My 12 Week Progression

[marioyo]

Hey team,

Here's just a quick recap of my progression for the past 12 months, I would love to get some feedback!

My initial goal was to exceed 70kg within 12 weeks.. and I am more than happy that I have achieved it! Although since, things have seemed to have been slowing down a bit recently.

I've read stuart mcrobert's beyond brawn, which has given me insight to alot of aspects of bulking.

Supplements
Been taking protein shakes after workouts and at other times when I feel the need to top up my calories.

Sleep
Most nights I've been getting ~10hrs sleep

Routine
Been kicking this routine w/ 2day rests, +one warmup set before each exercise:

Day One:
Squat 1x20
Stiff-legged Deadlift 2x8
Pull-down 2x8
Barbell Curl 2x8

Day Two:
Bench Press 2x8
Dip 2x8
Military Press 2x8
Abs to failure

My Before Stats
Weight: 64.8kg
Bicep: 11"
Chest: 33.5"
Forearm: 10.5"
Waist: 30.5"
Quads: 19.5"
Calves: 13.5"

My After 12 Week Stats
Weight: 72.5kg
Bicep: 11.5"
Chest: 35"
Forearm: 11"
Waist: 34.25"
Quads: 20.75"
Calves: 14"

A few other stats:

[marioyo]

Front
Week 1 - Week 6

[marioyo]

Front
Week 7 - Week 12

[marioyo]

Side
Week 1 - Week 6

[marioyo]

Side
Week 7 - Week 12

[marioyo]

Back
Week 1 - Week 6

[marioyo]

Back
Week 7 - Week 12

[redweston]

keeponpumpin-red

[Sculelos]

Looks like you added muscle but you also look slightly fatter.

[jimmyhoffa59]

I would have to say that you look EXACTLY the same.

[beerbaron105]

I would have to say that you look EXACTLY the same.

eaxctly the same.....


what was your goal..bulk...cut....u did neither! lol

[Sculelos]

Eh, I think he looks slightly bigger or fatter, can't really tell which but if you compare his first front shot to his last there is a definite (but small) difference.

[safi connection]

Your waist size went up 4 inches but your arm only went up .5?

[leoyo]

No offence. but this is why i dont take it to seriosly! spend less time on them stupid tables and diagrams and more time lifting weights. You look the same sorry pal

[D-Y]

Looks like you put more effort into this thread than you did bodybuilding.

[vin1382]

so you only worked out 2 times a week...with rep ranges of 2x8?

bodybuilding failure

[EL FUERTE_old]

Exactly the same, work harder bro...

[mystix]

looks like your gaining weight and u work out 5 days a week? Your calorie chart half of it is other what are you eating?

2x8 i dont think thats enough really, go for 3x10

one of your charts says 1/1/06 other says 1/1/07, and this says youve been bulking for 3 months what did you do for the other months?

[GriT-]

You didn't work out, you just took pictures closer and closer to the wall.

[LuxuryChic]

eaxctly the same.....


what was your goal..bulk...cut....u did neither! lol

x2!!!! wtf man???? spend less time on these damn charts and more time in the gym with a REAL workout routine!

[NXC]

yeah not much gain
how do you get 10 hrs of sleep a night

[thundar]

I don't see any progress. Seriously. 12 weeks? At 19 years old? I would think that at this age the gains would come like mad. Apparently not. When i lift for 12 weeks straight the gains are very evident. Was this kid even lifting? And what's up with all the charts? Spend more time lifting like a junkyard dog!!

[Scar]

Don't be too disheartened: I admire your attention to detail but I have to say that I see virtually no difference. I understand that you're doing a serious hardgainer routine (don't get me wrong, I respect McRobert)..why? Have you tried volume before and had no results?

You look very new to this..have you thought about trying a programme with more frequency and volume? I think the routine you use can work for some - amazingly in fact - but I think you need the necessary strength and intensity to really reap the rewards from such a routine..

What are your lifts like..how strong are you?

Let's see if we can't try to work out what is going wrong and how we can maybe tweak things a little for you..

[ILIFT!]

Is this your first time lifting? cause if it is, good work on getting off to a good start. You're averaging about 3 days a week, which is not bad. First off, 12 weeks is a fairly short amount of time in bodybuilding time scale. I'll be honest here, I don't see any changes in your body composition, but remember 12 weeks is a very short amount of time if you want to see changes. Your increased lifts are a good indicator of your body slowly changing. From personal experience, the next best step would just be to do workouts with greater frequency up to a maximum of 6 days a week with a minimum of 4 if you are training for strength. Remember to Lift hard and never be disheartened by slow results, and most importantly have fun at the gym. You'll go far if you have fun while lifting hard.

[bigdan]

yeah man i dont mean to hate but you are doing something wrong. I didn't read through all your stuff but focus on the big lifts, going heavy (dont hurt yourself tho), and eating quality foods. I would try the Max-OT program... it worked well for me when I started out and my workout is still sorta based off it.

[Devils]

Whey to crush a guy's spirit.


But for the most part the comments are correct, I think you where going for too much science and not enough raw intensity and drive.

Your planning and dedication seem to be great, therefore it must be your actual lifting thats holding you back.

When you start eating more you really have to prove to you body that I NEEDS more muscle and MUST use the excess calories to build that muscle.

When you eat more calories that you're burning, your body is going to try and store it as fat. The difference between a normal person and a weightlifter eating over their maintenance is that the normal persons body will store as much as it can as fat while the weightlifters body will start to put on muscle to deal with the increased stress.

My advice would be to really focus on your lifting, you'll want to be doing heavy compound lifts with heavy weight. I think you have the diet worked out but maybe substitute the carbs for more protein.


Lift heavy!.

[yoinbber]

As everyone else stated, I also think you look pretty much the same.

Obviously your current routine isn't working, so change it. Try something different. I'm always changing mine.

[gixer6]

i can see a deffinate difference in quads...everything else, not so much.

[marioyo]

Although a lot of you guys have come on harshly, I'm sure you have done saved me years in the long term. I'm happy that this was just a 12-week "transformation" and not a year long one! In some ways it's quite nice to hear the criticism, as it gives me light that results should be coming a lot easier (once I find the right routine).

I think a few of you failed to realise that I did gain 7.7kg over these 12 weeks. I have majorly struggled with gaining weight in the past, and although it may be a large amount fat, I am satisfied with the fact that I have gained weight, and have proved myself that big gains are possible.

As mentioned earlier, a lot of my focus has been on Stuart McRobert's techniques which have either not worked for me or have not been applied correctly. Stuart put strong emphasis on the three aspects of rest, nutrition and training.

I felt my rest was close to perfect, my nutrition was good (although not perfect) and that my training was fairly good aswell (check out http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4011363 for a journal of the first 10 weeks). The 2 day split that I was doing, seemed to work quite well for me, giving me a decent workout and feeling pretty dead afterward.

I get the hint from you guys that it's the training aspect that I need to work on. more frequency? more variety? more sets? more reps? more exercises? (all things that Stuart didn't encourage)

keeponpumpin-red

Cheers for the calm before the storm :P

looks like your gaining weight and u work out 5 days a week?

was working out 2-3 times a week

Your calorie chart half of it is other what are you eating?
one of your charts says 1/1/06 other says 1/1/07, and this says youve been bulking for 3 months what did you do for the other months?

have a look at http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4011363 for a taste of what other things I was eating (lol pun). In regards to the dates, just ignore them.. the diagrams i included on relate to data from the 12 weeks (as ive only been recording for that long..)

how do you get 10 hrs of sleep a night

1st year at uni :P

I understand that you're doing a serious hardgainer routine..why? Have you tried volume before and had no results?

In my previous years of training, i've struggled big time with getting any results.. I blame a lot of this on my lack of attention to nutrition.

You look very new to this..have you thought about trying a programme with more frequency and volume?

It will probably come as a suprise that I have been training on and off for the past 4 years.. with pretty crap results so far..
On average, my body needs about 48hours to recover from each workout.. would I be limiting my results if I started to train, while not fully recovered?
It probably wouldn't be a bad idea increasing my routine to 3 sets.. seems like it could good first step..

What are your lifts like..how strong are you?

from my last 2 workouts (all weights excl. bar):
Day 1
Squat
15x17.6lb
13x66lb

Stiff-Legged Deadlift (my form needs improving)
9x33lb
9x33lb
9x33lb

Pulldown
8x145lb
8x189lb
8x189lb

Bicep Curl
8x26.4lb
7x59lb
4x59lb

Day 2
Benchpress
8x33lb
8x88lb
8x88lb

Dips
8
5

Military Press
8x13.9lb
6x32.1lb
4x32.1lb

Swiss-Ball Crunches
20
15

Let's see if we can't try to work out what is going wrong and how we can maybe tweak things a little for you..

I appreciate your advice Scar, im looking forward to making my next "12 week progression" a big improvement!
[QUOTE=ILIFT!;90815803]From personal experience, the next best step would just be to do workouts with greater frequency up to a maximum of 6 days a week with a minimum of 4 if you are training for strength. [QUOTE] Cheers for the tips and encouragement ILIFT!, what are your thoughts on rest times between workouts, I'm assuming you do this with a 3 day split into different muscle groups? On average, my body needs about 48hours to recover from each workout.. would I be limiting my results if I started to train, while not fully recovered?

I would try the Max-OT program... it worked well for me when I started out and my workout is still sorta based off it.

I'll have a look into it Dan, cheers for the idea!

Your planning and dedication seem to be great, therefore it must be your actual lifting thats holding you back.

My advice would be to really focus on your lifting, you'll want to be doing heavy compound lifts with heavy weight. I think you have the diet worked out but maybe substitute the carbs for more protein.

it's hard to decypher what is actually wrong with my workout (i'm sure it is for all newbies). As you can see (scroll up), my workout does consist of compound workouts, and i have been putting my all into the reps. All i can really think of to increase the intensity and strain of my routine would be to reduce the rest days and increase the amount of sets for each exercise. Cheers for the feedback Devils.


Cheers for the feedback from everyone. With a bit of guidance from you guys, im sure i can achieve Arney status

[Im Arrogant]

dude, you've been working out for 12weeks, did u expect to be diesel by now? Im not trying to crush your dreams or stomp your confidence, but i think u need to work out 10x harder because u look exactly the same in each photo.