Hey

I've been training since the start of january, eating strictly and i have made reasonable gains. In 14 weeks ive gained 7lb and my bf% is the same.

However these are some of my findings;

After the first 4 weeks i gained 4lb.

Then the next 10 weeks i struggled to gain 3lb. This was my first plateau and i found my form in some exercises becomming very poor.

When i first started exercising i found that it gave me a 'buzz' or 'high', i put this down to endorphins released by the brain when your body engages in physical exercise. People commented about my new good mood.

The last few weeks i haven't gained much. My mood has changed from happy to depressed, moody and aggressive. I've found that energy for workouts has gone when it should be there and i couldn't understand why. I've felt withdrawn and didnt want to socialise. My arms been aching recently i think i've burnt myself out and these are symptoms of over training.

I read somewhere that your body gets used to weight training and you need to give yourself a week or two off every now and then. I've decided to do this, this should sort the problem out. So where do i go now?

I'am 133lb and still underweight for my height. My bf% is 12 so there is no point cutting i should bulk then.

Now main question in these 2 weeks off how do i make sure i dont lose any mass? I also heard that i should cut down on protein so when i bulk again the body over compensates and synthesises it better. I've been on a high protein diet for a long time now.

Advice please.

Don't drop your protein...

Take the week off (probably not two weeks, just 1), eat the same, and let your body rest for this little bit of time. You may actually come back to the gym stronger than when you left, because you're letting your body get a lot of rest it's not used to. Make sure you keep it fed so that it can grow if it wants to though.

Then, when you go back to lifting after a week off, switch up your routine, pick something new... change rep ranges, exercises, weights, and maybe the days... keep everything guessing, and try to shock it into new growth.

Hope that helps.

first, well done on your gains.

second, stop panicking. yes, your body needs a rest, 14 weeks is way too long to work out for most guys, especially if the workouts are high intensity (as they should be). I go for 7-10 weeks at most and I push some fairly heavy weights.

take one complete week off, then the next week go back to the gym and experiment with lighter weights on different exercises (especially good idea if you think you're burning out on some movements). then the week after try to beat the logbook again.

as for eating, I'd say eat whatever the hell you want. You're not gonna lose any mass in two weeks, if you do then it was just superficial mass anyway. don't sweat it.

your body will appreciate a break from all the food you (should have) been pounding down.

semag - you should know better than to advise 'shock' techniques.

hahahah....

i apologize, i probably picked a wrong set of words

no problem. how's your training going?