Is this normal for someone who is cutting for so long?

[Raj]

I've started weight training 8 months ago and today I'm only able to bench press around 100 - 110 lbs. I've always tried to progress but from the last 3 months or so I've been stuck on weight. I'm simply not able to do more. I'm 23 years and weight is 171 lbs with 16.7% B/F. Never weight trained in my life until recently. As for my diet....I've been cutting straight from 8 months....lost 95lbs in the last 8 months. Was 265lbs with around 50% B/F when I started. So its been a long good journey for me.......Strength wise I've always been very weak....even when I was heavy strength was a worry......I've actually had trouble doing 15 reps sets of 30 lbs (bench press). Is it normal for someone to hit a plateau when cutting for so long? Should I be happy with my results? Just not able to lift more.....Yes, I'm still cutting and I will till I reach a 10% B/F.......then I would like to bulk.....so is this normal? My calorie multiplying factor is 10.....

and btw, what are some good goals for someone who wants to do a 6 months bulk program? i mean is 10lbs increment in the weights ( bench press) good per month good? and is there anyway to do a bulk program without increasing your waist size with using any supplements or roids?

Thanks

Raj

 

[spatts]

Can you post your diet, including what you eat before and after training, Raj?

...and welcome!

 

[SoSadBtTrue]

Have you plateau'd with all your weights? Or just bench?

 

[casualbb]

Jeez, 95 pounds? Wow.

The thing about dieting is that the body doesn't like it. In any state of caloric deficit, given enough time the body will adapt by lowering the metabolism, the "starvation effect." 8 months is certainly a helluva long time for nonstop cutting. I think you'd benefit from some time off from dieting. That should help you shed additional fat.

As to strength... how do you currently train? Keep in mind it's really hard to develop strength & size while dieting. That in itself could be the reason for your strength stagnation.

-casualbb

 

[Raj]

Thanks spatts,casualbb and SoSadBtTrue for your quick replies...

My diet from the last 8 months :

First 1 1/2 month : Had two oranges a day and loads of water. That's all. Stupidest thing one can do but I wasn't thinking right then. No excercise no activity....Plain fad dieting......lost 36 lbs straight in that period.

Then for another 1 month (around 5 weeks): I was on this 50% protein/50% fat diet. My cals were around 600 in all. Started working out the Bill Philips way.....Cardio/Weight Training/Cardio/ Weight training.....never got the reps right though.....I used to do 5 sets of 5 reps for most excercises.

For the next 5 months straight....I've been on a semi modified version of the Natural Hormonal Enhancement Program. My ratios were like 5/40/55 (CPF) for 6 days and on the 7th day I'd aim for 200g of carbs with moderate protein and fat. My guru...a.k.a Rob of WBB helped me in chalking out his plan...........my calorie multiplier was between 9-10.

Now, for the last one month....my diet has been kinda wayward....I'd do 50/25/25 sometimes.....40/40/20 or 40/30/30.....but my cals were always undercheck...I always make sure that they do not cross my BW X 12 count.

Some point to be noted :

1. I had around 2-3 cheat meals in the last 8 months.
2. For the six months I worked out, I just missed two days at the gym. Never took a day of....another foolish thing I did.
3. Motivation and Dedication has been strong as hell.
4. Waist was 49" when I started....now its around 33 ))...this is my single greatest achievement. btw, my height is 178 cms.
5. All my food sources are from natural stuff only. Chicken is what I have for protein. No shakes, no protein powders no nothing for me coz. they are not available here in India. and if they are they are like 300% more costlier.
6. Vitamin C and Vitamin E are the only tabs I take in daily. 2-3 g of Vit C and 600 IU of Vit E.

Right now, this is what I'm doing at the gym :

Monday : 5-10 mins stretching, then 15 mins cardio followed by Chest / Triceps excercises. I do 4 different excercises for each part. 3 sets of 15 reps in most cases. But in the bench press I can do only 100lbs 8 reps Ab training....3 sets of 25 reps daily...weighted crunches is what I do.

Tuesday : 5-10 mins stretching, then 15 mins cardio followed by Shoulders/Biceps excercises. I do 4 different excercises for each part. 3 sets of 15 reps in most cases. Ab training....3 sets of 25 reps daily...weighted crunches is what I do.

Wednesday : 5-10 mins stretching, then 15 mins cardio followed by Lowers/Lats excercises. I do 4 different excercises for each part. 3 sets of 15 reps in most cases. Ab training....3 sets of 25 reps daily...weighted crunches is what I do.

Goals as of now(In order of priority) :

1. Lose B/F....i.e come down to around 10%....
2. Make massive strength gains or gain muscle without increasing waist size.....

SoSadBtTrue,

Yeah in most of my weight training excercises I've hit a plateau.....not all of them but most.....

Thanks and looking forward to your replies

Raj

 

[spatts]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but in my opinion, if it takes you 8 months to cut, you're not "cutting," you're just "dieting."

You are not putting gas in your car, don't expect it to drive.

Goal 1 directly conflicts with goal 2. Pick one.

 

[Raj]

Thanks for correcting me on that. Alright, I'm pretty sure that my goal is to get to 10% B/F asap. What do you recommend I do?

Expecting your reply

Raj

 

[Zander1983]

Congratulations on your amazing achievements. That is a hell of a drop in waist size!!

 

[JJFigure]

Why 10% ASAP? Are you getting ready for a competition? If not, I would recommend focusing on increasing your LBM for a little while - say 3-6 months. Quite frankly, you've dieted for so long (congrats btw!), you're probably at a complete standstill; I don't see how you could get to 10% bodyfat without taknig some time off from strictly dieting and focusing on gaining LBM. You don't have to go crazy on kcals and gain a ton of fat, but you should probably increase to BWx15. This will get your metabolism and leptin levels back to somewhat normal levels, and after you've gained some LBM, you can start trying for your 10% goal again.

Treat it like a competition cycle; none of us who compete stay on reduced kcals all year round; you need mental and physical breaks from kcaloric restriction. So, go "offseason" for at least three months, rejuvinate, gain some muscle, and when you start dieting (again, keep it to 3 months or less), aim for a lower body fat percentage than you had before you went "offseason". Trust me, if you follow this process, your next round of cutting (and this is a cutting cycle) will be much easier and you will come out of it leaner. You can't follow your current path though.

 

[Raj]

spatts, I'm still awaiting your reply

Raj