I quit, now I need to restart

[BlackTigers]

I used to lift fairly religiously, but I've slowed down a ton recently, and today I got a comment that I was too skinny. That really, really irked me - I don't want to be skinny.

I haven't lifted in a good two months, and I all of my lifts are down a ton and my muscle has pretty much all faded off. I lost 15 pounds since the beginning of August, for reference. I'm still in great shape, but I miss some of the cuts I had =/.

These pics are me right now, so you guys have an idea.

Me 1
Me 2

I'm looking for a program that is relatively quick in workout times. Other than that, I'm more focused on size than strength. And for what it's worth, my lower body is worthless. My knees are so weak, I can squat maybe once a week, and after that I can't do anything with my lower body.

Any suggestions? I would do the "JUST EAT" thing, but I have this hatred of fat, haha. I'm hoping to gain a good 15-20 pounds of muscle by the end of winter, if that's feasible.

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers
Any suggestions? I would do the "JUST EAT" thing, but I have this hatred of fat, haha. I'm hoping to gain a good 15-20 pounds of muscle by the end of winter, if that's feasible.

Probably not happening. Squat more often; reduce the weight, if you must, but squat more often.

 

[KoolDrew]

Any suggestions?

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Row 3x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Train 3x a week (M-W-F) switching between the two.

I would do the "JUST EAT" thing, but I have this hatred of fat, haha.

Aim for 1g per pound of bodyweight in protein and a 10% increase from your maintenance calories. Monitor your progress and adjust if needed. You should be gaining around a pound a week to minimize fat gains.

I'm hoping to gain a good 15-20 pounds of muscle by the end of winter, if that's feasible.

Not going to happen.

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Any suggestions?

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Row 3x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Train 3x a week (M-W-F) switching between the two.

Yeah, I did SS for quite a few months, but gave up because my knees can't handle squats.

I could run for days, and I can leap higher than most, but I can't squat with any consistency. I have torn up knees, and can maybe get ONE day of squatting a week. After that I can hardly walk up a flight of stairs because they ache sooo bad.

It's because I didn't rehab them right after an ACL and an MCL tear. That's also part of the reason I need an upper-body centric routine.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Any suggestions?

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Row 3x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Train 3x a week (M-W-F) switching between the two.

Yeah, I did SS for quite a few months, but gave up because my knees can't handle squats.

I could run for days, and I can leap higher than most, but I can't squat with any consistency. I have torn up knees, and can maybe get ONE day of squatting a week. After that I can hardly walk up a flight of stairs because they ache sooo bad.

It's because I didn't rehab them right after an ACL and an MCL tear. That's also part of the reason I need an upper-body centric routine.

Ouch, sorry to hear about your knees, man. What other exercises can your knees take? Lunges? Have you rehabbed (or are you still rehabbing) your knees since the tears? Did you have surgery for the tears?

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Any suggestions?

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Row 3x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Train 3x a week (M-W-F) switching between the two.

Yeah, I did SS for quite a few months, but gave up because my knees can't handle squats.

I could run for days, and I can leap higher than most, but I can't squat with any consistency. I have torn up knees, and can maybe get ONE day of squatting a week. After that I can hardly walk up a flight of stairs because they ache sooo bad.

It's because I didn't rehab them right after an ACL and an MCL tear. That's also part of the reason I need an upper-body centric routine.

Ouch, sorry to hear about your knees, man. What other exercises can your knees take? Lunges? Have you rehabbed (or are you still rehabbing) your knees since the tears? Did you have surgery for the tears?

The injury itself is several years in the past, however I did not rehab them correctly afterward because I *thought* they were alright. I went through a total of 4-5 surgeries between my knees, so yeah they were killed pretty much.

Lunges I can do, but it has to be low weight. I gave up trying to increase my lower body weights, no matter how much I ate I plateaued out and couldn't break it because my knees were preventing the rest of my legs from gaining muscle mass.

 

[brikis98]

That definitely sucks about your knees and I'd suggest talking to a doctor to see what exercises you can safely do (as well as any PT you could do to strengthen your knees). I also guess it's worth asking: are you doing squats with proper technique? Is your weight staying on your heels? How deep are you going? How wide is your stance? Have you tried the (power lifting style) sumo stance? Do you push your knees out over your toes as you squat? Do you GM out of the hole? Do you rely a lot on your quads or your glutes? Do you do low bar or high bar squats (and have you tried the alternative)? Have you tried front squats? Box squats?

The reason I'm hammering on the squat issue is that if you really want to add muscle mass, it's hard to find an exercise that does it as effectively. Moreover, the squat is a fantastic way to build total body strength and is the foundation for many other excellent exercises, including the clean, snatch, OH squat, thrusters, etc. Without it, your routine will be far less effective, so you should make every effort to find a way where you can do squats. As I said, you should definitely consult a doctor, but the general consensus is that a properly performed squat is actually very good for the knee. Granted, that may not apply with pre-existing knee injuries, but that's only something a professional could really tell.

If you can't squat, I suppose you could try SS without it. Are you able to deadlift without pain? For example, you could try using deadlifts with lighter weight (and higher reps) instead of squats. You'd probably also want to emphasize the power clean (and, optionally, power snatch) as both of those allow you to generate lots of power with your legs without too much knee bend. Lunges, step-ups, and good mornings are also decent exercises you could try.

Other than that, you may also want to look into Crossfit. It's routine that includes just about everything: power lifting, olympic lifting, gymnastics, plyometrics, running, rowing, etc. The goal is to develop proficiency across 10 fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy. Each day, there is a "workout of the day" which is typically very intense (workouts are often done "for time"), changes every day (workouts VERY rarely repeat) mixes a lot of different type of exercises and can be scaled to anyone's ability. If you run into a workout that includes squats, you'll either need to skip it or make a substitution. However, while CF does a fair amount of squatting, it's not like SS where you do it every day, and a lot of it is done with very light weight, so it might work out for you.

One final note: regardless of what routine you do, you'll need a calorie surplus and sufficient protein in your diet to build muscle. Use a site like thedailyplate.com or fitday.com to track your diet and exercise and ensure that calories in > calories out. Aim for a ~250-500 calorie surplus per day, as this will let you build a reasonable amount of muscle without adding too much fat. You'll also want to aim for around ~1g of protein per pound of bodyweight.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Any suggestions?

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Row 3x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
OH Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Train 3x a week (M-W-F) switching between the two.

Yeah, I did SS for quite a few months, but gave up because my knees can't handle squats.

I could run for days, and I can leap higher than most, but I can't squat with any consistency. I have torn up knees, and can maybe get ONE day of squatting a week. After that I can hardly walk up a flight of stairs because they ache sooo bad.

It's because I didn't rehab them right after an ACL and an MCL tear. That's also part of the reason I need an upper-body centric routine.

Ouch, sorry to hear about your knees, man. What other exercises can your knees take? Lunges? Have you rehabbed (or are you still rehabbing) your knees since the tears? Did you have surgery for the tears?

The injury itself is several years in the past, however I did not rehab them correctly afterward because I *thought* they were alright. I went through a total of 4-5 surgeries between my knees, so yeah they were killed pretty much.

Lunges I can do, but it has to be low weight. I gave up trying to increase my lower body weights, no matter how much I ate I plateaued out and couldn't break it because my knees were preventing the rest of my legs from gaining muscle mass.

Sounds like you need to get back on a PT program to progress you through that. A PT program is still very beneficial to you, IMO. I would talk to your doctor or your orthopedist, but that's my opinion. It's definitely not getting better on its own and living with that is terrible if you have the option of another path.

 

[gramboh]

As Brikis said, are you 100% sure your squat technique was proper? I ask because my friend wrecked one his knees (MCL/ACL) skiing a few years ago. He did SL 5x5 with me and another friend and commented that his knee felt more stable from squatting 3x a week. As Brikis said, you have to have correct technique (which yes, is outlined in Rippetoe's book 'Starting Strength'). I would suggest low-bar squats as the book describes for someone with knee issues.

Of course it is possible that your injury prevents you from squatting heavy, but I'd do a bit more research and maybe see a sports med doctor before writing it off.