I have been lifting since I was 19. Non serious lifting for first 2 years and then got more serious as my education level went up.
What are my weak points? Strong points?
Unfortunately I have only been working legs seriously for 6 months.
I think my weaknesses are:
No traps.
Flat-ish bi’s.
Sub par legs
Back development not that significant.
Also, I am not happy with my ab genetics. It seems that I only have a ‘4 pack’ like Ronnie Coleman. It’s like the very top two should be larger…or there should be two more under my bottom abs. Thoughts?
I think you look very good, but again, how long have you been lifting serious (you didn’t say), and how old are you now?
About your abs, mine are pretty similar to yours, but when you look close there’s a line between your upper abs, so you do have a six-pack imo, it’s just not that prominent. You should appreciate though, that your abs are so symmetrical. Only few people have that.
I’ve only seen few with ‘extra’ bottom abs under the navel, and those had a very low body fat, but it doesn’t look like you can get them. Perhaps it’s possible to make your upper abs more visible (bigger) though…
Thanks for the feedback. I am 23 now and have been lifting seriously for about 1.5-2 years.
I guess my abs are quite symmetrical. I still would really like that 1-2-3-4-5-6 pack though. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too!
I have thought about cutting a bit more, just to see whether I can get the lower to abs below the navel, but I can’t even feel any sort of crease that would show up if my bf went down.
All this ab talk is a little bit namby pamby though, half the time all I care about is how much I can squat and abdominals don’t even register in my goals.
legionairre - thanks for the feedback. I tend to see a lot more flaws than you do though. I should mention that I would like to compete one day.
[quote]Epimetheus wrote:
what do you do for legs? Because I can’t get my vastus lateralis to grow for shit, yet yours are pretty full-looking.[/quote]
I am afraid it may be genetics. My father has a noticeable vastus lateralis despite having never trained legs for a day of his life.
In case it isn’t genetics, my leg routine consists of the usuals - squats, leg press, dead lift, the leg extension thing etc…
every now and then I will start with leg extensions instead of squats. I don’t know how sound this is in terms of bodybuilding theory, but I believe it slams both the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis in ways that starting with squats cannot achieve. (the idea being that you are hitting them when your leg strength is at 100% and not 75%)
I think you’re pretty proportional. Your main problem is you’re an ectomorph. Your main problem is your lack of overall mass.
You’re not a tragic ectomorph. I don’t feel the need to write Squats & Milk in all caps.
You should not diet down to see those last 2 abs. Right now you’re at a good bodyfat% for putting on muscle. You’ve already got a 6-pack. You might not genetically have an 8 pack. Not everyone has an 8 pack under their flab. Look at Pro Bodybuilders. Some have 6 and some have 8. They all have sub 6% bodyfat at contest.
Want to hit all the parts of your Quad? Use Wide Stance, Powerlifting-Style Squats and Box-Squats to put mass on your legs. Then use Step-ups, Back Lunges, and Split Squats instead of the Leg Extension.
If you aren’t doing Heavy Barbell and Dumbbell Rows, that’s why you’re not pleased with your back development. What’s heavy?
1.5X Bodyweight.
Good job; you’re doing better than you think.
I’m going to echo what everyone else has said thus far and say that you would definitely benefit from more lean mass all around. Keep going and post more pictures in 6 months to a year.
I think you are a little too hard on yourself. You’ve definitely got a solid base. Like the others said – add on a few pounds of lean body mass and you’ll be looking great. Also, your quads look to be up to par with the rest of your build.
The photo of you in the sun shows a pretty proportional build, which is a definite plus. It’s the best pic for me, so it’s what I’m going to be basing my thoughts on. The rest of the photos need a bit of work with posing, and I’m not a bb’er, so take my .02 as you will.
Pros—Proportional, very lean, symmetrical abs. Seem to have a small-ish waist.
Cons–need more mass!! That will solve a lot of your problems. I think shoulders need some work on width, but could be the pics/posing. I think you need more thickness in the back (but as I said overall mass will help that). Need wider lats–accentuate the waist taper. Need hamstrings–I haven’t seen them, but I can guarantee they’re weak.
So, shoulders, back, lats, hamstrings, IMO. Biceps are easy to bring back up after lots of heavy rows and chins (which will also help out with biceps a bit anyway)
I would not suggest cutting anymore to see about your lower abs, simply because you seem to already know pretty well that the last divider ain’t there. I would suggest putting on mass.
