Possible Inguinal Hernia and 145, 5'10 after 2 years solid lifting.

[Rawrzxor]

TL;DR at bottom

1st: Pain in lower right quadrant which seems to get worse with squats and high rep VM, maintaining pressure in abdomen.

It doesn't really pop out, but over the years, it has seemed to. Unconfirmed. I kept lifting for a year after I noticed it. Seemed to get worse. Called a doc, got a surgery planned [I'm a broke-ass college student]. He said scans are a waste of money, just get a physical consultation before you fly up here just to get told go home, it's not a hernia.

I kept to strength and hypertophy mixes, mostly. Tried switching it up over time, pyramid, reverse pyramid, namely compound 5x5 at the beginning of a workout, then 3x8-15 isolation at the end. Seems I gain strength a lot easier than mass, but I did gain roughly 30 pounds.

Right now, I'm 5'10, 145 benching 255 1RM. I'm pretty powerful for a small dude, but I'd like to get up to 165, lean. Dunno if that's in the cards anymore, after my first 2 main years lifting [technically 3, but took a year off which ****ed my gains]. What's left? 5 pounds this year, then 2.5, then 1.25? If I even hit 155, it'll be a miracle; it seems.

That said, I could only train my legs for a year, then I stopped. They're not too skinny in contrast to my upper body, but they need some mass. Considering my current max squat is 100 pounds less than my bench...

Tell me if I'm retarded, but I figure bang it out in the gym, go back to squats or even deadlifts and try n **** up my hernia to the point it'll be obvious, so I can be certain a consultation will result in "Yes, I need this surgery."

Can't afford to waste $200 on an uninsured doc visit if it's not a hernia and just occassional gas blowing up my lowerr right colon or a series of groin tears or some ****.

So, I am now 30. Now I get to worry about my T levels, too. My natural weight in highschool was 136. When I started lifting, I was 117 [gave so little ****s about anything, I didn't eat]. I got up to 145. That's basically a 30 pound lean gain, spikes my noob gains. Am I relegated to 5, 2.5, 1.25 gains per year now???

In 2 months, I've gained 3 pounds...

Am I ****ed for getting weight on, as a gramps? I've been having a hard time. I eat in a 500-600 calorie surplus, but still barely tack on weight. Do I just pump a 1,000 calorie surplus and see what happens? Seems I need to rush to the finish line, before all my T is ****ed.

So, 2 questions: Is squatting to test hernia pain and verify consultation and surgery necessity dumb AF?

And, are my gains basically tapped as a 30 year old with 2-3 years and 30 pounds of lean gains under his belt?

[SuffolkPunch]

Can't give you medical advice but can certainly tell you that 145lbs is nowhere near your genetic limit if you are 5'10''. You should be able to gain at least another 20-30lbs while remaining fairly lean.

BUT along the way you will have to eat more than you do now and it may involve losing some definition in the short to medium term. This is a big psychological barrier to many people.