written in the Lean Gains book is still relevant today or if any big breakthroughs in science have changed the way we should be doing things.

The only reason I ever ditch intermittent fasting is really because I'm not getting enough calories and protein in (I'm a shift worker so it's hard sometimes). I wonder if new science shows I can have a larger feeding window. Curious if new science suggests other things be done differently as well.

Thoughts?

I´m thinking about moving away from RPT training after some years using it. I like it, but now I need a break up. What do you do? I generally tend to not like pure bodybuilding training, 5x5 is ok, RPT right now leaves me completely exhausted.

I believe that here is the best place to ask for such a thing, please share your training schedule. I can share mine as well if somebody is interested.

Some days I struggle to get everything in - does anyone else?

I just tried going to the site and it’s not found. Any word if it’s been shut down?