Author Topic: What am I doing wrong?  (Read 3259 times)

Tedd

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What am I doing wrong?
« on: February 16, 2006, 01:56:17 PM »
I have been working out for about a month more seriously than before and I don't seem to be gaining any weight I am still at 173 lbs with 22 percent bodyfat however my wife says I look stronger.  I work out every other day.  Do I need to eat more?  Maybe I should try a weight gainer.  Any suggestions?

pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2006, 02:07:25 PM »
A month isn't long enough to judge.

Besides that, there's no way of knowing whether you're training hard or regularly enough, whether your diet is good, etc.

With 22% fat you should be doing some serious cardio like running, 5-6 days a week. 3 days a week's *not* cutting it for getting in shape from where you are, IMO.

bald

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2006, 02:47:13 PM »
Yeah, its hard to say.

A month isn't very long, but let us know what your training looks like and what your diet looks like
W

Tedd

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2006, 03:31:26 PM »
My workout routine is Day 1 Chest and triceps which consists of flat bench, incline bench, decline bench and flys about three sets on each with a rep pattern around 12, 8, and 6
Day 2 Legs and shoulders, squats 4 sets of 12, 8, 6 reps, leg press same rep pattern, leg extentions and leg curls for shoulders I do shoulder press with either bar or dumbells and then raises and rear delts
Day 3 Back and biceps, I do pulldowns, t-bar, dumbell rows, and cable rows
biceps I do standing curls, hammer curls, and concentration curls rep pattern still 12, 8, and 6 reps  I always add weight for each set

I eat eggs and toast for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch with a banana and protein shake and for dinner red meat occasionally, rice, beans and another protein shake


pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2006, 03:56:43 PM »
I thought you were kidding about the 22% BF. You're not doing nearly enough to get rid of that tubbiness & show the muscles.

Serious cardio at least 5 times a week, and get the carbs down.

Also still can't tell if you have any intensity in your workouts.

Personally I'd go to a split and hit each muscle twice weekly. IMO you're doing the absolute minimum.

Tedd

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2006, 04:06:51 PM »
I'm not really sure if my Bf is 22% I am not fat at all, my friends say that I am skinny in fact.  I will test my BF at the gym tonight, I usually use a scale for taking my body fat percentage. 

pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2006, 04:10:22 PM »
If you're not fat, then consider adding protein powder mixed in to liquid between meals, for extra protein.

For the extra protein to make a difference, IMO you should try twice a week workouts for the muscles using a 2 or 3 day split. Also ask yourself if you're intense enough in your workouts, whether alternate exercises are worth trying to find more effective ones, and whether a training partner might help motivation. Maybe getting a personal trainer for a while might help.

Tedd

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2006, 04:22:22 PM »
My workout is very intense, I used to be a wrestler and am accustomed to pain, feeling dizzy, almost passing out, etc.  I will try the split routine add see if I make greater gains.  If I do...let me know where to send the thank you card :)  Also how much water should I be drinking?  I read about somewhere around 80 oz of water.  I never drink this much or even close to it.  Should I?

buffbong

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2006, 05:12:43 PM »
yes drink more water if your not getting in a gallon and your a serious trainer it aint gonna cut it you need that to feel full and help digest your food stay hydrated

pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2006, 05:45:00 PM »
More water's helpful to cleanse the system if you can manage, but working out should already make you drink a fair amount. You're probably drinking lots of other liquids that are mainly water anyway.

Experiment with a few alternative methods, each for a few weeks, keep the ones that make a difference:

-Try some alternate exercises, a few weeks each to gauge effect. Here are some of my preferences:
-Biceps: preacher curls or standing cable curls
-Triceps: lying decline extensions or bench dips
-Chest: same as you're doing but using dumbbells
-Lats: Pulldowns but varying the grip and grip width, chins, decline pullovers.
-Delts: side dumbbell laterals
-Legs: box squats instead of full squats.

-Another time try compound supersets in some workouts

-Sometimes add partials or rest-pause reps on the last set of each exercise, after reaching failure.

-For a few weeks, see what happens when you eliminate the least effective exercise from each exercise, which results in less sets that can be done more intensely. For example, on legs I never found leg extensions that effective for size vs. squats and leg presses. On the remaining exercises, focus on increasing reps or weight by going past failure on the last set of each exercise, using partials, rest-pause, etc.

Ledd

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2006, 06:03:09 PM »
More water's helpful to cleanse the system if you can manage, but working out should already make you drink a fair amount. You're probably drinking lots of other liquids that are mainly water anyway.
Also try some alternate exercises, everyone's different so you have to experiment a few weeks with each to see the difference. Here are some of my preferences:
-Biceps: preacher curls or standing cable curls
-Triceps: lying decline extensions or bench dips
-Chest: same as you're doing but using dumbbells
-Lats: Pulldowns but varying the grip and grip width, chins, decline pullovers.
-Delts: side dumbbell laterals
-Legs: box squats instead of full squats, eliminate leg extensions if you want size.
Another time also try compound supersets in some workouts, and sometimes try using partials or rest-pause reps upon reaching failure, on the last set of each exercise.

Not that I could give any better advice than this guy, but personally I started reaping the most benefits when I included deadlift and clean n press along with already doing many of these exercises. 

And Tedd dont ever forget that your diet matters more than anything you will ever do in the gym, eat accordingly.  At least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, carbs from whole grain sources and the like stay away from regular soda's and junk food make your calories count.

pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2006, 06:04:44 PM »
It's worth trying any new approach for a few weeks, and keeping the best ones. IMO clean and press is the best all-round weight exercise there is. Great for over-all conditioning and athleticism including coordination. This is a basic for sports.

candidate2025

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2006, 09:45:00 PM »
yoru  bodyfat percentage is wrong unless your 5'3''.
d[-_-]b actin all cool

Princess L

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2006, 10:07:20 PM »
how much water should I be drinking?  I read about somewhere around 80 oz of water.  I never drink this much or even close to it.  Should I?

I drink a gallon or more a day.   :-*  It should be a lot easier for you!
:

bald

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2006, 06:39:38 AM »
My workout routine is Day 1 Chest and triceps which consists of flat bench, incline bench, decline bench and flys about three sets on each with a rep pattern around 12, 8, and 6
Day 2 Legs and shoulders, squats 4 sets of 12, 8, 6 reps, leg press same rep pattern, leg extentions and leg curls for shoulders I do shoulder press with either bar or dumbells and then raises and rear delts
Day 3 Back and biceps, I do pulldowns, t-bar, dumbell rows, and cable rows
biceps I do standing curls, hammer curls, and concentration curls rep pattern still 12, 8, and 6 reps  I always add weight for each set
I eat eggs and toast for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch with a banana and protein shake and for dinner red meat occasionally, rice, beans and another protein shake




You need way more calories.
W

Brooks

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2006, 07:40:16 AM »
It would be a good idea to read as much as you can  on websites like this one. A year ago I knew nothing about nutrition and weight lifting and now I know more then I ever thought I would. It's all the little stuff you can learn that add to those great gains. Also try eating more meals. I can eat 6 of good clean meals a day and have ok work outs and gain more then eating 3 meals and having great workouts.

pumpster

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2006, 08:09:46 AM »
6 meals a day will definitely help, since body weight's usually related to muscle size. Protein shakes 3 times a day between meals is often easier to deal with than 6 meals-whatever works.

Tedd

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2006, 11:52:05 AM »
First of all I am overwhelmed by the amount of help I have received by posting a training question on this website.  I was hoping that one person with some training knowledge would read my question and point me in the right direction. Now I see why people become addicted to the sport of body building, it becomes sort of like a family.  I don't want to let down my family.  Thanks for all the advice and see you in the gym.   Tedd

Unknown8471

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #18 on: February 18, 2006, 12:31:01 AM »
You probly arnt giving your body enufe time to heal. if you dont take a day off once and a while the ters in your mucels never mend and thus you see no change.

I recomed for evry 5 days you work out you take 2 off
unknown

GoneAway

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Re: What am I doing wrong?
« Reply #19 on: February 19, 2006, 08:45:30 AM »
I'm no expert at all, but here's some basic advice.

1. Always go to failure on every set, bar warmup.

2. Have a heavy day with every bodypart once a week/fortnight. That means, no more than 8 reps and max out at 1 (with 3-4 sets per exercise, but no more than 3 exercises per bodypart or you risk overtraining).

3. Scrap the non-mass building movements, like concentration curls and lex extensions, since you want pure size, and you can shape it later when you know rougly how your muscles are developing.

4. I also think you should spend at least two days on, one day off. Get your muscles used to lifting weight and ready when you walk in the gym the next day. Taking a day off every other day just seems like you're resting too much. Make sure to train each bodypart 2x week, since you're not on steroids(?). lol

5. Proper form, and feeling the muscle work are key. Full extension - full contraction, unless on the failure rep. As said before, read! Knowledge is power.