067 Why you’re not progressing (and why it might not be a plateau)

In this episode of Hypertrophy Past & Present, Jake and Chris begin by reviewing Stuart McRobert’s 1989 hardgainer routine, a minimalist two-day-per-week program designed as an alternative to the increasingly extreme bodybuilding routines of the late 1980s. The conversation then explores an important distinction: is every period of stalled progress really a plateau, or are there times when we should simply expect progress to slow or stop?

Key topics include:

Stuart McRobert’s 1989 twice-weekly full-body hardgainer routineThe difference between a true plateau and a program that was never capable of producing continued progressWhy strength gains can sometimes make a poorly designed hypertrophy program appear to be workingWhy life stress, poor sleep, dieting, or adding other forms of exercise may cause you to stop progressing without necessarily creating a true plateauWhy coaches should investigate what has changed before immediately modifying a client’s training programThe difference between managing a temporary lack of progress and actively trying to “bust” a plateauWhy temporary stressors may only require reducing training volume, while long-term lifestyle changes may require rebuilding the program entirelyWant to train like a Silver-Era bodybuilder? Join our Hypertrophy Past and Present Training group on TrainHeroic.com