6 months of calisthenics training, gotten stronger but body the exact same

[iron2iron]

I'm looking for thoughts as while I haven't been eating quite optimally I'm a bit surprised to have no visible results from 6 months of training. I've been training with a focus on pushups, pull-ups, l sits and skin the cats as well as training pike pushups and skipping for cardio. (I do a day of 3 sets pause pullups, 2 sets max l sit and 2 sets max pike pushups, a day of 10x3 pull-ups followed by 3xmax ring pushups and max l sit, and I do one day of skin the cat 2xmax and pushups 3xmax, I train legs with weights focusing on back squats)

I'm an 82ish kg 6 foot 3 skinny fat with a good bit of fat on my stomach but really skinny arms and legs, and over 6 months my main lifts have gone from 4 reps max pull-ups to around 8 reps max pull-ups with a pause at the top, pushups have gone from 15 pushups to 2 sets of 12 ring pushups, my L sit has gone from a 15 second tuck to a 20 second full l sit and my skin the cats have gone from 0 to 7 in one set.

I understand these aren't particularly large results partly due to messing up my wrist and having shoulder issues while training but considering I've been eating in a surplus and eating lots of protein I'm surprised that my arms are exactly the same size as 6 months ago.

 

[sinnermonster]

@iron2iron Dieting is key

 

[iron2iron]

@sinnermonster Ah I'll focus more on eating! would you suggest I start eating more or less? (got a lot of belly fat going on but I also fear cutting would get my arms even skinnier)

 

[anndryperez]

@iron2iron If you want an app that might help you - check out MacroFactor. I’ve been using it for 2 months and first time I’ve been able to consistently lose weight. That plus a food scale have been so helpful!

 

[sw1shf1sh]

@iron2iron Way less.

It’s really hard to lose meaningful muscle when you are fat, even more so with little muscle to begin with.

 

[chasrismatic101]

@sw1shf1sh I strongly disagree with this advice...

I was skinny fat and found that as I ate surplus and gained muscle my entire body shape changed, especially my back and shoulders. Like you my workouts were very pullup/row heavy.

I didn't initially lose belly/lovehandles but looked so much better, especially in clothes.

I would recommend making sure you eat a reasonable surplus + enough protein (dont gourge yourself!) and keep at it. Perhaps you can increase the number of sets (greater than 10 per muscle group per week) and make sure you are going fairly hard (close to failure).

Note that as a taller person it is harder to gain muscle... also note that the core calisthenics exercises do not isolate arms so arm growth will be slower compared to lifting weights.

 

[sw1shf1sh]

@chasrismatic101 He has a lot of belly fat after working out for 6 months and eating in a surplus.

He needs to eat less.

 

[iron2iron]

@sw1shf1sh this is really useful to know, I'll start actively eating less within reason and see what happens!

 

[russman]

@iron2iron Get your protein as your priority. Then get the calories consistent for a week and see how your body responds. Go up or down from there based on if you want more muscle and bulky, or more lean and defined.

 

[jonnobody]

@iron2iron I`d suggest tracking your calories and macro`s for a while, to see what you are actually eating compared to what you think you are eating

 

[righteousnessishisbelt]

@iron2iron Don't eat in a surplus if you want to lose fat. I'm guessing with these results in 6 months you aren't doing much volume either. I'd focus on about 3 lifts that will cover lots of prime movers plus cardio. Pushup, pullups, squat is a classic combo. Do 10 sets of each per week. If something is threatening to cause injury then change it for something else that doesn't hurt. Stay consistent. Give time to adjust to a certain volume level and add exercises or sets slowly to avoid overuse injuries.

For cardio 3-5x per week and a total of 75-150 minutes is a good starting goal with heart rate between 60-80% of max. More is good too if you want.

 

[7lilwords]

@iron2iron People have mentioned diet is key, and this is very true, but so are the types of exercises you're doing.

Look into how to grow visible muscle--it's different from just getting stronger. Most people really need to be intentional about growing visible muscle, if you don't have genetics that pre-dispose you towards easily building it. (And iirc there is something about long limbs that makes it harder to build muscle.)

Focus on exercises that build short twitch muscle fiber. It's the one that gives you more visible muscles and bursts of strength, rather than just feeling stronger/building endurance.

This is part of training to near failure and practicing fast, bursts of strength--like weightlifting or gymnastics--is good for muscle growth.

You can def get these results from bodyweight training, you just have to be intentional about how you train.

You can do some googling and find out more about it online.

 

[messerve]

@iron2iron Yeah, you're a tall skinny guy doing calisthenics. Results are probably not going to be highly visible on you, unless you really prioritize training for hypertrophy. They might be more noticeable at a leaner body fat percent, but otherwise you're probably going to look more like a Magnus Midtbø than a Magnus ver Magnusson.

Keep doing hard sets of 10-20 for your big lifts. Pull ups especially will give you larger biceps and lats that make you look big. You'll also want to train triceps and delts, so probably lots of pike pushups. If you want to get bigger, keep trying to eat in a slight surplus, prioritizing protein.

Realistically though, if you want to get big, you'll have better results with a different style of training.

 

[archercrebb]

@iron2iron Have you weighed yourself? You're pretty tall so visible results will come a bit slower than someone who is shorter, it's more spread out. That being said, you might need to do more volume than what you're at now.

 

[asp510]

@iron2iron I doubt you look exactly the same, because we see ourselves so often and the procress of putting on muscle is generally quite slow it can be difficult to notice.

Being said I do believe your routines lacking volume but it's hard to tell because of the way you've written it. How many days do you train per week? Are they back to back? Have you considered the recommended routine in the sidebar?

Diet is also a massive factor, protein is your best friend. You need to be eating around 120g per day. Sleep is even more important than diet, are you getting 7-9 hours of good sleep per night?

 

[cody64]

@iron2iron try running / cardio

 

[ivi67]

@cody64 The only visible result he will get from running is losing more weight.

 

[dake]

@iron2iron The first strength gains you see are your body learning and getting used to the muscles you already have and using them better.

 

[davidtree]

@iron2iron Hey!! I really recommend my post here for meaningful results over time I fucking love bear crawls and you should too

 

[clemenslee]

@davidtree This would be ideal for all ages That is an amazing thread to read