Stalling / Regressing / Lack of Motivation

[Scott Stevenson]

Totally get where your coming from S.

Actually I don't think you have at all. I don't see anything in your response regarding sitting down and digging deep into your goals. Mainly you've just changed the topic and told me about what doesn't work....

Normally or should I say when I am not experiencing this over training fatigue then I absolutely go balls to the wall in and throughout every set.. I mean even when I AM experiencing it I do the same as in train really intense but just feel like written off instead of energized.

To update you, I trained yesterday doing a hybrid Tier 1 cruise workout which consisted of doing a single MR and pump set for Chest & Arms and a single MR for the rest of my upper body (shoulders, back, abs). It was good and everything felt blown up. I actually got some minor DOMS in my arms for the first time in never.. and felt energized throughout so maybe the additional few days rest has alleviated some of this fatigue.

I know that body weight needs to increase substantially to gain any substantial size but do you think with me having trouble growing these arms that experiencing some kind of DOMS is a beneficial sign, or a negative sign?
As in do you think that this is feedback telling me that I have done too much volume in a single session or ?

DOMS is a function of novelty of exercise, so it will be greater after you've taken some time off. (This is called the repeated bout effect - you can google that and find loads on it.)

If you're never feeling DOMS in a muscle group and it's stagnant, then that could very well indicate you're not training it in a way that stimulated growth. (Some folks grow REALLY well in muscle groups that rarely are sore...)

Correct me if I am wrong but the feeling of DOMS indicates to me that I have actually worked the muscle, worked it enough to stimulate it as such but not annihilate it as I literally did an MR & a pump set not 15 sets of 10 reps for 4 different exercises like I see some kids do (over exaggeration maybe).

It is very subtle and not your typical soreness which leaves you absolutely crippled.

That's probably what most folks experience as far as DOMS. You can experiment and see if training less makes your arms grow more.. It's possible...

BUT - HUGE BUT - you're not going to get new arm growth after you've been training for a long time unless you're getting overall size gains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKBFWy3e...m-comments

The idea of having a training partner is obviously a good one but unfortunately I've had two training partners and neither of them have been able to stick it out.. some of the sets have left them for dead.
Heavy MR's, 5's into the hole on leg press, high rep sets for pump etc have taken them way out of there comfort zone and to a place of no return lol .

I'd keep looking. Finding a good training partner is hard as hell, I agree, but if you're in the right gym and make it a priority, it can very well happen.

-S