Is there a Peaty explanation for why I can't gain muscle and strength?

[DrivesOldTruck]

Yes, get an E supplement. Either Haidut's Tocovit or Matt Blackburn's PUFA Protect. Should help with getting temps up.

If caffein abstinence is not improving conditions you probably want to stay off it anyways or at a minimum only drink after a full meal has passed the stomach. Intaking caffeine before a meal or with a with meal can result in the caffeine hitting the cells before food and will likely drive a stress response, and then when the food is taken up by cells the stress response will shut off (if you eat enough) and could make you sluggish or at possibly just make it more difficult to keep track of what's causing symptom resolution.

When I started tracking temp and PR I bought a bunch of them, bed side, kitchen, work, car, it makes is much easier to check your temp and pulse throughout the day. It's important to check-in with a temp and PR check when your body shifts, so you can begin to associate temp fluctuations with what you recently did.

You don't want to use an over the counter MAD, you'll want to get something custom made form a provider. There's not a one size fits all. Dentist and orthodontists are typically the providers. Start with your dentist or doctor, if they don't do it or discourage or not helpful, find a local dentist or ortho who are airway aware, someone who is knowledgable. You'll want to find a provider that includes fitting(s) w/ custom molds and includes adjustments with the service. MAD therapy is as much diagnostic as it is therapeutic and it's not as simple as retainer where you pop-it-in and your good. The MAD is going to work in opposition to your anatomy so there'll be discomfort and an adjustment and acclimation period. It can take a couple weeks to acclimate and find an advancement setting that's tolerable and therapeutic.

Brilliant advice, thanks so much.

 

[Demyze]

Right now I'm at: DL - 250lbs, S - 195lbs, BP - 135lbs, OHP - 95lbs. All for 3x5.

I used a thermometer under the tongue for a resting temp of 97.5 degrees F. Resting pulse rate on the wrist is 62 bpm.

You can imagine I've experimented with many diets over the years. Currently I'm eating to lean out and eat 4 scheduled meals:
-Pre-workout: 2% fat cottage cheese, with a small glass of orange juice or a couple table spoons of honey.
-Breakfast/post-workout: 6 eggs scrambled in ghee, two small potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a glass of 2% milk or orange juice
-Lunch: 0.5 to 1lbs of 93/7 ground beef with some salsa mixed in, and fruit (usually blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapple, or orange juice)
-Dinner: 0.5 to 1lbs of lean chicken breast, broccoli sautéed in coconut oil, potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a whole raw carrot

I'll throw in two cans of oysters during the week as well. When I am trying to gain or just maintain, I'll also consume popcorn (cooked in coconut oil), dark chocolate, Haagen-Dazs ice-cream, whole milk, and some quality cheeses.

I try to buy as much organic/grass-fed/pasture-raised, etc. as I can f

ight now I'm at: DL - 250lbs, S - 195lbs, BP - 135lbs, OHP - 95lbs. All for 3x5.

I used a thermometer under the tongue for a resting temp of 97.5 degrees F. Resting pulse rate on the wrist is 62 bpm.

You can imagine I've experimented with many diets over the years. Currently I'm eating to lean out and eat 4 scheduled meals:
-Pre-workout: 2% fat cottage cheese, with a small glass of orange juice or a couple table spoons of honey.
-Breakfast/post-workout: 6 eggs scrambled in ghee, two small potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a glass of 2% milk or orange juice
-Lunch: 0.5 to 1lbs of 93/7 ground beef with some salsa mixed in, and fruit (usually blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapple, or orange juice)
-Dinner: 0.5 to 1lbs of lean chicken breast, broccoli sautéed in coconut oil, potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a whole raw carrot

I'll throw in two cans of oysters during the week as well. When I am trying to gain or just maintain, I'll also consume popcorn (cooked in coconut oil), dark chocolate, Haagen-Dazs ice-cream, whole milk, and some quality cheeses.

I try to buy as much organic/grass-fed/pasture-raised, etc. as I can find at my local Whole Foods.

You're eating too much fat, you need to drop the fat including eggs (one on the days you lift is OK).No cheese if your fat.

People will get mad at me but I feel best keeping fat, starch, and muscle meat intake as low as possible and it works to loose fat and keep from gaining fat. I'll don't feel like discussing meat right now but keep it under 1/4 a pound a day if you're going to eat it.

Try eating home made jello, skim and 1% milk, and getting your carbs from fruit, juices, and white sugar (coffee con leche). A little oatmeal and a serving of low fat potato sometimes is okay. Carrot salad/boiled mushrooms/ boiled bamboo shoots for fiber

Juice: pulp free Oj and not from concentrate Concord grape juice are best

Consider supplementing vitamin D3, eating liver (4-8oz) once a week. I also notice good things from aspirin and niacinamide, check out haiduts posts on different supplements and compounds and Danny's site and the generative energy podcasts -
The Danny Roddy Weblog

Absorb functional performance systems website, its a gold mine - Functional Performance Systems (FPS) - Strength & Conditioning, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Blog

You may benefit from thyroid, try to get blood work and read rays writings and interviews (transcripts are on the forum)

Try the novice routine from Greg and do only what's listed in the program - Two Easy Ways to Make Your Novice Strength Training Program More Effective • Stronger by Science

Post how your first week doing it goes. After that you can start doing a set of bodybuilding at the end. You need to be doing the lifts as hard as you can, pushing each rep with as much effort and as explosively as possible and taking 3 minutes rests between each set. People twllibg you to take less rest between sets dont know what theyre talking about and should just go do crossfit. If your'e worried your doing the lifts wrong lmk

The endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph thing is as helpful those teenage magazine are for girls with eating disorders

 

[Chophouse360]

@DrivesOldTruck why would you be cutting if you want strength and size gains?

 

[aniepodam]

You may be overtrained and in high cortisol. Does moderately high preworkout caffeine (and/or other stims) dose increase your performance? If yes, that could be overloaded nervous system. You cant naturally engage fully your muscles because you are fatigued, althought you may be not feeling this because you are not really feel tired. Try to destress yourself, go lighter at gym for a some time, do fun things, maybe some breathing exercises/meditation. More magnessium, cholesterol and choline intake should help as also taking care of electrolyte balance.

To build muscles you need to feel burning in these muscles. Going high volume may not be enough because at the end of set your nervous system may be fatigued before your hypertrophy response will be high enough to make your muscles bigger. Put your ego and some plates off and do workouts with lighter weights to feel that burn and pump.

To increase strength you need to train your nervous system to engage your muscles better. Put some plates off and work on your mind-muscle connection. Do slow reps just to fully engage muscles you want to train.

 

[DrivesOldTruck]

@DrivesOldTruck why would you be cutting if you want strength and size gains?

I've gained a lot of unwanted weight over the past 2 months in the pursuit of size/strength gains. Can't gain more weight from here, pants barely fit and my love handles look horrible.

You may be overtrained and in high cortisol. Does moderately high preworkout caffeine (and/or other stims) dose increase your performance? If yes, that could be overloaded nervous system. You cant naturally engage fully your muscles because you are fatigued, althought you may be not feeling this because you are not really feel tired. Try to destress yourself, go lighter at gym for a some time, do fun things, maybe some breathing exercises/meditation. More magnessium, cholesterol and choline intake should help as also taking care of electrolyte balance.

To build muscles you need to feel burning in these muscles. Going high volume may not be enough because at the end of set your nervous system may be fatigued before your hypertrophy response will be high enough to make your muscles bigger. Put your ego and some plates off and do workouts with lighter weights to feel that burn and pump.

To increase strength you need to train your nervous system to engage your muscles better. Put some plates off and work on your mind-muscle connection. Do slow reps just to fully engage muscles you want to train.

You will have to trust me that, after nearly a decade of training, I have tried all of these things and more.

 

[DrivesOldTruck]

You're eating too much fat, you need to drop the fat including eggs (one on the days you lift is OK).No cheese if your fat.

People will get mad at me but I feel best keeping fat, starch, and muscle meat intake as low as possible and it works to loose fat and keep from gaining fat. I'll don't feel like discussing meat right now but keep it under 1/4 a pound a day if you're going to eat it.

Try eating home made jello, skim and 1% milk, and getting your carbs from fruit, juices, and white sugar (coffee con leche). A little oatmeal and a serving of low fat potato sometimes is okay. Carrot salad/boiled mushrooms/ boiled bamboo shoots for fiber

Juice: pulp free Oj and not from concentrate Concord grape juice are best

Consider supplementing vitamin D3, eating liver (4-8oz) once a week. I also notice good things from aspirin and niacinamide, check out haiduts posts on different supplements and compounds and Danny's site and the generative energy podcasts -
The Danny Roddy Weblog

Absorb functional performance systems website, its a gold mine - Functional Performance Systems (FPS) - Strength & Conditioning, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Blog

You may benefit from thyroid, try to get blood work and read rays writings and interviews (transcripts are on the forum)

Try the novice routine from Greg and do only what's listed in the program - Two Easy Ways to Make Your Novice Strength Training Program More Effective • Stronger by Science

Post how your first week doing it goes. After that you can start doing a set of bodybuilding at the end. You need to be doing the lifts as hard as you can, pushing each rep with as much effort and as explosively as possible and taking 3 minutes rests between each set. People twllibg you to take less rest between sets dont know what theyre talking about and should just go do crossfit. If your'e worried your doing the lifts wrong lmk

The endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph thing is as helpful those teenage magazine are for girls with eating disorders

Brilliant, love this. I was watching a Haidut interview on YouTube last night related to weight loss and muscle gain, I was thinking about diets to fit his criteria and settled on more or less the same thing.

I'm getting on the diet starting today and am going to monitor temps over the next couple weeks. If I don't see them moving in the right direction, I'll consider thyroid/labs. I'm still going to try to get cortisol checked soon.

I've run each of the 4 programs Greg linked at the top of that article. I have personally found full-body workouts to be most difficult when not bulking like a madman.

 

[Demyze]

Brilliant, love this. I was watching a Haidut interview on YouTube last night related to weight loss and muscle gain, I was thinking about diets to fit his criteria and settled on more or less the same thing.

I'm getting on the diet starting today and am going to monitor temps over the next couple weeks. If I don't see them moving in the right direction, I'll consider thyroid/labs. I'm still going to try to get cortisol checked soon.

I've run each of the 4 programs Greg linked at the top of that article. I have personally found full-body workouts to be most difficult when not bulking like a madman.

That's why I'm recommend you implement the changes he made as detailed in the article, they're very effective and fix the issues with those novice programs which inssuficient for a lot of people.

If you deal with that much soreness from those low volume programs you might want to try a thiamine HCl supplement consumed with ample sugars- Thiamine HCl (Vitamin B1)

Its very important to get your vitamin D in range and to get sufficient vitamin A, especially for muscle building and strength. Most people who complain about their "genes" are likely deficient in both

 

[Phosphor]

I hope you get some usable information; I had the exact same thing with gaining endurance. Didn't matter what I did, I got worse when I tried to increase. At that point I was trying to become a runner. I stuck with it for 15 months, got no better, and saw someone else pass me up in a simple six weeks of trying. AND if I tried to "push it" by really trying harder, I would simply come down with a flu-like illness. It was sometime later I found out that I have mold-susceptible genetics (body's immune system always having to deal with something it couldn't deal with, which caused ongoing inflammation) plus a body type that appears to be "all" fast-twitch muscles. Takes me FOREVER to build up any endurance with anything, including playing a musical instrument. That is "although" my reaction time is faster than almost anyone else I have tested it with (there is that fast-twitch again.) My only suggestion would be (and you won't like this) to at least think about accepting your body type and learning to love it. Which is what I did. I stopped trying to be something I wasn't, physically, and focused on my talents. But I'm in my 70s and it took me a LONG while to reach that point.

 

[Neeters 27]

Right now I'm at: DL - 250lbs, S - 195lbs, BP - 135lbs, OHP - 95lbs. All for 3x5.

I used a thermometer under the tongue for a resting temp of 97.5 degrees F. Resting pulse rate on the wrist is 62 bpm.

You can imagine I've experimented with many diets over the years. Currently I'm eating to lean out and eat 4 scheduled meals:
-Pre-workout: 2% fat cottage cheese, with a small glass of orange juice or a couple table spoons of honey.
-Breakfast/post-workout: 6 eggs scrambled in ghee, two small potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a glass of 2% milk or orange juice
-Lunch: 0.5 to 1lbs of 93/7 ground beef with some salsa mixed in, and fruit (usually blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pineapple, or orange juice)
-Dinner: 0.5 to 1lbs of lean chicken breast, broccoli sautéed in coconut oil, potatoes air fried in coconut oil, and a whole raw carrot

I'll throw in two cans of oysters during the week as well. When I am trying to gain or just maintain, I'll also consume popcorn (cooked in coconut oil), dark chocolate, Haagen-Dazs ice-cream, whole milk, and some quality cheeses.

I try to buy as much organic/grass-fed/pasture-raised, etc. as I can find at my local Whole Foods.

I am only replying to this because I see you are eating way less than me, who is a 61 year old woman , I dont lift weights, I ride my spin bike 2x a week, and I am fairly strongly built, but maintaining my weight of 160 lbs eating a lot more than you...I eat 2000 calories at minimum. not enough food in my opinion. more milk more meat, yogourt, more carbs for sure. even my 135 lb 38 year old husband who is ripped and ultra lean eats around 3000 calories. more food....and dont work out too much or too often. weight training too much wears out muscle. hard workouts are bad they will raise cortisol. you should be having fun. swimming, skating, and sure lift weights, but its not the be all and end all...

 

[ReSTART]

@DrivesOldTruck

Have you got a high palate, large tongue, narrow jaw or small airway?

 

[David90]

What are the markers I need to get checked if I get a blood work done? The standard labs I have done every year as part of my annual physical always come back perfect (according to my doctor), but they're missing key items I'd like to see such as Testosterone levels.

-Total Testosteron
-Free Testosteron
-SHBG
-Estrogen (E2)
-TSH
-FT3 & FT4
-Cortisol

I finally gained size when I ate a LOT more calories, while minimizing fat gains by eating very clean, low fat, moderate protein and high carbohydrate diet.

Same here. I started also gaining Weight, eating in the 3000/3500kcal+ Range. But nowadays i'm focused more on Maintaining or Lean Bulking (200-250kcal + per Day).

@syncronicity
Yes, both, nearly every night. But as you note later, I never had these issues when I was in college. My stress levels in college were considerably higher than they've been since graduating.

COULD be a Adrenalin / Blood Sugar Issue.
Try to limit liquid/water Intake at night. And eating a good salty meal before bed. A good option would be a drink mixed with 100-120 g/ml of milk, 20g of gelatin, 30g of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. As an alternative, you could use 1 package of cottage cheese (which is 200g) mixed with 30g of Honey and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. One of these two things should be consumed around an 1-1,5 Hours before bed. This should help with it.

3x5 probably isn't enough volume for muscle growth, start doing 4x12-15 and add accessory exercises focus on time under tension hit each muscle group 3 times a week.--

Yes. The Reps should not go lower then 5 or 6. Because it will not be enough Volume. Staying mostly in the 6-15 Rep Range (Depending STRONGLY on Muscle Group and Exercise) makes the most sense.

As a natural lifter, every muscle group should be trained, AT LEAST twice per week. Three times per week is also very good.

-Upper/Lower/Full Body (aka Hybrid)
-Upper/Lower (Alternating)
-Full Body (3x per Week)
are Perfect for that....

Minimal Effective Volume:
Major Muscle Groups = 10-20 HARD Sets per Week (Chest, Back, Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Shoulders)
Minor Muscle Groups = 4-8 HARD Sets per Week (Biceps, Triceps, Abs, Rear and Side Delts)

What is described as a hard set?. Keeping 1-3 Reps in the Tank (keeping 1-3 Reps in Reserve) is a so called ''hard set''

You need to train and eat like a bodybuilder: 5-6 workouts/ week, 4-5 meals/ day, 30g of protein at every meal. High carb, adequate protein, low to moderate fats.

I'm not on the same page, with the 5-6 workouts per week (WAY too much, 3-4 Workouts per Week could be enough, if structured properly). But the rest is solid advice

 

[DrivesOldTruck]

I am only replying to this because I see you are eating way less than me, who is a 61 year old woman

That's by design because I'm trying to lean out at the moment. When I'm gaining, I'm between 3,500 and 5,000 calories per day. Maintain at around 3,000/day.

@DrivesOldTruck

Have you got a high palate, large tongue, narrow jaw or small airway?

I'd say my jaw is on the smaller side, I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was younger.

-Total Testosteron
-Free Testosteron
-SHBG
-Estrogen (E2)
-TSH
-FT3 & FT4
-Cortisol

Thanks for these!

COULD be a Adrenalin / Blood Sugar Issue.
Try to limit liquid/water Intake at night. And eating a good salty meal before bed. A good option would be a drink mixed with 100-120 g/ml of milk, 20g of gelatin, 30g of honey and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. As an alternative, you could use 1 package of cottage cheese (which is 200g) mixed with 30g of Honey and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. One of these two things should be consumed around an 1-1,5 Hours before bed. This should help with it.

Yeah I haven't figured out the right variable yet. If I eat large meal close to bedtime, it helps with sleep. Not sure yet if it's the carbs in general, sugar specifically, the salt, etc.

As a natural lifter, every muscle group should be trained, AT LEAST twice per week. Three times per week is also very good.

-Upper/Lower/Full Body (aka Hybrid)
-Upper/Lower (Alternating)
-Full Body (3x per Week)
are Perfect for that....

Minimal Effective Volume:
Major Muscle Groups = 10-20 HARD Sets per Week (Chest, Back, Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Shoulders)
Minor Muscle Groups = 4-8 HARD Sets per Week (Biceps, Triceps, Abs, Rear and Side Delts)

What is described as a hard set?. Keeping 1-3 Reps in the Tank (keeping 1-3 Reps in Reserve) is a so called ''hard set''

This has been my approach over the years, my prior comment on 3x5 was taken out of context. I was trying to explain my current strength level in that rep range, not list an entire program.

 

[DrivesOldTruck]

I hope you get some usable information; I had the exact same thing with gaining endurance. Didn't matter what I did, I got worse when I tried to increase. At that point I was trying to become a runner. I stuck with it for 15 months, got no better, and saw someone else pass me up in a simple six weeks of trying. AND if I tried to "push it" by really trying harder, I would simply come down with a flu-like illness. It was sometime later I found out that I have mold-susceptible genetics (body's immune system always having to deal with something it couldn't deal with, which caused ongoing inflammation) plus a body type that appears to be "all" fast-twitch muscles. Takes me FOREVER to build up any endurance with anything, including playing a musical instrument. That is "although" my reaction time is faster than almost anyone else I have tested it with (there is that fast-twitch again.) My only suggestion would be (and you won't like this) to at least think about accepting your body type and learning to love it. Which is what I did. I stopped trying to be something I wasn't, physically, and focused on my talents. But I'm in my 70s and it took me a LONG while to reach that point.

Taking a Peaty approach is the last idea I've got. If this doesn't work, I'm prepared to make peace with it. ?

 

[ReSTART]

I think you have sleep disordered breathing specifically upper airway resistance syndrome.

UARS (upper airway resistance syndrome) is caused by your muscles relaxing in the airway during sleep, making it difficult to breathe for some people. High airway resistance causes arousals and sleep fragmentation.

Pay for a home WatchPAT test for diagnosis, online is cheapest. If you do have UARS or sleep apnea, surgery is the best option or CPAP if you can tolerate it. MAD is ok but it causes TMJ issues if used long term.

 

[ReSTART]

@Demyze is right that diet is too high fat as well

 

[DrivesOldTruck]

@Demyze is right that diet is too high fat as well

Where is the line drawn between too high and just right? I don't track macros anymore, but that diet I listed is about 100g of fat, and about 160g of carbs. This is a macro split I've used successfully in the past to cut bodyfat. Carbs are higher when maintaining/gaining.

I'm running 15-20g of fat now on the advice of the good folks here. It's not going well so far, feeling extremely lethargic upon waking in the morning. Going to try to push through it for a couple more weeks to see if that changes.

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Maybe "God" wanted you to be frail, or less "masculine?" If some can't find any way to explain it they may just say it's, "God's doing." Hell, maybe it is ... I can't say either way.

I asked my mother when I was a kid about something I didn't like about myself, and she said, "Blame God." Perhaps this "God" guy is the one behind all suffering?! If we must blame "him" or "it" for things we don't like, then what gives? Maybe "God" controls the turtle or deep energy scathes or "final outcomes," while "science is cope."

 

[OccamzRazer]

Where is the line drawn between too high and just right? I don't track macros anymore, but that diet I listed is about 100g of fat, and about 160g of carbs. This is a macro split I've used successfully in the past to cut bodyfat. Carbs are higher when maintaining/gaining.

I'm running 15-20g of fat now on the advice of the good folks here. It's not going well so far, feeling extremely lethargic upon waking in the morning. Going to try to push through it for a couple more weeks to see if that changes.

Not sure what your problem is, but I'd bet that it doesn't have anything to do with previously eating too much fat. Fat wouldn't make a person weak lol.

Old-school bodybuilders used to mix their protein powder with half-and-half instead of milk...and got pretty dang strong doing so.

The Secret of Rheo H. Blair’s Protein Powder - Physical Culture Study

Having discussed Bob Hoffman's (failed) attempts to create a protein powder that was both tasty and efficient, the time seems right to examine Rheo H. Blair's famous protein powder from the mid-twentieth century. Iron game historians will long be aware that Blair's protein powder was the go to...

physicalculturestudy.com

 

[looking2grow96]

Still recommend a Dutch test tbh

 

[aniciete]

If you’ve put in thousands of hours into working out and consuming content, there’s no way lowering your fat intake or taking a handful of supplements is going to magically help you gain muscle. Your best bet is to get blood tests done and see what your T levels are.