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

[airforce1]

@wmsgil Aug 30, 2021-Oct 18, 2021: "more so just maintenance"; (1.5 months)
Sep 7, 2022-Dec 6, 2022: "more so just maintenance"; (3 months)
Dec 29, 2022-Jan 15, 2022: "got covid and recovered for 2 weeks"; (2 wks)
(5 months of maintenence)
Even with the 5 months of interruption , you're doing incredible as far as effort, knowing what you're doing, consistency & dedication, rest, not skipping any bodypart, conditioning, muscle density, proportion,.. Congrats on ALL of that; those things are major. The only thing I see (aside from switching programs) is, in my opinion, you're not taking in nearly enough protein - you weigh 168, but you're only taking in 140 gr of protein a day - that's not enough to give you a surplus to build (more) muscle ; you need AT LEAST a gram per lb of bodyweight - for you, 170 gr minimum . You can also increase your calories overall - 2260 is eaten up by the consistent training - talk to natural bodybuilder Mike Ashley about drastically increasing caloric intake to get both bigger and stronger, drinking your calories, MCT oil, (and powerlifting too, for size and strength). With the results you're already getting while not taking in enough protein - which are excellent as far as conditioning, muscle density, proportion, - I can't wait to see what you can do with more protein (& more calories). [Just my opinion]

 

[zemuel]

@wmsgil How long have you been lifting? A natural guy is going to be tapped on 95% of their lifetime muscle gains in their first 3-4 years of lifting.

 

[wmsgil]

@zemuel around 4 years but it's not a continuous block of time.

A natural guy is going to be tapped on 95% of their lifetime muscle gains in their first 3-4 years of lifting.

I'm not sure about this tbh, at least from watching people like GVS.

A lot of people saying I'm close to natural limit in this thread, but GVS is way bigger than me.

 

[zemuel]

@wmsgil Wait Geoffrey Verity Schofield? I never heard of him…that guy is saucy as hell…

 

[wmsgil]

@zemuel Not sure if you're being sarcastic but yes him. He's regarded as a natty king, although tbh I'm suspect of his progress too. He's made insane progress over the past few years well into 8+ years of training.

 

[zemuel]

@wmsgil It’s cause he’s not natty…like…why is hard to believe a guy that looks sauced up does drugs?

 

[ged]

@zemuel GTFO here. GVS is not "Saucy".

You need to spend more time in the gym and less time on reddit

 

[zemuel]

@ged Stfu lol

 

[olorijimmy]

@wmsgil Not no progress…

Back is wider looking at your front shot, insertion extends down lower suggesting lat dorsii volume has gone up, your last year just shows some V up north near the teres minor, over time with more mass insertions will come down south, people just don’t realize that because of the sheer size of pro bbers and the v taper but the same is true of them.

I can also see more of your ribs/serratus area suggesting more muscle but lower or equivalent body fat.

It does look like there’s a bit more shape to the shoulders, but it’s small.

Also you’re pretty developed, so expect it to slow down.

You don’t work hard on your legs though, and you clearly haven’t worked to put on size through calorie surplus most likely because you like staying near this level of lean. As a natty - or even enhanced(!) you don’t get the best of both worlds. Want to gain size and muscle? Throw an extra 1000-2000 calories a day down the hatch, want to cut back, reduce strictly over the next 3-4 mlnths. It works the same whether your natty or not, just the rate and quality can vary.

 

[jane08]

@wmsgil Think you already know but gotta actually bulk (20lbs+) and then cut. Sucks about the face fat ofc but yeah

 

[jazztrance]

@wmsgil I would say go on an aggressive bulk

 

[ged]

@wmsgil What's your progress like within this past year on lifts? Have your curls/pulldowns/extensions, presses, etc. gotten stronger?

Progressive overload is a symptom of hypertrophy, and if your strength for reps didn't go up over time noticeably, don't expect noticeable muscle gains as well.

Assuming your technique and effort are good, lack of progress/hitting a wall can be caused by:

1) Too much volume

2) Too little volume

3) Too little calories

 

[itsagoodday]

@wmsgil I would bulk a little more aggressively. If you finished a cut at 161 you should easily be getting up to the 180's. Start doing your own splits and exercise selection based on good fundamentals, what you know works well for your body and your current goals. I would highly recommend the Dr. Mike Israetel's template for setting up a mesocycle and training block. It's in full detail on his YouTube page Renaissance Periodization.

 

[ohmaggiemae]

@wmsgil The top issues I see are: programming inconsistency and not programming for yourself. If volume is relatively high, your intensity is likely not as high as you think it is. Mine wasn't either after only four years. It takes longer than you think to learn.

I would: write your own bodybuilding program, stick to it for a year or more, use basic double progression, and drop the volume to push to true momentary muscular failure on your lifts. If it's unsafe to push to that point, pick a different lift for that muscle group/movement pattern.

 

[danny4mission]

@wmsgil TNF and Alex Leonidas are excellent resources for natural bodybuilding if you need help and inspiration. TNF is on tiktok, Alex is on youtube.

TNF recommends MINIMUM 3lbs a month bulk. At a certain training age progress gets a lot slower, so while I do think you actually have put on some decent size, it's clear youre entering into your higher training age that requires a lot more than what just novices require.

Dont dirty bulk, but less than half a pound a week is just not good enough anymore since you might be well past nooby gains

and lastly while 0.7g per lb of bodyweight is fine if youre bulking, 1g per lb a body weight is ideal if youre cutting

 

[jessie101]

@wmsgil I aspire to look like you one day.

What in those programs you did do you think gave you the best results?

 

[negec56114]

@wmsgil But have you gained strength? Personally id be satisfied with your physique if i were you and i wouldnt obsess or stress about it especially if youve gained strength then youve progressed even if it isnt very visible. I mean at a certain point there isnt anywhere for the body to go if you get what i mean unless you make a drastic change and go into extreme measures that do more damage than good for the sake or looking a certain way for example check out what zac efron said about his baywatch body

 

[negec56114]

@wmsgil Also i would look into mike mentzner type training for a while at least. I think you might be doing too much and with the added demotivation you might feel burnt out. You could at the very least maintain this very decent physique with way less effort and also find training more enjoyable as it would be more scarce so each workout would be something to look forward to instead of this extremely rigid routine you have to force yourself to stick to.

 

[jmc66]

@wmsgil It's hard to tell. But I can make a guess. Volume seems fine if you follow the programs. Your strength is really off. Maybe you actually don't train hard, we have no way of knowing. Pick a few exercises maybe a leg, a pull and a push exercise or even just 2 and focus on progressive overload for those. See if when you get your strength up if size follows.