Advice for Progress?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

I read these forums and the articles more than i post, in fact i think this may only be my second or third post. I was somewhat unsure where to post this so I’m hoping I’m able to get some advice on my questions.

My main problem is an extreme lack of progress, i have hit plateaus before, and understand not all progress can come quickly, however there seems to be a sever lack of any and I’m unsure why.

Currently I do a body part split: Chest, legs, day off, Tri/shoulder, Back/Bi, day off. I work in all rep ranges depending on day.

Chest for example: dumbbell bench (8x5), Dumbbell Fly (3x12), Incline barbell bench (3-4x 12), Dips (just max out on bw used kind of as a break from weights during workout), flys on machine 3x12 (feels way different then dumbbell fly that’s why i also do it), end with cable presses (put cable to just under shoulder height and press out).

That to me is one of my medium days, back day being my longest. I dead-lift twice a week (really want that number to go up) once heavier 5 working sets of 3-5 and the other time lighter with 5 sets of 12.

In case its relevant i eat fairly clean no more than 100g carbs a day, some days none. For breakfast i tend to eat 1.2 pounds ground turkey and drink a pot of coffee (black), lunch i eat about 2 pounds ground turkey with some veggies, and for dinner 1 pound with some sweet potatoes. Then i hit the gym. Only way i found i can stick to a diet is if its insanely simple and plain.

I’m 6 ft weigh 175. bench is only about 265 right now (did 300 at 200 pounds once). my max deadlift is 330 (somewhat nervous going all out as i have had a spine injury in the past). squats i’m still unable to do (get a sharp pain since back injury at the low point of the movement). Other notable lifts to gauge where I’m at might be wide grip pull ups, 17. And bent over single arm row is at 100 pounds 8x5. I realize I’m average at best, but i would like to improve that.

If this is far to vague let, me know what other information you might need to help me, or if it’s most likely just my routine that blows.

2

You need to eat way more if you want to get bigger OR get stronger faster.

I would suggest ramping up to a max (3-5 rep) set rather than doing 8x5 or whatever. Depends on exercise as well.

Your DL is amazingly low considering your bench. When I was benching that much I was doing triples of 450. Which makes me wonder about your form. But it could be you just benched for a long time before doing other lifts so they are playing catch up… not that uncommon in bodybuilding LOL

If you’re really set on doing DL’s twice a week I would do 1 heavy, as you are, then do the other for speed rather than reps. Do like 8-10 sets of 2-3 FAST reps at no more than 60% of your 1 rep max. 60-90 sec rest between sets. This is what a lot of really strong people do.

Be careful though if you’re injured… If your back hurts when you squat it sounds like you’re still healing lol. Being injured sucks but it’s better to heal than reinjure. Believeeeee dat

3

No i just recently started deadlifting, with the back injury i wasn’t able to and just recently started with 80 pounds and worked my way up (been about 6-8 weeks now). But yes, when i first started i was even more retarded and focused huge on Bis and benching lol, so that’s where the imbalance comes from, that and the injury.

As for eating more, I just don’t know how. Eating what i eat now leaves me absolutely stuffed. Could i just add protein shakes throughout the day? I like staying somewhat on the leaner side during summer, but i couldn’t care less about losing the definition in my stomach so long as i don’t get that spare tire look.

But as for my split, does that seem fine? or is my pairing stupid?

4

Okay that sounds more reasonable lol. I still recommend speed reps especially when you hit 405

You can add shakes, but weight-gainer might benefit you more than just protein. I have no idea, I have always been able to eat enough. For instance I ate an entire large pizza last night in two sittings, probably 3k+ calories.

Sounds like you are eating enough protein but certainly you could eat some more carbs. I assume you get hungry between meals if you eat that much. Getting hungry and not eating isn’t very good for gaining muscle lol

You are also eating very clean, which makes eating a lot more difficult. For instance, eating mexican and cheeseburgers gets one a lot more calories because of all the fat. If you want to keep it clean you’re just going to have to work harder to eat more lol

I think your split is fine, I would do something different personally, but if you like it then it’s fine. I would change your set pattern though. I prefer ramping, but gaining strength was very important for me… it also adds size but I like to be able to measure my strength nearly every week. If I’m getting stronger, good, if not, I would eat more.

5

Most importantly, what do you look like now? Try pushing up your carbs to 200 at first for a couple weeks and see how you react to that