[quote]njrusmc wrote:
Well, gaining 15 lbs in 8 weeks is a lot of weight. Judging by your physique I would say that an above-average amount was stored as fat. That is not to take away your gains, as you have made great ones thus far.
I guess I wouldn’t say that your lifts are extremely impressive given your weight at 180. Maybe its time to clean up the diet. If you are 180 and only benching 115 and squatting 225, then I think you have a substantial amount of fat from overeating OR under training.
Just my opinion, I am relatively new too, so take this constructively from another guy who is learning.[/quote]
Thank you for the advice - I think I was definitely overeating earlier, looking back on it, and not lifting heavy enough to cover the excess calories. My bench is actually 125, but I was sick at the time and needed too much help to really count it, squat is up to 235. Just have to help out my ego a bit there. 
Thanks!
[quote]kinein wrote:
I would not say that those 15 lbs are all muscle. What was your bench in July compared to now…?
You know joining your football team and wrestling team would do wonders… Track and Field? Shotput! Sprint team! [/quote]
Bench on 18 July was something awful like 3x65x5 on a Smith machine. I’m not sure what it was after going to free weights, I either lost the sheet or didn’t take good notes. Squat then was 3x120x5 on a Smith (ugh) and DL was 110? I looked at myself shirtless today and it’s not particularly pretty, I really need to start running or something again.
Too late for me to join football or wrestling, both have already started (I might have to learn to play football first as well.) Thank you for the ideas though, I hadn’t thought of track & field until now. Hopefully next spring I’ll be learning to throw and jump…
[quote]mr popular wrote:
If you’re going to gain weight at that pace you should probably be working more than just 4 or 5 muscle groups… where do you expect all this weight to be going to, honestly?
Normally the general rule of thumb is, 3-5lbs every month. If you’re gaining more than that then you either cut back carbs or increase cardio.
So if, in the middle of month three, you’ve already gained another 5lbs, then you need to change something.
But for god’s sake don’t get the bright idea that you need to “cut” right now.[/quote]
I thought compound exercises were best for beginners? Obviously I’m a nub or I wouldn’t be here, but that was the impression I got. If isolation exercises work really well for you though, I’ll look into it in a few months.
Carbs are already really low (from grains/cereals, anyways, I don’t count vegetables), almost always below 70g a day. I guess it’s time to start running again. Not going to try and cut.
[quote]jimboman wrote:
What kind of intensity are you lifting at with those weights? Are you pushing yourself to the limit, or leaving anything in the tank?
Also, what are your macro profiles like? If you think you’re putting on fat at too high a pace, kick up the cardio and/or cut back the carbs gradually, maintaining the same caloric intake. [/quote]
It seems like everyone’s agreeing that I need to lift harder. There’s usually a bit of gas left, but I do need something to bike back home on. Still, I should probably kick it up a notch - just worried about form (which is already kind of poor on bench, SM press) and injuries (there’s something that feels dangerous in my left quad when I squat.) Is this anything to be concerned about?
My protein intake is something like 160-180g a day (I think, I’ve been eating less recently), not sure about fat intake (moderate range) and pretty low on carbs (a cup of oatmeal a day, Surge PWO and occasionally some wheat bread PWO as well.)
BTW, your icon is very impressive. That’s a sweet-looking grill.
[quote]Dissonance wrote:
Kick it up a notch. I made similar small gains in my first 2-3 months, but I came home with plenty of energy.
Now, I don’t leave the gym until I either can’t pick up a weight, or until I need to go puke. Give it all you have, extend sets, add sets, increase weight, etc…
The ‘hardening’ factor has been multiplied by 10 it seems, and visible improvements are coming in bunches.
I also stopped with the occasional pizza or any other such nonsense food that did nothing but damage.
It just looks that your diet intake (besides the pizza) is a healthy amount. Kick your lifting up to take advantage.
Just keep pushing, congratulations on your success so far!
[/quote]
Should I just try and ratchet up my weight? I don’t want to mess with the plan I’m on - don’t think I’m experienced enough to make good choices - but I don’t want to break form either. I get warm-up sets in, should I add more? What did you do? Thanks!
[quote]zephead4747 wrote: I see some decent gains, especially in the front delts.
IMO you should work your way up to 3 plates on deadlift and around 185 on bench and start a 3-4 way split. You’re at a point where some assistance (especially chinups) would do you wonders.
The fat you’ve acumulated becomes much less horrible lookign as you gain muscle. A 200+ pound you at 15% bodyfat will look different then you at 160 pound you at 15%[/quote]
What else would you recommend as assistance? I do 2x8 dips after squats/BP/DL, should I add chin-ups after squats/press/cleans? My issue there is that I don’t have the upper-body strength to manage much more than one chin-up, max - should I do weighted ones or substitute something else? Thanks a lot.
I’m still reasonably confident I can crank one out (haven’t tried in a while), thank you for the advice. I know bodyweight exercises are excellent and I want to get stronger at those.