Strong, but muscles not growing at all.

[bdomihizayka]

ìf u are 18% bf... your diet is not "spot-on" as u say

u say u work out with your cousin that plays for the Vikings?? then u say u are in Russia...I don't know of any guys playing for the Vikings that are in Russia

anyway... back to your concerns

sounds like u gotta take a different approach to your diet and training... u must reduce your bf% (stop drinking all that milk for starters)if u want to see any of the muscle u are gaining! cardio, cardio, cardio... and up the reps to the 8-10 range like mentioned above

Ryan Dimperio is my cousin.... I train with him anytime I am in the states and before I started school here. Being cut really wasn't my goal until I felt "large" enough to cut. And thanks for the recommendations.... everybody, I really appreciate it and I cannot wait to implement them into my diet and training alike. Thank you so much everybody and I wish you all good luck with your personal goals

 

[bdomihizayka]

And thank you cokezero for all the advice you've messaged me. I will make sure to make an honest effort to permanently implement it into my bodybuilding program. I know you weren't trying to be a dick or anything, it's the reason I joined this site for advice, recommendations, and criticism. I really appreciate everything you've taught me, and have learned alot. Thank you bro

 

[CuriousNewb]

And thank you cokezero for all the advice you've messaged me. I will make sure to make an honest effort to permanently implement it into my bodybuilding program. I know you weren't trying to be a dick or anything, it's the reason I joined this site for advice, recommendations, and criticism. I really appreciate everything you've taught me, and have learned alot. Thank you bro

Awesome attitude man. You'll go far being able to take constructive criticism and use it like that.

These guys are all correct, whole foods are ideal. I personally cook 10 chicken breasts at a time, microwave sweet potatoes, find a couple cheap fast restaurants that have a good protein/carb/veggie meal you can hit if you need to.... Like anything, the first month it'll seem like a chore, after that it'll be second nature.

Good luck bro you'll get there just keep pluggin away.

 

[Harnold]

Try doing 8-10 rep range for certain lifts.

I like to do 12-20 reps of side lateral raises with dumbbells then do military press 15 times. Then do arm circles for 20 reps w/ 5-15 lbs. I promise if you do this 1 or2x a week into your workouts you will have BOULDERS i mean massive shoulders.

Also deadlifts and shrugs should give you pretty big traps. Focus your lifts more on back and legs, rather than chest and arms, because your legs & back have so much more potential. Once you fully develop your back your ARMS and chest will catch up FAST.

squats are absolutely necessary. One week go super deep with enough weight to do 5 sets of 8. Then go heavy next week 6 sets of 7. Then deep squats week after, etc and you will grow!!!

Another thing I do a lot is lat pulldowns and pullups. Its funny at first my lats were oversized compared to my body so it looked funny, but now its all evened out. Like I said, my benchpress increased tremendously once my back got up to size. I went from a weak 205 x 1 max, to now 315 x 2 in the past few months. Only doing bench once a week, sometimes skipping. A better way to get benchpress strength and tricep size is do skullcrushers and seated incline dumbell presses. Triceps are MUCH more important than biceps, because they are twice the size of the biceps. Thats why you see a bunch of idiots at the gym that spend hours a week doing curls and gaining nothing.



summary:
No matter how much arms you do, you will never be happy with your size until you start doing a full body workout.
2 most important muscle groups to focus on :
BACK AND LEGS

all lacking body parts will fill in so quickly after your back and legs get big. Its not even funny.

pre-exhausting a muscle group like shoulders with laterals before a compound movement like military press is a trick Arnold use to use, for shoulders as well as other muscles. it will definitely show you some good results. that was good advice josh gave you.

 

[Harnold]

man, this is just my humble opinion, but protein bars suck, they don't digest well and they contain a lot of shit with the protein. they give me rock gut like i just ate at McDonalds or something. I personally like powders but they shouldn't replace real food unless it's your only option at the time.just my 2 cnts.

 

[ethan_andrew]

70% diet 25% training 5% gear

BULL FUCKING SHIT! I worked out for years and years and never got above 150lbs. First cycle on gear got me to 180lbs second cycle got me to 200lbs so in my observation gear is like 70%. Maybe someone genetically gifted might not think so but for someone naturally small you can really see the results. If you think gear is only 5% of what it takes to get big, built or whatever and you spend all that money on it and go through all the trouble of shooting yourself in the ass for 5% then you're an idiot...

 

[H 3 L L S M A N]

BULL FUCKING SHIT! I worked out for years and years and never got above 150lbs. First cycle on gear got me to 180lbs second cycle got me to 200lbs so in my observation gear is like 70%. Maybe someone genetically gifted might not think so but for someone naturally small you can really see the results. If you think gear is only 5% of what it takes to get big, built or whatever and you spend all that money on it and go through all the trouble of shooting yourself in the ass for 5% then you're an idiot...

I agree, I have no problem with people that use just do not like the ones that say Gear is the last reason they look the way they do. Truth is when any gains made past your natural sticking point is 90% gear, because without it you would not have made any significant gains over the course of a few months.

 

[Duke30]

I would say 35% diet 40% training 25% gear unless you wanna look like a beast out of an trophy case.Gear is going to be higher around 75%.


5% gear..buahahahaha.. You silly man.

man, this is just my humble opinion, but protein bars suck, they don't digest well and they contain a lot of shit with the protein. they give me rock gut like i just ate at McDonalds or something. I personally like powders but they shouldn't replace real food unless it's your only option at the time.just my 2 cnts.

The protein bars or shakes would give me bloat/stuffed too so I went with Just amino bulk powers and make capsules myself.You will Save ALOT of money if you make the capsules yourself and make 500 capsules under 40 minutes.And get the protein from foods instead.

 

[Jack Tors]

i actually laughed when i read your diet. a can of soy beans for fuk sake bro

cokezero hooked u up

 

[C172]

but protein bars suck, they don't digest well and they contain a lot of shit with the protein.

thats right.. from my experience protein bars always make me fat. when i come back from work, i cook. but when i see those protein bars lying, its just easy to grab one.
moral- i have stopped buying protein bars altogether.

 

[R1rider]

ya as the others said, more solid food

do squat/bench/dead lift/power cleans once a week and you will grow big and strong

try working out eod. work out and take the next day off to recover, eat, prepare better meals for other days. i gain some serious size when i work out eod.

also look up MAX OT and Westside barbell

 

[Roid The Lloyd]

BULL FUCKING SHIT! I worked out for years and years and never got above 150lbs. First cycle on gear got me to 180lbs second cycle got me to 200lbs so in my observation gear is like 70%. Maybe someone genetically gifted might not think so but for someone naturally small you can really see the results. If you think gear is only 5% of what it takes to get big, built or whatever and you spend all that money on it and go through all the trouble of shooting yourself in the ass for 5% then you're an idiot...

I think the point people are trying to make when they say the majority of the breakdown is due to the diet is because it is exactly that.

Say if you took steroids but your diet consisted of chip shop food you would put weight on alright, but it wouldn't be dense, solid, wholesome muscle the steroids would turn you into a big fat bastard.

It is all about what you eat. The steroids maximise your results.

 

[DrZeusss]

there is so much misinformation on this board in regard to nutrition its pathetic

hit your caloric and macro goals for the day and you are set

 

[Tugboatz]

Coming to a close of my first cycle... which consists of 500mg test e/ week. I did gain strength, but for size, I gained just a bit, nothing of what I was hoping.

I train heavy... 6 reps max. One body part a day 5 days a week. 12-16 sets per bodypart, depends on how I feel.

Well, that makes perfect sense, because lifting that heavy in that low of a rep range does exactly that...increase strength gains.
I would say lighten your lifts up a little bit (I know...god forbid) so that you can just squeeze out 10 - 12 reps per set, 3-4 sets per exercise.

 

[pharaoh]

i was just going to say, it's either a combination of diet and underdosed gear... but 22lbs is pretty good. If 15 of that is pure muscle i dont know how you cant be happy with that. How long would that have taken without the aas?

 

[pharaoh]

Well, that makes perfect sense, because lifting that heavy in that low of a rep range does exactly that...increase strength gains.
I would say lighten your lifts up a little bit (I know...god forbid) so that you can just squeeze out 10 - 12 reps per set, 3-4 sets per exercise.

i mostly train in the 8-12 range on cycle. Some weeks i'll switch it up and go to heavier sets in the 5 rep range but i always go right back to 8-12 afterwards.