99% of the time once the pic is posted in these “I wanna be lean and muscular” or “I want big traps” threads, they end with the same general answer.
…and this is it.
Without sounding like a dick you dont really look like you lift. You need to get on a decent program(ie 5/3/1 full body) and up the calories to grow! There is not enough of a base to lean down too.
I was spinning my wheels for years because I wasn’t eating enough and not following a program. It wasn’t until I stopped pissing around, increased my strength on the main lifts and put on some decent quality size that I started to look like I lifted.
[quote]Judas wrote:
I’ve tried 1-1 intermittent fasting (1 day 500cal/1day normal eating) for 3 months, just lost heaps of muscle, didnt loose any fat at all.[/quote]
How muscular were you before you started IF to be able to lose “heaps” of it? From the photos you posted, you look slightly more than untrained. What were your stats before IF compared to now? And since you’ve had an account since 2006, what have you been doing all this time?
I feel as though the primary issue is that you’ve not built enough muscle to cut down to anything.
[/quote]
Ive been lifting hard and eating. Lol at the people who assume my training is bad. Brah ive been on here since 2006. Ive done nearly every program on thi site. I have shit genetics. Im supposed to weigh 150 @6’2 like in this photo at age 18-19. Ive doubled/trippled my strength in every lift since starting to train. If i wasnt so tall id look like a thick power lifting type. Going from 150 to 200 etc
[quote]Judas wrote:
Ive done nearly every program on thi site.
[/quote]
That is incredibly alarming, and is most likely a major part of the issue.
You need to find what works and stick with it. Constant program hopping is going to screw your growth. Pretty much every program under the sun works as long as you put in the effort, but if you keep changing the approach, you don’t really have any opportunity to settle into a groove and actually starting grinding out progress.
[quote]Judas wrote:
I’ve tried 1-1 intermittent fasting (1 day 500cal/1day normal eating) for 3 months, just lost heaps of muscle, didnt loose any fat at all.[/quote]
How muscular were you before you started IF to be able to lose “heaps” of it? From the photos you posted, you look slightly more than untrained. What were your stats before IF compared to now? And since you’ve had an account since 2006, what have you been doing all this time?
I feel as though the primary issue is that you’ve not built enough muscle to cut down to anything.
[/quote]
Ive been lifting hard and eating. Lol at the people who assume my training is bad. Brah ive been on here since 2006. Ive done nearly every program on thi site. I have shit genetics. Im supposed to weigh 150 @6’2 like in this photo at age 18-19. Ive doubled/trippled my strength in every lift since starting to train. If i wasnt so tall id look like a thick power lifting type. Going from 150 to 200 etc
[/quote]
Looks like we started in about the same place. I weighed 125 when I started lifting when I was 18 (I’m 5’10, so pretty comparable to where you started at your height). I can assure you, your genetics can be overcome. I’m as alarmed as pwnisher is that you’ve done almost every program on this site. I’ve done 3 programs in the last 5 years, and if you exclude about 9 months of that timeframe, I’ve only done 1.
I doubt you’d look like a ‘thick powerlifting type’ if you were shorter. I assume my lifts are well beyond yours, and I don’t look like that. And I’m shorter.
Bottom line though, is that A) you’re eating more than enough protein, and not nearly enough carbs or fat, and B) you don’t look like you lift. You may have doubled/tripled your lifts, but that’s not enough to look great. I could barely bench an empty bar when I started. I had to get well above a 300lbs bench press before I really started looking the way I wanted to. Your fat level isn’t that bad, honestly. If you had substantially more muscle (20 lbs more), and the same amount of fat, you’d probably look pretty great.
[quote]Judas wrote:
Do protein shakes make you fat? I eat them 1-2 times a day? [/quote]
This question alone epitomizes just how little you know about this game. This is something my mom might ask me after hearing it on “The View.” There is some wonderful advice in this thread, but it is too much for you right now as you are essentially an infant when it comes to understanding nutrition.
And to piggy back on goochadamg’s post. He’s spot on. The fact that you can’t even understand “how you could possibly add more information” is further evidence you don’t understand how it works yet.
I’d recommend using a coach for a bit to really learn how to systematically go about dieting.
[quote]Judas wrote:
Do protein shakes make you fat? I eat them 1-2 times a day? [/quote]
This question alone epitomizes just how little you know about this game. This is something my mom might ask me after hearing it on “The View.” There is some wonderful advice in this thread, but it is too much for you right now as you are essentially an infant when it comes to understanding nutrition.
And to piggy back on goochadamg’s post. He’s spot on. The fact that you can’t even understand “how you could possibly add more information” is further evidence you don’t understand how it works yet.
I’d recommend using a coach for a bit to really learn how to systematically go about dieting. [/quote]
x2
OP: I was implying that meeting your macronutrient requirements without considering the type/quality of foods isn’t a good idea. Protein shakes aren’t bad but you shouldn’t depend on it for the bulk of your protein intake.
Like others have stated, trying so many different programs also isn’t a good idea. The first one or two times should be run exactly as outlined to have a baseline understanding of how things work and how you respond. If things need improvement, changing one or two things each cycle will help you continue to learn about yourself. At some point you’ll have to start learning what works for you.
[quote]Judas wrote:
Ive done nearly every program on thi site.
[/quote]
That is incredibly alarming, and is most likely a major part of the issue.
You need to find what works and stick with it. Constant program hopping is going to screw your growth. Pretty much every program under the sun works as long as you put in the effort, but if you keep changing the approach, you don’t really have any opportunity to settle into a groove and actually starting grinding out progress.
[/quote]
How often do you guys change your programs around?
[quote]Judas wrote:
Do protein shakes make you fat? I eat them 1-2 times a day? [/quote]
This question alone epitomizes just how little you know about this game. This is something my mom might ask me after hearing it on “The View.” There is some wonderful advice in this thread, but it is too much for you right now as you are essentially an infant when it comes to understanding nutrition.
And to piggy back on goochadamg’s post. He’s spot on. The fact that you can’t even understand “how you could possibly add more information” is further evidence you don’t understand how it works yet.
I’d recommend using a coach for a bit to really learn how to systematically go about dieting. [/quote]
I know it spikes your insulin level and if you eat a big meal when insulin is spiked it can lead to greater fat gain…
I thought he might have some new information regarding fat gain and whey or something
Everyone saying I dont even look like I lift maybe I posted shit photos, im sorta built for my height people in the real world often comment me on my arms and back etc.
I dont want to look like some roided up body builder, just built and lean is my goal.
Still dont look like I lift weights at all? just some skinny fat dude? dam I must be really distorting my view of myself. Ive read about that before
My arms about about 15.5 inches around flexed
I wish I wasnt 6’2 some times would make me look so much thicker, short guys are lucky like that.
Does anyone have any fat loss diet links they could help me with? diets they have tried and that I didn’t mention that I could look into and give a go?
[quote]lift206 wrote:
What kind of food are you eating? The quality of diet is just as important as the quantity. Don’t expect results if you’re having fries, candy, soda and protein shakes everyday.[/quote]
I eat clean as fuck. Just oats and whey for breakfast. Eggs and salad and low gi whole grain pasta for lunch. Oats after work and some more whey. Meat and salad for dinner. All the above is what I eat 90% of the time. The lunch gets mixed up a bit with some quiches.
Do protein shakes make you fat? I eat them 1-2 times a day? [/quote]
This is something I’ve been searching for. Does drinking 1-2 whey protein shakes a day make you gain fat? I’m on a strength training schedule so I lift every other day. But drink protein shakes everyday. I gain fat really easy and it’s pretty hard for me to lose it. I have a strict diet of meat, rice and vegetables ect, no processed foods and nothing with bad fats, a gallon of water a day.
My goal is to gain muscle and strength while preferably not gaining fat, and then later down the road when I build my frame, I want to chisel myself to exactly what I want. But that’s a year or two from now. So the big question is, am I drinking more protein than my body can process? It’s optimum gold standard whey protein mixed with whole milk fyi.
I wish I wasnt 6’2 some times would make me look so much thicker, short guys are lucky like that.
Does anyone have any fat loss diet links they could help me with? diets they have tried and that I didn’t mention that I could look into and give a go?
Thanks[/quote]
You’re a lot like me. I’m 6’2" and hover right around 195-200 lb.
I’d figure out what your actual maintenance caloric intake is first, which may involve trial and error (there are calculators out there, some more accurate than others), then meticulously track everything you put in your mouth, even BLT (bites, licks and tastes). On lifting days, eat maintenance calories, shoot for 1g/lb of protein and carbs, and about 0.45 g/lb of fat. On non-lifting days, eat a 500 calorie deficit, 1g/lb of protein, about 0.5g/lb of carbs, and the remainder of the calories from fat. Do whatever conditioning you want, but get active and get 30-45 min 3-4 days/week if possible. You can do conditioning on rest days, lifting days, or both. LISS cardio is actually fine, especially on lower body days right after you lift.
The weight loss won’t be rapid, but it is a manageable pace that allows you to not feel drained in the gym, as some of the really low carb diets have done to me (you’ll lose 1-2 lb/week). The key is consistency, meticulous food measurement so that you are monitoring your intake as close to being exact as possible, and actually finding your maintenance level.
[quote]Judas wrote:
Ive done nearly every program on thi site.
[/quote]
That is incredibly alarming, and is most likely a major part of the issue.
You need to find what works and stick with it. Constant program hopping is going to screw your growth. Pretty much every program under the sun works as long as you put in the effort, but if you keep changing the approach, you don’t really have any opportunity to settle into a groove and actually starting grinding out progress.
[/quote]
How often do you guys change your programs around?
I have been changing around once per year[/quote]
I do not understand how you can both have done nearly every program on this site and only change programs once per year. Unless you operate on a different calendar year than the rest of the world, this is an impossible thing.
I feel the primary issue here is that, rather than saying what you are doing, you are saying what you think we want to hear, and in turn you are making it difficult to diagnose what is and is not happening.
As for your question, I only change a program when it is no longer working, but even in that regard, aside from very recently, wherein I tore my ACL and had to radically change my training (shifting from strongman to bodybuilding), I’ve been following the same general training format/principles since 2011. I may change a movement around, but the set-up remains consistent. Once you figure out what works for you, there is usually minimal need to completely overhaul everything.
Holy hell you’re delusional. Those 2 pictures don’t help your case at all. You seriously don’t look like you lift. At best, you look like you ‘maybe’ lift. If I met you in real life, I wouldn’t assume you lift. It’s certainly not obvious. If people often comment positively on your physique, then we’re clearly living in different worlds… which I suppose is actually sort of the case. You are on the other side of the world from me. Maybe standards are much different in your country.
And on a side note, I have 4 scoops of whey iso protein every single day (120g protein), and usually also drink half a gallon or more of whole milk everyday. Been doing this for years. … Protein shakes do not make you fat.
EDIT: I’m also as baffled as the rest of the people who have responded on here, that you’ve been at this for a full decade, and have to ask the questions you’re asking. I don’t feel as though I can adequately communicate with you, if a decade of reading on this site wasn’t able to do the job already. Best of luck anyway.
