How to Sustain Progress

[AnonND]

Coaches,

Thinking about my +4 years of lifting I have come to a realization that I have stalled in the main lifts for the last 2 years or so.

After grinding through the LP (which I repeated too many times) and a couple of tries at the Texas Method and its variants I ended it up with a squat in the low 300s, a bench in the high 200s, and a deadlift in the mid 400s. For the last two years it seems that I have fallen into a cycle in which I make some progress when I bulk but then regress back to the starting point when I lean out for aesthetic reasons.

My question is, do you have a general recommendation for a male in his mid 20s, 6ft and 185lbs to break out of these very average numbers?

Is it as easy as; (1) gain weight gradually, (2) introduce more productive stress through volume and/or weight on the bar; and (3) do not get injured?

Thanks for your help.

[SquatGimp]

I'm kinda in the same boat, tho I've only trained seriously for a year now. I reached a 1rm squat of 135kg at 94kg bw but was just bloated and fat, so I leaned out to 88kg and my strength went to shit! Tried to unrack 140kg squat but could barely hold it for 5 seconds yesterday.

That's the life of poor genetics probably, even if I train my ass off and bulk my strength barely improves and it's really hard to sustain and hold on to the gainz.

[AnonND]

I don't know if I'd blame it on poor genetics. If I am honest with myself, I have always bulked aggressively which necessitated an aggressive or prolonged cut and when I cut I never went less than 15%. I think in reality, slower gain in weight and accumulation of volume over time will be sufficient to produce desired aesthetic and strength outcomes.

[Rent]

I don't know if I'd blame it on poor genetics. If I am honest with myself, I have always bulked aggressively which necessitated an aggressive or prolonged cut and when I cut I never went less than 15%. I think in reality, slower gain in weight and accumulation of volume over time will be sufficient to produce desired aesthetic and strength outcomes.

This is the solution . Work on gradual weight gain over a year then finally cut down to a lean BF and repeat . Bulking slowly and tracking accurate is always harder then cutting .

[Squib]

I think even more important than weight gain is better programming. Are you still doing Texas Method? If you read through BBM's articles and podcasts around TM and programming in general you may find yourself coming to the conclusion that you are undertrained. So your second point of increasing productive training stress over time is very important too.

[AnonND]

I think even more important than weight gain is better programming. Are you still doing Texas Method? If you read through BBM's articles and podcasts around TM and programming in general you may find yourself coming to the conclusion that you are undertrained. So your second point of increasing productive training stress over time is very important too.

No, I have not done the texas method in about a year or so. Before doing HLM and GPP templates, I did GZCL method which is more volume but not as much frequency.

[PWard]

You've done a lot of development work over the last year. I would maybe give the 12 week strength template a run. That's meant to be run after a development block in order to develop skill and realize your gains.

[tfranc]

I second this idea. Then maybe follow up with the hypertrophy template. I would absolutely read “To Be A Beast” written by Jordan. Gives a great overview on how to lay out your nutrition plan

[brettkeefer]

It sounds like you would benefit from researching the science behind periodization so you can better lay out your training for long term success. And yes for me anyway putting on weight has always been the easiest way to add weight to my lifts quickly. Mass moves mass

[mdelvecchio]

Yeah similar deal - while bulking I made solid gains. When my BF reaches around 18% I take a few months to cut down to 10-11, which for me is losing about 10% of my total weight. My gains go with it, also by about 10-15%. Bouncing back is not as easy or rapid as I’d like... I’ve been reverse dieting for about 6 weeks, I’m now a few hundred calls above maintenance but still working on the strength. wrapping up Bridge 1 which I started after the cut ended, and now going to do 12 Week Strength.

[Dhruv4]

Dont hate me but i didnt read all the replies, just do the bridge?