Muscle Building Plateau?

This question was asked on Yahoo Answers and my answer was chosen as the best. By the way, the Stair Step Training System virtually eliminates any chance of a prolonged plateau, simply by forcing periodic short plateaus!

Muscle Building Plateau?

I am fourteen and have been trying to improve my overall muscle build so that i do not seem so small. I have been training for about a month and a half now, about 4 to 5 times a week, one hour a day. I have defiantly seen results with my workouts. However it seems in the last few workouts ive been to, i dont feel the 'burn' of weight lifting (especially in my biceps and chest). I think i may have hit a plateau and was wondering what I should do to help get out of it.

Best Answer – Chosen by Asker

Age notwithstanding (we'll get to that in a minute), I would suggest that you cut down on your workout frequency as well as your volume per workout. Train 3 days per week for no more than 30 minutes per workout. Train with more intensity, never taking more than a minute between sets.

Hit the big bodyparts and don't worry about the "showy" muscles like the biceps. They'll grow much bigger and stronger simply by socking it to the chest, back, and quads.

Do squats, bench presses and dips, pullups, pulldowns, and rows. Do some military presses for the delts. That's really all you ought to be doing. Do 2-3 sets per exercise. Full body workouts are best at this stage.

Make sure you're eating sufficiently (i.e., a lot) – beef, poultry, fish, milk, and eggs are your best sources of protein. Oats, rice, yams, and veggies are your energy sources.

Get as much sleep as you can, with 9 hours being ideal. You're about to experience a growth spurt, in both height and possibly weight – your body grows when it sleeps. If you don't get enough sleep, your body will not grow or recover from intense workouts.

Now, let's talk about your age. I've seen lots of guys begin lifting even younger than you. And many grow very big and strong. However, I think going really heavy and doing anything close to single rep max weights is really counter-productive. Stick to sets of 10 reps and don't do any of the so-called "high intensity" stuff like forced reps, negatives, drop sets, or rest-pause. It's just too much.

Even better is to stick to body weight exercises like pushups, chins, and single-leg squats, and go for reps. You won't get massive, but you will get an athletic body. A few years down the road, you could add in some heavier lifts to add a lot of size, but for now, go for the wide receiver body.

Your joints will thank you later on in life. Trust me on this.

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Bill Davis has been an avid weight trainer since the age of 12. He started out as a skinny teenager and finally made his training breakthrough in his late 20s when he discovered how to pack on lean muscle in short order.

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