Feeling like I don't look like I workout

H

hendricks62

New member
Does anyone else feeling like this?! I started going to the gym in 2016 and have been going fairly consistently since then. Because of corona there was obviously a couple months where I wasn't going but I was still doing home workouts. I've been back in the gym for 2 months now and I go 6x a week for about 1.5hrs (I'm running nuns w/accessories). I eat 2200cals a day and hit at least 100g protein. My stats are:

5'10, 165lbs, 25y/o

Bench: 120lbsx2

Squat 185x2

OHP 95x1

I know I can't be the only one who feels like this!
 
@hendricks62 My guess, it's probably eating 2200 cals a day. At 5'10" 165lbs, maybe you're eating too much. I went up to 205lbs during quarantine till the gyms opened here in Jersey. After 3 months and dieting to 1500 - 1600 cals/day or less (most days, only human after all), I got down to 175lbs and clearly look like I go to the gym. And I'm also 5'10". The 100g protein per day is good for lifting, but with the 2200 cals/day, could also be the quality of the food that comprises that 2200.

Being cut and vascular looking has almost as much to do with your nutrition as it does with your exercise regimen.
 
@hendricks62 I have been lifting for 3ish years now and I don't feel like I look like I work out either. Though I know I don't push myself with progressive overload as much as I should. However I have had people tell me "your arms look really toned" and "you are more muscular than me", so I guess some can tell! Also I bet my body would look really different if I never worked out. Anyway I KNOW I am so much than what I was when I first started..so there's that!!
 
@hendricks62 Just keep progressing and lifting heavier maybe try eating more to help facilitate more muscle growth. I wouldn’t worry too much about it though I’m a college athlete and nobody can tell while I’m wearing clothes so it’s whatever
 
@hendricks62 I'm 35 and workout every day. I'm very fit, but also short, which leaves me looking boxy in most normal clothes. Comparing myself to women 10 years younger and 5" taller doesn't help, either.
 
@hendricks62 Haha one of my clients ran into this the other day. One of her friends was like "y'know, I bet lifting weights would really change your physique..." she can easily bench 95 lbs and deadlift over 200... we had a little laugh because little did her friend know!
 
@hendricks62 For all the talk about women being bulky I find that the vast majority of women don't look like they work out, especially compared to the way men do. Look at the workout routine for any of the women in a superhero/action movie. It's going to be pretty similar to their male costars. And yet they mostly look like the epitome of "toned" if there's any muscular definition at all. Even female athletes just kind of look more solid than jacked when they're just walking around looking casual. And none of this is talking down about any of these amazing women who are doing incredible physical feats, moreso just me expressing my disappointment about my own limiting genetics that even if I do everything to get to my full potential, I might get to the point that my SO notices that my quads are developed.

Awesome stats by the way. I'm cowering in awe at your OHP.
 
@hendricks62 Ooh, I feel this so hard. I was down to 152lbs right before the pandemic. I was cutting and honestly obsessing over this lower belly fat that was hanging around. It was driving me NUTS and no matter how much I lost, I couldn’t make it go away! I was cutting and lost 10lbs, but it wasn’t working. I had no energy, felt weak when working out, and felt stagnant in my fitness goals.

Pandemic has been rough on my sanity. Rather than let myself worry about counting calories, I said fuck it. I wanted to do what was best for my mental health, and restricting my diet didn’t feel right anymore.

So rather than diet, I focused on making sure I was walking more, drinking more water, doing SOMETHING that made my body happy every day (whether that was yoga or strength training or cardio). 10k steps became my new focus. And my water intake. For reference, I’m a pretty healthy eater in general. But if a chocolate chip cookie was calling my name, I wouldn’t say no. So it wasn’t like my diet changed much, I was just willing to give myself more permission to eat higher calorie foods.

I’m currently fluctuating 168-170lbs, after taking it easy during the pandemic. I have a lot more energy! I honestly think I’m working out more than usual, and more active than pre-pandemic. And it’s a mind fuck too because my body is SMOKING and I am the same clothing size! I swear I look better now than pre-pandemic; I have definitely built some muscle over the past 9 months (holy shit, it’s been that long?). But my BMI is now higher and still says I’m overweight...

This has been an awesome lesson for me and my body. This indicated to me that cutting calories doesn’t work for me. Also, my idea of what a “healthy” weight is for me was wrong. It taught me to be more concerned with having an active life than be so strict on food. Though my body fat still isn’t super low and I’m not chiseled, I’m ok with it. I like this soft definition. And even when I was miserably cutting, I wasn’t doing it effectively and I couldn’t get there.

Maybe I’ll try again; if there’s next time, with someone who knows what they are doing. But, for now, I don’t care anymore to visibly look like the athlete that I am. If I have to choose between a physique and mental health, I choose mental health :)
 
@hendricks62 Do you work in strength or hypertrophy rep ranges? I have been powerlifting for years and while i got a hell of a lot stronger, I didn't see really visible changes until I started training specifically for muscle mass by doing some focused bodybuilding programmes. I recently started doing a physique program from Renaissance Periodization, and the changes in my visible muscle mass have been INSANE. Would highly recommend!
 
@hendricks62 Yeah tbh every time a thin girl I follow on Instagram gets asked what their workout routine is and they say “oh I don’t work out at all lol” it kills a little part of me because I know nobody would ever ask for my workout routine as it‘s not an “ideal” body.
 
@hendricks62 Back in August I felt like that. Until I made a conscious plan to start losing weight while keeping my weight workouts and cardio consistent. Tracking macros and all the shebang.

Now I look like I work out and I still have more in the tank! I have been consistently losing weight (from 160 to 146, GW is 140) while getting PRs in bench, deadlift and squat.

So yes. It's more about watching what you eat than doing crazy workouts.
Before that, I was working out but it wasn't until I started losing weight and tracking macros that my body changed.
 
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