Worked out for 4 years but disappointed and in need of advice

[Kenox7]

Sup guys, care to give a fellow guy some advice?

Started working out when I was 21yo (now 25). Im 6' tall and weighed only 128lbs(58kg).
My goal was to get BIG and not look like a WHIMP. I forced myself to hit the gym 3 times a week.

I've always been doing isolation exercises and I had not been counting calorie intake:
2014-2015: 128lbs -> 139lbs
2015-2016: 139lbs -> 141lbs
2016-2018: 141lbs -> 141lbs
2018 Jan-June: 141lbs -> 148lbs (ate more and increased weight)
2018 June-Jul: Stopped gaining weight again

I've only gained 20lbs over the course of 4 years.
Guys with bigger arms will lose to me in an arm wrestling match, but for some reason I still look like a whimp (check pics when not tensing muscles, and notice my tiny wrists when I do tense them up). I think it's because I have very low body fat.
It leaves me unmotivated. I feel like I have to put in twice the effort for half the size gain compared to other guys.

Will I always have to work harder than other guys? Should I eat more and switch to compound exercises? I estimate my daily calorie intake to be around 2000.

Any help is appreciated.

[CommitmentRulz]

I've only gained 20lbs over the course of 4 years.

I feel like I have to put in twice the effort for half the size gain compared to other guys.

Will I always have to work harder than other guys?

How much REAL effort does it take to eat more?

Do you think that muscle grows out of thin air, or maybe requires food/nutrition to grow? ;-)

[Vandeman17]

2000 calories is not enough to put on muscle mass. Go to the nutrition section and read the stickies. That will give you the baseline of how to determine your tdee and then you can eat 300 calories over that. If you do, you should gain 2-3 lbs per month with minimal fat gain. I also recommend going over to the exercise program section and getting on a good program. Fierce 5 is a good one to start with.

[Kenox7]

Thanks for the pointers guys, I figured it had to be calorie intake but I wanted to make sure. Kinda sad that I wasted so many years... lol

[fittofattofit]

Sup guys, care to give a fellow guy some advice?

Started working out when I was 21yo (now 25). Im 6' tall and weighed only 128lbs(58kg).
My goal was to get BIG and not look like a WHIMP. I forced myself to hit the gym 3 times a week.

I've always been doing isolation exercises and I had not been counting calorie intake:
2014-2015: 128lbs -> 139lbs
2015-2016: 139lbs -> 141lbs
2016-2018: 141lbs -> 141lbs
2018 Jan-June: 141lbs -> 148lbs (ate more and increased weight)
2018 June-Jul: Stopped gaining weight again

I've only gained 20lbs over the course of 4 years.
Guys with bigger arms will lose to me in an arm wrestling match, but for some reason I still look like a whimp (check pics when not tensing muscles, and notice my tiny wrists when I do tense them up). I think it's because I have very low body fat.
It leaves me unmotivated. I feel like I have to put in twice the effort for half the size gain compared to other guys.

Will I always have to work harder than other guys? Should I eat more and switch to compound exercises? I estimate my daily calorie intake to be around 2000.

Any help is appreciated.

You look like an untrained individual ... and after 4 years! Why on earth are you doing isolation exercises? You need to be lifting heavy ... the big compound lifts: deads, squats, bench ,BB rows, pull-ups and following a proper beginners lifting programme. Part 2 is you need to eat more and if you're lifting heavy you'll want to eat more. It's not difficult and if you do it properly you'll see big changes in 6 months

[Kenox7]

You look like an untrained individual ... and after 4 years! Why on earth are you doing isolation exercises? You need to be lifting heavy ... the big compound lifts: deads, squats, bench ,BB rows, pull-ups and following a proper beginners lifting programme. Part 2 is you need to eat more and if you're lifting heavy you'll want to eat more. It's not difficult and if you do it properly you'll see big changes in 6 months

I've always just assumed that it was genetics. But I was basically uninformed for the past 4 years. It's only last week that I've been reading about macro's and compound exercises. It also doesn't help that my work is sedentary.

Either way I'm glad that I've found this forum. Now I'll have something to look forward to. Thanks again bros

[John4531]

Are you doing reps until failure, and how many reps are you doing? What you do in the gym to stimulate growth is one of the fundamental things, you need to force your body to change but at the same time don't over do it to the point your overtraining. Other than that nutrition and recovery is the other 2 fundamental things. You need a lot of protein the resource that builds muscle, carbohydtrates for the fuel, make sure to get a good meal in within 30 mintutes to and hour after your workout. And don't work out on a empty stomach because you could end up breaking down muscle instead. Other than that you need good night sleep, since thats when your muscles grow.

Fuel, Stimulate, Fuel, then Recover. Repeat.

I forgot to add, since you are quite tall its going to take more time for the muscles to look bigger. You are getting stronger along the way which is a good thing. If you see a short guy like 5'4'' they may look bigger mostly because it takes less muscle to fill out their frame than someone with a bigger frame. But once you start filling up your frame you will truely be a powerhouse.

[Kenox7]

Are you doing reps until failure, and how many reps are you doing?

I generally do 3 x 15 reps for each exercise, regardless of failiure. When I feel like it becomes too easy I increase the weight. I've noticed that on some days I can do alot more if I have the energy, but like half the days I feel weak and low on energy. I assume it must be due to low food intake. When I'm low energy I don't feel like I'm making much progress.

I always work out in the evening after dinner and I usually don't eat anything after my workout. I think my average sleep time is 7 hours.

[selffirst]

Eat like your life depended on it.....anything like looks or smells like food *GULP*. I wonder if your so focused on the amount of weight you're pulling that your form is off or sloppy?...Slow and controlled movement builds dem puppies...All the best.

[Big Slim DaDDy]

Eat more, lift heavy(er). That's all there really is to muscle growth/weight gain.

[Kenox7]

I've started doing compound exercises yesterday and I can already tell that they will have a much bigger impact on my body than anything else I've done before. My core feels fairly weak atm so there's definitely room to grow here.

I'll also be making mass gainer shakes starting next week. Excited to see how it will turn out in a few months.

[Ienjoybeans]

I've started doing compound exercises yesterday and I can already tell that they will have a much bigger impact on my body than anything else I've done before. My core feels fairly weak atm so there's definitely room to grow here.

I'll also be making mass gainer shakes starting next week. Excited to see how it will turn out in a few months.

Check out fierce 5 novice program. It's mostly compound lifts going heavy. I'm two months in and my lifts are increasing every workout, eat alot of protein and eat at a surplus, sleep well.

[Kenox7]

Check out fierce 5 novice program. It's mostly compound lifts going heavy. I'm two months in and my lifts are increasing every workout, eat alot of protein and eat at a surplus, sleep well.

Yeah I've started the fierce 5 program two days ago as Vandeman17 suggested. I like how it's faster yet harder than my usual workout. I'm eager to see any improvements.

[Defcicer]

dude i would say diet is 60% of the equation, you cant leave it out