6 cycles of 531 & only a slightly better 1RM on bench?

[bflare]

I did a 5-month cut until November 2018 in which I lost 40lb in weight & a lot of strength which I expected as I wanted to get the fat off quick.

Before I went on the cut my bench was 77.5kg for 3. After my cut I was down to 133lb at 5’7” which sounds really underweight, but I have an extremely small frame for a guy. I actually do not look that bad. I have been slow bulking since November & I am now just under 140lb so I have been adding around 0.3lb a week. I struggled with linear progression on bench after 130lb so this time I hoped on 531 BBB. I started really light & I was getting 12 reps on my 1+ set at 115lb which was approx. 160lb 1RM. I have done 6 cycles now & my 1RM as been up & down constantly. I appear to get a high 1RM of around 180lb when I am hitting the higher reps which I think is the norm as the 1RM estimation isn’t as accurate in the higher rep ranges. However, what I am concerned about is my progress. My last cycle yesterday I only hit 3 reps at 150lb on my 1+ set which took my est 1RM to 160lb. I am struggling to see that I have made any progress & I think I may have just wasted months. Although I am still at a low body weight of 140lb & my bench is 160lb surely, I should be benching more than this?

I am worried that I am just going to stall now on my bench. Should I just continue or change something? I have considered that I maybe now just entering the stage of the program where I am lifting in the lower rep ranges rather than higher rep ranges so I may now start to build strength?

I know people will suggest that I should still be on linear progression but at my low bodyweight I just couldn't add weight to the bar each week.

I am 40 year old so I guess it’s going to be a little more difficult for me to progress? I also have hypermobility so I have to be mindful of my form.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ivan Stepic]

So you went from skinny fat to just skinny. Check out stuff from Robert Santana on how to deal with skinny fat body type. I think your eating habits are a bigger problem than programming at this moment. There's no program that will significantly make you stronger, relatively or absolutely, if you're 5'7" and 140 pounds. You are expecting to hit lifetime PR's in a short period of time, while being 33lbs (20%) lighter and underweight and that is probably unrealistic.

If you do decide to eat more aggressively, you should do the program.
If not, you will waste a lot of time.

You don't have "hypermobility".

[bflare]

So you went from skinny fat to just skinny. Check out stuff from Robert Santana on how to deal with skinny fat body type. I think your eating habits are a bigger problem than programming at this moment. There's no program that will significantly make you stronger, relatively or absolutely, if you're 5'7" and 140 pounds. You are expecting to hit lifetime PR's in a short period of time, while being 33lbs (20%) lighter and underweight and that is probably unrealistic.

If you do decide to eat more aggressively, you should do the program.
If not, you will waste a lot of time.

You don't have "hypermobility".

I have been weighing & logging all foods & that is why as I said in my post that I have been adding a steady 0.3lb per week. I am NOT skinny fat or skinny as shown here in the right pic Imgur: The magic of the Internet I do not want to add a massive amount of fat like I did when I did my dirty bulk. I am not expecting to hit anything I was just looking for confirmation that the program was doing what it is intended to do. There is not much I can really do about my natural weight & I do not want to eat excessively & get excessively fat then spend months cutting it off as before. I want to do a steady clean bulk.

I have a rare medical condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome & a symptom of it is Hypermobility. I can did my diagnosis out if you like? I am not sure why you would think I would lie about a medical condition?

[Jeff LC]

my bench has still not even reached the plateau i originally hit at the end of My LP, i'm still weaker than i was then even though I'm PRing squats with ease every week.

[Jeff LC]

I did a 5-month cut until November 2018 in which I lost 40lb in weight & a lot of strength which I expected as I wanted to get the fat off quick.

Before I went on the cut my bench was 77.5kg for 3. After my cut I was down to 133lb at 5’7” which sounds really underweight, but I have an extremely small frame for a guy. I actually do not look that bad. I have been slow bulking since November & I am now just under 140lb so I have been adding around 0.3lb a week. I struggled with linear progression on bench after 130lb so this time I hoped on 531 BBB. I started really light & I was getting 12 reps on my 1+ set at 115lb which was approx. 160lb 1RM. I have done 6 cycles now & my 1RM as been up & down constantly. I appear to get a high 1RM of around 180lb when I am hitting the higher reps which I think is the norm as the 1RM estimation isn’t as accurate in the higher rep ranges. However, what I am concerned about is my progress. My last cycle yesterday I only hit 3 reps at 150lb on my 1+ set which took my est 1RM to 160lb. I am struggling to see that I have made any progress & I think I may have just wasted months. Although I am still at a low body weight of 140lb & my bench is 160lb surely, I should be benching more than this?

I am worried that I am just going to stall now on my bench. Should I just continue or change something? I have considered that I maybe now just entering the stage of the program where I am lifting in the lower rep ranges rather than higher rep ranges so I may now start to build strength?

I know people will suggest that I should still be on linear progression but at my low bodyweight I just couldn't add weight to the bar each week.

I am 40 year old so I guess it’s going to be a little more difficult for me to progress? I also have hypermobility so I have to be mindful of my form.

Any advice would be appreciated.

mate... the answer couldn't be more obvious. To a certain degree, you are not going to be able to gain any more strength without putting on weight. That's it, it's a super, super simple solution. 531 is an intense program and so is SSNLP, and neither is going to get you anywhere if you insist on remaining underweight. The answer is smacking you in the face.

[Jeff LC]

if you're unwilling to gain any body mass then you're not going to gain any strength and you will be stuck here forever. That's the simple fact.

The is a forum of strength training. People who want to put on muscle, which has mass, which requires eating to gain that mass.

We are not into the starvation mode six pack obsessed ultra skinny and lean instagram trend. If that's what you want, then you should just go to spinning classes and eat broccoli as a main course. Not sure why you're on this forum if you're not willing to do what's necessary to build strength.

[bflare]

mate... the answer couldn't be more obvious. To a certain degree, you are not going to be able to gain any more strength without putting on weight. That's it, it's a super, super simple solution. 531 is an intense program and so is SSNLP, and neither is going to get you anywhere if you insist on remaining underweight. The answer is smacking you in the face.

I am eating in a surplus & gaining around 0.3lb per week. I did the whole dirty bulk thing before & I got super fat then had to cut 40lb off which took 5 months. Surely I can gain strength as long as I am in a surplus without gaining too much fat?

[Ivan Stepic]

I have been weighing & logging all foods & that is why as I said in my post that I have been adding a steady 0.3lb per week. I am NOT skinny fat or skinny as shown here in the right pic Imgur: The magic of the Internet I do not want to add a massive amount of fat like I did when I did my dirty bulk. I am not expecting to hit anything I was just looking for confirmation that the program was doing what it is intended to do. There is not much I can really do about my natural weight & I do not want to eat excessively & get excessively fat then spend months cutting it off as before. I want to do a steady clean bulk.

I have a rare medical condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome & a symptom of it is Hypermobility. I can did my diagnosis out if you like? I am not sure why you would think I would lie about a medical condition?

Sorry then, most people who claim to be hypermobile are not hypermobile.

Other than that I don't have anything else to say. You can gain 0.3 lbs/week and get stronger but there's a faster way. A way that might even keep your abs intact.

[bflare]

if you're unwilling to gain any body mass then you're not going to gain any strength and you will be stuck here forever. That's the simple fact.

The is a forum of strength training. People who want to put on muscle, which has mass, which requires eating to gain that mass.

We are not into the starvation mode six pack obsessed ultra skinny and lean instagram trend. If that's what you want, then you should just go to spinning classes and eat broccoli as a main course. Not sure why you're on this forum if you're not willing to do what's necessary to build strength.

I was under the impression that to gain strength / mass you have to eat in a surplus which I am doing. I am eating in a controlled surplus to avoid adding any unnecessary fat. As I understand the human body can only gain so much muscle therefore any surplus calories will be used for fat. I am gaining body weight each week so what exactly am I doing wrong?

[bflare]

Sorry then, most people who claim to be hypermobile are not hypermobile.

Other than that I don't have anything else to say. You can gain 0.3 lbs/week and get stronger but there's a faster way. A way that might even keep your abs intact.

No problem. Yeah I know some people claim to be double jointed which isn't strictly possible.

I am not bothered about abs to be honest I would just like to keep getting stronger & adding mass in an appropriate way. I mean should I eat more? I am eating in a surplus. I am trying to ask people like yourself who are more knowledgeable just for a little help & guidance.