Am I Doing Anything Wrong?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

I am 16 years old and I’ve been weightlifting (correctly) since june, after 2 months and very minimal gains I decided to start really monitoring my nutrition, so with some help I created a nutrition plan, outlined below. I was gaining about a pound a week sometimes two, however for the last three weeks i havent gained a single pound.

Now i know when people think of 16 year olds they usually think of skinny bitches who only work out their abs/arms/chest and only care about looking good for the beach, that’s not what i want i couldn’t care less if my abs were showing or not. I’m your fuckin average kid, who walks through the halls unnoticed and whose best friend has just made out with girl i’ve liked and the girl i was going to ask out tonight, but i mean hey its fuckin high school what do i expect?

Anyways what I’m trying to say is I’m sick of who I am and what I look like, I am ready to change and will go through fuckin hell if that’s what it takes.

I’ve been a member of this site for a while now i don’t usually post i just read…alot tried keeping a training log but couldn’t because of lack of time. If there’s a good read you would recommend please post or PM me.

Stats:
Height: 5’9
Weight: 183.2
Bf: no idea somewhere around 15%.
Lifts:
Bench: 175x3
Squat: 190x5 (horrible i know)
Deadlift: 250x5

Nutrition:

Macronutrient count:
Calories: 4500
Protein: 410g
Carbs: 310g
Fat: 175

Meal1
3 whole eggs
3 egg whites
glass of milk w/ Flameout + multivitamin
40g of cheerios (this used to be one cup of oatmeal but i could never finish it)

Meal 2-3:
7oz of skinless chicken breast
40g of cheerios
15g of almonds
Glass of Milk

Meal 4-5:
1 Can of tuna mixed in a salad (i don’t count the macronutrients of what’s in the salad)
2 pieces of wholewheat bread
2 TBS of penut butter
Glass of Milk
(One serving of SURGE Recovery if the meal is postworkout)

Meal 6:
2 Scoops of Metabolic Drive
15g of almonds

I usually switch around the order of meals 2-5.
I am currently on the Max-OT routine.
Ill try and have some pictures up tonight.

Thanks alot in advance, ill keep checking the thread throughout the day.

2

Well, the easiest thing to do would be to cut out the cheerios. Also, if I read correctly your goals are to gain weight? If you haven’t been gaining any more weight, then the answer is simple, you’re not eating enough. For something to read: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/blog_sports_training_performance_bodybuilding_alpha/newb_qotw_11_dec_2008

3

[quote]chimera182 wrote:
Well, the easiest thing to do would be to cut out the cheerios. Also, if I read correctly your goals are to gain weight? If you haven’t been gaining any more weight, then the answer is simple, you’re not eating enough. For something to read: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/blog_sports_training_performance_bodybuilding_alpha/newb_qotw_11_dec_2008 [/quote]

thanks alot for the read, i am checkin it out right now. How much more should i eat im taking in 4500 cals right now? any idea as to what to substitute the cheerios with?

4

I’d say go up to between 4800-5000, try somewhere around that range and see if you start gaining weight again. You mentioned that you couldn’t finish the oatmeal, but that’s what would serve you best. Although from your diet, you seem fairly carb tolerant, so the cheerios might not be the worst of your worries. Although if you’re not going to use oatmeal, I’m sure there are better cereals out there, something with less sugar perhaps. Sorry I can’t give you any specific suggestions, I haven’t eaten cereal in years.

5

5’9 183 is decently big for a 16 yo. I’d start to monitor your bf% if no one has made any positive comments.

6

How much water are you drinking?

7

I haven’t been checking the amount of water i take in if i’d have to guesstimate about 3-5 liters a day.

8

[quote]zugzwang wrote:
How much water are you drinking?[/quote]

As long as you’re not dehydrated, I don’t think the amount of water you drink is going to make too much of a difference

9

[quote]chimera182 wrote:
zugzwang wrote:
How much water are you drinking?

As long as you’re not dehydrated, I don’t think the amount of water you drink is going to make too much of a difference[/quote]

Yeah you’re right. I was just curious since he is consuming 400g of protein a day and didn’t list how much water he is drinking.

Another simple question to the OP, did you make any strength gains during the last 3 weeks?

10

[quote]zugzwang wrote:
chimera182 wrote:
zugzwang wrote:
How much water are you drinking?

As long as you’re not dehydrated, I don’t think the amount of water you drink is going to make too much of a difference

Yeah you’re right. I was just curious since he is consuming 400g of protein a day and didn’t list how much water he is drinking.

Another simple question to the OP, did you make any strength gains during the last 3 weeks?[/quote]

Fair enough, that would never have occurred to me

11

Where is your program?

12

My squat has gone up 10lbs, however i havent made any gains on my other lifts.
Here are some (pathetic) pictures…

13

Legs

14

Back

15

Looking at your diet, it appears to be good (most of the choices), however, I don’t know how you get 4,500 calories from that. It looks like 2,500-3,000 calories.

So you may need to increase the amount you eat. However, I would make sure your training also matches your eating. You’re fairly weak for your size right now, so that tells me that you can make huge strides if you work on getting stronger while also eating plenty of good, wholesome, natural, whole foods and getting the nutrients you need.

Also, you could use some cardio to keep the fat down while you do all this. You’re definitely more than 15% bodyfat, so I wouldn’t attempt a full-on bulking plan. But I would eat good foods and train hard and let time and consistency work in your favor.

16

I definitely agree that while you should be focusing on gaining strength, a little cardio would not go amiss.

17

Eat more.

Have sex with someone.

Seriously though, I think you’re doing quite well. You’re 5 years younger than me, and, I think, a bit softer, smaller and weaker. On the other hand, you have 5 years on me! I wish I’d started working out properly when I was 16, and not 20 :).

By the time you’re my age, I’m sure you’ll do real well. Just persevere with it You seem to have a naturally narrow waist, which is the one thing I wish I did have, so consider yourself lucky.

I’d cut out the cheerios, and only have carbs for breakfast and post-workout. So I’d move the bread to breakfast and the first meal after your PWO shake, and, instead of cheerios, throw in some alternative sources of fats: avocado, for example.

18

Ah oops I n00bed

I assume you are doing this program

4 to 6 - 6 to 9 - 2 to 3 Minutes - 30 to 40 Minutes - 5 to 7 Days

  1. Each workout should last approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
  2. Train only 1 or 2 muscle groups per workout/day.
  3. Do 6 to 9 total heavy sets per muscle group.
  4. Do 4 to 6 reps per set.
  5. Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets. (STR)
  6. Train each muscle group once every 5 to 7 days. (ITR)
  7. Take a 1 week break from training every 8 to 10 weeks.

I don’t think this an optimum program for a beginner. First of all
#1 you can definately do 60-90minutes as a beginner,
#2 Isolation is not without a full body strength base is not ideal, even arnie did heavy weights at the start
#3-4 9x4 wooahh for a beginner that’s pretty hard, although since you are only doing two exercises per day…maybe not
#5 Fine
#6 Only because you are working out 5-7 days a week
#7 Same with all programs

Solution - Starting Strength

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Three_Flavors_of_Starting_Strength

You are a beginner, although your bench is more solid than the rest of your lifts, you need to get your lower body up there in a sort of 2/3/4 ratio of Bench/Sq/DL.

19

Thanks for all the advice!! Im workin on the having sex with some1 part. Im going to take a recount of my macronutrients tomorow because looking back on the diet and things arent adding up so ill come back later with a new diet to get some approval.

I’ve got 3 weeks left with Max-OT so ill finish it up then ill definatly take a look at starting strength i also wanted to go back onto Bill starr’s 5x5. again thanks for all the advice =D

20

best of luck with it all, let us know how your progress goes.