Help, hit a platue

Originally Posted by DylloS

dude I'm sorry and I hate to tell people this but you need to be realistic. If that's your goal you're going to kill yourself looking in the mirror every day. Not only is this guy in amazing shape, he probably has different muscle shape than you.

and not natty

Originally Posted by kushy

and not natty

might be too. which I don't judge anyway lol. also, a lot of photoshop

That was just to give the idea I like to b on lean side, not on big side. Everyone is different, but what's important is to find a program that works for my body.

I'm all natural, I did not photoshop my pic , when I'm pumped I look good but I still need lots of work to get where I want to be, but don't know how.

Originally Posted by DylloS

dude I'm sorry and I hate to tell people this but you need to be realistic. If that's your goal you're going to kill yourself looking in the mirror every day. Not only is this guy in amazing shape, he probably has different muscle shape than you.

Originally Posted by z00

That was just to give the idea I like to b on lean side, not on big side. Everyone is different, but what's important is to find a program that works for my body.

I'm all natural, I did not photoshop my pic , when I'm pumped I look good but I still need lots of work to get where I want to be, but don't know how.

just be patient man. Learn to use your numbers as motivation instead of just the mirror.

So you think I should stick with isolation program I posted or switch to something else? I do change exercises to keep muscles confused.

Originally Posted by DylloS

just be patient man. Learn to use your numbers as motivation instead of just the mirror.

Originally Posted by z00

So you think I should stick with isolation program I posted or switch to something else? I do change exercises to keep muscles confused.

I'm not a fan of isolation stuff but it does work also. To me it's just boring and I never stuck with it.

I'm more of a

squat
press
bench
deadlift
clean

person that does other related lifts around those. My program is for overall fitness though. Not really strength or aesthetic specific. It is more on the strength side though.

Originally Posted by z00

So you think I should stick with isolation program I posted or switch to something else? I do change exercises to keep muscles confused.

Where did you get your 2500-3500 calorie a day estimate from? And answer my fat question please, I think your diet may be why you are stuck

Originally Posted by Sven330ci

I'm the same weight and height as you and after three months of working out 5 days a week, drinking whey protien and creatine along with a lot of protein, I maxed out flat bench at 215lbs. Only did two reps but it was a big accomplishment for me. Considering I never worked out before. To me it seems like your not pushing yourself hard enough. Get a budy to help push you if you don't have one already. Eat as healthy as you can. Look at all the nutrition labels on the foods you eat..I went for most protien least amount of fat. Last thing is run. Try running a mile a day atleast. Sorry to be a lil rude, but hope it helps. GL

Sorry to be a lil rude, but you need to re-check how the body works and learn how to eat PROPERLY. Your body needs fat for many things, and simply picking up something and eating something that has the most protein isn't smart.

I did answer your fat question. See what I wrote earlier.

For calories, I used a calorie calculator.

Originally Posted by dabears

Where did you get your 2500-3500 calorie a day estimate from? And answer my fat question please, I think your diet may be why you are stuck

Originally Posted by dabears

Do you avoid saturated fats? Why?

Do you eat high carbs on non training days? (I'm thinking yes)

I meant this one. Your diet seems to be completely void of saturated fat. How much protein in grams do you figure you get in a day?

Here is what I am getting at... even if you ate 200g of protein a day (hard to do) and 400g of carbs, that is only 2400 calories. If you want to be moving up in weights, you are going to need at least 3200 calories (3500 on a calorie calculator, as this tends to overestimate). Your current diet is PERFECT for training days, so long as you are eating enough of it to get to that sweet spot of 3200-3500 calories. You will see minimal fat gain eating the way you are.

However, on days you don't train (weekends?) you have the right idea with the calories (about 2500 on a calorie calculator) however I think you should cut the carbs down to 100g or less, and enjoy some fattier cuts of meat (ribeye steaks, salmon steaks, natural bacon) cooked in butter, bacon fat, coconut oil whatever. Your body really needs the fat since intake is so low during the week, and it definitely doesn't need the high carb intake when at rest.

This is slightly nitpicking though, if you honestly believe you are getting >3200 calories on training days then just stick with it and with time you should keep progressing.

Where did you hit the platue? Just to clarify, we are talking about a plastic statue?

Originally Posted by DME46

Where did you hit the platue? Just to clarify, we are talking about a plastic statue?

didn't want to say it

I used to add 5lbs each few weeks to squats/dead/bench/press, now no longer. Even though I do isolation with different exercises but nothing has improved lately looks or weights wise. To me, that's a platue. No?

Originally Posted by DME46

Where did you hit the platue? Just to clarify, we are talking about a plastic statue?

Originally Posted by z00

I used to add 5lbs each few weeks to squats/dead/bench/press, now no longer. Even though I do isolation with different exercises but nothing has improved lately looks or weights wise. To me, that's a platue. No?

he was making fun of your spelling lol.

But yea, eat more. Now if only I could practice what I preach.

*plateau*

Originally Posted by z00

I used to add 5lbs each few weeks to squats/dead/bench/press, now no longer. Even though I do isolation with different exercises but nothing has improved lately looks or weights wise. To me, that's a platue. No?

Try altering your diet (..i.e. more calories), adding some metcon to your weekly regimen, taking a week off, etc. etc. There are many ways to address a plateau. The moment that I hit a plateau I begin to strategize. Here's an example. I generally do weighted pull-ups/chin-ups with 50 lbs. strapped to a weight belt, but right now I can't break 8 reps per set (..I generally perform the weighted pull-ups/chin-ups at the end of my workouts). This has occurred two weeks in a row, so I'm going to take a new approach. I'm going to dial down the weight and do a few sets of 12 with a 35 lb. plate, one or two sets of 4 with 60 lbs., and a body weight max rep set. I'll do it for a few weeks and then go back to my 50 lb. sets to determine the effectiveness of my strategy, and evaluate whether or not I can muster more than 8 reps per set. If I see an improvement, I will have overcome that particular plateau. It may work........or it may not, but I figure it can't hurt; I use this same approach with everything else and I continue to see steady improvement. If it doesn't, I'll try something else. I will say this, weighted pulls/chins helped overcome my body weight pulls/chins plateau by a significant margin.

More details please, especially on diet and exercise techniques. Finally a helpful answer.

Originally Posted by M3Inline6

Try altering your diet (..i.e. more calories), adding some metcon to your weekly regimen, taking a week off, etc. etc. There are many ways to address a plateau. The moment that I hit a plateau I begin to strategize. Here's an example. I generally do weighted pull-ups/chin-ups with 50 lbs. strapped to a weight belt, but right now I can't break 8 reps per set. This has occurred two weeks in a row, so I'm going to take a new approach. I'm going to dial down the weight and do a few sets of 12 with a 35 lb. plate, one or two sets of 4 with 60 lbs., and a body weight max rep set. I'll do it for a few weeks and then go back to my 50 lb. sets an see if I can muster more than 8 reps per set. If I see an improvement, I will have overcome that particular plateau. It may work........or it may not. If it doesn't, I'll try something else.

Originally Posted by z00

More details please, especially on diet and exercise techniques. Finally a helpful answer.

M3inline can definitely help you, but you seem to be ignoring everyone telling you to EAT MORE. I know how incredibly difficult eating over 3000 calories of clean low fat food is... That's why I don't think you are eating to the level you think you are. Getting a solid 3000 calories the way you eat would be 200g of protein, 400g of carbs, and 60g of fat. Can you honestly tell me you are getting those numbers or more? Trying to be helpful here!

Originally Posted by z00

More details please, especially on diet and exercise techniques. Finally a helpful answer.

My goals are different than yours; I'm chasing strength/max numbers on all of my compound lifts (..and as a result I eat EVERYTHING THAT I CAN GET MY HANDS ON REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH FAT IT HAS). I am killing myself in the gym, so I need all of the energy that I can muster up. If I don't eat enough, I notice it the moment that my body starts to move weight, and I get pissed at myself. I don't work isolation movements much these days, but I was an aesthetics guy for a long time, so my physique is that of somebody who normally lifts for aesthetics. My body isn't really representative of my current mass building program; I've only been on this program since Labor Day weekend.

If I were in your shoes and chasing looks rather than outright strength (..and I've been there before), I'd probably stick with a 4 day body-building style split. A day each week dedicated to legs, shoulders/upper back, lower back and chest. I never give arms their own day. It's not worth the time IMHO, but others may disagree. I'd lump triceps in on chest day and biceps on lower back day. This type of split is also primarily about isolations (..especially if you want really nicely developed shoulders)....the exception being the compound lifts on any given day.

Here's what I meant by defined shoulders, and I still had A LOT of work to do (..I was all aesthetics, and I looked stronger than I actually was):







..and just for kicks, one of my female friends who shows quite often. This is her off-season.