what do you guys suggest what i should do

[ilovelude]

so i ve been working out for almost 2 years. my weight increased from 130 to 160 now. But, in the past 6months, i ddon't feel my muscles gaining any more . my weight stayed at 156 to 160 for almost 1 year. I did work out for about 2 hours regularly, like twice a week and abb exercise almost everyday at home. but,muscles are not as tired as it should normally be after i work out before..
im wondering if im eating the wrong stuff or drank too much water..
this is normally what i take for sure every day
a protein bar (24g protein)
protein shake(24g protein)
2 to 4 egg egg white (maybe not enoughg?)
mega men multivitamine
vitamine c
and regular meal (lunch and dinner)

but i barely see any improvement these days...

so what do you guys suggest what i should do? any relatively healthy supplyments can help with muscle building? also, im curious if drinking too much water will make muscles swell and not muscular?
thanks :thumbsup:

[teggypimp95]

Iv been told for muscel building, you shoud eat 5 meals a day, ontop of all those protien shakes you are taking. PLus completly change your work out routine becuase your body is use to it.

[Jlude]

When your muscles "swell", they tear and that's a part of building muscle.

If you're not feeling as tired as before... then you've reached a plateau and need to push yourself harder ( either more weight or more reps)

Also, it sounds like your goals are pretty high, and with the amount of money your probably spending on supplements... working out only two days a week isn't gonna do it.

Here's what I used to do... take it for what it is... everyone's different.

Protein shake for breakfast.

Piece of fruit for a snack between breakfast and lunch.

Lunch would be chicken and rice that I cooked the night before for dinner.

Protein bar between lunch and dinner.

Dinner would be (as mentioned above, chicken and rice or a pasta)

I would usually wait an hour for dinner to settle and then go to the gym... just before I left the house I would mix a tablespoon (each) of creatin and glutamine in with some fruit juice, shake it up and drink it on the way to the gym.

After my workout... almost immediately (waiting in the car) I'd have another protein bar on the way home.

Many people suggest taking time off to let your muscles heal. And I agree with that. It all depends on the person/body type.

My schedule was Mon-Sat... Sunday off.

Hope some of this helps... Keep in mind that everything I've said worked well for ME... your body require more or less of some areas... hope this helps.

[ilovelude]

ive always heard of creatin and glutamine. They do they really do

also, i get only like 6 to 8 hours of sleep, and quality isn't gd as well.. will that affect..

my goal isn't high..im 5 11 tall and 160 which isn't enough i think..my goal is about 180 and look very muscular ;D

[Jlude]

Creatin and Glutamine do work...

6-8 hours sleep is plenty... anymore than 8 hours and you're not doing any better.

your goals are very reachable....

[RZRSHARP_SVX]

change your work-out. the body needs to be kept off balance.



your work out should be changed every 90 days or so

[ilovelude]

Originally posted by ilovelude
ive always heard of creatin and glutamine. They do they really do


oopz i meant wht do they really do~
and, how should i change my work out routine to..

[Jlude]

Originally posted by ilovelude


oopz i meant wht do they really do~
and, how should i change my work out routine to..

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/glutamine.html

I would suggest doing your research, I found some great websites with testimonials from guys who've reached their goals. I basically took a little bit from each and developed my own.

[pinoyhero]

OK real quick here's how I broke my plateua (some good advice above though for sure):

Work out - Max-OT, check it out online it is fast but very intense and I made super fast strength and size gains on it

Sleep - 8 hours a night

Water - for you, ed minimum 2 litres a day
Milk - same as water

Supps - Creatine, EFAs, Animal Pak

Typical Day of eating
6:00AM - 250g cottage cheese and an apple, 2 scoop shake with milk
9:00AM - Bar, piece of fruit
12:00 - reg lunch, piece of good sized lean meat and some veges
15:00 - can of tuna and some rice cakes
17:00 - 1 scoop shake
19:00 - same as lunch

Went from static 175-180 to 190+/- 3 lbs. pretty damn quick, 6 months maybe less.

[mdeluxe]

change your workout up and jump on some m1t's :thumbsup:

[sputnik]

Simple.

Add more fat and calories to your diet.

Your current intake looks like you are trying to lose weight.

[Jlude]

Take what everyone is telling you.... do research... i.e. different excercises...

It's pretty much dummy proof... since you don't know exactly what you need to do...

Do what we've all said..

Eat more....
Drink more...
Workout more/harder...

and you'll certainly see results.

[BigMass]

Well since people have already covered your diet. And yes you need to pretty much double your calorie intake.

Work out more is bad advise. Work our harder and smarter and maybe even less then you're doing now. Your workouts are 2 hours long? At that point you're doing more cardio than muscle building. If you're building for mass you need to cut that shit down to 30-45 min workouts 3-4 times/ week.

Train heavy. 1 warm-up set then 2-3 sets to failure. Maybe 2-3 exercises per body part. That means about 6 sets total per body part and that's it. I bet right now youre doing about 4 sets and 3-4 exercises per body part. That's overtraining. Cut down on your reps. Do a set with 4-6 reps then 3-4 reps (to failure). You need to shock your muscles into growing. Working out like a marathon runner wont do that for your.

Exercises. Make sure you're doing proper exercises. If youre 155lbs now and youre doing shit like concentration curls and tricep extensions youre wasting time. Stick to compound movements. Bench Press, Squats and Deadlifts. Work in maybe a couple of sets of barbell curls, pull downs and military presses. Use straight barbells which will help you lift heavier. Don't do too much dumbbell work.

Also be aware than Diet and rest are going to be about %50 of your success. Maybe more. So if you neglect those, the time you spend in the gym will be wasted. GOOD LUCK!

[KRyn]

.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by BigMass
Well since people have already covered your diet. And yes you need to pretty much double your calorie intake.

Work out more is bad advise. Work our harder and smarter and maybe even less then you're doing now. Your workouts are 2 hours long? At that point you're doing more cardio than muscle building. If you're building for mass you need to cut that shit down to 30-45 min workouts 3-4 times/ week.

Train heavy. 1 warm-up set then 2-3 sets to failure. Maybe 2-3 exercises per body part. That means about 6 sets total per body part and that's it. I bet right now youre doing about 4 sets and 3-4 exercises per body part. That's overtraining. Cut down on your reps. Do a set with 4-6 reps then 3-4 reps (to failure). You need to shock your muscles into growing. Working out like a marathon runner wont do that for your.

Exercises. Make sure you're doing proper exercises. If youre 155lbs now and youre doing shit like concentration curls and tricep extensions youre wasting time. Stick to compound movements. Bench Press, Squats and Deadlifts. Work in maybe a couple of sets of barbell curls, pull downs and military presses. Use straight barbells which will help you lift heavier. Don't do too much dumbbell work.

Also be aware than Diet and rest are going to be about %50 of your success. Maybe more. So if you neglect those, the time you spend in the gym will be wasted. GOOD LUCK! Great post, but I would add that dumbbells are definitely an important part of any workout. I like to alternate between dumbbells and barbells because dumbbells help your muscles to grow symmetrically and they work the stabilizers harder while minimizing the strain on your joints. Yes, barbell is important because it allows you to really load weight onto your muscles, but I think it's important to do both.

As far as compound movements, on top of the usual bench, squat, and deads that everyone preaches, I like doing stuff like military press with dumbbells, wide and narrow grip pull ups, weighted tricep dips, and swiss ball crunches.

[jdmXSI]

After awhile your mucles will adapt and build up a memory to your work out. You should change your work rutine out every 6 months or so... To gain size, if i remember right, your exersices should consist of 4-6 (close to maximum weight) reps and 3-4 sets per exercise. Also, try to cosume at least 3000 calories per day. Creatine, L-Glutamine with Protine will help alot too! If i remember anything else, i will post it! G/L:thumbsup:

[KRyn]

You should change your work rutine out every 6 months or so...

Don't you mean 6 weeks?

Also I already told him that.

:poosie:

[jdmXSI]

Sorry, it was kinda late a night:nut:

[mdeleon]

wow theres actually some solid advice in this thread and not a whole bunch of shit. good goin guys

[kerry]

Originally posted by BigMass
Well since people have already covered your diet. And yes you need to pretty much double your calorie intake.

Work out more is bad advise. Work our harder and smarter and maybe even less then you're doing now. Your workouts are 2 hours long? At that point you're doing more cardio than muscle building. If you're building for mass you need to cut that shit down to 30-45 min workouts 3-4 times/ week.

Train heavy. 1 warm-up set then 2-3 sets to failure. Maybe 2-3 exercises per body part. That means about 6 sets total per body part and that's it. I bet right now youre doing about 4 sets and 3-4 exercises per body part. That's overtraining. Cut down on your reps. Do a set with 4-6 reps then 3-4 reps (to failure). You need to shock your muscles into growing. Working out like a marathon runner wont do that for your.

Exercises. Make sure you're doing proper exercises. If youre 155lbs now and youre doing shit like concentration curls and tricep extensions youre wasting time. Stick to compound movements. Bench Press, Squats and Deadlifts. Work in maybe a couple of sets of barbell curls, pull downs and military presses. Use straight barbells which will help you lift heavier. Don't do too much dumbbell work.

Also be aware than Diet and rest are going to be about %50 of your success. Maybe more. So if you neglect those, the time you spend in the gym will be wasted. GOOD LUCK!

This dude's got it nailed, except I do agree with GTS Jeff on the dumbell commment. Also if you want you can always do little things like close-grip bench press and incline. Also try this set. It's tough but it's great.

So say your bench press is 50lb dbs or 155lb bb. I'm just throwing numbers out there so this doesn't become a penis measuring contest.

So for two weeks do this set. (I've had great results with increasing strength on this and I haven't even started on the dbs)

Set 1
135lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly on the bench (do fly RIGHT after you're done putting the bb down)

Set 2
145lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly

Set 3
155lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly

Remember I just pulled these weights out of my ass. The last set on your bench press you want to be at your max, and the 2 sets before about 10 lbs less each set.

Do that for 2 weeks, then switch to dbs at whatever weights you can do.

Doing that set I've increased my max with this set and next week I'm starting on the barbell sets. =)

Find other neat little tricks like this from guys at the gym or on here. Can't hurt to try.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by kerry


This dude's got it nailed, except I do agree with GTS Jeff on the dumbell commment. Also if you want you can always do little things like close-grip bench press and incline. Also try this set. It's tough but it's great.

So say your bench press is 50lb dbs or 155lb bb. I'm just throwing numbers out there so this doesn't become a penis measuring contest.

So for two weeks do this set. (I've had great results with increasing strength on this and I haven't even started on the dbs)

Set 1
135lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly on the bench (do fly RIGHT after you're done putting the bb down)

Set 2
145lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly

Set 3
155lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly



Umm, aren't you supposed to do more weight with fewer reps to gain mass? I would imagine 4-6 reps per set would be ideal.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by ilovelude
so i ve been working out for almost 2 years. my weight increased from 130 to 160 now. But, in the past 6months, i ddon't feel my muscles gaining any more . my weight stayed at 156 to 160 for almost 1 year.

How tall are you?

[kerry]

Around the 8-10 mark you're still gaining mass but you're also going to "toughen" yourself. I know that sounds silly and very unscientific but it does work.

And hey, if you want to use a heavier weight and less reps, give'r. Just an example but follow the "routine".

[eur0]

Originally posted by ilovelude
my goal isn't high..im 5 11 tall and 160 which isn't enough i think..my goal is about 180 and look very muscular ;D

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by kerry
Around the 8-10 mark you're still gaining mass but you're also going to "toughen" yourself. I know that sounds silly and very unscientific but it does work.


I'm not saying you are wrong, but do you have any articles supporting that so I can check it out?

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by eur0


My mistake. :thumbsup: I didn't want to read the whole thread a second time. :banghead:

[kerry]

First link I found... I suppose I should find more haha.

http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/beginner_weight_training/181

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Weight-Train-for-Maximum-Muscle-Gain&id=12249

The latter of the two, it is stated that 4-8 reps per set. I personally never stray over 8 reps.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by kerry

Set 1
135lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly on the bench (do fly RIGHT after you're done putting the bb down)

Set 2
145lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly

Set 3
155lbs x 8-10 reps bench press
20lbs x 8-10 reps fly


If you are maxing out on the last set and still able to do 10 reps, then you really aren't pushing yourself on the first set. After all, you are doing way less weight, the same number of reps, AND it's your first set.

I dunno, I feel like if you aren't pushing yourself to exhaustion and failure, then the set has been wasted. Like if I do the above routine, gauranteed I'll only be able to do like 3 reps by the last set.

[grrrouch]

we need pics lol

[Darkane]

High reps for Mass, Low reps for Strength. Thats how it works.

Personally I find it much better for strength gains if i do not go to failure. Right now I'm rocking a TUT routine (Time Under Tension) and I'm loving it.

Never go to failure. Easier to recover and get some more volume in ultimatly increasing efficiency.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by Darkane
High reps for Mass, Low reps for Strength. Thats how it works.

Personally I find it much better for strength gains if i do not go to failure. Right now I'm rocking a TUT routine (Time Under Tension) and I'm loving it.

Never go to failure. Easier to recover and get some more volume in ultimatly increasing efficiency.

I've read some articles saying it is best to completely destroy yourself for 10 days, then rest for 5 and you'll see massive gains.

I guess everyone has a different method.

[kerry]

I meant to write in 90% maxout.

You don't have to maxout each set, but when I'm done my last set I'm shit bagged. Don't think I could lift another weight lol.

[wintonyk]

like just about everyone said vary your workout. 2 days a week definetly not enough work out like a 4 or 5 day split.

If you are gettin like 8 hours a night that should be good but if you can get more even better.

I have done pretty much the same thing as you... I started at 140 with 9% body fat a year and half ago and am now at 180 with a shade under 5% body fat. I don't use any meal supplements or anything. I consume on average 4500 kcal per day. Coupled with 200g of protein and 150 g of fat.

If you are only eating egg whites...eat the entire egg you don't exactly have fat to worry about. Besides fat = energy.

I just finished a cycle of creatine and glutamine. How i worked it was creatine 30-45 min before workout then glutamine immediately after. A few peer reviewed texts have recomended that creatine and glutamine not be consumed at the same time as they are absorbed throught the same receptors. And creatine your muscles need to do the work and glutamine is for the repairing so that is the logical decision.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by wintonyk
like just about everyone said vary your workout. 2 days a week definetly not enough work out like a 4 or 5 day split.

If you are gettin like 8 hours a night that should be good but if you can get more even better.

I have done pretty much the same thing as you... I started at 140 with 9% body fat a year and half ago and am now at 180 with a shade under 5% body fat. I don't use any meal supplements or anything. I consume on average 4500 kcal per day. Coupled with 200g of protein and 150 g of fat.

If you are only eating egg whites...eat the entire egg you don't exactly have fat to worry about. Besides fat = energy.

I just finished a cycle of creatine and glutamine. How i worked it was creatine 30-45 min before workout then glutamine immediately after. A few peer reviewed texts have recomended that creatine and glutamine not be consumed at the same time as they are absorbed throught the same receptors. And creatine your muscles need to do the work and glutamine is for the repairing so that is the logical decision.

Couple questions.

a) Why would he workout 4-5 days a week assuming he is a hardgainer? He should start small and see what level of volume and frequency he can withstand without overtraining. Morning Body temps are an excellent fairly acurate way of determining overtraining and basal metabolism. His GGP may be to low for that much volume.

OP: you could also start doing some HITT to increase your GPP (General Physical Prepardness) and you will find recovery is much eaiser. Do your HITT after your workout day approx x2 a week if you're up to it.

b) I thought Creatine adsorbs water around your cells. How can you be 5% bodyfat? I'm going by the assumption you're using bodyfat calipers to measure BF and with creatine at 5% I'm willing to wager you're in the 3-4% category of BF. I call BS on that one.

Comments?

[asp integra]

more wieght at less reps!

[wintonyk]

Originally posted by ilovelude
so i ve been working out for almost 2 years. my weight increased from 130 to 160 now. But, in the past 6months, i ddon't feel my muscles gaining any more . my weight stayed at 156 to 160 for almost 1 year. I did work out for about 2 hours regularly, like twice a week and abb exercise almost everyday at home. but,muscles are not as tired as it should normally be after i work out before..



Originally posted by Darkane


Couple questions.

a) Why would he workout 4-5 days a week assuming he is a hardgainer? He should start small and see what level of volume and frequency he can withstand without overtraining. Morning Body temps are an excellent fairly acurate way of determining overtraining and basal metabolism. His GGP may be to low for that much volume.

OP: you could also start doing some HITT to increase your GPP (General Physical Prepardness) and you will find recovery is much eaiser. Do your HITT after your workout day approx x2 a week if you're up to it.

b) I thought Creatine adsorbs water around your cells. How can you be 5% bodyfat? I'm going by the assumption you're using bodyfat calipers to measure BF and with creatine at 5% I'm willing to wager you're in the 3-4% category of BF. I call BS on that one.

Comments?

he says he has been working out for 2 years and 2 hours per session. If he were to cut back to an hour 4-5 times a week that would not be overtraining. Instead of 4 hours in 2 days its 4-5 hours split between as many days. That will allow body to rest and repair muscles on days when other muscles are being used. Its a pretty basic split.

My body fat was measured through both bioelectrical impedence and calipers. The doctor that tested with caliper said he would be within 1-2% error and that the BEI would have an error of 2-4%. I am willing to wager that the 3-4 won't happen b/c if i am still building muscle that cannot happen below 4%. Creatine is essential for muscle movement. The motion of a muscle moving is foster by phosphocreatine or PCr. So with more creatine in the muscle more work can be done.

[Darkane]

Originally posted by wintonyk




he says he has been working out for 2 years and 2 hours per session. If he were to cut back to an hour 4-5 times a week that would not be overtraining. Instead of 4 hours in 2 days its 4-5 hours split between as many days. That will allow body to rest and repair muscles on days when other muscles are being used. Its a pretty basic split.

My body fat was measured through both bioelectrical impedence and calipers. The doctor that tested with caliper said he would be within 1-2% error and that the BEI would have an error of 2-4%. I am willing to wager that the 3-4 won't happen b/c if i am still building muscle that cannot happen below 4%. Creatine is essential for muscle movement. The motion of a muscle moving is foster by phosphocreatine or PCr. So with more creatine in the muscle more work can be done.

Strange In your post you specifically said 2days a week is not enough, he should do 4-5day split. Nothing about 1 hour per session. Still I personally believe 4-5 days is to much. Not being able to recover from a two day split is tough even at 2 hours per session. Volume is high but frequency is low, that was my indication his GPP might be lower than it should be.

OP: Try a 2-3 day split at lower volume levels. Here is a perfect trial routine. Try it for 8 weeks or so.

Day one, week one

Dips 3 x 10

Incline Bench Press 3 x 6

Lateral Raise 4 x 10

Laying Tricep Extensions 3 x 8-10


Day two, week one

Wide Grip Pull-Down/Up 3 x 8

Chest Supported Row, or Barbell Row 3 x 8-10

Barbell Curl 3 x 10

Resistance Abs 3 x 10


Day three, week one

Squat 3 x 6-10

Leg Press 2 x 15

Good-Morning or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 2 x 8

Calf Raise RP 2 x 15/30


Day one, week two

Bench Press 3 x 6-10

Incline DB Press 2 x 10-12

Military Press 3 x 10

Tricep Pus-Downs 3 x 8-10


Day two, week two

Supinated Grip Pull-Down/Up 4 x 8

Dumbbell Row 3 x 10

Dumbbell Curl 3 x 8

Reverse Curl 2 x 10

Hanging Leg Raises

Day three, week two

Deadlift 1 x 8

Safety Squat, or hack squat, 2 x 6-10

Glute/Ham Raise 3 x 8

Leg Press Calf Raise

About your bodyfat comment.. 10-15% is optimal for mass/strength gains. 5% is just way to low and I still doubt you're that low. Also you don't have to use huge words like Bioelctrical impedence, just say a bodyfat scale lol. Maybe you used the one with an electrode attached to you I don't know.

Anyway I'm done with most of these Health threads. To many people have different suggestions. I will just chime in Occasionally If i disagree :)

Goodluck OP

[reno97637]

Try resting for a whole month and then get back into the routine.

[ilovelude]

i was struggling with final exams..just finally had time to check out this.
AND, WOW SO MANY USEFUL REPLIES! thanks for all these advices! I read all of them carefully and really learnt a lot.
u guys were right, i didn't really have any plan or goal haha.. i just went to gym to work out and take protein shakes. i didn't really have a everyday routine or plan .. guess i should start doing it.

just another question, how long should i work out for each time? i usually stay for 1 hour and 40 mins. 10 mins running, 15 mins machines to warm up, 20 mins barbell, 30 mins dumbbellz, and 15 to 20 mins to work on abs..something like this...just like what bigmass said, i did like 4 exercise on chest since i wnt it to grow bigger... but now i haveto agree that it is burnnin it...so i tried to do less sets and more weights yesterday, which was almost 20 more lbs than what i usually did before. it felt really good after with a protein shake with glutamine. :poosie:
SO i stopped what i usually do b4, and started doin this rountine
1: runnin 10 mins
2: warminup with light weight dbs
3: bench press 3 sets with maximum weights
4: barbell military press 3 sets with maximum weights
5: barbell curls 3 sets with maximum weights
6: deadlifts 3 sets with maximum weights
7: barbell squats 3 sets with maximum weights
8: pull downs
9: any more suggestionss?
10: then i would want to spent 10 to 15 mins on lower and olique abs. it is so dam hard to burn oblique ab

how often should i work out? i am still going like twice a week, and if i hve time, 3 times.

also for what to eat everyday, i usually stay up very late every night...and wake up like noon...so i really can't follow this type of routine..

Typical Day of eating
6:00AM - 250g cottage cheese and an apple, 2 scoop shake with milk
9:00AM - Bar, piece of fruit
12:00 - reg lunch, piece of good sized lean meat and some veges
15:00 - can of tuna and some rice cakes
17:00 - 1 scoop shake
19:00 - same as lunch

and, my main food is chicken breast now because my lower and oblique abs are a little bit fat..well already much better than before..middle&upper abs look fine now. But, it is hard to burn lower and oblique.. so maybe i should keep/lose this weight untill i have nice 6 packs, then gain back again??

oh boy, there are a lot to learn!

[mdeluxe]

Originally posted by reno97637
Try resting for a whole month and then get back into the routine.

usually that works. rest is good

[Darkane]

Originally posted by ilovelude


and, my main food is chicken breast now because my lower and oblique abs are a little bit fat..well already much better than before..middle&upper abs look fine now. But, it is hard to burn lower and oblique.. so maybe i should keep/lose this weight untill i have nice 6 packs, then gain back again??

oh boy, there are a lot to learn!

You might notice now that Exams are done the lower belly fat will dissapear. Cortisol levels (stress related) directly impact the amount of fat stored in the lower abdominal region.

Stay happy and don't let things bother you. It will help! :)

Drinks lots of green tea and take fish oil too.

[jmeister]

roids? Juice it up :thumbsup:

You want result? take my advice.

[TVG]

Originally posted by mdeluxe


usually that works. rest is good

Lol guaranteed you will lose a ton of muscle and strength with a month off. 5 days might be more appropriate.