Advice on my training, need to make gains

[PoPo.]

So been really seriously lifting for a year. Still not confident that im progressing as well as I could. I blame the training. I keep wondering if Im mentally pushing it hard enough. Like that point where you acheive "failure" and cant do any more reps. I cheat up a few more after, burnout pretty bad. I feel like I should have gained a hell of alot more strength by now. Ive added only very small amounts of weight onto the barbell like 5 lbs, started with 50 and did curls with that. I havent been able to gain much in my other lifts. I do a 3 set 5-12 rep range. Mix it up once in awhile and do heavy weight. low reps, more sets. Now just recently ive started trying a new thing where I do much much slower reps for the workout. I usually am well balanced with form not too strict not too clumsy, so now im approaching the workouts with extremely strict form one day, then more moderately strict form the next. Damn I feel like my muscles get shredded using an extremely slow speed with the reps.
I started about 130lbs last year, now im about 148 lbs, I estimate im 14% body fat im 5'6'' I can still see my six pack, people who havent seen me in awhile comment ive gotten "buffer". Still not satisfied with results myself though.. Am I impatient? Is it diet?
Ive not used any AAS before. Havent considered it yet, havent built that "foundation". Y'know, that perfect diet and exercise routine where your in your best shape naturally. Im thinking when I get there ill likely not even use AAS depending how much mass and strength im able to gain naturally.

 

[Primoballin]

Ya, you're being impatient. It takes time, 20lbs in a years time natty is pretty good. For shits and grins you could post up your split routine with exercises etc. but I'm gonna ride ya like a rented mule if you're doing stupid shit like wrist curls and calf raises.
Don't get caught up isolating muscles that you can work with heavy compound movements like the squat and deadlift and rows. Once a base of muscle is built it's fine to prioritize lagging muscles in your workouts

 

[oldmusclemike]

Ya, you're being impatient. It takes time, 20lbs in a years time natty is pretty good. For shits and grins you could post up your split routine with exercises etc. but I'm gonna ride ya like a rented mule if you're doing stupid shit like wrist curls and calf raises.
Don't get caught up isolating muscles that you can work with heavy compound movements like the squat and deadlift and rows. Once a base of muscle is built it's fine to prioritize lagging muscles in your workouts

This ^^^ makes a lot of sense. Oh and 1 year really you haven't broken the ice. Oh ya think you can tell us a bit more of your stats...how old are you, history of lifting...been a year, huh well is that the beginning ? have you been lifting before but not seriously.

Ya know it doesn't seem to me you are really off with what you are doing except for some choice of exercises ^^^.

Fact with or without steroids. A man can only gain a MAX of 15-20 lbs of LMM in on (1) year. this differs for everyone. If a novice the max if a seasoned Vet less. There becomes the diminishing returns as we get bigger and have been lifting longer. The body is amazing and it learns to adapt. SO as I stated, the facts, ... you gained 18 lbs , ...now what do you think.

But you are at a year what on earth do you expect. YOU are a baby in all this. People s ay hey you look a bit more buff. WTF do you want. It is working. I might add I am genetically weak. If you were to see me back in my day you would think I could lift big weight. Hell if I compared my weighs Lbs lifting with the other guys, shit it was embarrassing. Ha but they didn't hold a candle to how I looked. Sorry my ego I really wasn't that much but better then then my peers.

Try to lift more and more , hell its fun to lift heavy weight. But let the mirror be your judge , unless yu are going for pure PL. I the beginning shorten the muscle groups and do basic mass building exercises as stated above ^^.

MY kids started walking at a year old.

 

[49ER]

This ^^^ makes a lot of sense. Oh and 1 year really you haven't broken the ice. Oh ya think you can tell us a bit more of your stats...how old are you, history of lifting...been a year, huh well is that the beginning ? have you been lifting before but not seriously.

Ya know it doesn't seem to me you are really off with what you are doing except for some choice of exercises ^^^.

Fact with or without steroids. A man can only gain a MAX of 15-20 lbs of LMM in on (1) year. this differs for everyone. If a novice the max if a seasoned Vet less. There becomes the diminishing returns as we get bigger and have been lifting longer. The body is amazing and it learns to adapt. SO as I stated, the facts, ... you gained 18 lbs , ...now what do you think.

But you are at a year what on earth do you expect. YOU are a baby in all this. People s ay hey you look a bit more buff. WTF do you want. It is working. I might add I am genetically weak. If you were to see me back in my day you would think I could lift big weight. Hell if I compared my weighs Lbs lifting with the other guys, shit it was embarrassing. Ha but they didn't hold a candle to how I looked. Sorry my ego I really wasn't that much but better then then my peers.

Try to lift more and more , hell its fun to lift heavy weight. But let the mirror be your judge , unless yu are going for pure PL. I the beginning shorten the muscle groups and do basic mass building exercises as stated above ^^.

MY kids started walking at a year old.

Fuck me i trained 8 or 9 years natty and gained maybe 15-20 lbs

 

[PoPo.]

I guess I should post up more stats and routine. I am pretty impatient I want victory and want it real bad! Grrr.... Im not about to speed up the process with drugs, ive worked long enough in the medical field to know drugs are like guns, use em wrong and your fucked. I did have a doc tell me I had low T once, dont have the labs but im not about to use that to justify drugs. From my understanding I should be able to build strength fine regardless. I never received a treatment because I was brutally honest with all side effects, no depression no lethargy, CBC was perfect. Why fix whats not broken?
Okok heres the routine bear with me I dont have the proper names for all the workout movements and such:
Upright row(with barbell)-50lbs 12-12-13 reps
Barbell Curls-55 lbs 12-10-10 reps
Bent row(barbell)- 90lbs 12-8-4
Tricep extensions(dumbell): 37 1/2 lbs 12-11-9
Bench(dumbells)- 55 lbs 12-12-8
Pectoral flyes(or whatever you call them) 55lbs 5-5-4
Lunges 140lbs(plus body weight) 12-12-12
Calf raises (140lbs plus body weight) 30-30-30

So yea I use dumbells for the bench.. Im sorry still havent invested in a rack. Havent got much space in my apartment room. I guess there is a cheap gym down the road I could use.. I do lunges due to the lack of a squat rack. I figure its better than nothing. I have a nice weight vest. Im a little scared to put a barbell on my shoulders because I worry ill drop it and die hehe. I can squat a hell of alot more than I can lift up onto my shoulders.
I am sick of pushing around what look like skimpy little weights to me. Want to push around them huge dumbells and shit like steve reeves did in those old black and white pics. Its my childish little ego. Either that or I want to look like stallone did in rambo, which looks more than possible purely natural.
Current stats are: Age-30 height-5'6'' Weight-148. Havent gotten a perfect body fat yet, I estimate 14%. Abs still there, but got some handles starting up so far, not too bad yet.
Ive been lifting since age 12 or so, on and off. Only been taking it truly seriously in the last year. Just my bucket list item to get jacked as hell. No limit ill take it as far as I can go. I was more of a long distance jogger in college years, not competitively just for my own self fulfillment.

 

[appleton111]

your name means shit in spanish op.

 

[blakey]

I guess I should post up more stats and routine. I am pretty impatient I want victory and want it real bad! Grrr.... Im not about to speed up the process with drugs, ive worked long enough in the medical field to know drugs are like guns, use em wrong and your fucked. I did have a doc tell me I had low T once, dont have the labs but im not about to use that to justify drugs. From my understanding I should be able to build strength fine regardless. I never received a treatment because I was brutally honest with all side effects, no depression no lethargy, CBC was perfect. Why fix whats not broken?
Okok heres the routine bear with me I dont have the proper names for all the workout movements and such:
Upright row(with barbell)-50lbs 12-12-13 reps
Barbell Curls-55 lbs 12-10-10 reps
Bent row(barbell)- 90lbs 12-8-4
Tricep extensions(dumbell): 37 1/2 lbs 12-11-9
Bench(dumbells)- 55 lbs 12-12-8
Pectoral flyes(or whatever you call them) 55lbs 5-5-4
Lunges 140lbs(plus body weight) 12-12-12
Calf raises (140lbs plus body weight) 30-30-30

So yea I use dumbells for the bench.. Im sorry still havent invested in a rack. Havent got much space in my apartment room. I guess there is a cheap gym down the road I could use.. I do lunges due to the lack of a squat rack. I figure its better than nothing. I have a nice weight vest. Im a little scared to put a barbell on my shoulders because I worry ill drop it and die hehe. I can squat a hell of alot more than I can lift up onto my shoulders.
I am sick of pushing around what look like skimpy little weights to me. Want to push around them huge dumbells and shit like steve reeves did in those old black and white pics. Its my childish little ego. Either that or I want to look like stallone did in rambo, which looks more than possible purely natural.
Current stats are: Age-30 height-5'6'' Weight-148. Havent gotten a perfect body fat yet, I estimate 14%. Abs still there, but got some handles starting up so far, not too bad yet.
Ive been lifting since age 12 or so, on and off. Only been taking it truly seriously in the last year. Just my bucket list item to get jacked as hell. No limit ill take it as far as I can go. I was more of a long distance jogger in college years, not competitively just for my own self fulfillment.

Stallone was juiced to the gills in evrey rambo bar first blood
He wasn't even going to get the part in the second film unless he bulked and cut up he went out and hired Franco columbo to get him there arnies best mate who was eating d bol like skittles with arnie years before

 

[3J]

have you looked at my reverse pyramid training sticky?

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/t...3j-s-reverse-pyramid-training-philosophy.html

 

[PoPo.]

Checked out the reverse pyramid philosophy. Looks very nice, incorporates all rep ranges. Ill have to try it. Problem is shifting weights around quick enough. My gym is limited in pre-set dumbells. I guess I could slowly collect more plates and dumbells/barbells and have them all lined up and ready for me to use.
Ive been eating about 3000 cals a day, 10% protein. That makes about 300 grams protein daily which is a hell of a lot more than I used to consume. It hurts to shit sometimes. Been needing that fiber therapy stuff, sometimes I mix in flax seed in my shakes. Is it too much protein? Or not enough.
Its so hard to put away that many calories when your eating foods that are healthy for you. I was always anti- protein powders but it takes so long to eat meat and veggies. Easier to stir it up in a shake and drink it. Especially when you have lots to do each day.
Im shooting for 170lbs 10% body fat. Im guessing ill have a bit of a gut before I hit 170.... Whats the best way to cut up naturally without losing muscle mass when you start getting a gut? I dont count my cals too strictly but I imagine if I need to cut I would have to count them very precisely. Does lowering your max cals and increasing protein percentage do the trick, or is that just a myth? I'd probably need a really strong stool softener if I increased my protein percentage at all.

 

[Old Duffer]

I like your energy, your drive. That's good. Also good that you have a handle on your cals and macros. And cudos for not jumping into the chemicals yet.

It's pretty common I think to put on a little gut (or a lot) when you are trying to maximize muscle growth. The 'lean bulk' thing is much tougher. Walking that edge of feeding just enough, at just the right times, to grow muscle without any additional fat is way beyond my skill set.

Follow the big guy's advice here on types of exercises. Put everything you've got into it. Muster up some extra anger and beat the crap out of those weights. Just watch your form as not to get hurt!

I always overfeed proteins. I'm not a purist. Whey powder is my friend. That and meats like chicken, pork n steak. I keep things moving with frozen fruit. Fixes my sweet tooth at the same time. Buy bags of different frozen mixes (like strawberry/pineapple) and splash a bit of milk on a bowl full. Smooth movement. ;-)

This is not a sprint. It's a marathon. Just keep at it. Man, I wish I hadn't pissed away my youth on so much crap and instead put some time into a gym.

Good on you. Keep up the work.