Six months of lifting 5x a week doing PPL. Been dirty bulking and eating roughly 3000 kcals a day and making sure to get between 170-200 grams of protein every day.
I'm 6'0. My starting weight was 145 lbs. I'm currently sitting at 180 lbs.
All I have to show for my work so far is a bigger waistline. Fuck this is depressing to look at.
Is it normal to look this bad in the beginning, or am I doing something terribly wrong?
What are your lifts and have they improved? You do look bigger and probably stronger. Maybe spend some time cutting and do more hypertrophy isolations
you look bigger/thicker you jsut have the same fat stomach that you started with
drop the ppl shit and get a routine that will give you numbers, you look far too novice to be messing with bodybuilding shit
Don't focus on the mirror, focus on the weights.
Have you actually managed to increase the weight you lift?
If you want to see more in the mirror, add in some abdominal exercises (plank, situps, obliques) and clean up your diet. Eat more fish and vegetables, less breads and oils, use oats or rice for carbs. Have some low sugar yogurt form time to time.
Ultimately though, as long as you're getting enough protein and increasing the weight you lift, you'll eventually get somewhere. Try to go for a run or cycle or swim to round out your fitness. Moderate cardio doesn't kill gains, but it does help keep the fat down.
>Dirty bulking
'Dirty' is putting it lightly my man
ok, you need to cut back on the kcals a day, and you need to lift near your max and only low reps like 5 your 6, this will build shapely muscle, you can tone it later.
as for your waist, sit ups everyday and swimming.
5x5 Bench press and 5x5 barbell row have all slowly but gradually increased, but both are stalled at 1 plate.
5x5 OHP is completely stalled at 75 lbs and has stayed stuck there for months. I don't know what the hell I need to do to make that go up.
5x5 squat is right around 1 plate right now. My squat form sucks and I have a really hard time hitting proper depth when I perform it, hence why my squat is so pathetic.
And lastly, I've seen some slight increases over time with accessory exercises (such as curls, tricep pushdowns, etc), but that's about it.
also you need to eat clean
strength and physique is built mostly in the kitchen, eat clean. learn how to cook, clean your room, wash your penis
holy shit please stop doing PPL, idk who memed you into that as a novice but you should have unironically done SS. start from stratch, do a real novice program and eat well. dirty bulking is for retards
nigga.......
drop that bullshit ass routine and do either sl or ss, you are fucking yourself over, those numbers are a joke
clean up diet you can eat shitty one day a week
good luck
Just increase the weight. It doesn't matter if you need to lower the amount of reps you do, if you increase the weight, your body will release growth hormones in reaction to the stimulus.
How the fuck did you have a gut like that at 145 lbs and a height of 6'0. Quit bulking right now, keep lifting but cut until you are actually lean and build up from there. You're not ""dirty"" bulking, if you look like that you're just straight-up eating like shit and it shows
What are you eating? Are you actually eating healthy calories or is it all sugar and fat?
I used to be really overweight. That's why I still looked like I had a gut at 145 lbs, because of all the loose skin from an 80 lb weight loss.
Why did you not do a beginner routine like ss or sl... I mean cmon dude they’re universally recommended for a reason
I started on SL, and had a very similar situation. My lifts improved a bit, eventually stalled hard, looked like shit afterwards. A lot of progress pics you'll see out there are deceiving. They're often from people who, even if they're new to lifting, they've had some sort of athletic history, and some sort of idea how to eat well.
Most people on this board don't know what it's like to start from rock bottom. Overweight, failing to lift the bar, ham sandwich and pasta as the healthiest meals known, junk food as a core part of your diet. People like that won't make the same amount of progress, because not only do you not have any starting musculature, you have one hundred bad habits you need to slowly overcome.
I've been lifting on and off for around 2.5 years or so now, some months being more diligent than others.
Current bodyweight 165lb
Height 6'2"
Just finishing a cut now, but these were all my 5rms when I was 35 pounds heavier:
Squat 265
OHP 110
Bench 170
Deadlift 315
Row 160
These are all pathetic lifts for somebody lifting as long as I have, and have all gone down a little since I lost 35 pounds. Even though I don't look anywhere close to how people look in the CBT threads, I still look a LOT better than when I started, and more importantly I feel better too.
My best advice would be to keep at it, and try not to be put down by your progress. Focus on your routine and your diet, and do whatever you can to improve. Even if it takes you longer and you get discouraged, you're going to get better day by day, and you'll still be stronger and better looking than 90% of the population who doesn't go to the gym.
Keep at it user, I believe in you.
Well, several reasons.
This is my third attempt at hitting the gym every day for a consistent period of time. The last two times I got frustrated and quit because I wasn't seeing results. And the program I was doing at the time (this was several months ago) was Greyskull LP (Phrak variant). It's very similar to SS and SL except it has more emphasis on upper body.
Since my main goal is aesthetics, I was told that a 5-6 day a week PPL that focuses on hypertrophy would be better for me. So that's why I went that route this time around.
Are you getting enough sleep? I genuinely don't understand how this is possible when eating at a massive surplus.
Honestly? No. I don't get good sleep. I wake up intermittently throughout the night and sometimes I toss and turn for a solid hour before I'm able to get back to sleep. I think I may possibly have a sleeping disorder. Which is frustrating, because I think this is probably one of the biggest things holding me back. I recently started taking melatonin to try and improve my quality of sleep. It has helped some, but it hasn't quite completely fixed the issue.
Ya need to diddly and work on your squat form my guy. Get a coach and/or watch a shit ton of videos.
You can deload a bit and do a real beginner LP, or you can start fucking with your set/rep schemes to break your plateaus. Make sure your sleep is on point.
see if you have a deviated septum. Apparently they're one of the more common disguised sleeping disorder causes.
Sorry you can't sleep. Try to exhaust your body before you sleep, and don't use screens more than an hour before bed.
you on any other medication?
all i can think is that, shit eating, and shit routine. and as in not what youre doing but how youre doing
i had a guy complain the same thing about 6 months no gain. went to work out with him once. he pushed until he got to one rep he couldnt complete. barely tried and noped out. no push, no drive, just "ok thats it" once it got hard to complete the set.
You look the same only a little more thiccer on the right lad fucking hell.
Have you tried using a Superset workout program?
Literally the best way to fucking build mass and lean muscle.
I always push myself and put in my full effort. I definitely don't pussy out. But I'll admit my eating hasn't exactly been great lately. I make sure to get my 200 grams of protein every day so I can put on muscle, but beyond that I pretty much eat whatever I want (except sweets, sugar, and soda). Months and months of starving myself to maintain my weight loss kinda took it's toll on me and I got tired of tracking every single thing I eat, so I kinda went into reckless 'dirty bulk' mode because I wanted to see faster results. Which is probably why I don't look so great right now.
okay go back to greyskull. if your goal is aesthetics, you need to be really strong with those big four lifts. that should always be the goal. if you're in the gym not increasing the weight on anything you won't see any results. hence your frustration
So, if I continue to eat like a retard it won't get me anywhere? Additionally, my left side is almost 1/4th weaker than my right side. How the fuck did you get over that imbalance starting from zero?
I quite lifting weights 2 years ago because of sleep issues. I was totally plateaud (how the hell do you spell plateaud). Had terrible insomnia, felt like absolute hell all day. Thank God I got over that eventually but it took months. Part of it is losing the anxiety of "I need to go to sleep right now" and learn to just relax and stop thinking about sleep. Doesn't sound like you're as bad as I was though. Also, I still take a magnesium pill every night. If I wake up restless I'll take another one and some kava kava and chamomile or lavendar.
Anyway, I'm ~3 months back at it and am 85% of the way to where I was when I quit lifting (after 2 years). So, happy about that.
My suggestion is completely change everything you are doing. It's not working. Start from scratch. Do you need tp take a break and let your body rest? Then do it. Make an appointment with a coach/ trainer and forget everything you know. Eat less too.
Any imbalances should go away if you're doing a proper routine with compound lifts, be it PPL or a strength routine.
As far as eating like a retard, you can make progress, just expect your progress to be slower than everyone else. For your own sanity, try to find a happy middle ground. I didn't know how to cook before I started lifting, and I hated the time sink, so you should look into meals that are cheap, easy, and fast. Eggs, yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, protein shakes, look into stuff like that.
then i dont see you utilising your input to youre routine then. its like youre trying to eat how those who want to improve theyre already set preformance, not just now getting started. thats why some already said try SS shit
The PPL I'm doing is very similar to Greyskull because it has me doing 5x5 style compound lifts on each one of the major compounds at least once a week. So if my 5x5s are stalling at one plate on a lot of these lifts as it is, how is Greyskull going to help me break these plateaus? I did Greyskull months ago and my results were happening at a snail's pace. I stayed stuck at a 115 lb bench press, I shit you not, for 3 months on Greyskull.
This has to be bait.
I don't really get to choose my food as I get it for free and it's usually unhealthy dogshit. I have read the sticky before, but I also see a lot of people make fun of the information there, and SS. I don't have any particular program pinned down and sort of dance around retard shit a few times a week like a monkey. What do you do, buddy?
Ok OP here's your issue(s)
You started a very intensive bulk when you clearly are just a beginner, and you aren't expending nearly as much calories as you think. My guess is you're either over your daily caloric needs by 700+ or you're underestimating your daily calorie intake.
You have massive fat buildups, and despite that almost no major visible muscular growth/definition. My guess is McDonalds and Coca-Cola are a big part of your diet at this point, your body literally just accumulated fat around visceral areas. Get better fats...which leads to...
My advice to you as others have stated is to hit a HARD 5x5 compound routine with a SHIT TON of accessory work. We'll be pushing the upper limits of what your capable of, if you can complete the 5th set of 5 reps without failing then the weight isn't high enough. Also accessory work needs to be in the 8-10 rep range.
You want immediate results?
>On squat day you will do 3 exercises of 3xF abs
>You will do Bench Press 5x5 with my advice, you will then also include bodyweight or weighted dips and incline bench alongside BP as accessories
>Leave out OHP from your routine for now, you don't have the supporting musculature to properly do strict OHP which gives you the best Delt and Upper Chest gains
>Cardio, you're gonna either play a sport or ride the fucking bike for 15 minutes at minimum until you start to become short of breath or sweating
>Cut the calories down to 2200-2400 and if you fucking get fastfood more than once a week and NOT on a workout day I will find you and kill you for failing
>Keep the protein amount 10-20% lower you don't need that much and it's probably making up a decent amount of your calories, you're basically just blasting your insides with garbage right now anyways.
>If you aren't happy with the results in 3 weeks of using this advice, change up what muscles you see lagging behind or not growing and adjsut your accessory work around these muscle groups.
I started with my same usual foods, except eating more and adding protein shakes. Progress was slow, so I started to expand my diet like I said. Keep it gradual, if you have to; start swapping out unhealthy options with a healthier choice, one item at a time, just to break the habits. Whenever you're going to drink a shitty soft drink, get water, etc.
I don't know what your exact situation is, where you can't control your diet, but see if you can get into a situation where you can buy your own groceries. The best advice I could give is try to find a few new meals that are decently healthy that you can mix around. You'll need to experiment a bit with food, which is something you probably want to do anyway.
>if you can complete the 5th set of 5 reps without failing then the weight isn't high enough
god damn this alone. why do people who are looking for gains just look to do a complete set "easier" by doing it over and over. the first time you can complete it make sure the weight is enough that you cant the next time.
I don’t know what your ppl routine is like but it might be too many exercises. At this stage you really should be just focusing on the compound lifts and like chin-ups or pull-ups
Switch to 3x5
Why is your ohp so much lower now than it was before?
Could someone explain why ppl is bad?
From what I know, it's mainly just bad for beginners. PPL has a lot of volume and hypertrophy based work. Beginners should be focused on mastering the main lifts and building sufficient base strength on a strength routine. Doing a 3x5 or 5x5 strength routine is more than enough to cause a lot of hypertrophy in a beginner.
Your guess is as good as mine. I CANNOT progress on that damn exercise no matter what I do. I've started adding in sets of 4x8-12 on the shoulder press machine at least once a week in the hopes that this might help it go up, but we'll see how that goes.
>6 months of 5 days a week
So this is the power of Jow Forums
ITS ALL A MINDSET, if you want to get stronger, you have to add that 5 lbs to every lift every week whether you feel like you can take it or not, you've gotta get yourself under that barbell even if it feels too heavy, and the moment you unrack it it's either swim or sink, LIVE or DIE, are you gonna pussy out? I dont think you've actually been trying while lifting, and your body exemplifies your lack of effort
fuck 5x5, 5x5 is only to get you moving, once youre able to move and motivated, start doing 5x12 or 5x15 bench presses and 5x8 everything else. lower the weights if you have to.
>fatass
>dirty bulking
When I try to increase the weight when I'm stalled at a current weight, I can only put up 2-3 reps before I hit failure. As in I physically cannot complete the rep after doing 2 or 3. But yeah no you're totally right. I must not be trying. If I push to failure and I struggle and struggle and cannot get the bar up, clearly it's my fault and I'm not trying hard enough.
too hardcore but I like it, there's a difference between pushing it to the limit and endangering yourself...however I do have a sudden urge to listen to Carpenter Brut
You can literally do 5x5 for years with the proper accessory work outside of your main compounds. Again, if you're pushing properly and failing from time to time then 5x5 will give appropriate strength gains and hyptertrophy to boot.
5x12 5x15 bench press? Thats literally up to 75 reps of bench, there's no beginner in the world who should be doing that. If you can do 5 sets of 15 reps of bench, you're either looking to increase muscular endurance or stress your muscles as an intermediate/advanced
Counting calories is irrelevant if all you eat is garbage. Cut out all those trans fats and sugars. Fuck man you look terrible. Without a doubt your diet is fucked off.
Your mistake was not cutting at skinny fat and then lean bulking. You dirty bulked from skinny fat to fat. Retard
OK look, If I'm 145 lbs and still have drooping loose belly skin from weight loss, I can keep losing weight until I'm blue in the face and that shit is still going to be there. What was I supposed to do, keep losing weight until I was a 120 lb skeleton? 90% of the advice I got back then when I looked like the pic on the left was to lean bulk. Now granted, I fucked up and dirty bulked instead, and that's on me, but the fact of the matter is, I was being told to bulk, not cut, at that time.
Spoken like a true faggot.
Alright cool, next time I'm doing overhead press and I start failing on the last rep, I'll just cheat and start leaning backwards and risk injury. Fucking retard.
I can't tell in the 1st pic if that is fat or really just a deformity around your chest and stomach
This is a redpill you need to have to hear and swallow: you have complete garbage genetics
To offset that, you have to train harder than everyone else and eat flawlessly. You should cut now and then lean bulk
Nigga how are you only at 1plate for all your lifts? I'm a fucking manlet and my lifts were past 1 plate after a month, it was slwo going past 1.5 plate, but it was going.
I'm willing to bet you're eating too much garbage and you're not getign enough protein, supposed to be 2 times kilo and 1=1 with lbs. So if you're 160 you should be eating 160 grams of protein.
Sounds great, don't forget to let the weight fall on your fucking head.
Nah I'm cool. I would rather see it fall on yours.
Can we kiss now?
Good thread.
the definition of skinnyfat. the only way to fix your skin is to go full auschwitz mode, sorry to tell you. try 30 day water fast with snake juices