Am I growing? How can I tell?

[Cloudguy]

Well trying to measure myself has not been working well because I think I am measuring in different places so I am coming out with measurements that look like a sine wave over time on the same body part.

Anyway, is the ability to move more weight easily with every workout a sign of definite growth? Because now that my diet has improved and I have my workout etched in stone, I have been able to very consistently move more weight with every workout. Depending on the type of lift, I have been able to add 5-10 lbs per exercise per week. I have found for me that anywhere from 3-8 reps, depending on the lift, works just fine. And generally 2-3 sets. Here is what I have been doing:

Day 1 Bench Press x3
1 Warmup set
1 Set of the weight I lifted the previous week except I can do more reps
1 Set 5% heavier with as many reps as I can manage

Close-grip bench
2 heavy sets, about 6-8 reps

Incline-bench x 3
1 set at what I moved the previous week
2 sets at 5% increase

Military press x2
2 heavy sets, 6-8 reps

Tricep pulldown x2
2 heavy sets (sometimes 3 if I feel like I have a bit more energy left) of 6-10 reps

Rest day
10-15 minutes of HIIT

Day 2
Squat x3
1 warmup set
1 set at what I moved the previous week
1 set at 5% higher weight

Leg press x3
1 set at what I moved the previous week
2 sets at 5% higher

Calf raises
3 heavy sets 5% higher than previous week, 12-16 reps

Abduction/Adduction x2 each
5% increase over previous week, 18 reps each set

Rest Day
10-15 minutes of HIIT

Day 3
Deadlifts 5x5
1 warmup set
1 set at previous weeks weight
3 sets at 5%-10% higher weight

T-bar row x2
2 heavy sets, 6-8 reps

Lat pulldown x2
2 heavy sets, 8-12 reps, increase when I can

Low cable row x2
2 heavy sets, 8-12 reps, increase when I can

Ez-curl x2
2 heavy sets, 6-8 reps (been increasing almost 10% a week for a few weeks, that will probably slow down very quickly very soon)

Shrug x2
2 heavy sets, 12-16 reps

Rest Day
10-15 min HIIT

I do ab workouts every other rest day. 3-4 sets of 16-24 crunches, 1 warmup set, and then increase over what I did the previous week (either add more reps per set, decline the bench further, I will eventually add weight when I can do sets of about 24 on max decline).

Now I have heard that simply being able to move more weight does not necessarily equate to being more muscular. However, if I am making steady and consistent gains, week in and week out, and keeping my diet clean and adequate, it should be safe to assume that I am growing, even though I cant really notice major differences over short periods of time, correct?

[Cloudguy]

Also, this represents a MAJOR decrease in volume over what I had been trying to do before. I think I can credit improved diet and a decreased volume of lifting to the fact that I recover alot faster now and am able to increase weight more now and easier than before.

[kovalaybolt17]

its easy just do what i did... get a tatoo around the circumference of your arms, legs, calves, chest etc... and just measure around the line everytime with the tape measure.

























lol jk bro. just take cold measurements around the highest point of your bicep.. to measure chest go the circumference around using your nipples as a guide. you could probably figure out a way for yourself on the rest.. the best guage is probably pictures though.. take a pic now of yourself and compare it in a few months. see what happens.

[UK Lifter]

First of all mate congrats on reducing your training volume! There's too many bodybuilders that think it's total gym hours that equals results. Most bodybuilders on conventional routines would experience significant growth spurts if they switched to more abbreviated programs. If your weights (while using good form) are going up then you're training is definitely working, so don't change it. All i would say is be careful how quickly you increase the weights you are using. If you increase the weight too quickly you might reach a premature strength plateau.

As far as if you're growing or not, a good basic way to tell is to weigh yourself and just measure your waist. If you're getting heavier but your waist stays the same then that extra weight is obviously increased muscle tissue. Generally speaking stronger muscles do mean bigger muscles (if you're on a muscle gaining diet that provides a slight surplus of calories). Some people don't need to get much stronger in order for them to get much bigger whereas other people need to get much stronger in order to get only slightly bigger. This is genetically pre-determined and therefore something you can do nothing about. Concentrate on improving YOU, don't worry what others can achieve. Use yourself as your competition.

Good luck and keep getting stronger!