rebuilding muscle after weight loss

[JonTurner]

Hello,

I am not elderly(age 47), but the discussions on this forum are very relevant to my life circumstances. read on...

A bit of background: Age 47, 6'2", 190 pounds. I am a stroke survivor(2010-left side weakness remains) and DVT(2015) survivor and have several other ailments such as Asthma, Adrenal insufficiency and Sleep Apnea. Atypical 47 YO guy I guess.
I have been lifting for several years(since 2014-15) on SS. In 2017 my squat and deadlift hovered around 200 lbs. My press never got much above 65-70 pounds.

I have been over weight for many years, weighing in the 240s as of 6 months ago. This year I lost 50 pounds (down to 190) primarily due to clean eating. This has helped my health in general in so many ways-Asthma,Apnea, mobility.

However, the issue is losing muscle mass in addition to fat. The 190 pound me just can't lift nearly as well as the 240 pound me. Right now I struggle to squat/Deadlift in mid 100s and press in the 40s.

I am thinking about just restarting Novice Linear Progression and increment very slowly to rebuild strength on the 190 lb frame.

Any thoughts/ideas/experiences in this regard are most welcome

-Jon Turner- Canton, GA

[Cheesepuff]

Well whatever the past, you appear to be in LP now. Your PR's won't return as easily down 50 pounds.
I've lost 20 pounds I needed to lose it far more than you and I feel it. (aka 280 to 260 at 6'2") I feel like 240 is where it is going to "work for me".

Get a good set of microplates.
Microplates for sale
Use them.

Of course:
The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe
Applies, and in your case #3 is sort of a red flag. (aka 190 pounds is not optimal for lifting)
I'm sure you are well aware of what Rip has said. And it appears that you are becoming acutely aware of why he said it.

But you can get stronger...
Have a SSC look at your form.
How to Increase Testosterone Naturally | The Art of Manliness
Up your D3 (take with fat). (I take 5000iu)
Creatine Monohydrate 5g / day
Get ear plugs to help you sleep better.
Lift consistently, which I never could without a home gym. I'm not passing out excuses, I'm saying do whatever it takes.

Consider that a 200 lb squat at a bw of 240 is 83% of BW.
A 200 lb squat at a bw of 190 is 105% of BW.

Good luck.

[LarryLohkamp]

Nothing like shaking the reaper’s hand and managing to walk away, eh? Been there. I got to have thoracic surgery, but still, been there. It certainly changes your priorities.

I’ve also been down the weight loss trail, too. Being a skinny fat old guy, I just had to dump 30# to get to my current self. Some muscle loss on the trail is just something you have to put up with until you get to whatever your goal is. I’d bet it is less than you think, and certainly you can get the muscle back with some effort in the weight room.

Read the “Starting Strength” book (you do have the book?) and titrate your weights up as described for the exercises. Do a short linear progression and rebuild your muscle and retrain your CNS. Do 5# increments, if you can, 2.5# or less if you can’t. Its not like we are going to the Olympics. 2 ½ pounds 3 times a week is more than 300 a year. It doesn’t take a lot to add up. The book “Barbell Prescription” has template examples for those of us over 40.

I’m more than 20 years your senior with no prior lifting experience. This week, 40 weeks in, I dead lifted 276, Squatted 210, and even with my T-rex arms I made 130 Bench and 84 Press. I only weigh 152#. As a diabetic I can’t slam down big calories and gain bodacious weight. You can do it.

[JonTurner]

Thanks for the advise.

I do have SSBBT and “Barbell Prescription”. Gonna review/reread those, start a Linear Progression, focusing on my form.