so obviously have better genetics than 99.9% of people regarding the ability to stay lean all the time. I’ve met less than 10 people in my life who are predisposed to being as lean as I am. But there are SO many people who ‘came out of the box’ with much more strength, and the predisposition to put on muscle quickly. And, although it’s impossible to say this for certain, I think it’s fair to say my ceiling for muscularity and size is far lower than a whoooole lot of people. That’s not to say that I think I’m below average in that department either. Just not elite. I think most of us have at least some level of giftedness in the lifting world, and we have to figure out how to take advantage of that, and minimize the effects of our weaknesses.
This is why there are no ‘one size fits all’ diets or training programs. When I’m trying to put on muscle, my diet is ‘literally eat everything I have the stomach for, preferably tons of carbs’. And I won’t get fat doing it. This is not a diet I would prescribe for everyone. Similarly, I’ve found that Strongman does great things for my aesthetics. But if someone asked me how they should train to look good, I’d recommend a bodypart split to start, and work from there. It’s why everyone has to go through the trial and error process, even though we have so much content to read and learn from. One could read every single training article ever written, and still not know what’s going to suit him/her best.
All dependent on frame of reference. Flip, you’d likely have died of starvation ten thousand years ago since you carry such little fuel around. But of course by moderns standards that level of calorie partitioning is a blessing.
My wingspan is 5" longer than my height. So I have a natural advantage pulling but disadvantage benching. Maybe I should switch to deadlift only competitions. Ha.
Hey man, that extra inch makes all the difference. LOL.
Bench has been tough for me due to a number of issues including prior shoulder injuries and stuff. It took me a few years just to figure out how to create tension and keep my shoulders retracted and fight too much elbow flare, but I stuck with it. Once that happened I made steady gains. I now look forward to bench day even though I’m not particularly strong on bench.
Thank goodness I have reasonable squat and deadlift numbers (but a ways to go for my long term goals).
I think the hardest lifts from a technical standpoint are bench press, then squat, then deadlift, with deadlift being FAR behind the other 2. And from what I’ve seen, more people are benching poorly than squatting poorly. People obviously put effort into learning the squat, while they don’t learn the bench. So it’s funny how few ‘critique my bench’ videos we see, and a million deadlift ones.
I feel ya man. The only way I begin to add a little weight is when I eat like absolute crap (lots of it of course). Burgers, pizzas, chili cheese fries… I’m drinking about a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk/day right now & it’s still barely budging. The thing is though, I don’t like eating like that, because I start feeling sluggish & unhealthy.
I agree the bench is the most technical. By far. I would have never thought, on day 1 it would take me 2+ years to just become competent with my setup and staying in the groove. And that’s just competent, as in not embarrassing.
As for vids, just a guess. Deadlift is the easiest to progress on as a beginner and the easiest to get excited about. Hence folks with zero to 24 months lifting experience posting deadlift vids.
Since bench is the bro lift, many think they either know how to do it or don’t like posting up their 135 bench max for critique.
I would say it’s because people are freaked out about a serious back injury as that’s what they have been fed about the deadlift, hence they are more concerned about getting it right. If your back rounds slightly you may snap like a twig, so better get I checked!
Honestly, eating lots of meals throughout the day will help and drinking milk so much that you wish you had you’re own personal cow in the backyard…wait a chicken for eggs, too…and some cows, wait…a few piggies for some ribs… guess I should live on a farm lol
No seriously if you eat frequent meals from all your food groups it helps you from feeling like a bloated prego. Add extra virgin olive oil to stuff, too but check to see if brand you buy is real stuff cuz not regulated by the fda. Neither are raw almonds, etc. I personally hate avocados but force feed them cuz they’re a superfood with a ton of fat and more potassium than a banana.
Nobody would believe me if I told them how many calories I eat. As I said in valentines post, I got a gift card to the grocery store.
Don’t be hatin on the engineers…oil and gas sux donkey balls right now . Must eat more food for comfort…look at what ya’ll have done. I’m getting out the butter
You silly “hard gainers”. I eat a meal and I’m hungry in 40 minutes. Unfortunately, I have no problem gaining flab around my mid section and turning my V-Taper into an O, or U, actually it’s a rectangle.
. Must eat more food for comfort…look at what ya’ll have done. I’m getting out the butter