7 months into lifting, feeling like I'm not doing good enough.

[cleannie]

Hitting a period of self doubt and lacking motivation. Came here to see if I need to be pushing myself harder as I don't have any gym friends to talk to in regards to my progress.

I have just taken photographs under the same lighting ~ 3 months apart & honestly I can't see much difference upon comparison which has lead me to believe something isn't going right.

I'm 27, 6'1 & 12.5 stone. Here are my lifts as follows after 7 months in the gym consistently:

BB bench: 65kg x 5
DB Incline press: 27.5kg x 5
Deadlift: 120kg x 5
Standing overhead press: 45 x 5
BB squat: 100kg x 5

My arms are quite long and feel I struggle a lot on my pressing movements. For the past 7 months I have consistently had ~ 160/180g protein per day.

I started off on a cut 7 months ago and went from 87kg - 79kg and then decided to go out of my calorie deficit to judt over maintenance calories which is around 2800cals per day for me. I assumed that since doing this my strength would go up a lot and my weight would to. I've probably gained around 4 pounds in 2 months and my lifts have only went up slightly.

I'm doing Jeff nippard fundamental upper/lower split and I'm currently on week 6. Not going to lie, I miss the odd secondary leg session probably every other week so I only get 3 sessions in that week.

Is there any advice or input here you guys can give to help my situation? Thanks!

 

[namakula]

@cleannie Natural bodybuilding takes a long time and even longer if you don't have great genetics. Focus less on the numbers, and more about getting a healthy amount of quality volume close to failure, with adequate calories. Judging by your post here, you don't quite yet trust the process; this is a mindset shift you'll have to make if you want to pursue natural bodybuilding long term.

 

[cleannie]

@namakula Very true, I guess there's no rush and I always tell myself this as I want to be in it for the lifestyle change. Just wanted to post to make sure I'm heading for the right path as I like to be optimal and do things as well as i can. Thanks

 

[notdeadanymore205]

@cleannie Your muscle gain and lifts seem okay to me; you can expect 2 lb per month as far as I know and your lifts seem fine.

You can add 10-15% to your maintenance calories (is 2800 maintenance or JUST OVER maintenance?) without much worry, I think.

A quick rule of mine is that you have to isolate something if you REALLY want it to grow (shoulders, arms, hamstrings, etc.).

 

[cleannie]

@notdeadanymore205 Hey, thank you. 2800 is just over maintenance for me ~ 300 over. I didn't account for my job within the calculator though which involves standing all day (mainly on the same spot). The reason I didn't account for this is because I read somewhere that you don't actually burn that much more calories standing vs sitting unless your walking a lot but I'm mainly in the same spot.

That's true, the programme I'm doing seems well balanced for compounds and isolations for now. I probably do need to eat more.

 

[mlenadc]

@cleannie You started with a cut, and then moved to maintenance. And now, you've added just 4 pounds in two months?

You're not really in surplus yet. 4 pounds is water-weight, and could have been realized in 4 days of a carb-up.

You've not really had the opportunity to build muscle in clear calorie surplus yet. Bump those calories way up.

Take them from 2800 to 3300, and add 50% more working sets to your weekly lifting volume.

 

[cleannie]

@mlenadc Thanks for your input. Your right, I do need to eat more. I find it difficult even reaching 2800 sometimes unless I'm eating out or having junk food. I'll just have to do more research into the dieting side of things & try get more fats/Carbs in.

When you mention to add 50% more working sets, could you elaborate on this please?

 

[tofixtorepair11]

@cleannie What is the amount of protein you are getting, that is way more important than carbs or fats.

 

[cleannie]

@tofixtorepair11 Around 160 - 200g per day

 

[tp243]

@tofixtorepair11 Amount of calories is the most important thing by a long way. Protein requirements aren't nearly as high as most people think.

 

[cleannie]

@tp243 This is something I've struggled with to comprehend. If protein is the muscle building macro then why are calories so important? I know that if you eat under maintenance your body will lose weight etc. I know that more Carbs means more energy which therefore means being able to lift heavier. Is that why calories are arguably more important? Because you need to eat more to lift more and lifting more targets certain muscle fibres allowing you to build more muscle? Is that correct?

 

[kaiisbae]

@cleannie Protein is the bricks to build the house, calories are the workers. You need energy to make new tissue. That’s why calories are important.

 

[cleannie]

@kaiisbae Good way to look at it bro thanks for the analogy makes sense

 

[tofixtorepair11]

@cleannie Your body adapts to the stressors you put it under. When your lift you are exerting more energy, causing stress, and micro damage to the muscles. When you eat you are splitting your body with the resources it needs to recover, and with resistance training that means recovering/building muscle so that you can deal with that stressor again. That is why progressive overload is standard, so you keep progressing as your body adapts.

My comment was directed toward your macros which called out carbs and fats. If your want to build then you should be in a caloric surplus and prioritizing protein as a macro. You don't need carbs for energy or to build muscle, but it can help (eg ketosis utilizes fast and ketones for energy once adapted and builds muscle just as well as when using carbs energy- the muscles will just be more full of glycogen and water).

 

[cleannie]

@tofixtorepair11 Nice, thanks for the insight

 

[mlenadc]

@cleannie Nut butters are easy calories

 

[mastershomestead]

@mlenadc Yes! More sets. More than double.

 

[sebastian713]

@cleannie But the numbers are definitely above average. Higher than me atleast. I only do 55kg bench press and 85 kg deadlift etc. I started half a year ago or so. You should treat it as something you will do the rest of your life. Simple body maintenance. Personally I only focus on each step at a time and often I am stuck at the same weight for a couple weeks cause I am also trying to lose fat.

 

[cleannie]

@sebastian713 Yea exactly its just part of life now and as a male I feel like I owe it to myself to keep my body in check as it's a vessel which we are responsible for.

 

[godissovereign]

@cleannie Read Body By Science by Doug McGuff. He explains the biomechanics of muscle growth and gives a technique to maximize muscle growth.

I've been lifting for a couple of years. Becoming a parent and corona lockdown really hurt my progress. But now that I'm more consistent and applying what's in the book, I can see and feel a difference.