Protein Level and Weight Gain Assumptions

Jordan,

  1. Is 180 g of protein excessive at ~150-155 pounds bodyweight if slow weight/muscle/strength gain is the goal?

  2. From my age (42) and my natural tendency to be a midsection-compiling fatty, I think lower risk weight gain with excess fat in my case is probably 1-2 pounds a month. Is that a good assumption?

Stats/Background:

Age: 42
Height: 5’-7"
Weight: 152 pounds
Waist: 33.375"
Current Macros: 180P/190C/50F <~30 Fiber, trying to be 35>
Diet Compliance: Extremely High
Primary Goal: Upper Body Size Increase
Hands: Comically Small

I let my bodyfat creep up insanely high over the past few years, which I honestly wasn’t very worried about until I realized my appearance was making the band I’m in kind of look bad; programming was low volume and managed to roughly keep the same strength level for awhile. I also don’t look like I lift much. I was super aggressive in weight loss but mentally it’s easier for me to hack it if I do it that way instead of much slower.

I’ve got three of your guys’ templates (Hypertrophy I/Powerbuilding/Strength), I’ve on the second run of Hypertrophy (the first run was the end of a PSMF then a slight deficit and me trying to adapt to volume in and do those rep ranges). I’m now going to work on adding weight slowly. I’m planning to run Hypertrophy I → Powerbuilding → Hypertrophy I/II → Strength depending on how I respond over time.

Details:

3 February - 25 April (PSMF)

Weight: 184 pounds → 161 pounds
Waist: 41.625" → 36.75"
Programming: Squat/DL/Press/Bench Whatever I Could, 5/8/10 rep rotation <First 10 Weeks>, Hypertrophy Template <Last 2 Weeks>

26 April - 24 July

Weight: 161 pounds → 152 pounds
Waist: 36.75" → 33.375"
Programming: Hypertrophy Template

Lifts (E1RM, Pounds), 3 February → 24 July

Squat: 325 → 297
DL: 385 → 348
Press: 151 → 154
Bench: 230 → 234

Punk,

  1. Nope. This is fine.
  2. That’s also fine.

-Jordan