Made absolutely no progress in the past year when I had pretty much everything dialed in, starting to lose motivation..

[ameyer6]

@dsal There's nothing unique to milk that he can't get elsewhere. He's been doing this for 4 years and looks great, he's not a beginner.

 

[dsal]

@ameyer6 Easy source of calcium, fat, other vital vitamins (b12, d ), And quality protein. All for a price that is way lower than other products. Whole Foods are important but milk is a good substitute along with protein powder.

 

[dawn16]

@dsal I think by this point with his extremely impressive natty physique he knows about milk my man

 

[dsal]

@dawn16 He said he doesn’t drink it. I was explaining to the other dude that said milk isn’t all that. Read the whole conversation before you just type something.

 

[dawn16]

@dsal I don’t think you passed elementary school level reading comprehension my guy. This post is about OP’s plateau he’s trying to break, and you this comment thread is about milk.

 

[bookagape]

@wmsgil Go on a dirty bulk bro it'll help

 

[junior59]

@wmsgil Did you gain weight regardless of whether muscle or fat?
Physique looks decent but if the scale isn't moving (that's what it looks like visually at least) you're not even lean bulking you're just maintaining

 

[wmsgil]

@junior59 If you look at attached MacroFactor data, you can see the lean bulk in action.

 

[katiebug22]

@wmsgil If you've been in an extended lean bulk and you're worried that you're not making enough progress and starting to feel less motivated, have you considered a less lean bulk for faster results?

 

[wmsgil]

@katiebug22 I have, and in fact when I first started lifting I was dirty perma bulking so I'm no stranger to that. It's just that the cut after the aggressive bulk is very painful and pretty much everyone recommends a lean bulk to not put on excess fat. I'm not sure if my lack of meaningful progress is due to the lean bulk or some other factors, if I knew it was from the lean bulk, then ofc I have no problem doing a more aggressive bulk

 

[junior59]

@wmsgil yeah I'd +1 the suggestion on a slightly larger surplus, but trends do look good.

I would agree with your assessment that there isn't a ton of visual progress, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given you appear to be in pretty good shape. If you wanted to just be "bigger" you probably will need to eat a bit more, otherwise just maintaining that current physique indefinitely seems like pretty solid success to me too

 

[sentosa]

@wmsgil I agree with ParticularExchange46 that you're changing your routine too much. And you mention just recently changing to a more bodybuilding style training style. I'm not familiar with all the programs you listed but from my experience just changing your lifting style, not even the program can have a huge impact on gains.

So my question is are you training with 3 second eccentrics? Chasing rep quality, not just weight progress? Focusing on MM connection? Using more stabilized lifts like leg press instead of squats? Choosing moments with a low stimulus to fatigue ratio? In order to look like an advanced lifter we need to train like we already are in order to move out of the late intermediate phase. These are all question advanced lifters consider and manage while programing.

I was stuck for a year like yourself when I was neglecting these questions and following programs others had built for me. Advanced level physiques come from understanding your needs, and building your own solutions, even if they seem contrary to popular solutions.

There's a fair amount of scientific evidence (and plenty of examples in pro bodybuilders) that sticking with exercises and programs for longer periods of time, up to 6-8 months can make all the difference. Dr. Mike and Jeff Albert's talk about this a lot and will keep big corner stone movements in place for years. I remember reading Albert's talk about his back training being almost entirely pull downs and chest supported rows for the last decade and he just placed 5th in worlds for example.

 

[chill57]

@sentosa Can you give an example of moment with low stim to fatigue ratio? Not familiar with what that is

 

[dawn16]

@wmsgil I think this is the correct answer. Your programming is a little all over the shop and I think you might benefit from building your own programme and sticking to it for a solid year or more. Being on something like GVS Ravage is a great start but start to build on it and select muscle areas that you actually want to work on.

Anecdotally I was in a similar position to you about a 1.5 years ago. I'd done a bunch of "hypertrophy" programslike 5/3/1 BBB, Deepwater, Building the Monolith and then lastly SBS Hypertrophy RTF. I looked pretty much exactly the same. It was only when I started to focus on purely Bodybuilding training thanks to youtube channels like Natural Hypertrophy, GVS, Basement Bodybuilding that I started to see noticeable gains again.

My key takeaway was to shift away from a Big 3 Strength orientated program to something more holistic. I now focus on these things, and it's served me well the last 6-8 months:

1. Progression Scheme (this is the biggest). Make it simple again. Double Progression.
2. Exercise selection. What's your focus? Deadlifts aren't going to build a big back, rows are. Low bar squats aren’t going to build quads, front squats are. Make sure you’re doing what’s needed for you.
3. Training to failure. You said you already did 0-1 RIR so that’s that one sorted.
4. Exercise Variety. Bench press, flies, DB bench, Incline Bench etc. Variety will avoid nagging injuries and target the muscles in different ways.
5. No exercise is an accessory. Single arm cable curl is equally important as the Bench Press.

I’d seriously recommend checking out those youtube channels. They’ve completely shifted my mindset and I’ve learnt so much after years spinning my wheels with pseudo hypertrophy programs that are better geared for powerlifters.

BTW You’re looking stacked bro. But hope you find more gains in the future.

 

[wmsgil]

@dawn16 Thanks for the kind words bro. Like you said I just built my own custom PPL split and I'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. Also, I do watch all those channels and I was actually watching a video by Basement Bodybuilding when I saw your comment