Been lifting for 2 years not much progress please help!!!

[Machwon1]

So I been lifting for 2 years... Really haven't seen much results I mean... Yes I'm 200lbs at 15-17% fat. I think I was gaing good then got stupid and did a cycle of superdrol/epi did do nolva for pct... Honestly superdrol and epi I didn't gain a pound... Actually I think I gained fat on that cycle.... So what's wrong with what I'm doing my diet is good I think... My training was 5x5 Now I changed it to full body 3 times a week.... Mayr that will help? My question is do you think I have low test?! If I can't gain muscle? I'll posty daily diet below ad traing is all compound movements plus so iso

Wake up 30 gram protein shake with milk plus 2oz chicken

11am. Beef jerky or protein bar

2. 8oz chicken usually or turkey or something.

5pm protein shake or like 16ozs chocolate milk

8pm usually chicken,Beef, turkey.




So the only thing I can think is my test is low.... I'm only 20 though... But I think my superdrol/epi ****ed me over even with nolva....

 

[drvinnybombat]

Based on what you're saying here, I think I eat nearly double the amount of food as you. Also, if you're accurate with 5'9'', 200 lbs, and 16%, then you did ok.

 

[Machwon1]

Ya I'm about accurate... I can sometimes just make out my top abs... My arms are very very small though.... Like 13inches but my lats are like wings... And I tried eating more and I just get bloated and fat.... I guess my metoblism is very slow... I was taking in about 3500 calories and getting fat. I'll see if I can upload a pic...Maybe I'm fatter than I think lol I think I am fat though

 

[drinkyboy]

You need to eat ALOT more than that...and I mean ALOT! Go out and buy some food!!!

 

[Machwon1]

Ok I might be fatter I was just looking at some pics then looked at other and I'm prolly closer to 17-20% fat.... Damn... Haha maybe I'll bulk to 220lbs lol jk I would like to be 10-12 by summer but like I said I can't seem to grow... But fat comes on easily

 

[bigbob21]

Your diet isnt detailed enough for us to go on...
**** I eat more than that and I'm only 175 @ around 12-14%, 5'8

Basic musclebuilding "diets" dictate eating your body weight x20 kcals a day...OR MORE
What you describe doesnt sound anywhere near that.

You might wanna re-evaluate your eating. Start by counting 200 x 20 = 4000
If you can't eat 4000+ kcald a day without using cheap burgers or pizza, (using clean food) then ph's wont help you.

Nutrition is 80% bodybuilding...

P.s. I gain fat easily too...just moniter Carb intakes to certain times per day and add in small amounts of cardio multiple times a week

 

[omni]

I'm the same height. I was strong as hell at 195 but it wasn't until i started eating big that i started getting big.

 

[Machwon1]

Ok so if I get this right... I can eat more and not gain fat... Jus watch carbs.... Can someone help me with this? What would a easy to follow diet look like that isn't like 100 bucks a week.... Also I can't eat tuna it makes me sick every time also cottage cheese makes me sick also... So what would I diet be you guys think?


Omni your my height and 250lbs?!? You must be freaking huge!!

 

[ken22]

Eat, chicken, rice then more chicken. Looks like you are guessing at BF that impossible
to do.

 

[Machwon1]

Ya it's a guess based on what other say... O chicken is mainly what I buy when I shop... Brown rice sometimes but I'm very carb sensitive think that's what makes it hard to eat 3500 calories... Carbs... I try to stay below 100... But that's hard when you ha e to eat alot...haha

 

[bigbob21]

scivation.com/teamscivation

Could follow directly or tinker as you like...
they offer many e-books for different styles of training/eating/living depending on your body and your goals...

even if you dont like their supps, they practice what they preach.

 

[BrockR]

I'm no expert by far, but something is not adding up.

If I were you I would post up some pics, a very detailed breakdown of your daily intake (pick an average day) and your workout routine.

There's plenty of sharp folks on here that can point things out in an instant.

 

[Machwon1]

I'll post pics in about a hour or so... I just weighed myself and I'm 196lbs been on a cut or trying for 3 weeks now... So down from 201... Very detailed I'll do today what I ate...

730am. Protein shake with milk
11am potroast about 6oz with ceasar salad lite dressing
2 pm protein bar 30gram protein
5 pm 20oz chocolate milk
Workout 730
830 post workout shake with milk
9pm will be BBQ chicken about 8-10 ozs


Training... Full body m/w/f

Monday flat bench deads military press leg press tri pushdown rope, barbell curl, then sometimes shrugs or whatever I feel like I need to hit better... I do that m/w/f mostly... Oo pull ups and pushups also and dips.

 

[Machwon1]

Ok I post the workout I just did....

Squats 2 sets 10
Flat bench 2 sets 10
Dumb bell pull overs 2 of 10
Tri pushdown 2 of 10
Seated rows 2of 8
Calf raises 2 of 12
Deads 2 of 10
Crunches 2 of 15
Military press 1 of 10 2nd set made it to 8

 

[SemiBulimic]

NOwhere near enough calories, or protein. You really should be eating TWICE this. If you still want to keep carbs low then only eat them with breakfast and before training. I did this for 5 months, lost loads of fat and increased strength slightly, but managed to look bigger. Aim for at least 300gms protein a day. You are eating very little fat. Get a lot of your kcals from fats - whole eggs, nuts, fish, oils etc.
You also need to make your mind up what you want to achieve. DO you want to cut or gain mass? It is very hard to do both. Either go for the cut now or bulk up and then cut later. Either way you need to fix the nutrition side of things before anything else.

 

[Machwon1]

Also I forgot lat pull downs 2 of 8

 

[Machwon1]

Can you post me a good diet to get that much protein in I have such a hard tome with diet to get that much protein.... And I guess I'll go for mass as I'm not anywhere near as big as I want to be...

 

[Jake Fires]

how much weight do you use with all those workouts?? thats important info.

 

[mkretz]

eat at least 6 melas a day with 50 grams of protein at each meal....that gives u 300 grams of protein, add in 300 grams of complex carbs and 100 grams of HEALTHY fats and u got 3300 calories....at ur weight that probably wont even be enoug but since u ay u gain fat easily maybe it is, shoot for that and see what happens. Also if u cgain fat easily make most of the carbs before your training, and any carbs after ur postworkout window keep them fiborous, that shoudl keep fat gain to a minimum with plenty f energy for workouts!

 

[omni]

This is what I'm doing now. I'm on the go and have to pack my meals. I leave my house at 4 am and home about 6pm. No microwave. My diet is simple, cheap and I'm growing every week.
Meal 1- large bowl of oatmeal, 32oz protein shake in milk- 75g protein
Hit the gym for about 45min.
Meal 2- Another protein shake in milk, 32oz gatorade with 1tbs corn syrup
Meal 3- 1 can of ravioli's, protein shake, a fruit
Meal 4- 2 cheap fastfood burgers (value meal) and 2 cups of milk
Meal 5- 1 lb beef about a cup of noodles, a pound of veggies
Meal 6- 6 eggs, a protein shake

I got this from Dante Trudel and modified it a little. Don't forget to drink a couple gallons of water.

 

[Machwon1]

Omni it sounds like a pretty simple diet... How do you get so much protein in the shakes? Like 3 scoops protein powder? Fastfood burgers? Really? Not gaining to much fat with that?

 

[Machwon1]

O weights for the workouts deads is around 250 or so... Bench about 180 or so... Lat pulldown is like 80-90lbs push downs also about the same... Dips are bw plus 20lbs um I am starting a long this week to track it better but every week I do add weight

 

[drinkyboy]

I gain alot of fat with starches and and grains. You could also try getting all your carbs from fruit and veggies. works for me...lean out and build muscle. Just play with it man, but bottom line is you need to eat more! Nothing will happen unless you eat more!

 

[omni]

Omni it sounds like a pretty simple diet... How do you get so much protein in the shakes? Like 3 scoops protein powder? Fastfood burgers? Really? Not gaining to much fat with that?

32oz of milk is 36g of protein plus 2 scoops of protein. I do cardio everyday and I don't seem to put much fat on. My waist stays around 34" to 35". Closer to summer I'll tighten up and switch to chicken.

 

[Machwon1]

Hmm I'm going to try the diet and make it better... Thanks guys

 

[ken22]

Ok I post the workout I just did....

Squats 2 sets 10
Flat bench 2 sets 10
Dumb bell pull overs 2 of 10
Tri pushdown 2 of 10
Seated rows 2of 8
Calf raises 2 of 12
Deads 2 of 10
Crunches 2 of 15
Military press 1 of 10 2nd set made it to 8

In addition to nutririon I would take a look at your workouts IMO.
I am sure you can find good plans here at training forum.
For starters I would do mor than 2 sets 3-5 depending.
Reps looks good.
I would also not do every muscle group in one day.
Example: Deads and back 1 day
Bench and chest 1 day
Squats and legs 1 day
Then I do arms and shoulders in between.

 

[HardEarned]

For your diet you need to EAT A LOT MORE CARBS! Carb load all the time man. Eat realistically 3,800 calories a day 65% of those from calories from CARBS (1 gram carbs = 4 calories). Your protein intake is sufficient. Just eat more calories and carbs to load those glycogen stores up and draw some water into the muscle. Your eating as if your on a cutting diet!

Also you may want to modify your workout routine. A bulking routine would be like:
Monday: shoulders and traps 18 sets total
Tuesday: arms forearms abs 20 sets total
Wed: Legs and calfs 20 sets total
Thurs: Chest and abs 22 sets total
Fri: Back and Lower back 18 sets total

 

[mountainman33]

Ok I post the workout I just did....

Squats 2 sets 10
Flat bench 2 sets 10
Dumb bell pull overs 2 of 10
Tri pushdown 2 of 10
Seated rows 2of 8
Calf raises 2 of 12
Deads 2 of 10
Crunches 2 of 15
Military press 1 of 10 2nd set made it to 8

Aside from the nutrition, what you wrote above is your other major issue. If you've been truly working hard for 2 years then what you posted here isn't enough volume, and way too random to reach a stimulus level to activate sufficient growth.

 

[blaykeryan]

Yea man sorry but your diet is horrible....I have your breakfast every morning as an appetizer for my breakfast ha...here's an example of my diet ...Note if you want to gain size you will put on some fat unless you on gear.

Breakfast- 2 or 3 eggs and 4 egg whites..3 pieces turkey bacon..1 c oats

Snack- peanut butter or almonds and a banana

Lunch- 6-8 oz of ground turkey, lean beef, or chicken...Some sort of complex carb, usually baked potatoe or fries..and 1 c veggies

Workout

Post workout - whole wheat spaghetti or similar as lunch

Dinner- 6-8 oz chicken or fish...complex carb source and veggies

Bed- milk or Greek yogurt mixed with cottage cheese...Hell mabe a bowl of cereal whatever I feel like. ...I like to eat if I gain fat idc ha..it's winter time ....have fun with your diet and enjoy the taste of your food...you can still cook burgers and burritos but use healthy ingredients ...
Only reason I typed this is because I'm waiting on laundry to dry ha..other wise I would spoon feed you ha I'm jk...
And some days I may only eat 3 large meals..just as long as I get my cals and macros in..don't let people get it in your head that you have to eat 6 meals a day every 2-3 hours bla bla...

 

[HIT4ME]

I'm surprised that only two people on here have mentioned your workout routine. I think this is a much bigger issue than your diet. And the two people who did catch it, want to increase volume, which I disagree with - but that is the nature of this. You are going to get a couple different viewpoints on everything.

What are your goals? How are you measuring progress? Are you keeping a training journal for every workout?

2 sets/exercise, in my opinion, is plenty. Many on here will disagree. But two things jump out at me from your workout:

1. It seems to have no purpose. i.e. - you seem to be doing what you want with almost no plan. Just some of this, some of that.

2. You seem to be hitting pre-selected reps. It isn't like you put up a workout and it was 8-10 reps on every exercise. It was 10 reps down the board, with the exception of 8 reps on some exercises. You are hitting round numbers on everything, which makes me think you are NOT training to failure.

So, you need to decide why you are lifting weights and what you hope to get from it. You may want to stick with 2 sets and train to failure and put more effort than you are putting into each set, or you may want to listen to one of the guys above and increase your volume a little and keep your intensity at some place less than failure.

But the overall key is, if you are not progressing, it is because you are not planning for progression. You should be writing down every set, rep and exercise of every workout. If you get 10 reps on an exercise this workout, increase the weight next workout. Maybe 5-10 pounds extra. My guess is, you probably aren't near failure with your training, so you may go a number of weeks where you increase the rep and continue to get 10 reps, and increase again the following week. But eventually you will add those 5 extra or 10 extra pounds and BAM! You will only be able to grind out 6 reps. When you hit that point, stick to that weight and try to add a rep or two every week until you are back at 10 reps, then add weight again and repeat.

 

[machinehead]

I'd agree with the above post.

Some of us don't respond to volume and have to increase strength continuously. Everything else, including diet and training frequency revolves around that.

I, for example, go through growth spurts every 8-9 months where I suddenly add a pound or two of muscle as if overnight. According to my logbook, this coincides with adding at least 10% to my lifts for reps (6-12 usually). So it does not make sense to me to go through bulking and cutting or adding volume for the sake of accelerating gains. One or two working sets per body part (legs and back get 2, everything else gets one), once a week or 3 times every 2 weeks and that's it. If you are relatively weak and not very neurologically efficient, you may train more often and even do more sets. That is the fun part of it, finding what works by starting with higher frequency and lower number of working sets and modifying until you are content with your strength increases and your recovery.

To quote DC here, you will not find anyone who can squat 500lb for 20 reps and bench 400lb for 12 reps who is small. I know high volume training is much easier but those of us for whom it does not work, we have no choice but to embrace a training philosophy where strength gains are mandatory, not nice to have.

Regards

 

[compudog]

Ok I post the workout I just did....

Squats 2 sets 10
Flat bench 2 sets 10
Dumb bell pull overs 2 of 10
Tri pushdown 2 of 10
Seated rows 2of 8
Calf raises 2 of 12
Deads 2 of 10
Crunches 2 of 15
Military press 1 of 10 2nd set made it to 8

This is way too much for strength gains IMO. If I were you I'd give this a try:

http://stronglifts.com/5x5/

It's a full body workout similar to what you're doing now, but somewhat simpler.

 

[UCSMiami]

Well the OP posted a few years ago but I knowing the feeling. Bench press only increased by 20lbs in the previous twelve months. I kinda accepted and move on. I do modified 5x5 but use more routines other than the three per day in the Stronglifts program.(but with longer recovery in-between) I recall reading you gain the most in your first year, then thereafter gains diminish considerably so I thought it was normal.

 

[compudog]

Well the OP posted a few years ago .

D'oh! Thanks for pointing that out. Personally I've never done the full body workout but I've used the 5x5 rep scheme a lot, it's a great way to get volume. I suspect it doesn't matter what program you use, your gains will be greatest in your first year, for a few reasons, mostly revolving around learning. 20 lb on your bench in a year isn't bad, I think I might've added 10 to mine over the last year.