6 months, no gains only fat

[Ascendacy1]

Details, I'm 16 years old male, been lifting for about a year. 5 ft 4 130lbs. 16-19%bf . Last Ocotober I decided to take lifting seriously and do p90x, by January I was done, I gained 20lbs of muscle. 95-100 lbs before, 115 when p90x ended. Rested until beginning of February. Decided to take my training to a new level so I joined a gym. I haven't gained any muscle since then, only fat. I get 7 hours of sleep every night, with 2,500 - 3000 calories a day. 50% from carbs, 40% from protein and 10% from fats. My routine is(same since feb)

Mon Chest&Tris
Decline BB Bench 4 sets of 15,12,10,8
Incline Db bench 4 sets of 12,10,8,6
Flat Db bench 4 sets of 12,10,8,6
Overhead tricep press 4 sets of 10,10,10,10

Tues back&bis

BB rows 4x15,12,10,8
DB rows 4x12,10,8,6
Standard pullups 4x12,10,8,6
BB curls & hammer curls 4x10,10,10,10

Shoulders & Legs

Db press 4x12,10,10,8
Side raise 4x12,10,10,8
Upright row 4x15,12,10,8
Shrugs 4x12,10,10,8
Alternating and lateral raise 4x12,10,10,8
Squats 3x20,15,10
Leg extensions 3x16,14,12
Leg curls 3x16,14,12


Enlighten me

 

[Idobehigh]

No compund lifts.
Add deadlifts, pull ups, and rows on back day

Add benchpress and dips on chest day

Squat on leg day

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[Evan Tipps]

130 lbs.. cut out the bullshit movements and focus on big lifts and 8-12 reps

 

[RickRock13]

Has your lifts increased any during this time? What makes you think you've only gained fat? How much weight gain?

 

[jeremyng25]

Maybe post some pics so we can figure this out

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[2tickets]

When are you eating your carbs? Also replace decline bench with parallel bar dips, split out shoulders and legs onto separate days, add deads to back day, lose the leg curls and leg extensions and replace with big movements like leg press, Romanian deadlifts, hack squats etc.



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[stevesmi]

everyone made great suggestions above.. let me simplify what was said

1. compound lifts.. join your weightlifting team at school.. free coaching and you are light where you you can compete with the smaller dudes
2. how do you know you gained just muscle the first time (you didn't cause thats not possible) and then gained just fat since (not possible either)
3. post pics before and after
4. how do you know your current body fat? with those stats you aren't 19% body fat i can assure you or atleast its highly unlikely.
5. genetics might be your enemy here. i once worked out with a friend the entire summer and i gained a shit load of strength and he went almost nowhere. but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy this lifestyle and still gain SOME strength

and also you only been training a short time and are young.. the gains will come.. do you really think at 16 you have peaked? when i started training at 15 i was probably 115 pounds myself. Rome wasn't built overnight.. now i'm in my 30's and just now getting to 205 without being a fat piece of turd lol at 5' 6"

also balancing running with lifting is important if you are having a tough time keeping off fat. lift for 45 minutes and then do a light jog for 20 minutes after.. that will do wonders for your fat concerns

 

[Jack steel]

Well, I can tell you this: You don't need 3000 calories a day IMO. At your weight 2500 should be more than sufficient if your macros are really where you say they are.

 

[Oatmeal12]

Well, I can tell you this: You don't need 3000 calories a day IMO. At your weight 2500 should be more than sufficient if your macros are really where you say they are.

This, hovering around 170 and I only eat 3k a day

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[SpyWizard]

Well, I can tell you this: You don't need 3000 calories a day IMO. At your weight 2500 should be more than sufficient if your macros are really where you say they are.

i was thinking more like 2100, because i'm not convinced he's "active"...

also... 50% carbs?? why type of carbs?? pizza or donuts ??

or dark green vegetables??

 

[Jack steel]

i was thinking more like 2100, because i'm not convinced he's "active"...

also... 50% carbs?? why type of carbs?? pizza or donuts ??

or dark green vegetables??

Indeed. I think he said 40 carbs though and 50 protein. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're probably not training hard enough. If you we're you wouldn't be getting fat even with 3000 cals and pizza and donuts. Especially not at 16 if you're healthy. If you're protein intake is high enough I mean.

 

[Evan Tipps]

Im right at your age. what helped me grow when I first started was SLEEP. go beyond 8 hours. Id come home everyday from the gym, eat and take a 3 hour nap, then wake up and eat and go to bed.. everyday. I never counted a single calorie or macro. Just use common sense with it and eat alot and sleep alot. If you feel that you put on fat do cardio 3x a week in the morning on a empty stomach

 

[stevesmi]

i was thinking more like 2100, because i'm not convinced he's "active"...

also... 50% carbs?? why type of carbs?? pizza or donuts ??

or dark green vegetables??

hell at that age i remember eating ice cream sandwiches and mcdonalds on our lunch breaks. didn't really have much options being a poor kid. we were allowed to leave school at lunch but none of us could afford anything better than the various fast food places around school.

i was smart enough though to avoid hard sweets though later in high school but it was hard to eat well on 5.20 an hour.. but i would eat a banana and a butterfinger before our weightlifting meets. had i had access to chicken breast and brocolli that would of been awesome. for state our coach took us to the waffle house after weigh in's lol. we sold lollipops at school to raise money for the trip and everyone had to order something under 10 bucks

if the OP can manage somehow to take some quality food with him and heat it up he would blow away his peers on that aspect of things .. boiled eggs are dirt cheap and affordable, thats a good option. better than butterfingers for sure.. maybe he can talk to mommy and have her pack some more food in his lunch box

 

[ceo]

Lift heavy ass weight on big compound movements 2-3 times a week. Go with a two way split and lower the volume.

Up your protein to 2 grams per pound of body weight, make sure to eat plenty of veggies and you can cut a lot of the carbs out (esp. if they are high GI). Count protein macros most importantly. Don't worry about carbs. These days you can't help but eat carbs so you will get plenty.

Make your meals protein and carbs or protein and fats. Don't combine fats and carbs, esp. sugars. So if you are eating a lot of desserts, stop. Chips? No. Drink sodas? Nope.

Get plenty of sleep. Don't be a lazy turd in the gym.

 

[Ascendacy1]

Thanks for the answers guys, my carbs are mostly from bread,oatmeal, fruits. My lifts haven't increased, can't bench my body weight anymore. Strangest thing is I feel myself getting weaker and weaker every time. Give me a routine since my current is ineffective.

 

[ceo]

Workout less, rest moar.

 

[Ascendacy1]

Did my usual chest tris routine today, replaced skull crusher with dips 3x8 dips and took 1 set off each exercise. Hopefully I will start making gains again in a few weeks.

 

[Idobehigh]

Why are you taking one set of each exercise

 

[ceo]

Jesus Christ. There are routines all over this board. Like I said in a previous post...don't be fucking lazy. You want routines and diets spoon fed to you? Hire a trainer.

Here:

Day one:

Squat- 2 x 5, 1 x 20

Stiff-legged Deadlift 1 x 15

Pull-up or Pull-down 2 x 6-8

Barbell Curl 2 x 6-8

Day Two: (3-4 days later)

Bench Press or Incline Press- 2 x 6-8

Dip- 1 x 15

Military Press- 2 x 6-8

Abs- 2 x 15

Repeat workout one 3-4 days later.

Do that for 6-8 weeks.

 

[stevesmi]

OP you don't have a weightlifting team at your school? every public school in America has one unless you go to a really tiny school.

and yes the gym is open all summer

and yes i agree with CEO that at your age its most sensible to train with compound lifts and powerlit.. you can bodybuild later in life. right now build up muscle memory and conditioning.. and put on strength so no one fucks with you anymore.

also as i have already said YOU ARE YOUNG. i really hope you stick with it and stay patient and don't just quit just cause you aren't getting results overnight.

 

[Evan Tipps]

Jesus Christ. There are routines all over this board. Like I said in a previous post...don't be fucking lazy. You want routines and diets spoon fed to you? Hire a trainer.

Here:

Day one:

Squat- 2 x 5, 1 x 20

Stiff-legged Deadlift 1 x 15

Pull-up or Pull-down 2 x 6-8

Barbell Curl 2 x 6-8

Day Two: (3-4 days later)

Bench Press or Incline Press- 2 x 6-8

Dip- 1 x 15

Military Press- 2 x 6-8

Abs- 2 x 15

Repeat workout one 3-4 days later.

Do that for 6-8 weeks.

This is good and simple. follow this to a tee. I started off in a weighlifting class and we pretty much did this exact sort of style. mon-tue-wed-thru-friday switching it everyday back and fourth

 

[Ascendacy1]

lol biggest high school in nyc, 3 weight rooms but no weightlifting team. When I do dips, my triceps starts aching right after when I flex. This goes on for a week, is this normal?

 

[stevesmi]

lol biggest high school in nyc, 3 weight rooms but no weightlifting team. When I do dips, my triceps starts aching right after when I flex. This goes on for a week, is this normal?

nope. you probably have an existing slight tear that gets aggravated each time

you can still work through it just don't do something that hurts, it will heal up eventually

 

[Ascendacy1]

This is good and simple. follow this to a tee. I started off in a weighlifting class and we pretty much did this exact sort of style. mon-tue-wed-thru-friday switching it everyday back and fourth

How much mass did you gain from it?

 

[Evan Tipps]

Thats determined from genetics, with that workout plan tho that we did in weight training i gained 40 lbs in a year and went from pressing 45-205 ssquatting 75-275 and cleanning 75-205

 

[NoFatChicks91]

You need to start following some logs and study how the jacked guys do it... Plenty of logs on here. That's how I learned. When I joined this site I weighed 185. I'm now over 220. Educate yourself. Nough said... If you want to be successful, I believe you need to get to the point where you can set up your own routines...

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[Ascendacy1]

Finished workout A today. I felt it was a bit easy so I upped it to

Day one:

Squat- 2 x 5, 1 x 20

Stiff-legged Deadlift 1 x 15

Pull-up or Pull-down 2 x 10

Barbell Curl 2 x 7

T bar row 1x10 1x8

 

[ceo]

too easy? Use more weight instead of more reps then. It will take you a few times to get used to weights you should be using. You should be increasing weight by at least 5 lbs or more every time you go back to do that exercise again. That is progression. Progression is key in bodybuilding.

 

[Evan Tipps]

too easy? Use more weight instead of more reps then. It will take you a few times to get used to weights you should be using. You should be increasing weight by at least 5 lbs or more every time you go back to do that exercise again. That is progression. Progression is key in bodybuilding.

Yep this is overlooked by most people.. I see alot of people doing the same weights workout after workout.. and well they look the same.

 

[Ascendacy1]

[URL]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/689/52v9.jpg/[/URL]
[url]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/3tqx.jpg/[/url]

 

[Evan Tipps]

Just stick with the basics and things will improve. it wont happen overnight.. takes years!

 

[Oatmeal12]

Work on your diet, keep lifting heavy with good form. It takes dedication and time

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[Ascendacy1]

I'm still doing the ab ripper x dvd for abs, should I continue that or switch?

 

[Evan Tipps]

I'm still doing the ab ripper x dvd for abs, should I continue that or switch?

It doesnt matter. Abbs dont need to be hit much.. twice a week.

 

[Oatmeal12]

I like the P90x abb ripper, but switch it up every couple of months and come back to it.

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[gjohnson5]

Beginning workout should be mostly compound lift. Do your dhoulder rotations before benching to keep rotar cuff good. Do more squats. They will tire you out. Do HIIT afterwards.

If your gym had ropes do rope waves for 30-60 seconds. 60 second rest. 8 sets of that ( WHICH IS THE 4 minute abs routine )

Same thing with a bike. Set the program for interval training. Set the resistance high enough to really stress quads. 60 second high resistance pedaling. 60 sec low resistance pedaling... stay on for atleast 20 minutes

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[gjohnson5]

I do deadlifts to standing overhead presses to hit core.

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[Ascendacy1]

Deads are great, felt more burn than crunches. I didn't feel tired after this workout so I did some HITT. My chest didn't feel tired after the incline bench so I did decline, should I add it in permanently?

 

[ceo]

So because you don't "feel" tired immediately after a workout means you didn't do enough work?

Who told you that?

 

[stevesmi]

you need to do a lot of reading on the forums instead of asking so many obvious questions.

or go to the library and get some books on lifting. something to educate yourself more. you just don't have the knowledge right now.. hence why i told you to join the weightlifting team at school but you make excuses as to why.. if you don't have one then YOU get a group going yourself. take some initiative.

you aren't gonna learn by asking these lifting 101 type questions and you aren't gonna learn by watching mtv every night or whatever the kids are watching these days. put in the hours in the gym and watch others who know what they are doing. you will pick things up fast that way. when i go fishing and see someone catching fish its common sense for me to try and copy their bait, their rig, etc.

 

[gjohnson5]

So because you don't "feel" tired immediately after a workout means you didn't do enough work?

Who told you that?

What's wrong with that?
Personally If my lifts were still around my maxes when I left the gym , it does mean I didn't do enough.

If my lifts have dropped because I worked the hell out me the muscles , then my energy pool should have significantly dropped as well

If your lifts are still around you max and you don't feel tired I don't see anything wrong with doing more. If anything we should be doing the opposite.

People should continue to lift and push through pain barriers EVEN IF you feel tired and your lifts are starting to drop!
This is what progressive overload is all about. Pushing through barrier to make those PR's

 

[RickRock13]

What's wrong with that?
Personally If my lifts were still around my maxes when I left the gym , it does mean I didn't do enough.

If my lifts have dropped because I worked the hell out me the muscles , then my energy pool should have significantly dropped as well

If your lifts are still around you max and you don't feel tired I don't see anything wrong with doing more. If anything we should be doing the opposite.

People should continue to lift and push through pain barriers EVEN IF you feel tired and your lifts are starting to drop!
This is what progressive overload is all about. Pushing through barrier to make those PR's

That doesn't apply to all scenarios. It applies to things like high volume training and progressive overload obviously, but if you are doing something like what I do or CEO has done with high intensity low volume training one set per body part (DC style) it changes everything on how you gauge a successful workout. You gauge the success of your workouts based on progression from the last workout and beating the log book

 

[Ascendacy1]

What's wrong with that?
Personally If my lifts were still around my maxes when I left the gym , it does mean I didn't do enough.

If my lifts have dropped because I worked the hell out me the muscles , then my energy pool should have significantly dropped as well

If your lifts are still around you max and you don't feel tired I don't see anything wrong with doing more. If anything we should be doing the opposite.

People should continue to lift and push through pain barriers EVEN IF you feel tired and your lifts are starting to drop!
This is what progressive overload is all about. Pushing through barrier to make those PR's

Awesome, gonna see if I can max with DB bench next time after decline.

 

[gjohnson5]

That doesn't apply to all scenarios. It applies to things like high volume training and progressive overload obviously, but if you are doing something like what I do or CEO has done with high intensity low volume training one set per body part (DC style) it changes everything on how you gauge a successful workout. You gauge the success of your workouts based on progression from the last workout and beating the log book

Because my schedule is different from week to week that means my energy levels are also variable from workout to workout. I tend to go by feel more so then then what I log the weights were. If I had more of a constant schedule and a constant workout split , I would definitely go by the logs because I would be in control of all the variables. I would guess that life for most professionals is probably similar to mine. You have to make adjustments to what you do week to week in order to keep gains coming

 

[stevesmi]

you guys have to remember who you are talking to.. the biggest problem with these types of forums is people don't put themsevles in others shoes.. we all don't have YOUR genetics.. at his age i doubt his energy levels are gonna have any issues.. a simple 40 minutes in the weight room and 40 minutes on the track is gonna make him light years ahead of his peers.

if he has a problem with energy all he needs is some more carbs during the day. i'm sure he can take some eggs and rice with him and snack on that before his workout

 

[ceo]

Ain't nobody got time fo 'dat!


With DC Training, I am usually pretty beat after my hour in the gym. You have to really know your body and be in touch with it. You're pushing waaayy to heavy of weights to fuck things up. One heavy rest-paused working set in the 11-20 rep range, depending on the body part. You go to failure. If you do it right you end up getting a RP set that looks something like 8 reps, then 4 reps, then 2 reps, for a total of 14 reps (RP). Sometimes it happens to be 10 reps, 6 reps, 3 reps. So next time I do that exercise, I may add 10 lbs instead of 5, or 15-20 instead of 10.

And yes, some days are better (stronger) than others. I find it usually depends on my diet. If I've eaten properly, I'm strong. If I've been busy and missed a meal or didn't have enough carbs or protein, I'm weaker. But to really do something like DC properly, you had better know your body and what it can do even from day to day. If I go in and I'm failing (not beating the logbook) on 1 exercise, but I am beating the logbook on other exercises, I just rotate a new exercise for that body part. If I am failing on all my exercises, it's time to de-load. I take a week off training altogether, then start back up at around 60-70% of the weight for 2-3 straight sets of 8-12 reps, and do that for two weeks before I go back into a blast cycle.

 

[ceo]

and no way am I recommending for this kid who is just a beginner to do DC. But a two way split like I laid out earlier done two or three times a week would be good for building strength and muscle size. Of course you gotta eat right too. 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day, and be sure to drink a gallon of water.

 

[Ascendacy1]

My bench jumped 10lbs, now doing 45lbs military press instead of 40. I'm going to add regular dls. Eating mcdonalds or fatty foods 2-4 hours before a workout makes me drowsy and lethargic. Gonna go clean, no junk. 2 or 3x a week? The week is only 7 days long. I do A on mon and B on thurs.

 

[Evan Tipps]

My bench jumped 10lbs, now doing 45lbs military press instead of 40. I'm going to add regular dls. Eating mcdonalds or fatty foods 2-4 hours before a workout makes me drowsy and lethargic. Gonna go clean, no junk. 2 or 3x a week? The week is only 7 days long. I do A on mon and B on thurs.

No shit it makes you lethargic.. Mcdonalds is awful. Google pink slime. That shit will make you never want to eat fast food again