What Am I Doing Wrong?

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

I’m kinda disapointed to where bodybuilding took my body.

I’m 31 years old and i don’t understand what am i doing wrong. Everybody seems to be bigger than me .If i trained lightly or didn’t took training seriously i wouldn’t even question myself about it. But i think it is not the case.

It seems to me that i’m the one who is lifting the heavier weights in the gym. I deadlift every week. I squat. I eat my protein.The only thing i never tried is steroids.

When i take off my shirt, i don’t look anywhere near like a “natural” bodybuilder. i look like someone who trains just like everyone else.

I use 465 pound to deadlift 5 series of 5 reps with smaller plates so i can bring it up from a deficit. I don’t see anybody in the gym working as hard or heavy as i do.

i deadlift. i squat.i always go heavy

What is this that i’m doing wrong? Or there is nothing wrong and i just reached a natual limit ? Am i setting unrealistic goals ?

I don’t believe that everybody who is bigger than me is taking steroids, i refuse to believe in that excuse.

Of course, getting phisically stronger is good, but i don’t use my strenght nearly as often as i use my looks.

I don’t think i look bad, but i don’t think lifting a ton of weight is paying off the way it should.

Does anybody feel the same sometimes ?

2

While I’m not one to offer advice, if you want to get good advice from others you’ll need to post more.

What is your training plan? How much weight? Saying that you deadlift and squat weekly is not sufficient.

What do you eat? Every day? Do you log it, or do you guess?

What else do you do? Are you running marathons?

–Me

3

Pics?

4

If you are doing the same thing for an extended amount of time, why would you expect changes?
Although I HATED every second of it, My Greatest Gains Ever: Dave Tate was such a drastic change that I responded immediately.
It’s only a month. It would take a week at least to find the correct weights. If you haven’t made any gains in the last few months, what the hell?

5

1110×956 63.4 KB

[quote]kravi wrote:
While I’m not one to offer advice, if you want to get good advice from others you’ll need to post more.

What is your training plan? How much weight? Saying that you deadlift and squat weekly is not sufficient.

What do you eat? Every day? Do you log it, or do you guess?

What else do you do? Are you running marathons?

–Me[/quote]

Thank you for asking, ok, here we go :

I trainf five days a week :

1 - Chest : Everything 3 sets of 6 reps

bench press - 285 pounds

Incline bench press - 200 pounds

Incline dumbbel bench press - 195 pounds

2 - Deadlift: 5 sets of five reps

486 pounds

3 - Upper back- 3 sets of six reps (i think deadlifting targets the whole back, but i decided to train specifically for the upper back anyway)

Pulley front - (it’s the wieght written on the machine) :265 pounds

Close grip front lat pulldown - 260 pounds

Seated row machine - 260 pounds

4 - Shoulders - 3 sets of six reps

Shoulder press smith machine (there is no rack where i can train freely)- 220 pounds + bar

Lateral dumbbell raises - 93 pounds each dumbbell

Standing millitary press (also on smith machine)- 142 pounds + bar

5 - Squat : 5 sets of five reps

310 pounds + bar

This is the best picture i could ever take of myself…flexing like a maniac after a workout.

6

[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
If you are doing the same thing for an extended amount of time, why would you expect changes?
Although I HATED every second of it, My Greatest Gains Ever: Dave Tate was such a drastic change that I responded immediately.
It’s only a month. It would take a week at least to find the correct weights. If you haven’t made any gains in the last few months, what the hell?[/quote]

Thank you, i’ll read it.

7

That’s very low volume… 5 sets per week for legs?

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Yo, why you doin’ all the same rep #'s for the entire workout?

Gotta change things up!!

Like why not some 12’s on chest day?
8’s…

25’s even for some funky ass shizzz.

Add in some intensity stuff. Drop sets, rest pause sets, partials, etc…

9

[quote]Iron_Made wrote:
That’s very low volume… 5 sets per week for legs?[/quote]

Since i was able to increase weight week after week in my squat i tought that my legs would get bigger and there was no need for more exercise…i guess i was wrong…

10

It seems to me like you’re deliberately training for strength, with lower rep ranges. Read today’s article by Amit Sapir: How I Finally Got Muscle to Grow - Phase 1. Probably the perfect timing for you. Good progress so far, I wouldn’t be upset with your build or numbers. Keep it up.

11

I personally feel that 5-6 rep range can be somewhat of a dead zone after a while. So some sets in the 3-4 range for strength and 8-12 range for size. Also do AMRAP every now and then.

12

[quote]AceRock wrote:
It seems to me like you’re deliberately training for strength, with lower rep ranges. Read today’s article by Amit Sapir: How I Finally Got Muscle to Grow - Phase 1. Probably the perfect timing for you. Good progress so far, I wouldn’t be upset with your build or numbers. Keep it up.
[/quote]

Thank you for the link, i’ll read it.and thank you for your compliments. Maybe i just need to get out of my comfort zone.

13

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I personally feel that 5-6 rep range can be somewhat of a dead zone after a while. So some sets in the 3-4 range for strength and 8-12 range for size. Also do AMRAP every now and then.[/quote]

Thank you for your reply. what is AMRAP ?

14

[quote]RickWolf wrote:

[quote]Ecchastang wrote:
I personally feel that 5-6 rep range can be somewhat of a dead zone after a while. So some sets in the 3-4 range for strength and 8-12 range for size. Also do AMRAP every now and then.[/quote]

Thank you for your reply. what is AMRAP ?
[/quote]

AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible

15

You’re not going to magically start growing because if you change your diet or training. Just keep at it and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing or what they look like because that will have no bearing on how you look.

16

Your upper body looks good man, can tell you’ve got some impressive lifts! You’re not overly lean, so can’t expect to see a ton of definition at this point, but if you ever do decide to lean up I think you’ll be pleased with the result. Your quads do appear relatively undertrained from that picture, although it isn’t an ideal shot for judging your legs. The good news is that that should be an easy issue to fix, more volume on legs! This could be in the form of squatting multiple times per week, adding in leg press or hack squats, etc. You’re on a good track though, don’t get discouraged

17

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:
Your upper body looks good man, can tell you’ve got some impressive lifts! You’re not overly lean, so can’t expect to see a ton of definition at this point, but if you ever do decide to lean up I think you’ll be pleased with the result. Your quads do appear relatively undertrained from that picture, although it isn’t an ideal shot for judging your legs. The good news is that that should be an easy issue to fix, more volume on legs! This could be in the form of squatting multiple times per week, adding in leg press or hack squats, etc. You’re on a good track though, don’t get discouraged[/quote]

Thank you for your kind reply and compliments. You are right, although my legs aren’t necessarily weak, they are not as big as they should be, comparing to my upper body.
My workouts are pretty short so, from all i’ve heard here, i guess i’ll add some exercises with low weight and high reps after each workout. I’ll do what i’ve been doing PLUS two or three high reps exercises at the end of every workout. what you think about 5 sets of 10-12 reps ?

As for the cutting part of your comment, my love for provolone cheese won’t allow me to cut properly !

18

One thing no one I don’t think mentioned was sleep. Are you sleeping enough? Also, how about just doing a proven program to a t. I personally do 5/3/1 and that’s your strength and you can run different templates to hit hypertrophy harder.

19

[quote]Young33 wrote:
One thing no one I don’t think mentioned was sleep. Are you sleeping enough? Also, how about just doing a proven program to a t. I personally do 5/3/1 and that’s your strength and you can run different templates to hit hypertrophy harder.[/quote]

Never heard of if, finished reading the aerticle about 5/3/1 right now. i really liked it because it involves basic lifts so i’ll give it a try!

20

One thing i forgot to mention is my dieting plan. I’m on Intermitent Fasting for almost 3 years. Compared to other guys, i eat very little, my calories are under 1800 a day. At one point, IF was a blessing for it made me worry less with food. I DO NOT feel weak at all doing it, but i might benefit from getting back to basic in terms of eating.