When I was a kid I did martial arts and was always skinny, once I stopped around the age of 12-13 I started getting fat. Was fat all the way until 17, when I got sick of it and ate less / did a lot of jump rope (cardio). Lost 40 lbs that summer, as well as the majority of my strength. Though I gained a great amount of confidence that has helped me out a ton. Even though I lost that weight, I would have considered myself “skinny-fat” at this point.
I started working out seriously about a month ago, and went from 160lbs - 165lbs in that month.
My bench went from 95x5 to 140x5
Squat went from 135x5 to 215x5
Deadlift went from 135x5 to 210x5
I made pretty good progress but i’m obviously still weak.
Here are 5 pictures of me after this month: Imgur: The magic of the Internet
In the full body picture you honestly can’t tell, but my quads/calves are big and my upper body is lagging behind.
This past month I’ve been doing this workout routine:
ICF Novice 5x5 Fullbody (ABA BAB)
Workout A
Squat 5x5
Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5
Barbell Shrug 3x8
Skullcrusher 3x8
Chins 3x5-8
or Striaght Bar/Incline Curl 3x8
Hyperextention 2x10
Kneeling Cable Crunch 3x10-20
Workout B
Squat 5x5
Deadlift 1x5
Standing Press 5x5
Barbell Row 5x5 -10%
CGBP 3x8
Straight Bar or Incline Curl 3x8
Kneeling Cable Crunch 3x10-20
It was fine at first but now after this month i’m starting to burn out hard. Just stalled on my squat, deloaded 10% to 190 and 190x5 felt just as hard. Deloaded 10% on my bench as well back to 130x5 and it also felt just as hard.
I’m really starting to get sick of squatting half an hour every workout, and being in the gym for an hour and a half - two hours each session. Since last week every workout has demotivated me more and more, i’m finding it a hassle to get to the gym and this isn’t like me at all. I don’t want to continue squatting 3x a week either, it’s simply too much squatting for me (used to love squats, now starting to dread them)
I need to switch my routine, I wanted to stick to this for at least a few more months but I’m simply starting to hate it. I’ve done my research and bought a food scale, know how to count macros, etc.
I believe I have good genetics (wide shoulders, good insertions, big calves) and I certainly don’t want to quit working out, I want to finally be able to take my shirt off at the beach without being self conscious about my body. I also want to gain strength, obviously.
If anybody could recommend me another routine, or even go further and “coach” me a bit it would be greatly appreciated. I’m willing to put in 110% (I know most people say this, but this is no joke im very serious about achieving my goals), and I have been until recently but like I said i’m starting to burn out and get demotivated on this routine. I only turned 18 december and still have noob gains incoming as i’ve only worked out for a month.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this if you have, and any replies are appreciated.