Can't gain muscle, please help!!

[U0462639]

Hey everyone, I need your help. I am 6'2" and weigh 180 lbs. I have worked my butt off at the gym for the past two years. I go 5-6 times a week and follow a decent workout plan with mostly compound lifts like bench and squat and shoulder press. I eat lots of lean protien, I supplement with i****x extreme, and try to eat clean. I have gained 25 pounds in the last year, I went from 155 to about 180 since last July. I just feel like my body is shaped weird, and I have no definition... What am I doing wrong? I need advice on what to do and why I am not seeing the results I want! Thanks guys!

[OkashiiKen]

Hey everyone, I need your help. I am 6'2" and weigh 180 lbs. I have worked my butt off at the gym for the past two years. I go 5-6 times a week and follow a decent workout plan with mostly compound lifts like bench and squat and shoulder press. I eat lots of lean protien, I supplement with i****x extreme, and try to eat clean. I have gained 25 pounds in the last year, I went from 155 to about 180 since last July. I just feel like my body is shaped weird, and I have no definition... What am I doing wrong? I need advice on what to do and why I am not seeing the results I want! Thanks guys!

Has your strength gone up corresponding to a 25lb weight gain? Don't know where you started, so it's not fair to say you'be been completely unsuccessful - but I'd expect more after 2 years. Doubt your body is shaped weird, and I have no idea what you are doing wrong - other than not educating yourself enough to be able to help yourself (there is a wealth of useful information in the nutrition stickies, and workout stickies.)

I'd guess you are either eating too much, not lifting hard enough, or a combination of the two. Read the nutrition stickies and stick to a consistent meal plan for a month (not necessarily the same foods, but the same macros roughly). If you don't like the results tweak your macros (most people will reduce carbs first if they are gaining bf too quickly).

As for adding quality mass, building muscle takes hard work - you have to lift hard. You claim to kill yourself at the gym, but your results don't look like you've been consistently hitting the gym for 2 years. My advice, read and educate yourself until you get to the point where you are comfortable modifying your nutrition or workout plans to find what works for you - or at least, be confident enough to change things when they clearly aren't getting you the results you want.

[BigManTJ]

Try lifting less weight with alot more reps, that way you can squeeze the **** out of your muscles and get them defined.
I suggest you go ahead and eat lighter foods, like your cutting so you can trim up your mid section include cardio as well.
You won't loose muscle while properly cutting, but you can loose alot of you fat and you will be more defined.

For example, I am similar in size and am cutting. (Eggs in morning, 2 salads & 2 pork chops in afternoon, fruit at night) I eat hella light vegatables for the bulk of my intake which fills me up and none of it gets stored as fat. All of the vitamins and minerals go to restoring my body with no fat gain.

I was 183 at my lightest about 3 weeks ago. Now I'm at 187 with less body fat becuase of the high vegatable diet.

So man, I advise you to start a clean & proper cut to loose your arm and mid section fat, and start lifting with significantly more repetitions per set. Major lifts like bench you should keep the reps to 8, but auxillary lifts with dumbbells and cables do 20 repititions.

[Partyrocking]

What program did you run? I would try something like AllPros.

[U0462639]

Thanks for the help guys. To answer some questions. I have followed Chris's 12 week daily trainer, but not as much as the diet. I have done his Dtp, but once again not as much on the nutrition. I used to eat really clean, mostly lean meat like chicken and fish and complex carbs... But I wasn't gaining weight. So finally I decided to just eat whatever the hell I wanted, and as much as I could, and I started to gain weight. I was doing this while I was hitting the gym. I stopped doing cardio as well. A year ago when I weighed 155, I was a little more lean but I still was "soft". I never have had definition. Okashi, my strength has gone up, but I don't know if it has gone up "25" lbs worth. I started around being able to bench 105 8 times, to now i am about at 170 lbs. I would say that my max is around 180-200 on bench. I definately have gained strength in my shoulders and arms as well. Big man, I would like to cut. I just am afraid to loose muscle. I love cardio and don't have a hard time eating lighter. But I am afraid to loose muscle... I have a very fast metabolism and am definately an extomorph, party rocking, I am not familiar with that program, where can I learn more? Does anyone have any knowledge about the Chris getin 12 week trainer? I would love to do that because it has a nutrition plan with it. But I would like to continue to gain muscle while cutting. My fear is to cut down and loose a bunch of weight. I am 6'2 with a skinny frame... Thanks guys!

[Knightmare01]

I have a hard time gaining muscle as well.

[BigManTJ]

While on the cut I described, you will need to take a BCAA supplement with some glutamine as well. The BCAA's will give you energy while your are very light and the glutamine will halt muscle canabolism.

Again, this is for an extremly light diet. My diet consists of vegetables and fruit all day long, 6 eggs and 2 pork chops.... everyday.
I drink coffee with Whey, Cassein, BCAA, Glutamine, and creatine mono pre workout. and the same thing with water post workout....
I can get my workouts done solely because of the caffein and BCAA's.

Because I'm so light all the time, I burn fat pretty easily.

I've been lifting and dieting religously for 9 months now and this is the point that I am at.
Some call it broscience, I consider it innovative science I went from about 15% 185 lbs. to currently 9% 187lbs.

[walkms00]

Just looked at the program. Few things I wouldn't recommend. Let's start with legs. If you're not starting leg day with barbell squats, you're missing out. Squats are the king of all exercises. Next up chest and triceps. Start with bench press, do flat and incline 4-5 sets each I'd recommend (6-12 reps, go heavy). In the whole program in general it seems like there is quite a bit of switching exercises back and forth etc. Pick the main exercises and always stick to them - that way you know each workout if your lifts are improving. Don't neglect the big 6 (squat, deadlift, bench, Shoulder press, bent-over row, pullups/pulldowns) - these should always be at the start of your workout.

Make sure you eat clean and get what you need in terms of protein carbs and fat (chack nutritional section), in terms of pure weight gain aim for ~2lb a month (you seem to be gaining weight about right). I don't see any before pics, but keep at it, your muscles should catch up soon enough.

[map84]

think you should answer Okashiikens question a bit better... how are your lifts?
Don't tell us what you estimated your 1 rm to be, tell us what you did last session for your big lifts (example, squatted 2 x 7 100lbs, or deadlifted 1 x 3 280bs), because you've not exactly bragged about your lifts it makes me think they're not great, if you've gone from being able to bench 105 x 8(130~ 1 rm) to 1 x 170 that's not a great improvement for a 25lb gain.

[OzzyOsbourneFan]

You can't gain muscle if you stick with the same workout routine all the time. Instead of doing bench press all the time, do some cable-cross overs too. The same with the other muscle groups.

[U0462639]

think you should answer Okashiikens question a bit better... how are your lifts?
Don't tell us what you estimated your 1 rm to be, tell us what you did last session for your big lifts (example, squatted 2 x 7 100lbs, or deadlifted 1 x 3 280bs), because you've not exactly bragged about your lifts it makes me think they're not great, if you've gone from being able to bench 105 x 8(130~ 1 rm) to 1 x 170 that's not a great improvement for a 25lb gain.

I'm not trying to boast at all... I asked for help, I obviously am being humble. I don't think I have had big gains and that is why I am on here. The reason I said bench is because that's probably what I have gained the most. With everyone's help, I feel like I am starting to realize what I need to do. I think my biggest problem is I HAVNT kept track of my gains very well. So I am going to start taking a notepad to the gym with me. As far as what ozzy suggested, I definately don't stick to the same workout all the time. I do bench, or dumbbell bench, but I follow with cable crossovers, incline, decline, flys, incline flys.... I feel like I just don't know what I am doing and that's why I am on here. I have the dedication, and the morivation, but I feel I just don't know enough. I have been checking those stickies out like suggested, it's just hard because there is SO much info that I don't know what to keep and what not to. Does anyone have suggestions on any plans that have nutrition that I can follow?

[U0462639]

I have a hard time gaining muscle as well.

Have you seem success with anything? You seem around my height...