Losing Weight & Recovery

[Tim Reese]

Just by way of comparison, I am about the same height as you, 5'9" and at 188 lbs I was about 15% body fat. I use a digital bodyfat scale, and we all know those are a couple of percentages off, but I'm wondering how you're coming up with your body fat calculations? I am now 203 lbs and still only about 17% body fat. I have a little chub going on, but nothing serious.

I honestly think you need to eat more. Your fatigue and soreness seem like lack of calories. Are you doing any supplementation with protein powders or taking creatine? At 200 lbs you could be under 20% body fat.

My body fat calculations are based off of the DoD Navy Standards by measuring my neck and waist circumference. I also have a body fat scale I know always rounds out to the high side. My neck is 14" while my waist is 37". I've never been successful at putting on muscle but then again I'd never done a program of lifting heavy weights before SS. I seriously need to gain muscle mass.

I supplement with both creatine and protein powder everyday and have for the last 6 months or so.

[Tim Reese]

Having lost 54 pounds and a bunch of strength to go with it last year, here what I am doing to get it back.

1. Eat to maintain current weight. Been within 5 pounds up or down for a few months.

2. Switched to Andy Baker's strength and mass after 40 program. Further modified that to an every other day program to allow tons of recovery time while maintaining as much volume as possible..

Haven't measured body fat, but maintaining the current weight, am wearing clothes that were too tight several months ago, and poked several holes in belts. The GF, family and friends all notice a positive difference.

Also use creatine everyday and supplement with a protein powder.

Just starting to hit and/or exceed previous Pr's.

Your mileage may vary.

I like the idea of holding my weight while losing fat at least in the near term. If I could just add 20+ pounds of lean mass as a starting point I would be a lot better off.

I may have to take a look at that program as long as I can taper it off to 3 days a week I think that would work best for me. I really could use those weekends to recover.

[MarinePMI]

Just an aside, you do realize the 20lbs is a lot of lean muscle mass to gain. Like near maximum for a natural lifter in their first year...

[Masher]

I've posted only a few times but I really could use some advice from the group here.

I've stalled more on the squat than any other of the lifts. I've had to reset several times due to either fatigue, form issues, or joint discomfort/IT band issues.

I had a lot of IT band problems several years ago, and it turned out most of my issue was working out (running, general getting sweaty stuff) in athletic shoes with beefy cushioned heels.

When I switched to "neutral-drop" footwear (ie "flat shoes") all my IT band trouble disappeared, nearly instantly. Not sure what kind of footwear you're squatting i? Just something to consider.

[Tim Reese]

I had a lot of IT band problems several years ago, and it turned out most of my issue was working out (running, general getting sweaty stuff) in athletic shoes with beefy cushioned heels.

When I switched to "neutral-drop" footwear (ie "flat shoes") all my IT band trouble disappeared, nearly instantly. Not sure what kind of footwear you're squatting i? Just something to consider.

I haven't ran in a few years now. I switched to Adidas Powerlifts around February. Whatever is causing the issue i haven't figured it out yet but I suspect it's related to the hip pain I've recently been having.