Gains stopping - some advice please.

[Sir Studly]

Hi All,

I am in my 7th week of Deca 300mg / Sust 250 mg (first 3 weeks) Sust 375mg (last few weeks). I gained about 6 - 7 pounds in the first 3 weeks, and went down 1% body fat, but my gains seemed to have stopped. I am 6'2", 202 pounds. I am having 5 small meals a day. I am eating about 160 - 180 grams of protein each day. Keeping the simple carbs and fats to a minimum. I am training each body part 1.5 times a week, with a days rest after my 4 day split. What the hell am I doing wrong?

 

[bozrad]

you should up the protein, to 300grams a day.

 

[Sir Studly]

How the heck do I get that much protein in me? I will have to use up a store full of protein shakes. Also, won't I get too much carbs from these shakes, as I will probably have to drink 3-4 shakes a day?

 

[buffut1]

I agree. With your weight you need more protein and calories in general. You should be taking in about 3500-4000 cal a day with 300 g. of that being protein.

There are several protein shakes out there that are low carb or zero carb., but right now the extra carbs would help with the overall caloric intake.

 

[Sir Studly]

Won't the extra carbs cause me to pick up fat, not muscle?

 

[justwannagetsum]

Im sorry, did you say 1 % body fat???? Dude, up your protein and dont worry about a few extra carbs and fuggedaboutit. Aint no way your gonna be able to maintain that anyways. But I gotta give you props for 1% bro.
JWGS

 

[Raffaz]

I think he means he has went down by 1% on the bodyfat. Not down to 1% bodyfat.

 

[Fantom604]

I weigh 180, and am bulking now with 350g protein, 100g fat, 600g carbs. around 4,000-5,000 calories/day. Not gaining too much bodyfat, but I like to get the most out of bulking while I'm "on". Bodyfat can be lost in the future, I just don't want to waste juice.

 

[Maxx Out]

Hi All,

I am in my 7th week of Deca 300mg / Sust 250 mg (first 3 weeks) Sust 375mg (last few weeks). I gained about 6 - 7 pounds in the first 3 weeks, and went down 1% body fat, but my gains seemed to have stopped. I am 6'2", 202 pounds. I am having 5 small meals a day. I am eating about 160 - 180 grams of protein each day. Keeping the simple carbs and fats to a minimum. I am training each body part 1.5 times a week, with a days rest after my 4 day split. What the hell am I doing wrong?

Definatly(sp) have to up your calories. Shoot for 8 meals a day with prot. shakes included in those meals. And u definatly should be eating 1.5-2 grams protein to body weight.

Maxx >>>>>

 

[Beezers]

You aren't eating nearly enough. UP YOUR CALORIES big time. If you're eating only five "small" meals a day and 180g of protein there is no way you are getting near enough calories to add significant amounts of muscle mass. I personaly recomend bodyweightx20 for a rough idea of bulking calorie total and 2gxbodywieght for protein. That would put you at 4000cals daily and 400g of protein daily. Diet is far and away the most influencial and inmportant aspect of AS use and training for that matter. You can train till you puke, and shoot grams and grams of steroids into your blood stream, but without the resources (FOOD) to manufacture that muscle mass with nothing will happen. Eat more meals...preferale 8-10 daily. Adding 3-5 more meals will allow you to get more calories and protein that you need. It's a bit late now that your cycle is coming to an end, but you're going to need to know for your next cycle. Your gains stopped because most of your initial weight gain was edema induced by the test and deca. To add body mass you MUST take in MORE calories than you burn. Obviously you are no where near this at 5 meals a day and 180g of protein. To answer your question, "what am I doing wrong"? Your diet is the problem. Please ask more questions about this so we can get this straightened out. If you don't get your diet together the gains will never materialize.

 

[Sir Studly]

What should I be eating to raise the calorie intake, but keep off the fat? Rice, chicken, veggies, fat-free yoghurt etc?

 

[Beezers]

Won't the extra carbs cause me to pick up fat, not muscle?

No. By the sounds of it it sounds as though you're already severely resricting your carb intake. Carbs are needed for bulking. 1) They are the fuel for intense weight trining. Wihtout muscles fully stocked with glycogen muscular performance will be limited and intensity will ultimately fall short of full potential. Not good when you are trying to "shock" the muscles by makeing them work harder than before in order to induce muscular hypertrophy. 2) Carbs are protein sparing allowing the amino acids you obtain from dietary protein to be used properly and to the utmost efficiency in repairing and building muscle tissue. If you're low on carbs while trying to gain mass your blood glucose is going to be low and your body will use certain amino acids to make this neccessary glucose thus depriving your muscles of valueble resources. You also risk further catabolizing existing muscle tissue to meet energy needs of the body. Kind of hard to grow muscle if your body has to use it for energy. 3) Muslce glycogen not only is essential for anaerobic work, but it also fills the muscle up giving them a full and "larger" appearance.

 

[Beezers]

What should I be eating to raise the calorie intake, but keep off the fat? Rice, chicken, veggies, fat-free yoghurt etc?

Don't be worrying about "keeping the fat off". Foccus on minimizing its accumulation. Fat comes with added muscle mass. It's the nature of the beast. By trying to keep fat off or even worse, loose it, while bulking is to sacrifice muscle gains and ultimate potential. You certainly should keep it to the minimum, but it will happen while bulking. What is a typical day of eating for you? We'll start from there.

 

[nautica]

More carbs, more protein, higher intensity weight training with less frequency.

If you start noticing you are putting to much fat on, then you can always cut back.

Nautica

 

[Sir Studly]

Don't be worrying about "keeping the fat off". Foccus on minimizing its accumulation. Fat comes with added muscle mass. It's the nature of the beast. By trying to keep fat off or even worse, loose it, while bulking is to sacrifice muscle gains and ultimate potential. You certainly should keep it to the minimum, but it will happen while bulking. What is a typical day of eating for you? We'll start from there.

I have a creatine stack (creatine,taurine,glutamine) with apple juice before I hit the gym. After gym I have a wholewheat cereal with another 2g glutamine, in about 300ml of fat-free milk. Mid-morning I have a protein shake in 400ml fat-free milk (+-35g protein). About an hour after that I have three large egg-whites. For lunch I have a cup of fat-free yoghurt, small piece of skinless chicken thigh, half a cup of fat-free sour-cream with a few wholewheat crackers. Mid-afternoon I will have another protein shake. For dinner I will have +- 300g skinless chicken, with two cups of vegetables.

 

[nautica]

I have a creatine stack (creatine,taurine,glutamine) with apple juice before I hit the gym. After gym I have a wholewheat cereal with another 2g glutamine, in about 300ml of fat-free milk. Mid-morning I have a protein shake in 400ml fat-free milk (+-35g protein). About an hour after that I have three large egg-whites. For lunch I have a cup of fat-free yoghurt, small piece of skinless chicken thigh, half a cup of fat-free sour-cream with a few wholewheat crackers. Mid-afternoon I will have another protein shake. For dinner I will have +- 300g skinless chicken, with two cups of vegetables.

Sounds to me like you are trying to cut up. You have got to forget about gaining a little fat if you are bulking. Have you ever seen Ronnie in the off season. Just go to a McDonalds in his home town and you will probably see him there several times. If you are truly trying to bulk - you must increase your carbs and protein as well as total calories. I eat more than that when I am cutting.

Nautica

 

[Sir Studly]

Thanks Nautica & Beezers.

I had a large bowl of pasta with my dinner last night. I have also brought some pasta with lean beef to work as an extra meal during the day. I'll do this with either pasta or brown rice on a daily basis. I'm also going to start adding another protein shake to my daily meal plan.

As I gave myself my 2nd last weekly jab last night i.e. only two more weeks on juice, how long should I keep up this higher calorie intake before I try and shed the excess fat I have picked up? I ask as I am probably going to go onto a dbol/deca/sust 2nd cycle in about 9-10 weeks after my last jab. Advice?

 

[jellyman01]

i gained 40 lbs of sust 600mgs/wk .....in week 5 when i upped my calories from 3500-4500 and went from 250 G of protein to 400..i exploaded...gained 18 lbs in the first week and a half after doing that



i ate 4 chicken breasts a day =100 grams
4 55 gram shakes=220 grams
2protein bars =60 grams
2 cans of tuna =30 grams
2 grilled fish filets =35 grams



total of 445 grams approximately......eat some veggies,baked potatoe with dinner,and some oatmeal in the morning to help beef up the carbs

 

[Sir Studly]

Jellyman, how much of your gains were fat? How long did it take for you to loose it? My bodyfat is at around 17%, so I don't want to pack on much more.

 

[jellyman01]

when i started i was 6`2 207 14.7%bf
after i was 247 16% bf
i held soem water since i didnt use any armidex...wek 3 i was down near 12% bf but then water kicked in a bit and i gained a little but i was alot harder and gained 1 and 1/2 inched on arms and calves.....gained 5 inches on quads..pm bro