been hitting the gym for 3 months and have made no progress. please tell me what i’m doing wrong

[danik]

i’m 6’2, 200lbs and skinny fat. i’m more on the fat side so if i take off a shirt i look really, really out of shape and i have man boobs. i’ve been doing dumbbell workouts as my gym doesn’t have anything else. i’ve been told that i can recomp ( eat at maintenance and eat enough protein to slowly gain muscle and lose fat )

i eat eggs, cheese, greek yogurt, ground chicken, rice, oatmeal , peanut butter and protein shakes/bars. i get around 180-190g of protein everyday with around 7 hours of sleep i workout 4x a week and lift weights between the 25lbs-40lbs range and im really pushing myself. what am i doing wrong? also, here’s my routine

Day 1: Dumbbell Upper Body Workout
Exercise
Sets
1. Bent Over Dumbbell Row
4
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
4
3. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
3
4. Dumbbell Pullover
3
5. Dumbbell Bicep Curl
2
6. Dumbbell Trice Extension
2
7. Dumbbell Shrug
2
Day 2: Dumbbell Lower Body Workout
Exercise
Sets
1. Goblet Squat
4
2. Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
4
3. Dumbbell Plie Squat
3
4. Dumbbell Hamstring Curl
3
5. Standing Dumbbell Calf Raise
3
6. Plank
3
Day 3: Dumbbell Upper Body Workout
Exercise
Sets
1. One Arm Dumbbell Row
4
2. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
4
3. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
3
4. Chest Supported Dumbbell Row
3
5. Dumbbell Hammer Curl
2
6. Dumbbell Floor Press
2
7. Seated Dumbbell Shrug
2
Day 4: Dumbbell Lower Body Workout
Exercise
Sets
1. Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
4
2. Dumbbell Rear Lunge
4
3. Dumbbell Hip Thrust
4
4. Dumbbell Split Squat
3
5. Seated Dumbbell Calf Raise
3
6. Planks

 

[rocky1952]

@danik Definitely what c25kmguy said!!

I do it a little different since my brain cannot handle all that counting yet (still relatively new). If I can get through 8 reps of that weight, I go up 5 lbs. if I can get 6-7 reps with the new weight, I stay. If I cannot reach 6 reps, I go back down and try for 10 reps with the original weight.

 

[jo_pranger]

@danik A couple questions:

1. How did you determine the weight you use for each exercise?
2. How many reps per set?
3. What is your overall goal with training? (i.e., build muscle? physique? sports performance - and if so, which? general health/wellness? run a marathon, etc...?)

 

[danik]

@jo_pranger i went for the weights that i knew i could lift realistically but was still a challenge. so every exercise i’m doing is pushing me. i’m doing around 8-12 reps per set and my goal is just to gain muscle mass so i go from skinny fat to fit but weight the same amount

 

[jo_pranger]

@danik Change the reps/sets/% to this, see how you feel after 3 weeks:

Reps - 12

Sets - 5

Weight % - 74% of your 1 rep max on that specific exercise.

Rest - 60-90 sec between sets.

Calculate your 1 rep max on a given exercise by working up to a weight you can only execute 1 perfectly clean/proper form lift. If you break form, it doesn't count.

If you want to hypertrophy (build muscle mass), then your volume needs to increase. The load should be moderate.

 

[danik]

@jo_pranger thanks. will definitely give this a shot !

 

[raerae300]

@danik Definitely agree, I’ll also add do you know how your form is doing as well as the tempo of the positive and negative part of each rep?

And I ain’t no scientist but my brethren you’re 6’2 your body has a lot of surface area to put muscle onto and it has been 3 months. Then again newbie gains are def a factor, but my question is are you basing this off how you look, or has the weight increased from what you started off at??

Additionally with what i said first, progress does not have to be adding more weight or more reps, it could be slowing down the reps and getting more range of motion if that hasn’t been established already.

 

[1astrokid1]

@danik Also idk what metrics you use to determine success but with recomp weight won’t fluctuate as much (no quick drops or gains) but your measurements will change which is usually more aesthetically noticeable

 

[danik]

@1astrokid1 when i’m bloated i look the same way as i did when i started, but when i wake up on an empty stomach i notice i look more lean. my stomach and man boobs aren’t nearly as prominent so that’s what i’ve been basing it on

 

[1astrokid1]

@danik Get a cloth tape and hit some measurements in the morning and if your noticing a lot of bloat try and figure out which foods are causing it. Will make you feel physically better and digest your food better