Am I Wasting My Time?

I’ve been working out steadily for, oh let’s say 4-5 years this time. I’m eating better then ever and my cardio has gotten very good.

In pictures I can really see the difference. When I look at my small arms and undefined midsection I think I’m wasting my time.

When I see pictures of other people claiming to be natural and making big transformations in under a year I can only think “bull $nit.”

What do I got to do? What do I need to take?

Maybe?

1/10 for “bull $nit.” which gave me a chuckle

Kinda hard to assess when we don’t know:

-where you’re at now
-what you’ve been doing

I’m sure there are plenty of very consistent gym rats who eat “good” and traing “regularly” and they’re nowhere near the level of comittment that someone seriously training for a contest would have.

If you’re serious, throw up a progress pic and outline what you’re doing. I’m sure you can get plenty of suggestions from some of the more experienced folks on here to continue your journey.

S

"When I see pictures of other people claiming to be natural and making big transformations in under a year I can only think “bull $nit.” "

I think this kind of negativity and self defeatist mentality is probably holding you back. If you haven’t progressed much in 3-4 years then you probably have been wasting your time or could have spent it much better. You would have to work pretty hard not to get quite significantly better at something in that time frame regardless of what you apply it to. I think you should “take” a look at your mentality and consider if you could improve you focus and motivation.

I hit a 2.5 x BW deadlift within my first 6 months of training, are you striving to improve yourself or are you simply going through the motions? Getting in good shape is not hard, intensity and consistency in the gym, 3-4 times a week, with a basic program focusing on the main body parts, and a decent diet will do the job within a year for most people.

[quote]bobs69 wrote:

When I see pictures of other people claiming to be natural and making big transformations in under a year I can only think “bull $nit.”
[/quote]

It depends on what gain quantifies a transformation as being “big”. I think people with average genetics can gain fifteen to 20 pounds of muscle in the first year, which is enough to make someone look very different than before they started training. Hence he can make a big transformation in a year. I know many people in the e-world think a fifteen pound gain in a first year is something to scoff at, but it isn’t when one considers how different even he himself would look with fifteen more pounds of muscle on his frame.

On the other hand, most transformations shown in advertisements and promotions are indeed misleading and bull crap.

[quote]bobs69 wrote:
I’ve been working out steadily for, oh let’s say 4-5 years this time. I’m eating better then ever and my cardio has gotten very good.

In pictures I can really see the difference. When I look at my small arms and undefined midsection I think I’m wasting my time.

When I see pictures of other people claiming to be natural and making big transformations in under a year I can only think “bull $nit.”

What do I got to do? What do I need to take?[/quote]

Your undefined midsection is a direct result of your calorie surplus. No one ever got a defined midsection with excess calories.

You have to create a deficit and lose fat by eating less, more cardio or a combination of both preferably. It can take between 12-40 weeks depending on how much excess fat you have and how consistent you are with your dieting.

Koing

[quote]bobs69 wrote:
I’m eating better then ever[/quote]
Re-read this.

Re-read this.

Re-read this.

Say what now?

That’s 100% on you. There are tons of people on this forum who keep fairly-thorough logs that show when you consistently dial in hard training, smart eating, and quality supplements (not “supplements”), dramatic changes are totally possible.

You’ve got to train smarter and possibly eat smarter. You’ve got to take an objective look at your specific goals and your current plan, and make sure they’re aligned as efficiently as possible.

Like the others have said, more details about what you’ve been doing (training and nutrition) and exactly what you want to achieve would help us give more accurate advice.

I’m just going to call you right the hell out. So you got a 2.5 deadlift in half a year’s training time. Where are you now? 5 years in?

I know I’ve seen a post by you before, so I just want to highlight that this is the last person who should be discussing consistency, proper training, etc.

[quote]HiFiBoy wrote:
"When I see pictures of other people claiming to be natural and making big transformations in under a year I can only think “bull $nit.” "

I think this kind of negativity and self defeatist mentality is probably holding you back. If you haven’t progressed much in 3-4 years then you probably have been wasting your time or could have spent it much better. You would have to work pretty hard not to get quite significantly better at something in that time frame regardless of what you apply it to. I think you should “take” a look at your mentality and consider if you could improve you focus and motivation.

I hit a 2.5 x BW deadlift within my first 6 months of training, are you striving to improve yourself or are you simply going through the motions? Getting in good shape is not hard, intensity and consistency in the gym, 3-4 times a week, with a basic program focusing on the main body parts, and a decent diet will do the job within a year for most people.[/quote]

[quote]MickyGee wrote:
I’m just going to call you right the hell out. So you got a 2.5 deadlift in half a year’s training time. Where are you now? 5 years in?

I know I’ve seen a post by you before, so I just want to highlight that this is the last person who should be discussing consistency, proper training, etc.

[/quote]

I’m only recently back in the gym after breaking my clavicle playing rugby. Doesn’t really undermine my point that he should have achieved more, and could have with consistency.

I absolutely am undermining your point though. The deadlift is probably the most structurally dependent lift and I think anybody here would agree with that.

I can conservatively pull 495lbs, and I doubt many here would claim that I look like I lift (at sub 200lbs bodyweight). I remember also reading several, months or years back, in which you were bragging about your initial gain, but at that time you were also just returning from a long break (that time, I think, because you had become lazy).

It seems like, in the long run, you haven’t made much progress at all, despite how apt you are to put others down for their relatively slow progress initially.

OP, let this be a lesson that consistency trumps all, or else you are just a person on a message board saying things. Thanks!

[quote]HiFiBoy wrote:

[quote]MickyGee wrote:
I’m just going to call you right the hell out. So you got a 2.5 deadlift in half a year’s training time. Where are you now? 5 years in?

I know I’ve seen a post by you before, so I just want to highlight that this is the last person who should be discussing consistency, proper training, etc.

[/quote]

I’m only recently back in the gym after breaking my clavicle playing rugby. Doesn’t really undermine my point that he should have achieved more, and could have with consistency.[/quote]