Stuck at a plateau, Need experienced advice.

[defixon]

Hows it going everyone? Alright, I'm definately at my first plateau and i've been stuck at it for months now. I weighed in at 200 about 5-6 months ago, and im still currently that weight. I've read to not always go by the scale, but go by the mirror, which i could understand to a certain extent. The mirror isnt showing much difference either .

Anyway, I made good gains the first year, put on about 20 lbs of noob weight, which of course was a breeze. But now, its nothing. Ive added a lil more bodyfat trying to eat more calories but never gained any muscle.

I've been working out for about 16 months now, if anyone has reached their first plateau and exceeded please send me some advice. I understand this sport is about time and dedication, but 5 months without a single pound of lean muscle is not right..i am missing something.

Attached are a few recent pictures, or you can just look on my bodyspace..i pretty much look the same.

[a6skillz]

did you up ur protein as far as grams? i mean plateau can be broken its usually diet or training. i broke mine seemed my body got used to the 1-1.5 mark of protein, i upped my protein to 2 grams per bodyweight and broke thru my plateau.

great build tho , you must have worked really hard.

[BladeRun]

Hard to say without knowing your routine or diet, but in most cases w/ the guys I've trained it's diet. You're probably eating at maintenance or just below. What are you eating? are you consistent? have you ever recorded everything you eat and calculated calories, protein, carbs, fat, etc?

[defixon]

The only thing i ever really payed attention to was protein, and at 200lbs i was eating 300+ grams a day for months. I even tried to increase my carbs, but as i said, i was adding some fat which id love to stay away from..

I could probably eat more then i do, but i just dont have the money nor time to eat 7-10 meals a day, that just seems completely unrealistic to me..as of now, im eating usually 4 full meals a day.

I bust my ass in the gym, i do a full body workout 3 times a week. Theres gotta be someone that had the exact same problem as me, or does the growing process just slow down THAT much after your noob weight? Everything is plateau'd it seems like, not just my weight but my lifts also..i have been trying to increase my bench but it just wont budge. i hit like 7 reps for 225..which after 16 months of training seems kinda weak to me..

I dont want to sit here and bitch but its frusterating putting all this hard work in and seeing minimal to zero results.

[fleep]

Originally Posted by defixon

The only thing i ever really payed attention to was protein, and at 200lbs i was eating 300+ grams a day for months. I even tried to increase my carbs, but as i said, i was adding some fat which id love to stay away from..

I could probably eat more then i do, but i just dont have the money nor time to eat 7-10 meals a day, that just seems completely unrealistic to me..as of now, im eating usually 4 full meals a day.

I bust my ass in the gym, i do a full body workout 3 times a week. Theres gotta be someone that had the exact same problem as me, or does the growing process just slow down THAT much after your noob weight? Everything is plateau'd it seems like, not just my weight but my lifts also..i have been trying to increase my bench but it just wont budge. i hit like 7 reps for 225..which after 16 months of training seems kinda weak to me..

I dont want to sit here and bitch but its frusterating putting all this hard work in and seeing minimal to zero results.

first thing that comes to mind is try some maximum effort work (high intensity 2-4 reps). next, maybe you should specialize more instead of doing full body try push, pull, lower or something like that. maybe you could try lifting 4 days a week and do an upper/lower split which means you would be working the same muscles twice a week (which is a little less frequency). finally, make sure the majority of your routine is COMPOUND exercises. in my opinion your routine should have the following no matter what: bench, military press, weighted dips, rows, pullups, squats, and deadlifts. there are many variations of these exercises too (i.e. rack presses, rack pulls, chinups, t-bar rows, etc.). i think your protein intake is fine but maybe you need to up the calories and not be afraid of a little bit of fat. afterall, fat gain lets you know that you are eating enough and that your are giving your body the optimal conditions for anabolism. the key is slow/gradual/minimal fat gain. let me know what you think.

[mpz]

Originally Posted by defixon

The only thing i ever really payed attention to was protein, and at 200lbs i was eating 300+ grams a day for months. I even tried to increase my carbs, but as i said, i was adding some fat which id love to stay away from..

I could probably eat more then i do, but i just dont have the money nor time to eat 7-10 meals a day, that just seems completely unrealistic to me..as of now, im eating usually 4 full meals a day.

I bust my ass in the gym, i do a full body workout 3 times a week. Theres gotta be someone that had the exact same problem as me, or does the growing process just slow down THAT much after your noob weight? Everything is plateau'd it seems like, not just my weight but my lifts also..i have been trying to increase my bench but it just wont budge. i hit like 7 reps for 225..which after 16 months of training seems kinda weak to me..

I dont want to sit here and bitch but its frusterating putting all this hard work in and seeing minimal to zero results.

It's impossible for me to eat 6 meals either, i only eat 3 meals, sometimes 4, My cutting went pretty good though!

[a6skillz]

also juss outta curiosity, what supplements do you use, that is of course if you use any? n also i mean have you chagned up your routine and split? i change mine as soon as i stop seeing gains. ill change up the reps, add supersets etc stuff like that. my body seems to adapt pretty fast.

[canuckle]

Simply for my own curiosity, what does your typical workout look like? Thanks in advance.

[sleepy_dragon]

there was a article i read once in a magazine writting by a PHd in Physiologically that said that the best weight to gain muscle is to work your muscle, a bit obvious i know but he also suggests that you need to increased the weight you lift gradually.

[defixon]

Originally Posted by fleep

first thing that comes to mind is try some maximum effort work (high intensity 2-4 reps). next, maybe you should specialize more instead of doing full body try push, pull, lower or something like that. maybe you could try lifting 4 days a week and do an upper/lower split which means you would be working the same muscles twice a week (which is a little less frequency). finally, make sure the majority of your routine is COMPOUND exercises. in my opinion your routine should have the following no matter what: bench, military press, weighted dips, rows, pullups, squats, and deadlifts. there are many variations of these exercises too (i.e. rack presses, rack pulls, chinups, t-bar rows, etc.). i think your protein intake is fine but maybe you need to up the calories and not be afraid of a little bit of fat. afterall, fat gain lets you know that you are eating enough and that your are giving your body the optimal conditions for anabolism. the key is slow/gradual/minimal fat gain. let me know what you think.

My whole routine is based off of compound exercises, and my reps vary almost each week or so, depending the mood i am in. I go from 5-15 reps, i include dropsets and supersets in many of the exercises, as i said i bust my ass leaving the gym, drenched in sweat each time haha..i will have to read up more on a push/pull split. Also, id have to agree with you that i shouldnt worry about a little fat gain, but i guess its just because its closing in on summer.

thanks for the reponse.

[defixon]

Originally Posted by a6skillz

also juss outta curiosity, what supplements do you use, that is of course if you use any? n also i mean have you chagned up your routine and split? i change mine as soon as i stop seeing gains. ill change up the reps, add supersets etc stuff like that. my body seems to adapt pretty fast.

I've been using your typical supplements.
Protein powder
No-xplode (this stuff works miracles, cant go without it now)
Multi-vitamin
Cellmass (off and on, not sure if i really see much of a difference with creatine)

As I said in the above response, i do try and change my routine slightly every couple of months. I modify my rep range, i do alternate compound exercises, ill incorporate dropsets and supersets.

[yaman]

Have your lifts gone up?What is your routine like?

[fleep]

Originally Posted by defixon

My whole routine is based off of compound exercises, and my reps vary almost each week or so, depending the mood i am in. I go from 5-15 reps, i include dropsets and supersets in many of the exercises, as i said i bust my ass leaving the gym, drenched in sweat each time haha..i will have to read up more on a push/pull split. Also, id have to agree with you that i shouldnt worry about a little fat gain, but i guess its just because its closing in on summer.

thanks for the reponse.

ok so it doesn't look like there's anything wrong with your training. here are some more things that come to mind:
1. try not to workout for more than 60-75 min to avoid catabolism
2. SLEEP! 8 hrs. or more EVERY night
3. Breakfast is CRUCIAL-high carb and protein because your body has been fasting all night
4. What is your postworkout drink like? high carb and protein
5. Ever consider using creatine? it's a great plateau buster
6. Don't be afraid to go below 5 reps...i am a member at another forum and this group of guys that are HUGE lift everything (except isolation movements) 2-4 reps

if you are doing all of that already then i don't know what to say...the body puts on muscle in spurts...if ur weight has been truly consistent for the past few months usually the case is that bodyfat goes down and LBM goes up so weight stays the same. lemme know what you think. also, post ur current split and diet so we can analyze it

[younggunz20]

Both of fleep's post have GREAT advice in them. I would move away from the full body excercises. You will be able to train each muscle more intensely with a different split, and with a lower frequency (each muscle three times a week is way too much). Make sure you are doing all the compound lifts, and really heavy. After you've done all that, if your not gaining weight, then you're not eating enough calories.

[defixon]

Originally Posted by younggunz20

Both of fleep's post have GREAT advice in them. I would move away from the full body excercises. You will be able to train each muscle more intensely with a different split, and with a lower frequency (each muscle three times a week is way too much). Make sure you are doing all the compound lifts, and really heavy. After you've done all that, if your not gaining weight, then you're not eating enough calories.

I rather hit a muscle 3 times a week without as high intensity then only once a week with high intensity, i really dont believe its my routine. I'll give anything a try though.. honestly i think i just need to eat like a cow..but i'll def try a new routine for a few months..and keep u guys updated to let u know if ur advice worked, hope it does!

thanks for all the advice guys..

[defixon]

Originally Posted by fleep

ok so it doesn't look like there's anything wrong with your training. here are some more things that come to mind:
1. try not to workout for more than 60-75 min to avoid catabolism
2. SLEEP! 8 hrs. or more EVERY night
3. Breakfast is CRUCIAL-high carb and protein because your body has been fasting all night
4. What is your postworkout drink like? high carb and protein
5. Ever consider using creatine? it's a great plateau buster
6. Don't be afraid to go below 5 reps...i am a member at another forum and this group of guys that are HUGE lift everything (except isolation movements) 2-4 reps

if you are doing all of that already then i don't know what to say...the body puts on muscle in spurts...if ur weight has been truly consistent for the past few months usually the case is that bodyfat goes down and LBM goes up so weight stays the same. lemme know what you think. also, post ur current split and diet so we can analyze it

thanks fleet, ur advice is good but its stuff im incorporating allready. Maybe I should hop back on creatine, and really try to intake more calories.. I'll also try to do my compound exercises under 5 reps..im usually doing higher reps with the drop sets because i get more of a pump. thanks again

[fleep]

Originally Posted by defixon

thanks fleet, ur advice is good but its stuff im incorporating allready. Maybe I should hop back on creatine, and really try to intake more calories.. I'll also try to do my compound exercises under 5 reps..im usually doing higher reps with the drop sets because i get more of a pump. thanks again

no problem let me know about your progress and i think creatine might give you the edge you need...more weight/reps means a stronger muscle and despite some exceptions a stronger muscle is usually a bigger muscle...

[PhoebeusFenix]

I noticed the most gains when

A) I stopped training muscles 3x per week, dropped it to 2x, and now I am at 1x
B) I started eating adequate calories

I like doing a split such as this:
Mon-Chest
Tues-Back
Wed-Quad/Ham
Thurs-Bi's/Tri's
Fri-Shoulders/Traps
Sat-Calves/Forearms/Abs