Why Can't I Gain Muscle?

Training
301

[quote]maxx power wrote:
wannbeBIG wrote:
well, when you take caliper measurements, and tape measurements, and you compare pics and the evidence suggests that 99% of what you have gained is fat, what would you do? I was fat as hell and Im not talking about a bit of blubber Im talking about ALOT.

First of all. Ok man, again you dont listen. I am not here to piss you off, I am trying to help.

Post a new thread because your going to need it.
Post your pics.
Post your diet.
Post your training log.

Secondly…
You went from a lean 160 to a QUOTE “FAT AS HELL” 180. Gimme a break.

Unless you are 5’2, I doubt anyone at 180 is fat as hell.

Do like the other 100 or so others have in recent months.
Post a new thread.
Post your pics.
Post your diet/food logs.
Post your training logs.

Regards,
mp[/quote]

Ive never been lean @ 160lbs? where did you get that idea? I still cant see my abs at 160lbs - Ive stated that already.

302

[quote]redsox348984 wrote:
De sleeplijn wrote:
PGA200X wrote:
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I don’t get why you’ve gotta bag out people that whinge about their progress. Maybe they seek advice from Champion bodybuilders like yourself.

I’ve been a long time reader, but only started posting today and I reckon you guys are too harsh on people who are seeking advice.

you have to understand the reason a lot of these guys are so harsh is because they’ve had to deal with pretty much the same posts over and over every week. hearing people complain and saying they are doing everything right when they are really not and arguing back.[/quote]

There is probably some truth in that. But no one made them click on the forum post entitled “I can’t big! What do I do!?”

They put their little mouse pointer over it, and clicked it under their own power.

People complain because they like to complain. First and foremost. It’s fun - for just a moment - you feel important.

303

it’s fun to complain? I dont and never have enjoyed complaining [insert puzzled look here]

304

[quote]wannbeBIG wrote:
it’s fun to complain? I dont and never have enjoyed complaining [insert puzzled look here][/quote]

Congratulations.

Now take a look at the rest of the world: mostly full of complainers - people who seem to like it.

I guess I was talking about them, not you?

(apparently you don’t and never have enjoyed “seeing the obvious” either…just ribbing you)

305

[quote]wires wrote:
wannbeBIG wrote:
it’s fun to complain? I dont and never have enjoyed complaining [insert puzzled look here]

Congratulations.

Now take a look at the rest of the world: mostly full of complainers - people who seem to like it.

I guess I was talking about them, not you?

(apparently you don’t and never have enjoyed “seeing the obvious” either)[/quote]

well seeing as though Ive been complaining, I had a little feeling that yes, you could have been talking about me - how was I suppost to know otherwise? Im not psychic lol

306

[quote]conorh wrote:
If you are an adult male human and can’t bench more then 315, squat more then 405 and pull more then 495 then your smallness is no mystery.[/quote]

Great point!

And an adult male human who weighs what Dave Tate weights, south of 270 lbs at this point, should be putting up ~600 bench, ~900 squat and pulling ~700.

307

yo x, and other moody kids, u act like u were always huge, u werent. u said that u had to study books etc. like i havent done that. iv got grays anatomy, man. wheres the empathy. u know im not sum spoilt kid, but the fact is, learning from books is a supplement. what is truth in things like this, is experience. which u have. u elders who are cool, newbies luv u 4 it. and each one who succeeds, theyl make a thread saying thanks 4 the advice, luvya

u read what it says on the outside of the site? " It’s a place where new ideas are born, where false and outdated dogmas are destroyed, and where truth and intellect rule!" is this true? is that the kind of place iv cum to? i found Berardis stuff on his site, read it, respected it, and followed a link here. are u really better than menshealth etc? yeah. so why not share the wisdom, bro?

as far as i can see, the worst that can come from a polite humble but ignorant question from a newbie is a) u ignore it, or b) if u can help and want to, u tell him that special thing u know thatl break thru his rut, then u can be proud of urself, rememberin how hard it was 4 u 1st time around. the only reason i can see 4 people bein irritated is by constant similar questions. thats why there’s a beginners forum. dont want beginners here? remove this forum.

and 4 the record, libraries are noble institutions, not sure whos spent more time in there me or u x, but theyr bullshit when u dont know what to read. u can read the wrong shit, waste a lot of time, energy, money etc. cheesy i know but can u imagine the karate kid, with no miagi? ouch. that kid’d be all fucked up, broken cheekbones and shit.

when u were studying whatever u studied x, u had no teachers right, u just fell into a library when i t opened, stayed there forever and magically learnt a shitload, now ur acting like knowledge is exclusive?

no silver spoon- time is too expensive, i thought this was a community of people in common pursuit of excellence, intolerance makes it seem very cold. if i ask a question its always because i assume u know the answer, and is of no big shit 2 u to give me a reply, theres 3000 articles on here, do u hav 2 hav read and aplied every one b4 ur qualified to ask?

back to reading Waterbury, Berardi, Thib, Shugart, Tate, Cressey, Robertson, gentilcore

anyway sorry 4 a long/pissed reply, i really am humble about my ability as a lifter and shit, i just hate bigots

308

[quote]dannyrat wrote:

and 4 the record, libraries are noble institutions, not sure whos spent more time in there me or u x, but theyr bullshit when u dont know what to read. u can read the wrong shit, waste a lot of time, energy, money etc. cheesy i know but can u imagine the karate kid, with no miagi? ouch. that kid’d be all fucked up, broken cheekbones and shit.[/quote]

First, you won’t gain much respect if you continue to type like you are text messaging one of your best friends. Second, all knowledge is power and useful. I have never learned anything that I had absolutely no use for…aside from high school algebra.

[quote]
when u were studying whatever u studied x, u had no teachers right, u just fell into a library when i t opened, stayed there forever and magically learnt a shitload, now ur acting like knowledge is exclusive?[/quote]

Magically learned? How does that work? I learned because I researched and read. I thought of a topic I wanted to know about and looked up resources for it. Do you honestly believe that you can’t learn this way?

There is a violin in my ass that plays louder each time I fart. Hold on, let me turn up the volume.

I don’t know of or read most of the articles on this site. There are other resources beyond this web site. You are doing yourself a disservice if all you know or learn only comes from one place. Get out on your own and go learn something. No one has to hold your hand for that to happen.

What does wanting you to gain the motivation to go look for info have to do with bigotry?

309

[quote]dannyrat wrote:
yo x, and other moody kids, u act like u were always huge, u werent. u said that u had to study books etc. like i havent done that. iv got grays anatomy, man. wheres the empathy. u know im not sum spoilt kid, but the fact is, learning from books is a supplement. what is truth in things like this, is experience. which u have. u elders who are cool, newbies luv u 4 it. and each one who succeeds, theyl make a thread saying thanks 4 the advice, luvya

u read what it says on the outside of the site? " It?s a place where new ideas are born, where false and outdated dogmas are destroyed, and where truth and intellect rule!" is this true? is that the kind of place iv cum to? i found Berardis stuff on his site, read it, respected it, and followed a link here. are u really better than menshealth etc? yeah. so why not share the wisdom, bro?

as far as i can see, the worst that can come from a polite humble but ignorant question from a newbie is a) u ignore it, or b) if u can help and want to, u tell him that special thing u know thatl break thru his rut, then u can be proud of urself, rememberin how hard it was 4 u 1st time around. the only reason i can see 4 people bein irritated is by constant similar questions. thats why there’s a beginners forum. dont want beginners here? remove this forum.

and 4 the record, libraries are noble institutions, not sure whos spent more time in there me or u x, but theyr bullshit when u dont know what to read. u can read the wrong shit, waste a lot of time, energy, money etc. cheesy i know but can u imagine the karate kid, with no miagi? ouch. that kid’d be all fucked up, broken cheekbones and shit.

when u were studying whatever u studied x, u had no teachers right, u just fell into a library when i t opened, stayed there forever and magically learnt a shitload, now ur acting like knowledge is exclusive?

no silver spoon- time is too expensive, i thought this was a community of people in common pursuit of excellence, intolerance makes it seem very cold. if i ask a question its always because i assume u know the answer, and is of no big shit 2 u to give me a reply, theres 3000 articles on here, do u hav 2 hav read and aplied every one b4 ur qualified to ask?

back to reading Waterbury, Berardi, Thib, Shugart, Tate, Cressey, Robertson, gentilcore

anyway sorry 4 a long/pissed reply, i really am humble about my ability as a lifter and shit, i just hate bigots[/quote]

Your post=this photo!

310

[quote]dannyrat wrote:
u said that u had to study books etc. like i havent done that. iv got grays anatomy, man.[/quote]

u might want to see if you can locate an english text.

311

just reding back through a few of pages of this thread and just seems to me that PX has got no intention of trying to help people. he just seems more interested in trying to belittle people or trying to catch someone out because he thinks they’re lying.

he seems to think that everyone is a dumfuck - well, that’s how he’s come across with me.

I tell him my diets good and I eat enough only for him to come across as “no, you’re bullshitting”

he just doesnt want to believe me, no matter what I say.

there have been people in this thread who have been helpful and to those I thank you.

I’m trying to get to the bottom of why I dont gain well so Ive come here, hope someone might be able to show me another direction to look in. I havent come here to be looked down on, to feel belittled, or to be made to feel like I know nothing at all. if you havent got anything helpful/constructive to say, then don’t say anything at all.

312

Right I promise this is my last post here, in this topic.
I am sorry if my punctuation gives you the impression that i am stupid/lazy/illiterate. For the record, since we are all so precious on this issue of achievement, i have an IQ of 165 (top 0.01%), i am training to be an ENGLISH TEACHER, the font/capitalisation/grammar i choose to use shouldnt get in the way of what im saying. It is all legible, and the points i’m trying to make will be in accord with the experiences of anyone who has ever needed a mentor.

what im sayin isnt like a train wreck, but how witty of u to make such an analogy. how long did it take u to find that picture?

the only point of me learning is to better myself, we can do this in various ways through direct contact with a teacher/instructor, or academically, through books.
people like wannabebig posts on here to get some help. some help, some don’t. that of course is fine, it’s your prerogative to do whatever, but is this a site to strive towards something, or an elitist bunch of just fuckin eat fatties condescending to people who are at an earlier stage of the same journey?

someone said earlier if u don’t want to help/look at such articles, don’t go to the beginners section, don’t read newbie threads, don’t help

people who always seem to pop up with help, (phill springs to mind, but there are others, u know who) are the coolest people about because they have a benevolent spirit. anyone who will go into an obvious newb thread, saying JFE etc when it plainly hasn’t worked for the subject (wannabebig, for example) is pathetic. what a waste of time. equally anyone starting a thread to say newbies are shit in other words is shit themselves, very small and uncool.

of course there should be places free of incompetent beginners, i’m sure it can be frustrating to see ur androgenic chats/ etc being interrupted by sum kid who “wants to gain muscle, lose fat” but u were that kid once, and provided it’s posted in the relevant place, with humility for his current ignorance, if u can’t be constructive/ positive, why bother.

i’ve never even seen how big/strong x or pga are, but it doesnt surprise me that u “chose not to be a personal instructor”

313

[quote]dannyrat wrote:
Said some stuff…
[/quote]

I would have thought that somebody with an amzing IQ like yours you would be able to idnetify the underlying tone of the thread. Its reducing peoples thinking to the absolute foundation of lifting and gaining, eat and lift hard. Too many people here over complicate things and fail to get down those 2 principals. I’ve made some of the mistakes in the past, not eating enough and 1/2 assed intensity. Once I allowed myself to get past those road blocks I was able to make composition and strength changes very easily, for the better of course.

You’ve only been on here for 28 posts and dont have a clue as to what the generla demographic of the people who “cant gain” are. They dont eat enough and they dont workout hard enough, in that order. Stick around and you’ll see for yourself.

314

[quote]PGA200X wrote:
dannyrat wrote:
Said some stuff…

I would have thought that somebody with an amzing IQ like yours you would be able to idnetify the underlying tone of the thread. Its reducing peoples thinking to the absolute foundation of lifting and gaining, eat and lift hard. Too many people here over complicate things and fail to get down those 2 principals. I’ve made some of the mistakes in the past, not eating enough and 1/2 assed intensity. Once I allowed myself to get past those road blocks I was able to make composition and strength changes very easily, for the better of course.

You’ve only been on here for 28 posts and dont have a clue as to what the generla demographic of the people who “cant gain” are. They dont eat enough and they dont workout hard enough, in that order. Stick around and you’ll see for yourself.[/quote]

but that’s the problem here - people are just getting clumped into one stereotype.

I’ve gone from 11-12% BF to 30% all on clean food, so I obviously eat well.

training, I’ve been sick on leg day, - I know what hard gym work is all about.

I’ve tried different types on intesnsity, more volume lower intensity to less volume higher intensity.

I thought i might have been training to failure too often, so cut back on training to failure and still no changes. cut back some more, still no changes. Ive even tried training without ever going to failure, still no change.

315

As a noob, I really can’t tell you why, but I came into all this with some pretty screwed up preconceptions, one of which was that you had to eat light. I suppose that’s probably because when you look at bodybuilders and see their muscle definition, the first thing that pops in your head is that you need to eat light in order to lose the fat so that people can see your abs. Isn’t that what conventional (i.e. incorrect) wisdom tells us, that fat is bad and you need to diet to lose it? I’m not sure if this is why all noobs come into this field believing you need to eat like birds, but it’s why I thought that way until I learned better.

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but for those of us who have never been exposed to the world of lifting, we’re not told to eat big if you want to get big. In fact, nobody in the outside world really seems interested in getting big. The prevailing belief out there seems to be the less food you eat, the better. And that’s a damn hard line of thinking to shed when it’s been pounded into your brain for decades. For most of you, it’s probably second nature. For me, it was a shock to everything I (thought I) knew.

You could call it an epiphany, but at some point when I decided I needed to shed my pudgy exterior and gain some muscle, I thought it would be a great idea to seek out the advice of the people who actually did this stuff. It still amazes me that it took that long for me to figure out such a stroke of common sense.

The rather gruff nature of the board in general is good. I’ve come here and read threads when I needed the motivation to continue. There’s something about being around the “no excuses” mentality that helps a person break through barriers otherwise impassable. There exists a wealth of knowledge here, and it cannot all be spoon fed. Sometimes you really need to work at finding it yourself in order to appreciate it. An occasional helping hand is nice when you get stuck, but for the most part you need to learn about this yourself instead of having someone lead you by the nose. And that’s what’s nice about this place. If you put in the effort, people will bend over backwards to assist you. If you wait for them to do all the work, you’re just going to keep waiting. That’s how it should be, IMO.

316

[quote]wannbeBIG wrote:
just reding back through a few of pages of this thread and just seems to me that PX has got no intention of trying to help people. he just seems more interested in trying to belittle people or trying to catch someone out because he thinks they’re lying.

he seems to think that everyone is a dumfuck - well, that’s how he’s come across with me.

I tell him my diets good and I eat enough only for him to come across as “no, you’re bullshitting”

he just doesnt want to believe me, no matter what I say.

there have been people in this thread who have been helpful and to those I thank you.

I’m trying to get to the bottom of why I dont gain well so Ive come here, hope someone might be able to show me another direction to look in. I havent come here to be looked down on, to feel belittled, or to be made to feel like I know nothing at all. if you havent got anything helpful/constructive to say, then don’t say anything at all.
[/quote]

It took something like 5 requests for you to post your stats and you still havent told anyone your calorie intake.

I dont need to defend X, he is an asset to this community. But, you havent exactly been the perfect poster either.

317

[quote]maxx power wrote:
wannbeBIG wrote:
just reding back through a few of pages of this thread and just seems to me that PX has got no intention of trying to help people. he just seems more interested in trying to belittle people or trying to catch someone out because he thinks they’re lying.

he seems to think that everyone is a dumfuck - well, that’s how he’s come across with me.

I tell him my diets good and I eat enough only for him to come across as “no, you’re bullshitting”

he just doesnt want to believe me, no matter what I say.

there have been people in this thread who have been helpful and to those I thank you.

I’m trying to get to the bottom of why I dont gain well so Ive come here, hope someone might be able to show me another direction to look in. I havent come here to be looked down on, to feel belittled, or to be made to feel like I know nothing at all. if you havent got anything helpful/constructive to say, then don’t say anything at all.

It took something like 5 requests for you to post your stats and you still havent told anyone your calorie intake.

I dont need to defend X, he is an asset to this community. But, you havent exactly been the perfect poster either.

[/quote]

excuse me pal… no one has asked for my stats. but I have posted what weights I lift, Ive done that numerous times.

seems a bit cliquey round these parts…

I have posted my diet, surely by that you can have a rough idea of what I eat/how much I eat, exact calorie figures are irrelevant if you can see what foods Im eating and how much of each Im eating…

you’re now coming across as a little pedantic. very very cliquey round here…

have you seen my diet?

318

Wannabe, maybe you missed it, but I asked if you’d checked out absoption issues. Have you?

PGX, a 100% success rate? Dang, man. You must be the best personal trainer of all time. Guess you must be better than Charles Glass, CP, Waterbury, and pretty much everyone else in the world.

Whatever.

To Prof X, the reason I put the three year stipulation on there is because I’m sure pretty much everyone who’s in the iron game has “worked as a personal trainer” at some point or other. (Kind of like the middle aged guy who “used to work out a little back in high school”. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.) Without at least a couple of years’ worth of experience, you’re not going to have enough of a sample to really be able to say what works and what doesn’t. But if you want to ignore all the points I made because of that one detail, I guess it’s up to you.

And - in general - I notice that no one seems willing to call CP a liar or incompetent. :wink:

319

[quote]char-dawg wrote:
Wannabe, maybe you missed it, but I asked if you’d checked out absoption issues. Have you?

PGX, a 100% success rate? Dang, man. You must be the best personal trainer of all time. Guess you must be better than Charles Glass, CP, Waterbury, and pretty much everyone else in the world.

Whatever.

To Prof X, the reason I put the three year stipulation on there is because I’m sure pretty much everyone who’s in the iron game has “worked as a personal trainer” at some point or other. (Kind of like the middle aged guy who “used to work out a little back in high school”. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.) Without at least a couple of years’ worth of experience, you’re not going to have enough of a sample to really be able to say what works and what doesn’t. But if you want to ignore all the points I made because of that one detail, I guess it’s up to you.

And - in general - I notice that no one seems willing to call CP a liar or incompetent. ;)[/quote]

Who is CP and what does he have to do with this? Wannabe catches flack because he claims to do everything right. I actually see progress and I wouldn’t claim to do everything right. I simply do enough to see results so my faults don’t add up too much over any gains made. If I ever compete, that will invite even more things I don’t know yet. If someone claims they are perfect, no advice is even worth giving. Until that person is willing to even accept that they may be doing something wrong, people are just wasting their time typing. This guy has an (apparently rather large) psychological issue that no doubt has major influence on any gains made. If he quit seeing his last doc simply because the man wasn’t directly familar with “bigorexia” then his choices were to find another doc who was or stick with the same doc and allow any experience he had with anorexia to influence any decisions made.

That means anyone skipping over that issue is doing this guy a disservice. It also means that until he understands tha he is doing something wrong, he won’t be making any progress. I have never heard one bodybuilder who was huge claim their training and diet were “perfect”. This is a constant learning process because your body won’t respond the same at 200lbs as it will at 250lbs.

As far as what you stated about personal training, I have to disagree. Most people in the gym have NOT worked as personal trainers before. Many COMPETITIVE bodybuilders have. I worked as one for less than a year and have no intention of doing so again as a main source of income unless it is something I do when I retire. Since then, however, I have trained some of my frat brothers and very often all it took was consistency and attention to detail. You would be surprised what many people miss in their own training until they actually train with someone more experienced. So many newbies claim to be working hard. The truth is, very few are working near their true potential and their PERCEPTION is the largest problem.

320

[quote]wannbeBIG wrote:

excuse me pal… no one has asked for my stats. but I have posted what weights I lift, Ive done that numerous times.

seems a bit cliquey round these parts…

I have posted my diet, surely by that you can have a rough idea of what I eat/how much I eat, exact calorie figures are irrelevant if you can see what foods Im eating and how much of each Im eating…

you’re now coming across as a little pedantic. very very cliquey round here…

have you seen my diet?
[/quote]

Actually, people HAVE asked for your stats, more than once. What’s this about exact calorie figures being IRRELEVANT? Wow, no wonder you’re getting nowhere. Exact or near-exact calorie figures are why some make progress and others don’t. I used to just eat a lot, but until I started tracking what I was eating, I didn’t really gain much. You are starting to sound like one of those people who “just can’t lose weight, no matter how right I get my diet and exercise.” 99.9842% of the time, their idea of “right” is a ways off.