Confused. What to Do, Where to Go

[quote]asooneyeonig wrote:

[quote]Terrax wrote:
Stats:
20 yrs old
6’3
210lb
25-30% bf
38 inch waist

Some lifts:
Back Squat, 315x5
Bench, 225x4
Deadlift, 355x5
Push Press, 155x8
[/quote]

I can see how people dont believe this. i am 210 @ 18% BF with a 34" waist at 6ft. which gives me about 172lbs of lean mass and you 158, with 25% bodyfat. that puts me 14lbs of lean mass ahead of you and i cant push those numbers. here are mine as a comparison.

squat, 5x5@225, 1rm 300 - 71% of yours
bench, 1rm 185 - 82% of your 4rep max
deadlift, 1rm 375 - 95% of your 4rep max
overhead, 1rm 120 - 77% of your 8 rep max

now i have spent most of my life as a moderately guy that was weak. couldnt bench 135 or couldnt squat or deadlift my BW until this year. but hey it could be that you are just really strong for your lean mass. if thats the case then push it hard and gain more. it will help keep the fat off once you shed it.
[/quote]

Dude I am seriously surprised that people are calling shit on my numbers. I mean there’s a thread lower down this forum page with some 17 yr old kids benching 270+lb or some shit.

I never considered myself strong for my muscle weight, but I never realized I only have like 158lb of muscle on me. Thats fucking tiny. What the fuck am I gonna look like when I cut down?

Anyway thanks for dropping buy and giving your thoughts. Don’t feel bad about your strength levels. When I first started I nearly decapitated myself with 95lb on the bench lol. Oh bear in mind that my form on benching is kind of a powerlifting style, using a moderate arch. Also my back squat is pling style too, reason being that I have long ass legs and tbh find it difficult to hit depth with a close stance. SO keep those in mind when comparing our lifts.

Good luck and Keep lifting.

I’m actually very surprised that anyone has expressed doubt at your numbers as well. They are COMPLETELY believable for someone who has gotten strong without fine tuning their diet. For shits and giggles I’ve attached a pic of myself from Dec 2009, when I first pulled 405 for 2, squat 325 for 2, and push press 185 for 2.
[photo]29257[/photo]

[quote]jskrabac wrote:
I’m actually very surprised that anyone has expressed doubt at your numbers as well. They are COMPLETELY believable for someone who has gotten strong without fine tuning their diet. For shits and giggles I’ve attached a pic of myself from Dec 2009, when I first pulled 405 for 2, squat 325 for 2, and push press 185 for 2.
[photo]29257[/photo] [/quote]

Thanks. To be honest I really thought my diet was good. Although I don’t look like someone who eats low carb. It’s weird how people with shittier diets make more progress than me.

What do you think I should do with my diet? (I’m not ignoring countingbeans advice, I just think it would be useful to geta few more opinions)

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]Terrax wrote:
So for my diet, I should basiv
Cally do a slow and controlled cut?[/quote]

Start with tracking what you eat. Be anal about it. Not anal about what you eat, but be anal about recording what you are eating. Eat like you have been and track it. You need to understand what you have been doing that isn’t working diet wise in order to change it.

Many people don’t have to do this. Based on your posts, you are the type that need to see it laid out in front of you.

Just start with tracking what you are doing for now. This and this alone will have a significant enough effect, I believe, to make a difference for YOU. [/quote]

Thank you. I ran some numbers through calorieking and I know I’m getting roughly 3000 calories a day. I will be more precise from now on though.

[quote]Terrax wrote:
Thanks. To be honest I really thought my diet was good. Although I don’t look like someone who eats low carb. It’s weird how people with shittier diets make more progress than me.

What do you think I should do with my diet? (I’m not ignoring countingbeans advice, I just think it would be useful to geta few more opinions)[/quote]

How long have you been doing the diet you posted? It looks like mostly paleo. You have to be honest with us here. Is this the ideal of what a day of eating looks like for you, or what you are actually eating? I would not believe you look like that if you have been eating exactly like what you posted for the past 3 months.

[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Terrax wrote:
Thanks. To be honest I really thought my diet was good. Although I don’t look like someone who eats low carb. It’s weird how people with shittier diets make more progress than me.

What do you think I should do with my diet? (I’m not ignoring countingbeans advice, I just think it would be useful to geta few more opinions)[/quote]

How long have you been doing the diet you posted? It looks like mostly paleo. You have to be honest with us here. Is this the ideal of what a day of eating looks like for you, or what you are actually eating? I would not believe you look like that if you have been eating exactly like what you posted for the past 3 months. [/quote]

That is exactly how I have been eating for the past 5 months or so. I never eat junk food, candy, sodas, and even clean carbs are rare. I understand you dont believe it because of how I look. Most of my friends are absolutely shocked when they hear I dont eat potatoes pasta or rice. You may think I am lying, but what good would it do for me to come here and be dishonest? I would not make threads here asking for help otherwise. I don’t know why I look like shit despite having made strength progress and having an (at least in my opinion) good diet. Do you think it doesn’t piss me off that I eat the way I do and yet look laughable?

[quote]Terrax wrote:

[quote]jskrabac wrote:

[quote]Terrax wrote:
Thanks. To be honest I really thought my diet was good. Although I don’t look like someone who eats low carb. It’s weird how people with shittier diets make more progress than me.

What do you think I should do with my diet? (I’m not ignoring countingbeans advice, I just think it would be useful to geta few more opinions)[/quote]

How long have you been doing the diet you posted? It looks like mostly paleo. You have to be honest with us here. Is this the ideal of what a day of eating looks like for you, or what you are actually eating? I would not believe you look like that if you have been eating exactly like what you posted for the past 3 months. [/quote]

That is exactly how I have been eating for the past 5 months or so. I never eat junk food, candy, sodas, and even clean carbs are rare. I understand you dont believe it because of how I look. Most of my friends are absolutely shocked when they hear I dont eat potatoes pasta or rice. You may think I am lying, but what good would it do for me to come here and be dishonest? I would not make threads here asking for help otherwise. I don’t know why I look like shit despite having made strength progress and having an (at least in my opinion) good diet. Do you think it doesn’t piss me off that I eat the way I do and yet look laughable?[/quote]

Laughable is a bit much. YOu aren’t a cover model but, you aren’t that bad, just need more muscle.

Up the amount of work you are doing, like double it, and eat teh same. See if that makes a difference.

im in the same postion.

deadlifting 200kg squats at 150kg bench 100kg

i still look like a fat fuck (no offense ur ALOT leaner than me). infact i was way leaner before i started lifting.

i’ve upped the volume, starting my second week. strength has still been gained although i am feeling tired alot for some reason. have also upped carbs :slight_smile:

im using lighter weights to get all the sets in now though and it feels more aerobic (although still heavy) and the pumps/burn is much better. feel like i am gaining more muscle (well for a week lol)

Basically, if I were you, I’d hit the cardio hard, the weights harder…

Drop the protein shakes from your diet.

Add in some carbs…

I am saying train 5 days per week, high intensity.

Do cardio 3-5 days a weak…

Get lean, I wouldn’t be bulking at your bodyfat levels, you’re just going to get fatter.

Okay, I’m back with a small update. Since my last post here I have been dieting. So thats what, about 2.5 months? Stats below.

Beginning Stats:
210lb
38 inch waist

Current Stats:
191lb
34.5 inch waist

So total Difference so far:
19lb
3.5 inches off waist

I will post comparison shots in the next few posts.


Old Pic front relaxed


New Pic front relaxed

Old pic front flexed

New pic front flexed.

Old pic side

New pic side

Wow, this is kind of shocking. I’m looking at these pics now and to be honest I look almost exactly the same as before, but with a bit less muscle and fat. Strange too because I really thought I was making good progress. I feel lighter, all my clothes are looser, etc.

I have lost some fat around the face but not as much as I would have wanted in the time frame. I have lost some strength, which I know is due to dropping cals too fast in the beginning. But I have gained back a little of what I lost in the past few weeks.

Also a reason why I made this update now is because I have hit a plateau. I’ve been stuck at the same weight and waist measurement for the past two weeks. I’m already very strict with my diet so it kind of sucks that I am going to have to get even more extreme in order to look normal.

Did you realise that you’re only doing on average 2-3 working sets per bodypart per week? I actually counted it over 8 weeks and averaged it out, I’m not exaggerating lol

You are not doing low volume, you’re doing nothing for bodybuilding. Even HIT makes you do something like 6-8 working sets per bodypart per week (maybe lower for some bodyparts).

Like Counting Beans and others said, that’s the reason for your disappointing results. Do you realise the difference in hormonal response when you add a bit more volume and food? This is one of the main reasons why bodybuilders look the way they do, even though they are eating far more than you do.

I’m talking from experience ^, I made exactly the same mistake when first lifting.

The reason why you burn out and stagnate after a certain period of high(er) volume is because you aren’t eating enough (probably too self conscience about fat gains?) If even after eating for it (including not neglecting carbohydrates which make gaining muscle easier and gives you more intensity in the gym) and you stagnate, then cycle your intensity/volume. Example, start off your cycle with higher volume and less load (like 4-5 sets/bodypart), then as intensity/load increases, start to gradually drop the sets each week until you get to like 2-3 sets/bodypart.

Generally, for bodyparts like back and especially legs (i.e. the other HALF of your body lol), you need more volume. Volume doesn’t have to come from extra sets, you can add more exercises (good for back and legs which are more complex and need more)

Do all that ^ with your training and fat loss/body-composition goals will come much easier, even with minimal cardio

Hey, thanks for all the advice. Yeah I did take countingbean’s advice and I train with somewhat higher volume now. LOL but now with the way that you put it, it does make me laugh. I have been feeling very run down lately with low energy and I think my metabolism is kind of fucked. Your post is actually a bit of a wake up call, pretty much confirming that I should eat more and train with more volume. I think I’ll bump my cals to 2000 per day and add more training volume.