Am I getting weaker?

Question

So after a few weeks of working out in my house, I’ve started to notice some gains. At first, I was glad that my exercises were efficient and continued to work out, which at the time seemed to get easier the more I worked out. I was certain that if I kept doing the same exercises, it would gradually get easier and easier, and I could move on to harder exercises. Now, I keep trying that same workout and I’m struggling with the push-up portion of it. For some reason, even with proper form and doing it fast, I lack the will and strength to do the amount I originally did. I’m 18 and I get about 1800-2400 calories a day with at least 50 grams of protein and 250 grams of carbs a day, as well as about 7-12 hours of sleep and minimum stress. I don’t think I’m overtraining because I’ve taken at least 2 weeks off in the 3-4 weeks and don’t push myself to particular hard exercises. So is it possible that I’m getting weaker despite physically growing, and if I am, how can I change this?

Dave Liepmann · Answer

I’ve taken at least 2 weeks off in the 3-4 weeks and don’t push myself to particular hard exercises.

When I take every other week off and don't push myself hard, I expect to stagnate or get weaker. This is especially true if my "on" weeks might only have 2 workouts.
If you want more results, put in more work.

Ace Cabbie · Answer

There's a couple scenarios behind this.. I think the first 3 are the most likely..:

Hypertrophy(muscle gain) does not equal strength. In fact, it's possible to lose muscle while gaining strength, and gaining muscle while losing strength. It all depends on your workout, how many reps are you doing and what is your workout like?

Adaptation. If you do the same thing everyday, your body will adapt to those habits, and quit trying to adapt. In terms of working out, your body's adapted to the same exercises everyday and chemical changes are happening that are stunting your growth or backtrack your progress. It is usually not very severe unless you've been doing this for months, but mild strength loss is possible after a couple months.

Nutrition. You've given some details about diet, but are you getting all your vitamins, minerals, zinc, amino acids, EAAs and BCAAs? Eating complex carbs throughout the day and simple carbs before and after a workout? Feel free to bump up your protein.. I think 0.5 to 0.75grams of protein per lb of bodyweight is a good estimate..I don't know your weight but I'd shoot for 100 grams at least. Not an issue if you're doing 50 bit 50 is the bare minimum for health reasons, and not the best for mass or strength

Calorie intake-is your calorie intake the same as when you started?are your goals muscle gain or strength loss? You can weigh yourself each week and make sure your gaining weight each week to ensure muscle gain. Your body might just need more calories than it use to.

Too much sleep- 12 hours of sleep!? Having excess sleep has negative performance on he body ironically. I am not sure if this affects strength, but I do know it can lead to fatigue and depression.again, people don't think too much sleep is bad but it can cause fatigue.
Quality sleep-lets assume you're only sleeping 8 hours.. is that quality sleep? Even conditions like sleep apnea can turn 8 hours into 5 hours of quality sleep and cut REM cycles in half.
Water-staying hydrated?

Am I getting weaker?

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