Why I can't see any change in my body? Why my genetics so trash?

[Zyzzfodase]

(First of all, I want to say sorry for any grammar mistake. I'm from Brazil, but I like to read a lot about bodybuilding and diet in english, and this Forum has a lot of guys who knows a lot, so I hope someone can help me with my trouble.)



I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm lifting for 8 months constantly, 4 to 6 times a week, I track all my foods with a scale and fatsecret app every single day, but I can't see any change in my body psique.

I get stronger and stronger, but my body never changes. I went from 30 to 76 kg (almost my BW) for reps in the squat, from 30 to 64 kg for 8 reps in the bench press, was doing raws with 54 kg for reps (yeah, i'm so weak with pulling exercises)... But my chest never grow, my leg grew only 2 cm in all this time. like, seriously?

My trainning routine consists in a basic PPL workout (A - chest, shoulders, triceps/B - back, traps and biceps/ C - legs), prioritizing the compounds movements first then finishing with isolation exercises with a good overall weekly volume.

My macros when I was bulking (I bulked for this whole time, just started a cutting a week ago) was: 1g/kg of fat, 2~3g of protein and the rest in carbs.

Even getting stronger and following diet, the only I see changing was my belly getting bigger and I getting fat.

I look to my chest and there's so fat underneath it, my arms went from 27 to 32 cm relaxed, but I can't see any muscle, just a limpy and flat arm, my back? (pff), my chest went from 92 to 98.. 6 cm, looks ok.. but I started a cut 10 days ago and now it's 96.5cm.. I used to squat 2x times a week and the only thing I notice growing was my butt.

I see myself in the mirror and I almost cry everyday, I try to change that **** bodyshape I have, I try to do my best everyday spending my time in the gym, my money with food and supplements, cooking my meals.. But it's like it's never enough.
I see guys getting better with half time and literally saying don't follow any workout plan or any diet, just eat anything and it's done.

I've tried everything, low reps in the compounds, high rep, "low" volume, high volume, don't go to failure, go to failure every set.. Nothing works!!!

I did a testosterone level test and for my surprise mine was 760 ng/DL.

I took a few pics of myself.. with a better angle I can easily look way better.. But I don't know if it's gonna be the reality.

Look how **** are my arms, chest, back.. Look at my belly, my lovehandles.


my measurements:

176cm
82.5 kg
17,5% bodyfat
89cm belly
87cm waist
98cm chest
122cm shoulders
54cm legs


I went to a nutritionist and he said I'm with 17.5% then said to start a cut till reach 10~12% of bodyfat, then bulk again.
Ok, I started, it makes sense as I'm only gainning fat in my bulking, but I'm following it the last 10 days and I can't even see any change in my belly, just -0.6cm in my arms.


Am I that bad as I see myself? Are my genetics so trash at this point that I can't even build any muscle?

[SuffolkPunch]

There are lots of things that could be a problem before blaming genetics - in fact most people are average (by definition) and very very few people are either very gifted or cursed by genetics...

It's more likely:
1. Expectations - you've only been training 8 months, your expectations of what will happen in that time are probably too high, especially if you don't have a fitness or sporting background
2. Programming - you need something that make you keep pushing yourself in a progressive manner. Many people benefit from structured routines like Fierce 5 rather than relying on their own sense of when they've done enough
3. Body composition - if you gain both fat and muscle then it can be hard to see the muscle - if you got stronger then you probably did grow muscle

You could diet but of course that will curtail your muscle growth and it's likely that 8 months of mass gain is not enough to produce a final outcome - you will need a lot more mass gain. You don't have to try to gain weight at more than about 1-2lbs a month by the way.

[Sun tzu]

(First of all, I want to say sorry for any grammar mistake. I'm from Brazil, but I like to read a lot about bodybuilding and diet in english, and this Forum has a lot of guys who knows a lot, so I hope someone can help me with my trouble.)



I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm lifting for 8 months constantly, 4 to 6 times a week, I track all my foods with a scale and fatsecret app every single day, but I can't see any change in my body psique.

I get stronger and stronger, but my body never changes. I went from 30 to 76 kg (almost my BW) for reps in the squat, from 30 to 64 kg for 8 reps in the bench press, was doing raws with 54 kg for reps (yeah, i'm so weak with pulling exercises)... But my chest never grow, my leg grew only 2 cm in all this time. like, seriously?

My trainning routine consists in a basic PPL workout (A - chest, shoulders, triceps/B - back, traps and biceps/ C - legs), prioritizing the compounds movements first then finishing with isolation exercises with a good overall weekly volume.

My macros when I was bulking (I bulked for this whole time, just started a cutting a week ago) was: 1g/kg of fat, 2~3g of protein and the rest in carbs.

Even getting stronger and following diet, the only I see changing was my belly getting bigger and I getting fat.

I look to my chest and there's so fat underneath it, my arms went from 27 to 32 cm relaxed, but I can't see any muscle, just a limpy and flat arm, my back? (pff), my chest went from 92 to 98.. 6 cm, looks ok.. but I started a cut 10 days ago and now it's 96.5cm.. I used to squat 2x times a week and the only thing I notice growing was my butt.

I see myself in the mirror and I almost cry everyday, I try to change that **** bodyshape I have, I try to do my best everyday spending my time in the gym, my money with food and supplements, cooking my meals.. But it's like it's never enough.
I see guys getting better with half time and literally saying don't follow any workout plan or any diet, just eat anything and it's done.

I've tried everything, low reps in the compounds, high rep, "low" volume, high volume, don't go to failure, go to failure every set.. Nothing works!!!

I did a testosterone level test and for my surprise mine was 760 ng/DL.

I took a few pics of myself.. with a better angle I can easily look way better.. But I don't know if it's gonna be the reality.

Look how **** are my arms, chest, back.. Look at my belly, my lovehandles.


my measurements:

176cm
82.5 kg
17,5% bodyfat
89cm belly
87cm waist
98cm chest
122cm shoulders
54cm legs


I went to a nutritionist and he said I'm with 17.5% then said to start a cut till reach 10~12% of bodyfat, then bulk again.
Ok, I started, it makes sense as I'm only gainning fat in my bulking, but I'm following it the last 10 days and I can't even see any change in my belly, just -0.6cm in my arms.


Am I that bad as I see myself? Are my genetics so trash at this point that I can't even build any muscle?

What SP said and...

The chest in men takes the most time to grow. Legs are much faster. And you only squat 76kg for reps. Get that up to 140kg and tell me your legs don't look like tree trunks. Also, your body doesn't look that bad. Your biceps look bigger than mine.

Maybe you tried too much volume at the beginning and could have done with more intensity instead of that. And I don't know why you don't want a big butt.

[Ironface]

Average genetics + only 8 months lifting on what is most likely a bad routine + being harder on yourself than reality. You don't look that bad...I can tell you lift.

If I were you, I would do a slow cut. Run a 300 calorie deficit, keep protein high (around 0.8g per lb bodyweight), and find either a full body or upper lower routine emphasising compound lifts with a few isolations.

Not saying you should do this particular one, but here's an example of a full body routine:

Frequency: 3 times a week. ABA BAB

Workout A

Barbell back squat 3x5-10
Flat barbell bench press 3x5-10
Barbell deadlift 1x5
Overhead press 3x5-10
Weighted pull-ups or lat pulldown 3x5-10
Lying tricep extension 3x8-12
Barbell curl 3x8-12

Workout B

Barbell back squat 3x5-10
Flat barbell bench press 3x5-10
Barbell row 3x5-10
Overhead press 3x5-10
Weighted pull-ups or lat pulldown 3x5-10
Lying tricep extension 3x8-12
Barbell curl 3x8-12

OR an upper/lower.

Frequency: 4 times a week U/L/Rest/U/L/Rest/Rest

Upper

Flat barbell bench press 3x5-10
Barbell row 3x5-10
Overhead press 3x5-10
Weighted pull-ups or lat pulldown 3x5-10
Lying tricep extension 3x8-12
Barbell curl 3x8-12

Lower

Barbell back squat 3x5-10
Deadlift 1x5


^^^Something like the above routines would work well for a novice. Eventually you'd want to start adding in more variation (extra quad and hamstring work, maybe more side/rear delt work) but you can make plenty of solid gains running a simple routine like those I just pulled out of my ass.

There's also the usual Fierce 5, ICF 5x5, ICF 2.0, All Pro's etc.

[faithbrah]

not bad for 8 months

/thread

[jaxqen]

1.
You say "I get stronger and stronger, but my body never changes"

But then you say "my arms went from 27 to 32 cm relaxed, my chest went from 92 to 98"

So your body did change.


2. "ve tried everything, low reps in the compounds, high rep, "low" volume, high volume, don't go to failure, go to failure every set.. Nothing works!!!"

No, you didn't.
You workout for 8 months only.
Do you believe than when you modify a routine, the changes come so fast?

3.
"I see guys getting better with half time and literally saying don't follow any workout plan or any diet, just eat anything and it's done."

- Genetics
- Lower body fat - if they are shredded, their muscles will be more visible
- People lie - it's more 'cool' to say "I eat whatever I want" than to say "I track my macros and so on"


4. You bulked in these months? What did you expect? Abs? Shredded arms?
The shredded people you see on youtube and instagram have been training for many years, are on caloric deficits and they have their little tricks (lights, camera angles, oils, pump before filming)

[EliKoehn]

I think you're being too impatient and a little bit unrealistic.

First of all, the increase of your strength level on your major lifts does indicate that you did in fact make progress. Why would you say nothing works if you have visible evidence of improvement right before your eyes?

Second of all, 8 months dude. That's not very much time at all to be expecting huge amounts of progress. I'd say you're in the winning percentile range for that amount of time already.

[Zyzzfodase]

There are lots of things that could be a problem before blaming genetics - in fact most people are average (by definition) and very very few people are either very gifted or cursed by genetics...

It's more likely:
1. Expectations - you've only been training 8 months, your expectations of what will happen in that time are probably too high, especially if you don't have a fitness or sporting background
2. Programming - you need something that make you keep pushing yourself in a progressive manner. Many people benefit from structured routines like Fierce 5 rather than relying on their own sense of when they've done enough
3. Body composition - if you gain both fat and muscle then it can be hard to see the muscle - if you got stronger then you probably did grow muscle

You could diet but of course that will curtail your muscle growth and it's likely that 8 months of mass gain is not enough to produce a final outcome - you will need a lot more mass gain. You don't have to try to gain weight at more than about 1-2lbs a month by the way.

Thanks.

"3. Body composition - if you gain both fat and muscle then it can be hard to see the muscle - if you got stronger then you probably did grow muscle"

This makes sense! During this time I did two body fat test (with different persons, but using the same tool - an adipometer), wich has showed me I gained 6 kg of mass, 3 kg of fat and 2 kg of residual weight.

[Zyzzfodase]

What SP said and...

The chest in men takes the most time to grow. Legs are much faster. And you only squat 76kg for reps. Get that up to 140kg and tell me your legs don't look like tree trunks. Also, your body doesn't look that bad. Your biceps look bigger than mine.

Maybe you tried too much volume at the beginning and could have done with more intensity instead of that. And I don't know why you don't want a big butt.

Thanks, bro. Actually I like my big butt (lol), the only thing that annoys me it's seeing my butt growing a lot faster than my legs.

[Zyzzfodase]

1.
You say "I get stronger and stronger, but my body never changes"

But then you say "my arms went from 27 to 32 cm relaxed, my chest went from 92 to 98"

So your body did change.


2. "ve tried everything, low reps in the compounds, high rep, "low" volume, high volume, don't go to failure, go to failure every set.. Nothing works!!!"

No, you didn't.
You workout for 8 months only.
Do you believe than when you modify a routine, the changes come so fast?

3.
"I see guys getting better with half time and literally saying don't follow any workout plan or any diet, just eat anything and it's done."

- Genetics
- Lower body fat - if they are shredded, their muscles will be more visible
- People lie - it's more 'cool' to say "I eat whatever I want" than to say "I track my macros and so on"


4. You bulked in these months? What did you expect? Abs? Shredded arms?
The shredded people you see on youtube and instagram have been training for many years, are on caloric deficits and they have their little tricks (lights, camera angles, oils, pump before filming)

Thanks, dude!

Thanks all of you! You guys really made me feel better.

Maybe I'm distorting too much the way I see my self and puting a lot of expectations on it. Sometimes I feel bad by seeing no results, seeing my family after months no seeing them and they don't even noticing any change on me (I presume it because they don't say.. Only my cousin, who also lifts, tells me how I change).

And as you guys said, I need to be more patient and lift more and more.