What now? Help with my 1.5mo plateau

TheCaver · 08-03-2006, 09:11 PM

Short story:
9 months ago I was 220, today I am 173 at 19-21% BF (caliper). My goal is to get to 10-12%, then begin a bulking program. I did all the wrong stuff at first, no breakfast, eating crap, 1200 calories, etc....lost a lot of muscle. Then I found bb.com and wised up.

On advise I got here about my calories being too low, I moved up to 1500 calories about 2.5mo ago, then up to 1800 cals about 6 weeks ago, up again to 2100 about 2 weeks ago, and this week, I am now up to 2400 calories. I have been at 173 for 1.5months, varying by only .5lb or so daily.

I eat 99% clean. Typical diet/WO, below:

7am 120 cal protein
7:30 HIIT (20-25min) (EVERY MORNING)
8am Oatmeal/blueberries/Fish Oil (TOTAL for AM Meal: 400)

10:30a 160 cal protein/Oatmeal or sweet potato for 150cal carbs, almonds to get to 400 cal

1p 6oz chicken/turkey breast / sweet potato or oatmeal or yogurt (fat free no sugar added) apple, or almonds to hit 400 cal

4p same as 10:30a meal generally, but sometimes I will substitute lima beans or other fib. carb

7p Chicken/Turkey/Top Sirloin, brown rice, green beans 400 cal

10p peanut butter + protein

No sugar, only olive oils (very little), and 1 cheat meal every 2 weeks on average, usually under 500cal each.

My macros hover around 40/40/20....

My workouts are every other day, using a 5x5 program where I push to failure on last set:

Squat/Deadlift/Pullups/Weighted Dips/Upright or Bench Row/Various Presses, etc.....I also do an ab circuit every other off day.

My question is, where do I go now......My weight has not changed in a month even though I have increased calories drastically. The caliper is not moving, and I am getting frustrated to say the least.

Do I stay at 2400? Do I go higher? Do I start cutting down again?

Thanks for any help....

JC

\S/ · 08-03-2006, 09:35 PM

Increase cardio.

kyle200 · 08-03-2006, 10:52 PM

you could also try to bulk up for a few months since your lean weight is pretty low, that way you could add on some extra muscle and then when you go back to cutting you might have some better results.

BigNath · 08-03-2006, 11:14 PM

How tall are ya dude ??

Mullins 5 · 08-04-2006, 12:27 AM

increase cardio/cut carbs/cut caffeine if any/start taking 500 mg of vit c twice a day/start taking a multi vit if not doing so already/make sure your getting 1000-1200 mg of calcium daily/start taking chromium pic.

these are some tricks i did when i hit my many many plateaus thru my weight loss

don't do them all at the same time..try a few..when you hit another plateau..add some more..

these are just things that I did

TheCaver · 08-04-2006, 05:01 AM

Quote:

How tall are ya dude ??

I'm 5'10".

As for increasing cardio, the 20-25min of HIIT 6-7x a week is not enough?

JC

reagan123 · 08-04-2006, 08:57 AM

I know this goes against the grain around here, but I'd drop the calories back down to 2100 for a week and see what happens.

Good luck.. I know it gets frustrating when this happens. I dropped from 208 to 170 or so and got stuck right where you did... then I realized that even the the scale was staying the same my body was still making improvements.

chumbucket_ · 08-04-2006, 09:34 AM

im in a very similar situation, ive been stuck at 170 for a month now, i dont know wether to continue cutting or start bulking. My advice would be increase cardio, try 45 to one hour of moderate intensity cardio a couple of times a week, if that doesnt work then cut down to like 2200 or something, if that doesnt work then just do a really clean bulk i guess.

mediatik · 08-04-2006, 09:48 AM

try carb cycling then add another low intensity cardio training like maybe 30 minutes later in the day so you will be doiing hiit in the morning plus an extra 30 mins later in the day i am kinda in the same boat and its a bitch to break that plateau ive been stuck at 178 for maybe 2 months now so i know what you mean ive started taking creatine to get an extra edge in the gym and its working well at least im pushing harder than before anyways i just changed my diet i suggest you go see this http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783 its carb cycling and its working pretty well because on the higher carb days you can actually gain muscle hope this helps

Mullins 5 · 08-04-2006, 09:53 AM

btw - I was stuck in my 170's for four months....

maybe your doing too much cardio...perhaps drop your calories like the other poster said and then maybe you could decrease your cardio for about a month...maybe just do away with cardio all together (which is something else i did) and then pick it back up

you see your body has prob. gotten used to all this cardio your doing and now its not doing much more for you...

go into a maintenence phase for about a month? then jump back into cardio...could be worth a shot...

overcoming plateaus is all about trial and error..and they take time...don't get discouraged though

good luck bro.

xlgc9x · 08-04-2006, 10:15 AM

change ur workout routine. shock ur body with different cardio, try interval or LDS and then a tempo run. whatever ur lifting regimen is like, tweak it a bit to shock ur muscles with different excercises or all together change/customize ur plan?

just an idea. good luck.