Not made any progress in years

[dawn16]

@cinnamoroll Eh, yea, fair. But this was me natty, at 195ish 10% BF, age 36:

https://imgur.com/a/Ut0dDey

Should’ve drawn the comparison to this

 

[cinnamoroll]

@dawn16 Your physique is amazing at this point. Is it coming completely natural? No trt or anything?

 

[dawn16]

@cinnamoroll Thanks man. Completely natural. Just nearly 20 years of consistency, effort, and not fearing getting fat in service of size.

 

[cattat]

@dawn16 Almost 5’9 and I’m 5’11

Dude has spun his wheels for years by the sound of it. Especially for the relatively weak numbers for the amount of years lifting.

 

[dawn16]

@cattat Agreed. The bench doesn’t totally suck, but it’s not great either.

 

[damon46789]

@cattat How is that relevant though? The weight depends entirely on bodyfat percentage. Whilst you may be 96kg, if you're a high body fat percentage it doesn't mean shit. For all we know, OP could be sub 10% bodyfat, at which point, 80kg for his height would be very respectable for a natty

 

[cattat]

@damon46789 And therein lies the problem, caring too much about being “lean” at the expense of making gains. I’ve seen this 1000 times

 

[damon46789]

@cattat No mate that's not the point I'm making. What I mean is, we don't know whether 80kg is good or not for his height because it depends entirely on his bodyfat percentage. And on the other point, you can't say that being or wanting to be lean is a problem when different people have different goals. You can gain muscle without balooning in bodyfat, it just takes more precision and hardwork with the diet

 

[cattat]

@damon46789 With a post like this, it’s fair to say his body fat percentage isn’t the issue.

And if that is his goal, sure. But being lean and making progress sometimes can be mutually exclusive.

 

[dawn16]

@damon46789 Right, but OP is complaining about not having progressed for a decade. I doubt someone with OP’s stats who was sub 10% BF would be complaining about that. Fwiw, OP himself commented that this thread has made him realize he isn’t putting in enough effort.

 

[cattat]

@dawn16 This

 

[prinsess27]

@cinnamoroll Are you training enough? I only ask because it sounds like your diet is in check which is usually the area people are lacking. I'm a similar height and weight with lifts in a close range. I've weighed a bit more and been a bit stronger than i am now (but I'm content and just in maintenance).

I am wondering 2 main things, 1. Have you increased volume? Are you hitting 3 sets per exercise or 5? Are you aiming for sets in the 4-6 rep range? You mentioned trying different programs. But i don't know all what that entails.

Also, natural T levels. I wouldn't think this would be an issue yet at your age, but little to no progress in 10yrs? Low enough T could certainly hinder some muscle growth. You may not get an answer unless you pay out of pocket though.

 

[bidgeeboy]

@cinnamoroll Same.

Been in the game 18 years or so, early 30s. I can cut weight, but typically my gains are about the same. It’s more about health and functional fitness for me, but still annoying to think that in high school I was squatting and dead lifting in the 400s, and in my 20s warming up with 225 on the bench, and now I’m happy to get a couple reps of 225.

 

[mathetes66]

@cinnamoroll Try doing a power lifting program

 

[dawn16]

@mathetes66 Hypertrophy training gets you stronger too. PL programming just gets you better at 1RM of SBD. People need to stop thinking that PL/low reps are the only way to get strong.

 

[cattat]

@dawn16 Did we just become best friends?

 

[dawn16]

@cattat

 

[cattat]

@dawn16 The best PLers, natty or otherwise, spend the vast majority of the year essentially bodybuilding.

It’s why the modern powerlifter would also be a great natty BBer

 

[nickyhmurray]

@cinnamoroll Have a look at Steve Shaw's massive iron channel on Youtube.
I think he is brilliant. The thing that got me progressing like never before is his rep goal system. Besides that he has loads of down to earth sensible things that may help. It did for me. At the moment I am progressing in weight and growing slowly but steadily.

 

[caelitusmihivires]

@cinnamoroll Could be the following:
-not doing enough volume consistently
-not eating enough consistently
-poor exercise selection / lack of variation
-reached natty limit / so close that gains are almost unmeasurable

What you can do:
-maintain consistency of the diet surplus and training volume
-vary exercises so the stimulus is novel and not stale
-get a coach

Edit
-consider using volume cycling (lower volume to maintenance on all body parts but one, then increase the volume on that one body part for an entire block of training