Back on the horse

[aschaul10]

Began SS NLP about a year and a half ago at 5'10" 195 lbs and 27 y/o. NLP worked very well, and by this Spring I weighed in around 230lbs and had my squat around 400, DL near 500, Bench near 225 and OHP near 150. Not great numbers but a pretty productive first year or so in my opinion.

Then life hit and we had our first child in April, and my lifting fell off a cliff. I wasn't sleeping well at all and essentially just took a 5 month hiatus (I got a few lifts in here and there just to keep movement patterns down but nowhere near the intensity).

Fast forward today, and I am finally in more of a routine, sleeping better, and ready to commit some time to the weight room again.
I have not really lost any weight, and am still right around 225, but obviously with much less muscle mass than 6 months ago.

As I restart my NLP, I am thinking I should be OK to essentially maintain my current weight while putting weight on the bar rather quickly. Since I am starting from a much higher weight than where I first began the NLP, my thinking is that there's no reason I need to think about putting on more weight until my lifts are back up close to where they were - is that correct?

[BareSteel]

Aschaul, as you probably experienced during your NLP, heavy lifting often increases appetite naturally. I understand that your physique has gotten a bit ‘soft” but I would simplify things and just focus on quality protein and keeping junk food to a minimum. Yes, it’s true that you’re in a different boat than a GOMAD-drinking novice, but you need to recover, too! Congrats on the 5-month-old.

[jwbucha]

Began SS NLP about a year and a half ago at 5'10" 195 lbs and 27 y/o. NLP worked very well, and by this Spring I weighed in around 230lbs and had my squat around 400, DL near 500, Bench near 225 and OHP near 150. Not great numbers but a pretty productive first year or so in my opinion.

Then life hit and we had our first child in April, and my lifting fell off a cliff. I wasn't sleeping well at all and essentially just took a 5 month hiatus (I got a few lifts in here and there just to keep movement patterns down but nowhere near the intensity).

Fast forward today, and I am finally in more of a routine, sleeping better, and ready to commit some time to the weight room again.
I have not really lost any weight, and am still right around 225, but obviously with much less muscle mass than 6 months ago.

As I restart my NLP, I am thinking I should be OK to essentially maintain my current weight while putting weight on the bar rather quickly. Since I am starting from a much higher weight than where I first began the NLP, my thinking is that there's no reason I need to think about putting on more weight until my lifts are back up close to where they were - is that correct?

I think you are posing the age old question: “can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?”

You are too close to 30 in my opinion. It might not work out. The more likely scenario is both muscle and fat will have to slowly increase to get back to where you were. This doesn’t get better as you age.

[Maybach]

I think you are posing the age old question: “can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?”

You are too close to 30 in my opinion. It might not work out. The more likely scenario is both muscle and fat will have to slowly increase to get back to where you were. This doesn’t get better as you age.

This isn't entirely true. 225 at 5'10" is a fine base, and it's unlikely you're going to run into bodyweight problems at the weights you're lifting. If you got that strong, and then gained weight during the hiatus, it is unlikely that you truly experienced that drastic of a loss of muscle mass. The "newbie gains" phenomenon that allows recomposition at heavier starting bodyweights and in untrained individuals is magnified for the "detrainee." I don't see any good reason that a 27 year old can't get their squat up near 400 without needing to go above 225. People in their mid and late 30s have done more with less.

[jwbucha]

Fair enough, we all live somewhere on the bell curve.

His comment about “obviously less muscle mass” had me questioning his reversal in body comp. 6 months off is a long time. And his hormone levels have clearly been messed with after going through child birth. Good luck aschual10.

[heinz83]

Fair enough, we all live somewhere on the bell curve.

His comment about “obviously less muscle mass” had me questioning his reversal in body comp. 6 months off is a long time. And his hormone levels have clearly been messed with after going through child birth. Good luck aschual10.

I thought his wife had the baby.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And his hormone levels have clearly been messed with after going through child birth. Good luck aschual10.

Had I had a baby, my hormone levels would be messed up too.

[jwbucha]

I wasn’t mocking the guy or trying to be an ass about it. I just thought it was well understood that men’s estrogen levels go up when their wife gives birth. Something about lowering testosterone makes it less likely for the male to commit infanticide. Evolution or whatnot.

Congrats on the baby aschaul10. I want to hear how the lifting goes.