Frustrated and confused

[fg1985bg1]

I’ve been on and off at the gym for a little
Under 2 years now. Pretty consistent for the most part occasionally taking a week or so off for injuries and health reasons. I feel
Like I’ve made no progress in a sense. Just not satisfied with it especially when I see others..My diet is very inconsistent however and assuming that’s most likely the issue. I consistently switch it up. From low carb to keto, to higher carbs , extremely high protein. Kind of caught in between cutting bulking or whatever. Pretty much yo yo dieting out of frustration. Also sleep is awful. I mean awful and inconsistent ....3 hours some nights and others 5...sometimes straight through the night .


Lifts have all got stronger through out for the most part through the process.
I can hit 225 on bench for 3-4 reps now which might not seem like a lot at all to people
Here.... But coming from someone who couldn’t even handle the bar With no weight when I started .....it’s a night and day improvement for me.

Anyway what should I be focusing on? Should I try increasing my protein ? Cut bulk? Just clean up the diet and maintain? Kind of at a crossroads and really confused.

Couldn’t post the images cause I don’t have the post requirements on my phone. Posted the pics before and after on my profile gallery so please check them out.. Left pic is the before and the right was taken yesterday. Thanks in advance

[bschermerhorn92]

A few things:

1) I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit, if you went from the bar to reps with 225 you have certainly gained a fair amount of strength. Don’t focus too much on comparing yourself to others, it’ll only make you feel worse no matter how far you progress.

2) You really NEED to at least attempt to get your sleep in check. If you’re training your body needs consistent recovery. You should aim for 8ish hours but in your case try and get that 5 hours each night at least. That may mean some changing to your habits before bed (as in less energy drinks/caffeine in the day, change up your activities right before bed).

3) Don’t focus on diets. The issue here is everyone is tempted to try something, run it for awhile and the switch to something else. The end result is you usually not having the nutrients necessary for growth. With food intake think in simpler terms: surplus of deficit. Focus on quality of food; am I eating grilled chicken and rice? Or burgers and fries from a fast food restaurant? Eat fruit and vegetables and try to keep your sugar intake as low as possible.

4) Programming. Search around for some intermediate level programs on here or elsewhere on the internet. I’m going to assume you’re a natural athlete and the truth behind my next statement tends to spark debate but whatever...if you’re not at your natural, genetic limit, what you do doesn’t really matter as long as you’re hitting all the major muscle groups and the program has adequate time for recovery. Just listen to your body, if it’s too much lower the weight/intensity, if it’s way too easy add some more. You want to focus on improving but at the same time you’re at the critical movement where many people just give up and drop the hobby of working out. Find something and stick with it for awhile, learn to enjoy training.

Main takeaways: work on that sleep and do some research on nutrition.

Wish you the best!

[fg1985bg1]

A few things:

1) I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit, if you went from the bar to reps with 225 you have certainly gained a fair amount of strength. Don’t focus too much on comparing yourself to others, it’ll only make you feel worse no matter how far you progress.

2) You really NEED to at least attempt to get your sleep in check. If you’re training your body needs consistent recovery. You should aim for 8ish hours but in your case try and get that 5 hours each night at least. That may mean some changing to your habits before bed (as in less energy drinks/caffeine in the day, change up your activities right before bed).

3) Don’t focus on diets. The issue here is everyone is tempted to try something, run it for awhile and the switch to something else. The end result is you usually not having the nutrients necessary for growth. With food intake think in simpler terms: surplus of deficit. Focus on quality of food; am I eating grilled chicken and rice? Or burgers and fries from a fast food restaurant? Eat fruit and vegetables and try to keep your sugar intake as low as possible.

4) Programming. Search around for some intermediate level programs on here or elsewhere on the internet. I’m going to assume you’re a natural athlete and the truth behind my next statement tends to spark debate but whatever...if you’re not at your natural, genetic limit, what you do doesn’t really matter as long as you’re hitting all the major muscle groups and the program has adequate time for recovery. Just listen to your body, if it’s too much lower the weight/intensity, if it’s way too easy add some more. You want to focus on improving but at the same time you’re at the critical movement where many people just give up and drop the hobby of working out. Find something and stick with it for awhile, learn to enjoy training.

Main takeaways: work on that sleep and do some research on nutrition.

Wish you the best!

Wow wasn’t expecting such a detailed answer. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Judging from the pics should I just clean the diet up? Or cut or bulk?

Sleep is my biggest issue . Always has been in life. I’ve had issues with depression and anxiety from time to time and I can go long stretches with little to no sleep once my mind starts working and won’t shut off.

Also I’m 33 if that matters..

[bschermerhorn92]

I would say stick with bulking with a slight caloric surplus. I think you’ll notice a big difference in how you feel when you clean up your diet. I always sucked at the diet part until one time I really committed to it and never stopped, I can’t believe how much better I feel.

As far as your sleep goes, here’s what I did and I know this is very situational. I was really bad at getting proper sleep so I basically tricked my body and got it to adapt to a regular sleep schedule. I wake up at 0345 to go to the gym, the first week was brutal. Not being used to being up that early was really hard. After a bit though what happened was I would finish the workout (which was a great way to start the day, I felt great all day long afterwards) and then I’d start to naturally get tired around dinner time. By the time 8 pm rolled around my body was ready to pass out and then I started to actually sleep through the night. I still do this to this day and I’ve done it for years. I know this may not work for everyone but it’s something to consider if nothing else is working.

Other thing I wanted to ask you, what programs have you done? And what is your main goal, strength, ascetics?

I only ask because I have extensive experience with both sides (powerlifting and bodybuilding) and have experimented with dozens of things over the years so I could share which stuff worked for me (but keep in mind what works for one does not always work for another).

[fg1985bg1]

I would say stick with bulking with a slight caloric surplus. I think you’ll notice a big difference in how you feel when you clean up your diet. I always sucked at the diet part until one time I really committed to it and never stopped, I can’t believe how much better I feel.

As far as your sleep goes, here’s what I did and I know this is very situational. I was really bad at getting proper sleep so I basically tricked my body and got it to adapt to a regular sleep schedule. I wake up at 0345 to go to the gym, the first week was brutal. Not being used to being up that early was really hard. After a bit though what happened was I would finish the workout (which was a great way to start the day, I felt great all day long afterwards) and then I’d start to naturally get tired around dinner time. By the time 8 pm rolled around my body was ready to pass out and then I started to actually sleep through the night. I still do this to this day and I’ve done it for years. I know this may not work for everyone but it’s something to consider if nothing else is working.

Other thing I wanted to ask you, what programs have you done? And what is your main goal, strength, ascetics?

I only ask because I have extensive experience with both sides (powerlifting and bodybuilding) and have experimented with dozens of things over the years so I could share which stuff worked for me (but keep in mind what works for one does not always work for another).

I fluctuate my programs. I’ve tried ppl, chest/back,legs, shoulders/arms and upper/lower splits. I would like a combination of both as far as asthetics and strength honestly. Truth be told I mainly want to look better if I had to choose one. I enjoy the strength gains but lifting extremely heavy/powerlifting and so on doesn’t interest me nearly as much as just
Looking a bit better

It’s hard to stick to a consistent schedule for the gym because of personal obligations but I for the most part regardless of the split will hit a body part twice a week. Currently I’m doing a PPL split.

[bschermerhorn92]

I’m a huge fan of the PPL split, that’s generally the overarching design of my programs for both on and off season. One thing you can consider is combining some of the aspects of strength routines with bodybuilding routines. Example below:

So it’s a push day, your main compounds are bench and overhead press. I follow a fairly regular Percentage based of 1RM 5x5 program for all compound movements. All of my supporting exercises follow more of a bodybuilding routine, much higher volume with high intensity. I have found, for me, this works great and gives me as close to “best of both worlds” that I can get. I get moderate strength gains (I am no longer a powerlifter so making large strength gains is not my primary focus) and making improvements across the board.

The main issue that you’ll have relates to nutrition and sleep. A lot of people are unaware of how great physiques are built, it’s in the kitchen and the bedroom. You can be on the best program conceivable but if you’re not feeding your body properly and allowing for optimal recovery the gains and progress will be slow. This is when people start to lose motivation, this is why I mentioned in my first response trying to just make lifting a habit and part of your daily life. Don’t let it take the back burner per say, but focus on other aspects of your life while trying to keep healthy. After a while you’ll be astonished at the results if you can keep up a decent routine with good nutrition/sleep.

That’s what honestly made the difference for me, I’ve been doing this for 15 years on and off and keeping the gym a habit resulted in very noticeable changes over the years. I look back at pictures from 5-6 years ago when I thought I was big and wow the difference is incredible. Just don’t give up, you look better than the vast majority of the population and are stronger too, make it a lifestyle and I promise you won’t be disappointed.