Advice needed, did I hit my genetic ceiling?

[gwpga17]

Background: I was very thin person until I started working out 5 years, I started focusing mainly on weight lifting 2 years ago and getting more serious in terms of exercise and diet. I am 28 y/o. 176 cm and currently sitting at 10-12% body fat, I cannot grow muscles even though I lift more than many bigger people in my gym, I eat 100-120 grams of protein every day, I am in ~20% cal surplus, train 4-5 times a week with near failure to most of my set. For example I can bench 80 kgs (including bar) but my chest is not responding, same for my biceps; I can easily curl 27 kgs but have smaller arms than many of my friends.

No progress have been made for the last 6 months in terms of body composition, even though am increasing the intensity of my routine every month and do other sports on the side (running, cycling).

Here are my stats & pic in terms of body composition (not sure how these machines are accurate), am starting to get really frustrated and feel am wasting my time, I know people who use ''meds'' and are just fine but I don't think this is the right/healthy way longterm.

Anyone was/is in the same situation? what did you do? I really appreciate the advice

TLDR: 176 cm, 72-74 kgs, 38 y male, 10-12% body fat, BMI 23-24, training split 4-5 times, with failure, no progress.

 

[regrone]

@gwpga17 If you aren't gaining weight, you arent eating in a calorie surplus. I would start there.

 

[keobong79]

@gwpga17 First commenter has a good point.

I recommend changing how you are training. If you are doing the same time of workouts the whole time, your body will plateau.

I'd recommend trying full body (instead of the split) and not training to near failure. The number of reps/sets needs to be varied every few weeks or so to get the best results.

 

[keobong79]

Forgot to add, not sure what type of exercises you are doing specifically and what exactly is your goal.

 

[milan]

@gwpga17 I know you’re frustrated but your body is amazing. Super nice toning and you absolutely look like you lift.

 

[mommajulesberry]

@gwpga17 so you arent gaining weight and think a sub2plate bench might be a genetic ceiling. try eating more and gaining weight

 

[omo]

@gwpga17 You weigh 72kg / 158lbs, at 10-12% bf, and your protein intake is 100-120 grams per day? I’d say that’s a little on the low side, up this to around 140-160. In theory you should aim for a minimum of around 126g (which is 0.8 x lb of body weight) per day and a max of 160ish at your current weight. 120 isn’t far off but if you’re eating between 100-120 per day then over the week you will be a fair bit below your minimum weekly protein target (126g x 7 = 882g).

Secondly, if you’re not already, check your overall calorie intake is actually in a surplus through consistent food tracking. If you’re not building somewhere between 0.2-0.5lbs of body weight per week, up your daily calorie intake by 200 kcals and monitor your weight for the next couple of weeks. If you’ve gained, perfect. If you’ve gained too much, lower your daily calorie intake by 100kcals, and if you still haven’t gained anything up it by another 200kcals the following couple of weeks.

 

[hischild1002]

@gwpga17 Only five years of working out is not even close to reaching your genetic limit.

 

[kredius]

@gwpga17 eat more and consider switching up your routine to target the same muscles but with different movements. do not forget a good stretching routine and how that can impact muscle growth as well

 

[unikue]

@gwpga17 You probably need to look at how much you are eating. I'm curious to know how many calories you consume daily. 2800 is bottom maintainance for me. 3200 is about as much as I'm comfortable eating a day for a bulk.

 

[all41and14all]

@gwpga17 I was in the same position as you a year ago with very similar stats when I was 27, 5ft10, 73kg and training hard.

I was eating around 2600cals a day which is supposed to be a surplus but it did nothing for me. I’m now eating 2800-3000 a day (bulking) and got up to 80kg pretty quick.

Protein shakes with peanut butter are my way of getting an easy 5-600cals a day in quickly.

Mix up your split every 6-8 week and ditch bench press if you wanna grow your chest!

Good luck