not satisfied with progress, am I doing everything right?

[nerdyweakling]

Hi everyone,

I am new to weightlifting having started about 3 months ago. For the first 2.5 months I was working out my entire body every other day in a low quality gym mostly w/ machines and doing only 1-2 excersizes per body part. For the past few weeks and through this year I will be able to take advantage of the gym at my university to do better quality routines.

I generally do these routines, and do 3-4 sets with 8 reps for all of them:

Day 1: Chest, Back
db bench
db fly's
incline bench
incline fly's
decline bench

lat pulldown
cable pull
db lift (from the side)
chin ups (assisted)

Day 2: Triceps, Biceps, Shoulders
Shoulder press
db straight arm raises
lateral raises/reverse delt raises (not sure what these are, it is essentially like reverse fly's)

closed grip bench
rope pull down
single arm cable pulldown
dips

db hammer curl
reverse grip curls (w/ one bar)
seated curls (w/ 1 bar)

Day 3: Break

Repeat

Every morning post-workout or when I wake up on off-days I'll have a whey protein shake and a lot of cereal with added nuts (almonds, etc.). I try to eat either eggs (6-8), tuna, or a piece of salmon for lunch, and eat mostly carbs for dinner.

I am not sure if I am getting enough protein. I can't imagine eating more, I just don't get that much more hungry.

Please tell me what I am doing wrong and what I can improve on. Thank you!

I am 6 foot and weigh 175lbs. I am 28 years old. I have become much more toned and stronger during my lifting and have added about 5lbs muscle, but am nowhere near how I'd like to be.

I naturally have strong legs and also ride bike a lot so I don't care about legs at this point.

 

[ExtraMile]

Please tell me what I am doing wrong and what I can improve on. Thank you!

Here's why you aren't making much progress:

I am new to weightlifting having started about 3 months ago.

it takes time to get the body you want. Alot longer than 3 months. You have to be patient (imo the hardest part of the game)

I generally do these routines

you need a solid plan, not generally doing one thing or generally doing another. you need to make a plan with a goal and stick to it

Day 1: Chest, Back
Day 2: Triceps, Biceps, Shoulders
Day 3: Break
Repeat

you're training the two biggest bodyparts together (chest and back) which makes me think you're either a) not training either one very intensely or b) not putting much effort into back work

eat mostly carbs for dinner.

the better your diet, the better your results. Just eating mostly carbs for one of your meals wont cut it. You need a solid diet plan. Do some research into a proper bodybuilding diet for hardgainers.

I am not sure if I am getting enough protein.

you're right, just having a protein shake for breakfast then eggs or tune for lunch is not enough.

I just don't get that much more hungry.

using a bodybuilding style diet of smaller meals more frequently will allow you to slowly ramp up the calories daily. And the better food choices should help your metabolism. Staying active throughout the day and making your training sessions brutal will also help here. The more food you can make your body utilise, the better results you will get.

I naturally have strong legs and also ride bike a lot so I don't care about legs at this point.

This is killing you. Riding a bike wont build big legs. Training legs will boost your metabolism aswell as help your strength on other lifts and in both every day and athletic activities. You will also find it easier to build mass over all when training your whole body.

Unless you can "naturally" squat 500lbs then you dont have naturally strong legs.

Diet:
if you look at the way most bodybuilders (and other athletes) eat then you will notice they largely follow some sort of Parillo style dieting plan. (at least the big and lean ones do) This involved eating more times per day, but not totally stuffing yourself at each meal. Yes you should feel full but not so bloated that you can hardly breath. Try to keep your appetite turning over and keep your body fuelled throughout the day.

Each meal is made up of a quality source of protein (some sort of animal product) with a high quality source of carbohydrate and some fats.

On the other hand you can do what alot of idiots do and stuff yourself with crap, call it bulking and pretend that you dont care that you look like shit... lol (this is a joke)

this is a simple training program to get started with: Super Squats 20 Rep Squat Routine

 

[nerdyweakling]

thanks. I will take all that into account. The diet is what is killing me...I try to eat a huge post-workout breakfast and then don't get hungry in time for lunch. I should eat less and keep a full eating schedule I think. Thanks.

 

[nerdyweakling]

do you think the number of exercises I am doing for each body part is too much or too little, given that if I switch up chest and back to be different days I'll still do two days on one day off? I'll start working legs as well.

 

[amgunit]

it'll be a lot more effective in my opinion, once u join ur new gym and work with freeweights instead of mostly all machines. try reading up and following a 5x5 program like madcows or SL. can't go wrong with that one to build mass.

 

[hollywoodfw]

Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength, a gallon of chocolate milk and as many McDouble's as you can, on top of what you're eating for 3 months should get you on the right track. In that time read everything you can on here as well as the articles on t-nation.com.

Your appetite will increase, don't worry so much about fat gain right now as you learn about nutrition you can form your own opinion later. Nearly everyone will have a different thing to say about eating, some say 6 small meals others can do well with intermittent fasting and 2 large ones. Read and find out what works best for you.