I've been lifting for 6 years now, but not sure I'm making proper gains anymore.

[2RDEYE]

I've been doing PPLPPL 6 days a week for 6 years now. I change out the exercises after about 4 months. I workout really intense, to the point where I'm sweating, all my rest times are timed from 45 seconds-3 minutes max. On strength days I make sure to lift as heavy as 3-5 reps. However I had to lift lighter for about 4-5 months 2 years ago due to a severe concussion.

When I started bodybuilding in the gym, I was 22 years old, 5'10 135lbs, probably 20% body fat, extremely skinny fat, barely any muscle. And today 6 years later, i'm 28 years old, 5'10 180lbs, probably 20% body fat, from what I can see also I'm the strongest in my gym (though my gym doesn't have many people that workout heavy).

It seems like really slow progress to me. I don't think it's my diet, I've always been strong in the diet aspect of a healthy lifestyle. I've been unemployed for the past 2 years due to post-concussion syndrome, but I make sure to get at least 120 grams of protein, from myprotein's whey protein isolate powder everyday, and I end up getting an additional 40-50 grams of protein, through actual cooked meals. My caloric intake hits about 2100 everyday, which is my bulking target, and it's very accurate as I gain .5-1lb a week. I'm a student right now, sitting down all day, except for the gym.

At the moment i'm trying a 5 day split, because I think maybe weekend two day rests may be beneficial for muscle growth. So it's chest/shoulders, back, legs, shoulders/chest, back/legs.

Do you guys think I should try switching to a traditional 4-day split, or is this just the natural slow growth of muscle?

My long-term goal is 5'10 180lbs at 12% body fat.

Thank you.

[coachcalande]

I've been doing PPLPPL 6 days a week for 6 years now. I change out the exercises after about 4 months. I workout really intense, to the point where I'm sweating, all my rest times are timed from 45 seconds-3 minutes max. On strength days I make sure to lift as heavy as 3-5 reps. However I had to lift lighter for about 4-5 months 2 years ago due to a severe concussion.

When I started bodybuilding in the gym, I was 22 years old, 5'10 135lbs, probably 20% body fat, extremely skinny fat, barely any muscle. And today 6 years later, i'm 28 years old, 5'10 180lbs, probably 20% body fat, from what I can see also I'm the strongest in my gym (though my gym doesn't have many people that workout heavy).

It seems like really slow progress to me. I don't think it's my diet, I've always been strong in the diet aspect of a healthy lifestyle. I've been unemployed for the past 2 years due to post-concussion syndrome, but I make sure to get at least 120 grams of protein, from myprotein's whey protein isolate powder everyday, and I end up getting an additional 40-50 grams of protein, through actual cooked meals. My caloric intake hits about 2100 everyday, which is my bulking target, and it's very accurate as I gain .5-1lb a week. I'm a student right now, sitting down all day, except for the gym.

At the moment i'm trying a 5 day split, because I think maybe weekend two day rests may be beneficial for muscle growth. So it's chest/shoulders, back, legs, shoulders/chest, back/legs.

Do you guys think I should try switching to a traditional 4-day split, or is this just the natural slow growth of muscle?

My long-term goal is 5'10 180lbs at 12% body fat.

Thank you.

When I was training six days a week I was about the same size as you. Training every other day allowed much better recovery.

Upper

Rest

Lower and arms

Rest


Best thing I ever did. Train hard, heavy, a lot…..rest, eat, sleep. Grow.

Get strong in these:
Bench, incline , row, lat pull, shoulder press, upright row, squat, deadlifts, leg press, front squats, leg curls, leg ext, curls, pushdowns

[2RDEYE]

When I was training six days a week I was about the same size as you. Training every other day allowed much better recovery.

Upper

Rest

Lower and arms

Rest


Best thing I ever did. Train hard, heavy, a lot…..rest, eat, sleep. Grow.

Get strong in these:
Bench, incline , row, lat pull, shoulder press, upright row, squat, deadlifts, leg press, front squats, leg curls, leg ext, curls, pushdowns

+repped

Thanks for the advice brother. Every other day seems like it would help my CNS fatigue a lot, I could give it a shot for several weeks.

I go extremely hard on these lifts already, It could definitely be my rest days, but I get so depressed on rest days lol. That's the issue with me I guess, the gym is such a good stress reliever.

[TAWS6]

You’re at the point where you’re getting close to your genetic limit. Probably no point in lifting that many days. I’m currently running Lyle McDonald’s specialization cycles and I’d never go back to a 5-6 day program. I feel that this works much better since at the advanced level it’s very very difficult to bring everything up at once.

https://wellbuiltstyle.com/lyle-mcdo...ng-body-parts/

[air2fakie]

If you've been training hard for 6 years, gains should be difficult - there's not necessarily something wrong.

You may want to switch up your approach in general and see how you respond. For ex: If you're going to failure every set, you may want to switch it up in terms of intensity for some sets. And if your goal is to go from 20% to 12% bf at the same weight, you may need to make some sacrifices in terms of strength.

[2RDEYE]

You’re at the point where you’re getting close to your genetic limit. Probably no point in lifting that many days. I’m currently running Lyle McDonald’s specialization cycles and I’d never go back to a 5-6 day program. I feel that this works much better since at the advanced level it’s very very difficult to bring everything up at once.

https://wellbuiltstyle.com/lyle-mcdo...ng-body-parts/

Very interesting, totally different from what I'm doing now. It kind of seems more enjoyable adding more body parts in one day.

If you've been training hard for 6 years, gains should be difficult - there's not necessarily something wrong.

You may want to switch up your approach in general and see how you respond. For ex: If you're going to failure every set, you may want to switch it up in terms of intensity for some sets. And if your goal is to go from 20% to 12% bf at the same weight, you may need to make some sacrifices in terms of strength.

I haven't thought about that in a while. I do go to failure every set, I think you're saying I should just hit the target rep instead of going to failure, and maybe shorten the rest period between sets. I've tried doing different kinds of reps, like messing with tempo and pause reps, I incorporate these into my sets, but I haven't really tried not going to failure. I get what you mean now, maybe lower the weight for some exercises and slow down the reps a lot.

Thanks friends, repped both.

[TAWS6]

Very interesting, totally different from what I'm doing now. It kind of seems more enjoyable adding more body parts in one day.
.

Yeah. My favorite way to train is probably a phat style upper lower. One heavy upper and lower day and one pump upper and lower day. Good way to keep frequency per muscle group at 2 times per week while still getting 10-20 sets in. That style of training is probably better suited for a late intermediate though. Advanced sucks lol

[coachcalande]

+repped

Thanks for the advice brother. Every other day seems like it would help my CNS fatigue a lot, I could give it a shot for several weeks.

I go extremely hard on these lifts already, It could definitely be my rest days, but I get so depressed on rest days lol. That's the issue with me I guess, the gym is such a good stress reliever.

I do too! Today is my off day. I’m browsing the forum, watching lifting stuff on YouTube and gearing up for squats tomorrow. The full day of rest both before and after each lift let’s me go nuts.

[Heisman2]

You can always set new goals (ie, strength oriented, vertical jump oriented, push press, overhead press, weighted chin-up, etc) and gear your training towards those. It could make it more fun as you'll get noob gains in some areas.

[EliKoehn]

You can always set new goals (ie, strength oriented, vertical jump oriented, push press, overhead press, weighted chin-up, etc) and use gear for your training towards those...

At a glance I thought you said this to overcome the long-term plateau.

Slow down and read carefully Eli...