Slow & Heavy Weight Gain Anyone????

N

nbergren

Cathlete
Hi

I just came of a 3 week Slow and Heavy rotation with heavier weights than I have ever done with that work out.

Before this rotation I did a PS rotation for 4-6 weeks.

My diet is mostly clean, lots of fruit & veggies, whole grains, etc... with the occasional sweet. I got on the scale this morning and I was up 3 lbs! Ouch! That is not good! I am wondering if it is maybe from increased lifting and fewer cardios... 3 HIT's a week is what I was doing with the S&H and then 1 yoga/pilates.

Anyone else ever notice this? I just started CTX - 2 body parts per day and am really sore in the upper body (I think the increased tempo and reps is the cause of this). I am hoping the added cardio brings my weight back down.

Any input is great. Thanks!

Nancy
 
This will be of no help to you at all, but I wonder if it's muscle? If it is that's really nice. Did you take any measurements? Do you remember what they might have been before you started Slow and Heavy? More muscle is always a good thing. I just don't know what it could be it sounds as though your doing everything right. Let's see what everyone else thinks.
 
Lately I have been reading about how to gain muscle and it says 1 lb of muscle gained a week is what an expected result is, if you are lifting heavy and also eating a calorie surplus, to add the muscle.

I'd check your waist measurement if you know what it was before. My hunch would be that if your waist is the same or smaller, you have just added muscle. If your waist has gotten bigger, it is probably not muscle.

HTH
Jen
 
Thanks for the replys. I don't know what my waist was before exactly, but my pants aren't tight. If it is muscle I guess that is ok. Just seemed wierd to me as I hardly move on the scale usually.

Nancy
 
I thought that 1# a week was for males. I assumed that we testosterone-deficient types gained muscle more slowly, even with heavy weight training. It would be interesting to know for sure.'

It's also possible that some of the weight gain is fluid retention, as this is a way of repairing muscle after a tough workout.
 
As I came out of a S&H rotation where I did each tape twice I was 5 lbs heavier after the three weeks. It stayed with me for a week and then I noticed an increase in having to go to the bathroom and lost the weight - so my guess is that it's just fluid retention.

I thought if you are a women and take NO supplements that you can only add 5 lbs of pure muscle a year.
 
I'd like to know about the weight gain thing - because i want to gain muscle, thus gain weight. so far no gain in weight and i don't see anything in the mirror - i'm frustrated
 
Really, a woman can only gain 5lbs of pure muscle a year. What if your gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, would that show up as a weight gain or would you stay steady at the same weight? I wonder how that would work out? I've seen muscle development and shape but no weight gain.
 
Yeah, 1lb of muscle PER WEEK would not be possible. That means you could gain 52lbs of muscle in 1 year. Besides that, S&H is not really a hypertrophy rotation as much as a strength. You can be strong and not have big muscles. For muscle gain, you should do more like around 10 reps. But, I do know S&H will put on muscle, but I think it just tends to be because you are handling much greater poundages than in traditional Cathe workouts.If you are pushing your hardest and watching what you eat, then weight gain is GOOD. I would be thrilled if I were you.


Janice
 
In reply to your statement that the S&H is really more of a strength workout not really for developing a larger muscle, which I never really thought about it like that, which of Cathe's videos would be more of a muscle building workout? Does she really have one or are most of them really geared towards strength or endurance? You seem to know what your talking about.
 
Mic..

Hypertrophy tapes of Cathe's would be MIS, Pyramid if you are only pyramiding up, otherwise I think too many reps. Even MIS has alot of those 2 up-2 down, stop halfway, pulse reps. You want to gain muscle you should stick to heavy weights 10 reps without alot of fancy-shmancy. MIS is great I think after you put on a little mass. Gaining muscle is really not so complicated when you are just trying to lay down the foundation. If you are in descent shape, I say 10 reps as heavy as you can handle.

This is why alot of us are really enjoying P90X. You pick a weight that you can handle for 8-12 reps, with the last few being very difficult. That is how some of us are doing rows with 35# dumbells. BUT they are strait reps...no fancy shmancy, just all out weight. I think this is by far the best way to go for initial muscle gain.

S&H would be pretty good for mass if you added on some big joint moves such as pushups, pullups, deadlifts, rows. Regualar reps. But, as I said, S&H did give me the most muscle out of all Cathe's tapes. That's just me....


Janice
 
Proof that you can be very strong and not very big at all is the girl in the P90X chest/back tape (the russian? one, with blonde hair, now that I think about it, the only one). To me, her shape does not look exceedingly remarkable, but man, can she do the push ups and pull ups!!!:O


Janice
 
Thank you so very much for all that information. I really will have to check on p90X. I love it when people just break it down so simply. I will have to wait awhile but it sounds as though P90x is the series to have to rotate with Cathe's, unless she does one like that. Big Thanks Again for the information.
 
In my experience I have found that the Slow &Heavy workouts are the best for me for developing muscle mass. I have done muscle endurance and pyramid workouts with not much muscle increase but Slow and Heavy takes the cake. I keep increasing the weights on exerscises as soon as I can complete all reps with good form without feeling that I am dying. Every once in a while I throw in a muscle endurance workout.I combine the S&H workouts with about 3 -4 cardios a week. This was the best exercise prescription for me. I do find that I need to rotate cardio workouts extensively to keep my heartrate up and so I have a huge collection of cardio workouts. Frequently, I will replace a straight cardio workout or two during the week with a circuit type workout.:)
 
I just finished a 3 week S & H rotation and I put on about 2 lbs - I continued with cardio as well and didn't change my eating so I guess it must be muscle gain! I was a bit upset at first, but I still fit in my clothes just fine and don't feel any 'fatter' - so I guess the weight gain must be ok!

Josie
:)
 
Interesting thread! I will be doing S&H soon. I am interested in maintaining my weight - no gain, no loss. I plan to do each tape one time each with cardio on alternate days. If the weight goes up a bit but I am stronger - that's ok too!:)
 
With the slow and heavy are you doing one muscle group per week with that tape? I can't remember if it's one muscle group per week or one muscle group twice a week? Thanks
 
I think it depends on how quickly you recover and how frequently you as an individual need to work a muscle group to see gains. I only workout a muscle group once a week using S&H but I use the heaviest that I can handle properly and I have seen results. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top