My name is josh and i am 19. I have been training hard for many years due to football in highschool.
I gained at one point 30 pounds between my junior year and senior year of highschool. it was great i actually seen some progress. since then my weight has fluctuated between 170 and 180…mostly water weight i would think.
My main question is how can i bust through my stand still. i am in great shape but i want more bulk. i know u guys get the same question all the time but i really need a little help.
The routine i have been doing is lifting 4 days a week…monday, tuesday, thursday, friday. monday and thursday tris, bis, and abs. Tuesday and friday pecs, upper/lower back, and abs. the reason for no legs is do to a knee injury i have. i am goin to start doin no weight leg work outs on wednsdays. I have no acl in my left knee.
i usually stack NO2 and cell tech. along with high colorie intake around 3000 calories a day. i will sometimes through a protien shake in but my stomach cant really handle them.
it seems like i am doin everything right but this wall is really startin to aggravate me.
my max in bench right now is 225, squat is unknown due to my knee. i am 6’1" 170 pounds…very lean.
Let’s see, 19 and active using 3000 cals. Hmm I’d say bump that up about a thousand. You’re at the peak of hormonal response, so if you train hard and eat in a matter to gain wieght, you will bust your plateau. I know you can’t do much leg work, and that is a bit responsible for your stall. However, as you said, you will start to do more for legs which is good. Even if it’s just for flexibilty purposes.
I’d like to see some overhead pressing in your work out as well. In fact, if you will, detail your workouts on each day. Let’s look at that.
I second this. wise advice. If it’s isnt protein powder, fish oil, or something that once had a face it likely is bullshit (some exceptions apply).
Also are you doing the hottest moves around like pull ups and over head pressing? How about good mornings? I wonder if you can do those. And one great way i have found for many of the skinnier young fellows to break weight barrier and gain muscle is to drink a gallon of chocolate milk on workout days. you seem very carb tolerant. Too bad you can’t do squats.
No acl in your leg?!?!?! Im almost puked there. mad shitty for you bud. At least he doesn’t want to be a lightbulb and isn’t worried about his abs.
-chris
[quote]4est wrote:
NO2 is trash - throw it away… seriously, don’t finish it.
i tend to do 3 sets. weight/10, weight/8, weight/6. i figure i get the best of everything. cutting and mass build from this. i used to do what i called 3 groups of 3 sets of 10. so in other words workin my ass off.
group 1
/10 /10 /8-10
group 2
/10 /10 /8-10
group 3
/10 /10 /8-10
this really wore me out. i did this for every individual lift…almost too much.
as for diet…i work a lot so its a quick breakfest lately. so usually a protein bar at the local gas station in the morning, lunch when i get home around 1pm. then a left overs pre dinner i call it lol. then dinner. then my second dinner later in the night. so its not really legit but i do eat quite a bit.
Monday/thursday work out
Group 1:
Dumbell curls
Skull Crushs
Group 2
Rope curls
Tri Pushdown
Group 3
Seated Curls (preachers)
Seated Dip
Group 4
Side crunches Dumbells
Weighted crunches
Decline crunches
Tuesday/Thursday
Group 1
Decline Dumbell press
Shrugs
Group 2
Seated Bench
Military Press
Group 3
Wide Bench
Lat Pull
Group 4
Incline Bench
Seated Pull
Group 5
Side crunches
Weighted crunches
Decline
i fill in my reps as i go…so i can change my work out. if u dont understand any of the abreviations i will tell ya. i kinda just type them up so i understand what i am doin. so i am sorry if my wording for seprate lifts are odd. i also just realized i havn’t been workin my lower back lol. shows how i get goin and dont think twice when i get into my routine.
What does your diet look like and how rigorously do you stick to it? You should also maybe throw in some shoulder work that would help your bench if thats what your aiming to get up maybe also some forearm work.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
You may want to do the heavy low rep stuff first, then the lighter more rep stuff after. I think you do too many reps in each workout.[/quote]
I’d quadruple your breakfast. I’d try to take in 1000 kcals at breakfast. You don’t seem to be predisposed to fattitude, so I would try a couple scoops of Surge and a sammich (read: sandwhich) or something along those lines at breakfast.
Even a scoop of the cheap Metabolic Drive and a few cups of chocolate milk would do the trick.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
You may want to so the heavy low rep stuff first, then the lighter more rep stuff after. I think you do too many reps in each workout.[/quote]
I second that.
Also, for tris I’ve been doing:
*Rack lockouts or Dips on bench days
and
*Close Grip Bench followed by skull crushers on tri days
Also, shoulder days start with heavy (for me) overhead pressing. The tris are really taking off from all the pressing and compound moves.
Use more heavy compound lifts and fewer isolation exercises. Don’t be afraid to experiment with various chest supported devises for working back.
Thanks guys exactly what i needed! I am goin to look over my workout and factor in some over the head pressing. Shoulder work and forearm work for sure! As for my diet i realize i do need to start a routine and stick to it. so i am goin to get a food plan goin too. shootin for 3000 to 4000 calories a day. also need to lower the reps for mass build. thats what i took from yalls advice. thanks guys!
I guess ‘training for many years’ is relative. I started training about when you are born. That’s training for many years.
I agree with some of the other posters. 3000 calories is not enough. If you don’t drink protein shakes, then you have to get a lot of quality protein through your food. Likely at the moment you aren’t getting enough. So, more food, especially more protein.
basicly your stuck at the weight your at because you don’t eat enough. Its a very simple concept. i would do like adviced and start by adding a big breakfast. Get the calories from whatever you can focusing on carbs and protien. If the scale isnt moving the direction you want it to simply look at your diet.
As far as your training your spending half your time in the gym focusing on very little muscle. even worse your doing arms the day before you do your compound work so your compound work is suffereing.
Think about this: What is going to pack on more lbs and make a more noticable difference, adding an inch to your chest/back measurement or adding an inch to your arms? Focus on compounds first and then do your isolation work. Balance your pulling and pushing exercises, your back holds alot of the muscle mass in your upper body.
Finally when hitting similier exercises twice a week I find I have much better results when I vary the volume/intensity of those two days. To over simplify it one day I work on strength and the other day would be considered more traditional muscle building reps sets.
rearanging what you do here is just an idea of what I might do with your training:
Monday: horizontal push/pull heavy, add 2-4 sets for triceps at the end
Tuesday: verticle push pull light, add 2-4 sets for biceps at the end
thursday: horizontal push/pull light, add 2-4 sets for triceps at the end
Friday: verticle push pull Heavy, add 2-4 sets for biceps at the end
[quote]Unf0 wrote:
hey thanks man…definetly gave me a better idea for my work out. makes sense! i will use what u put up and throw a leg day in on wednsday.
I’ve been lurking on T-Nation since '99 and never replied to a thread, but I experienced a very similar situation to yours. In 1994 the summer before my freshman year in college when I was 18, I tore my ACL. I didn’t get it repaired. I continued to participate in basketball and weightlifting and my knee continued to degenerate as my leg with the torn ACL atrophied. You need to get your ACL repaired, the sooner the better. I went two years before the repair, and it has been 12 years since the surgery. I still have muscular imbalances that I cannot overcome, and I blame them partly on behavioral patterns that I adopted while my knee was damaged.
Given the above. Once I completed the surgery and the rehab I was able to squat and legpress again with a full range of motion. I have recently squatted 500 lbs and deadlifted 550. When I was 19 my bodyweight was 195bs at 6’ it is now 230.
I recommend using the Westide Template to add mass and strength.
as for the acl thing i would like to get it repaired but i had it fixed once and retore it. right now i dont have the insurance to cover that type of surgery. i am goin to have to wait. i dont play basketball or really do anything to put any stress on my knee…i only lift and do some bike but not much. so i am being careful bout the knee cause i dont want a knee replacment by the time i am 40.
