I am not gaining any muscles/muscles strength....what's wrong?

[OKCLBJ]

I weight around 170 to 175 and I am 6 feet tall.

I had tried to bulk 2 to 3 months ago, so I started eating more, I consume around 2500 calories a day, and I make sure I intake at least 180g of protein everyday.

I hit the gym 6 to 7 days a week, and 4 days would be strength training.

The weird part is I can only bench around 100lbs (including the bar and the free weights) 3 months ago (before that I was dieting and intake around 1700 cal per day). And now, I still struggle to bench 120 lbs for 3 reps....I tried to push myself, but I just can't do it.

I had read quite a few articles mention that I should intake around 3000 calories a day. But I just afraid that would be too much for me as body type is endomorph which I gain fat easily (especially belly fat).\

Can anyone help me out....this had been driving me crazy as I had consistently putting in the work and control myself on eating right, but still, the results are not there yet.

[luke3304]

You say you go to the gym 6 or 7 days a week and four of those you lift. Doing cardio those other days?

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Not gaining muscle size, either a result of poor training or a poor diet or both.

[Hkhan93]

Im 6 ft and I was consuming 3200 cals around your weight. Also maybe not enough sleep

[whalen078]

How about eating alot of clean food...just a thought. 2500 calories clearly isnt cutting it

[davisj3537]

What's wrong? A food deficiency. ^like said above, clean food is a big plus. Maybe actually looking up your calorie maintenance and then accounting for your workouts.

[alexb650]

There's a few issues that I see. First, you don't know how much you weigh, so how can you tell if you are gaining weight or not. Second, 2-3 months is not a long time to be lifting. I don't think that most people will see a difference for the first couple of months. Finally, because you don't know how much you weigh, you don't know your maintenance. I suggest weighing yourself regularly (every Wednesday morning, perhaps) and see if you gained or lost weight after a few weeks and adjust as necessary.

[chazzy1864]

2500 calories is generally what I use to cut. FYI.

[SixFootSniper]

have you tried increasing calory intake to something like 2800-3000/day?

[Gitt66]

I'm on a bulk and am currently getting in around 3300 a day. Honestly you just have to try eating more. You aren't making good progress at what you're currently eating, so eating more will only help you. Fat gain will be minimal as long as you stay at a reasonable surplus (300 to 500 cals).

[ironwill2008]

I hit the gym 6 to 7 days a week, and 4 days would be strength training.....



......body type is endomorph

One of the better calorie calculators has your maintenance level (the amount you'd need to eat just to stay the same weight) at about 3000 calories. You'll need to eat more than this if you expect to build muscle.


Forget the 'somatotype' nonsense and start eating like a bodybuilder. You'll never start looking like one until you do so.

[Concat]

In case it hasn't sunk in yet... eat more

[hsracer201]

OP, you weight just a little bit more than I do, but not a whole lot. 2500 calories is a slight deficit for myself. Depending on exactly how much cardio you do, it's probably a deficit for you as well.

Bump it up to 3,000 for a bit, and if you don't see much improvement bump it to 3,500.

[JSNeves]

Everyone is nailing the first part of the problem, lack of food

but the second part is almost as important... if you can't bench anywhere near your bodyweight strength gains should be easy to come by IF your following a good program. I don't care if the guy is in a calorie deficit or not!

Step one start eating more

Step two get on a real program

Step three get bigger and stronger

[SexyBack1]

I weight around 170 to 175 and I am 6 feet tall.

I had tried to bulk 2 to 3 months ago, so I started eating more, I consume around 2500 calories a day, and I make sure I intake at least 180g of protein everyday.

I hit the gym 6 to 7 days a week, and 4 days would be strength training.

The weird part is I can only bench around 100lbs (including the bar and the free weights) 3 months ago (before that I was dieting and intake around 1700 cal per day). And now, I still struggle to bench 120 lbs for 3 reps....I tried to push myself, but I just can't do it.

I had read quite a few articles mention that I should intake around 3000 calories a day. But I just afraid that would be too much for me as body type is endomorph which I gain fat easily (especially belly fat).\

Can anyone help me out....this had been driving me crazy as I had consistently putting in the work and control myself on eating right, but still, the results are not there yet.

Read stickies in nutrition sub form.

[sasclm25]

Eat more and eat a little more clean. I'm close to your size, I'm 5'11 175 and I eat 3500 calories a day with 80-90 fat g and 200-220g of protein.

[OKCLBJ]

You say you go to the gym 6 or 7 days a week and four of those you lift. Doing cardio those other days?

ya, the other days I either go jog or play ball.

[OKCLBJ]

Im 6 ft and I was consuming 3200 cals around your weight. Also maybe not enough sleep

so you consume 3200 cals consistently and your weight stay at 175?? You workout a lot??

[OKCLBJ]

How about eating alot of clean food...just a thought. 2500 calories clearly isnt cutting it

all I eat is brown rice, oats, vegies, fruits, whole wheat bread, egg white, chicken breast, lean steak, tuna, protein powder, skim milk.....I am not too sure what you mean by "clean food", but I would say I am eating pretty healthy food and all of those are whole food instead of processed food. I do not eat any night snack as well.....and I had been on this type of diet for a year already...

if 2500 cal is not enough, how much cals I should consume per day??

[OKCLBJ]

There's a few issues that I see. First, you don't know how much you weigh, so how can you tell if you are gaining weight or not. Second, 2-3 months is not a long time to be lifting. I don't think that most people will see a difference for the first couple of months. Finally, because you don't know how much you weigh, you don't know your maintenance. I suggest weighing yourself regularly (every Wednesday morning, perhaps) and see if you gained or lost weight after a few weeks and adjust as necessary.

I just didn't mention about it, I do measure my weight regularly. Since I start eating more, I gain around 5 pounds, however, l didn't gain any muscles or muscle strength. That's why I am worry about eating even more that I will just gain weight and fat but not muscles.

[OKCLBJ]

have you tried increasing calory intake to something like 2800-3000/day?

I wanted to, but like what I had response, I just afraid that I will only gain weight but not muscles. Maybe I should try....

[OKCLBJ]

I'm on a bulk and am currently getting in around 3300 a day. Honestly you just have to try eating more. You aren't making good progress at what you're currently eating, so eating more will only help you. Fat gain will be minimal as long as you stay at a reasonable surplus (300 to 500 cals).

Wow, 3300 cals per day, that's a lot. Btw what you mean by reasonable surplus? Also, how's your workout? Is your workout really intense and how many days you workout per week?? And did you feel like gaining fat by eating 3300 cals per day?? Cuz on your picture you look awesome, I am really curious on what you did to achieve that

[OKCLBJ]

One of the better calorie calculators has your maintenance level (the amount you'd need to eat just to stay the same weight) at about 3000 calories. You'll need to eat more than this if you expect to build muscle.


Forget the 'somatotype' nonsense and start eating like a bodybuilder. You'll never start looking like one until you do so.

Oh really, cuz the calculator I use told me that I just need 2000 cals to maintain my current weight....can you post the link of the calculator you mentioned??

[chazzy1864]

Oh really, cuz the calculator I use told me that I just need 2000 cals to maintain my current weight....can you post the link of the calculator you mentioned??

Did your calculator account for exercise or no?

[OKCLBJ]

OP, you weight just a little bit more than I do, but not a whole lot. 2500 calories is a slight deficit for myself. Depending on exactly how much cardio you do, it's probably a deficit for you as well.

Bump it up to 3,000 for a bit, and if you don't see much improvement bump it to 3,500.

So how much you consume to stay on your weight??

[OKCLBJ]

Everyone is nailing the first part of the problem, lack of food

but the second part is almost as important... if you can't bench anywhere near your bodyweight strength gains should be easy to come by IF your following a good program. I don't care if the guy is in a calorie deficit or not!

Step one start eating more

Step two get on a real program

Step three get bigger and stronger

So what type of program I should follow?? I do agree with you that maybe the one I am following right now is not good enough

[OKCLBJ]

Eat more and eat a little more clean. I'm close to your size, I'm 5'11 175 and I eat 3500 calories a day with 80-90 fat g and 200-220g of protein.

Like I said, I think the food I intake is pretty clean as I do not eat out and all of those are healthy whole food (e.g. chicken breast, lean steak, fruits). So your weight stayed the same while you are eating 3500/80/200 per day?? I read an article said that consuming over 200g of protein might not be efficient.

[OKCLBJ]

Did your calculator account for exercise or no?

yes

[71Avido]

IF what you're trying to do is gain weight it's going to take some work on your end.
Calculators are OK for establishing a starting point but your own effort and records will prove what your true calorie target should be.

Instead of assuming you're eating correctly to gain weight do this instead:
Read this thread here to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenderature (TDEE):
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

For bulking add 10-20% to your TDEE
For cutting, take away 10-20%

That will now be your new target calories

Once you have your target calories:
-Accurately weigh and measure everything you eat
-Ensure you hit your protein/fat macros and calorie target for 2-3 weeks consistently.
-Weigh yourself once per week on the same day under the same conditions. (ie Friday mornings after waking up and taking a leak)
-Track your intake and how it relates to your weight.

If the weight trend is going in the right direction and at a rate that is acceptable to you, keep up the good work.
If you're not happy with the trend or the rate, you will have enough data to make an educated decision about what adjustments to make.

If you aren't gaining, you aren't eating enough.
If you aren't losing, you're eating too much.

[speedjason]

2500 cal is no where near enough especially if you have a fast metabolism. eat more.