To Compete or Not?


Hey Everyone,

I am new to the forums!

I am 22 years old.
I have been training seriously for 5 years.
I have always played football,therefore my training was more powerlifting and not dedicated hypertrophy/high reps training.
I am 6’1, weight fluctuates between 200-210lbs.
I am Natural

my Main goal is to be as big a I can, while being shredded. Somewhere between 220-230 maybe. Trying to look Some what like Simeon Panda or the Hodge Twins. What i Mean by that is the great V taper. Wide Shoulders,Small waist.
I try to train 5 days a week.
I aim for 3200kcal daily, that being 1g/lb of protein, approx 250g carbs and the rest fats.

Here are my approx. lifts

Deadlifts: 455 for 4 reps.
Bench Press: 275lbs
Back Squat: 405lbs
Pullups: Bodyweight + 45lbs

I am definetly looking for tips on where to improve, what more to implement in my shcedule, pretty much all the criticism I can get!.

Here are some pics.

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Looking good man. You are young and have a long time to improve. I have no critisim, but if you are looking to improve I would say lats and legs. You’ve got solid chest, shoulders and arms. With that being said. Great work for only 5 years of serious training! Keep it up.

More specifically your hammies. You have some decent quads from the front, but looking from the side you can tell you need to build up your hamstrings. I would focus on everything you cant see in the mirror. RDL’s, GHR’s, Leg curls, Sumo Pulls etc.

[quote]Beast Status wrote:
More specifically your hammies. You have some decent quads from the front, but looking from the side you can tell you need to build up your hamstrings. I would focus on everything you cant see in the mirror. RDL’s, GHR’s, Leg curls, Sumo Pulls etc. [/quote]

Finally a reply!

I really appreciate your reply. I will defineltely note that, and add those exercises in my workout!

What do you mean exactly by working my lats? any specific exercise?

The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.

When i talk about lats, I’m meaning overall thickness and width of your back. Don’t get me wrong, you have already build an impressive amount of muscle back there. However there’s something to say about someone who has taken the time to build an enormous back. I see guys in the gym all the time with big arms, shoulders and chests but from the back they disappear. Personally i think a big back is one of the most impressive assets on a bodybuilder.

My weakpoint is my back and after years of training i finally learned how to activate those muscles. Back days have become my favorite because i see more gains in my back than any other muscle…besides maybe legs. Plus its such a large group of muscles you can hammer it multiple times a week. Just my opinion, but i think if you put on some more muscle back there it would really add to the V-Taper physique you desire.

Oh and for exercises. Look up John Meadows on Youtube. He puts alot of emphasis on really stretching the lats at the top and squeezing the peak contraction. This really helped me recruit those muscles instead of just going through the motions. It was very humbling because i had to go down in weight for almost all of my back workouts except on deadlifts. Hes got some unique movements that i think you will really enjoy.

[quote]Beast Status wrote:
More specifically your hammies. You have some decent quads from the front, but looking from the side you can tell you need to build up your hamstrings. [/quote]

I disagree. To me it looks like his quads need even more work than his hamstrings. His legs overall need a lot of work if we’re talking about competing in bodybuilding. He has absolutely no definition in his quads, very little size around the knee in particular.

OP, you don’t need to answer this, but it’s relevant to how far off you are from ‘stage-ready’. Are you natural, meaning no steroids? If you’re lifetime natural, and plan to compete in natural, drug-tested competitions, you’re quite a bit closer to a competitive level than you would be otherwise.

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on [/quote]

he’s saying your delts are small.

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on [/quote]

he’s saying your delts are small.[/quote]

damn… i thought they were fine! thats why i love the advice!
What should i do to make them bigger? More overhead press?

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on [/quote]

he’s saying your delts are small.[/quote]

damn… i thought they were fine! thats why i love the advice!
What should i do to make them bigger? More overhead press?
[/quote]

well, from a competition standpoint, you don’t really have any bodyparts that are ‘fine’. You need to grow everywhere. But that being said, the answer to your question sort of depends on what you’re doing now. Some people can grow their delts reasonably well just from pressing, but others are better served by incorporating lateral raises. You probably want to be doing both, along with rear delt work.

Deltoids are a huge part of bodybuilding. You can never have delts that are too big. They make everything look better. Large delts add to your perceived overall width, they can make your waist look smaller in comparison, they can help create a look of separation from your traps, etc. And functionally, huge delts are very useful for things like pressing health.

A few options to incorporate would be dumbbell lateral raises, cable later raises, front raises, rear delt flyes on either a machine (my preference) or leaning over with dummbbells, etc. You can also use a combination of barbell/dumbbell overhead presses. If I’m going heavy/lower reps, I’ll use a barbell because it’s much easier to get into position, but for higher rep sets, dumbbells are great for range of motion.

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on [/quote]

he’s saying your delts are small.[/quote]

damn… i thought they were fine! thats why i love the advice!
What should i do to make them bigger? More overhead press?
[/quote]

well, from a competition standpoint, you don’t really have any bodyparts that are ‘fine’. You need to grow everywhere. But that being said, the answer to your question sort of depends on what you’re doing now. Some people can grow their delts reasonably well just from pressing, but others are better served by incorporating lateral raises. You probably want to be doing both, along with rear delt work.

Deltoids are a huge part of bodybuilding. You can never have delts that are too big. They make everything look better. Large delts add to your perceived overall width, they can make your waist look smaller in comparison, they can help create a look of separation from your traps, etc. And functionally, huge delts are very useful for things like pressing health.

A few options to incorporate would be dumbbell lateral raises, cable later raises, front raises, rear delt flyes on either a machine (my preference) or leaning over with dummbbells, etc. You can also use a combination of barbell/dumbbell overhead presses. If I’m going heavy/lower reps, I’ll use a barbell because it’s much easier to get into position, but for higher rep sets, dumbbells are great for range of motion.[/quote]

You are the man!

So much knowledge in a single post.

Thank you so much. I will hit every body part twice a week. How does that sound?

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

[quote]CodyBanks__ wrote:

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

What do you mean? I dont understand, is that good or bad?
What do I work on [/quote]

he’s saying your delts are small.[/quote]

damn… i thought they were fine! thats why i love the advice!
What should i do to make them bigger? More overhead press?
[/quote]

well, from a competition standpoint, you don’t really have any bodyparts that are ‘fine’. You need to grow everywhere. But that being said, the answer to your question sort of depends on what you’re doing now. Some people can grow their delts reasonably well just from pressing, but others are better served by incorporating lateral raises. You probably want to be doing both, along with rear delt work.

Deltoids are a huge part of bodybuilding. You can never have delts that are too big. They make everything look better. Large delts add to your perceived overall width, they can make your waist look smaller in comparison, they can help create a look of separation from your traps, etc. And functionally, huge delts are very useful for things like pressing health.

A few options to incorporate would be dumbbell lateral raises, cable later raises, front raises, rear delt flyes on either a machine (my preference) or leaning over with dummbbells, etc. You can also use a combination of barbell/dumbbell overhead presses. If I’m going heavy/lower reps, I’ll use a barbell because it’s much easier to get into position, but for higher rep sets, dumbbells are great for range of motion.[/quote]

You are the man!

So much knowledge in a single post.

Thank you so much. I will hit every body part twice a week. How does that sound?
[/quote]

lol thanks. I’m not really a bodybuilder, but I have a little bit of knowledge.

twice a week per body part is a fine place to start. If you’re growing, that’s all that matters. If you notice that a particular bodypart is responding to training it twice a week well (like if you’re not recovering well from training sessions), you could train that bodypart less frequently.

A couple examples: I do pull ups every time I go to the gym, usually about 50. I have no problem recovering from these. I do deadlifts at most once per week. Sometimes it’s once every other week, because they’re so fatiguing. You just have to figure out what actually WORKS for you. I’ve seen many programs that have people bench pressing twice per week. This doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it, and I just ended up injured. I’m not really built to press that often. Gotta learn by experience.

[quote]tsantos wrote:
The thing that sticks out to me is your delts. Both from the back and the front, they are really taking away from your look, especially your left delt.

Otherwise, great work.[/quote]

So, you mean, I should really work on my rear delts and front delts?
I thought of maybe doing exercises recommended by John meadows.
Read delt exercise: 4 sets of 35.

Or did I completely minsunderstand.

I think John Meadows has about the best suggestions of any coach for delts. His training advice is awesome when it comes to that. I would listen to anything he says regarding delt growth.

Awesome development for a Natural. You can put on some mass on hams, your quad is ok for a Natural, it’s hard to say if you are going to get more than this with Natural status… Delts, don’t get me wrong, I did the same route, training for years natural, and Delts just stop growing… It’s terrible to say that you’ll not be able to create a great Delt without steroid, mainly testosterone, actually, only higher testosterone can bring you more fullness to your Delts…

But I have to say, you have one of the best genetics I’ve ever seen. You look very, very good… looks like you are on something… congrats!