# i am having trouble gaining size



## nova1970sb (Feb 5, 2010)

hey guys this will be my third post, since joining. and again, thanks in advance for your input.

i have been working out for 12 weeks now. and i am just not seeing the gains i would like to see. i eat right, i bust my ass at the gym, but for no more than a half hour at a time. i am going to post some pictures on the bottom. 

i doubled the amount of food i ate this year starting jan 1

everyday i eat,
5 eggs (2 whole 3 whites)
a peanut butter and jelly (sugar free, on whole wheat)
1/2 pound of chicken (lunch meat)
2 large handfuls of fresh veggies (brocoli, carrots, and coliflower)
another pbj
then a tuna sandwich (tuna and whole wheat bread, light mustard)
and a protien shake around 11, then one at night after my workout, with a scoop of carb powder in the last one.

i am 5' 10" 25 years old and cant get past 171 pounds!

my workout program is as follows

day 1
bench press
incline bench press
vertical rows
dips

day 2
squats
deadlifts
calf raises
straight legged deadlifts
leg curls

day 3
cardio, 20 minutes jogging or bike
ab press
oblique machine (not sure what its called)
then captains chairs

day 4
lat pull downs
close grip lat pull downs
barbell rows
shrugs
bicep curls

day 5
repeat leg day

day 6 and 7 rest

3 months ago






today





does anyone have any advice on how i could develop muscular growth faster, without steroids ofcourse!


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## nova1970sb (Feb 5, 2010)

diet may be it, i dont know. i guarantee its not intensity though. i am always dripping sweat at the gym, and i always struggle for the last reps.


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## nova1970sb (Feb 5, 2010)

so it very well could be protien, i am getting about 150 grams a day. any suggestions on what to eat to get in more protien without breaking the bank?


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## nova1970sb (Feb 5, 2010)

Geared Jesus said:


> Walmart has these 16oz tubes of Tukey chop meat for only $1
> 
> Thats about 80 grams of protein per tube
> 
> ...



turkey chop meat, what part of the turkey is that?


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## brk_nemesis (Feb 5, 2010)

up the cals.... you should be well over maintenance if you wanna gain size.


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## Vance (Feb 6, 2010)

And dripping sweat does not automatically = intensity.  To me intensity = how many times you feel like you're gonna throw up and/or pass out.  

GJ is right, if you wanna gain size, increase the weight and drop the reps. I'd also change your routine.

Dump the cardio - if you're going to do cardio do 10 mins at the end of your workouts and that's it. It's a circle jerk looking to gain mass and doing lots of cardio. Build your 3 day rotation around;

Day 1:
Deadlifts/ back/ traps/ abs

Day 2:
Bench/ dips/ shoulders/chest

Day 3:
Squats/ Leg work

Day 4:
Off

Rinse, repeat. Do 5 sets of all major compound exercises. 3 sets of all supporting isolation exercises. Make sure at least one set of each is at your 1-3rm with one set at around 70% of your 1rm and mix it up inbetween. Bulk of your sets should be 5-8 reps to failure weight. If you can lift it more than 8 times, up the weight.

Do that and you'll start packing on mass.


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## MAC24/7 (Feb 6, 2010)

thats too bad killer...eat your a-hole off


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## kyoun1e (Feb 6, 2010)

I'd start tracking your caloric intake at fitday.com. 

At 170 lbs, your maintenance is probably ballpark, 2,550 calories (170 x 15). I'd guess you'll need to add another 500 calories as a start on top of this. Round up...3,100 calories per day.

Hit 1.5g/lb of protein per day, up the carbs post workout and on training days...maybe 2.5-3 g/lb...fill the rest in with healthy fat.

And I second the thoughts on intensity...your rep range should be in the 5-8 range.

And just as important...each week try and put MORE WEIGHT ON THE BAR. You're not going to gain mass unless you increase the load and force your body to adapt.

Good luck.

KY


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## nova1970sb (Feb 6, 2010)

i have been doing between 6-10 reps, i always end up getting around 7-9 on my final set. 

i do believe my intensity is up for my size, i hit 190 on bench the other day, i am curling 70, deadlifting 210, and for dips, i cant really ad any weight so i usually do 15 reps 3 times.


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## Doublebase (Feb 6, 2010)

http://www.internetfitness.com/calculators/bmr.htm


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## nova1970sb (Feb 6, 2010)

thanks for the info on the sites guys, that helped!


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## T_man (Feb 6, 2010)

_squats
deadlifts
calf raises
straight legged deadlifts
leg curls_

If you can do this workout twice in 3 days then _I don't think _the intensity isn't high enough.


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## nova1970sb (Feb 6, 2010)

T_man said:


> _squats
> deadlifts
> calf raises
> straight legged deadlifts
> ...




the second day is for sure weaker, one of the trainers at the gym i got to recomended it, said i should work legs twice a week cause its half my body. should i?


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## FMJ (Feb 6, 2010)

Take one variable at a time. Your intensity may be there, it may not. Bottom line is you'll never know if you don't get your diet dialed in. 
Get your calories and if you're not making gains after a few weeks, then you'll have no question that it's your training.
Lastly, I'm with Vance. Dump the cardio. Choose to bulk or cut. Don't try to do both.


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## nova1970sb (Feb 6, 2010)

ok i found out if a add 2 cups of milk a day and a half pound of chicken breast it puts me where i need to be for protien. i will go from there, and ditch the cardio


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## DaMayor (Feb 6, 2010)

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/new-members-begin-here/97077-read-me-first-homework-1-newbies.html

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/diet-nutrition/21113-guide-cutting-bulking-maintenance.html


I'd work on that diet. It isn't entirely bad, there have been many posted that were MUCH worse, lol. Below is the infamous Grocery List poated by Jodi a hundred years ago....a good starting point.

*The Grocery List*

Protein:
Lean Steak
Ground Beef
Chicken Breast
Ground Chicken
Turkey 
Ground Turkey
White Fish
Shell Fish
Salmon/Shark/Swordfish
Canned Tuna 
Canned Salmon
Canned Chicken
Eggs
Cottage Cheese
Sugar Free Low Carb Protein Powder (Whey)
Buffalo
Venison
Tofu
Soy
Pork Loin

Fat:
Fish Oil
Cream for Coffee
Flax Seed Oil
Egg Yolks
Mayonnaise
Olive Oil
Safflower Oil
Walnut Oil
Nuts
Natural Sugar Free Nut Butters (PB, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter etc)
Oil Based Dressings
Real Butter (no spray, no margarine)

Carbs:
Sweet Potatoes
Yams
Long Grain Brown Rice
Old Fashioned Oats
Scottish Oats
Fresh or Frozen (w/o syrup) berries
Fruit
Whole Grain Bread
Fiber One
All Bran w/ Extra Fiber
Uncle Sam Cereal 
Whole Wheat Pasta
Lentils
Legumes
New Potatoes
Red Potatoes
Pumpkin
Squash
Turnip
Vegetables:
Celery
Peppers (any color)
Mushrooms
String Beans
Zucchini
Eggplant
Squash
Romaine Lettuce
Iceberg Lettuce
Spinach
Asparagus
Avocado
Broccoli
Brussell Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Onion



Snacks & Beverages:
Sugar Free Jello
Diet Soda (1-2 per day)
Crystal Light
WATER
Coffee
Tea 
Artificial Sweeteners

Everything else you need to know is covered in the links I posted...and there are quite a few more. Good luck.


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## Spaullba (Feb 6, 2010)

You dont necessarily have to dump cardio all together, just dont run for more than 10 minutes.  When I do cardio I wil either do 100 meter sprints for 10 minutes or a timed mile at about 6-7 minutes.  

Your day 3 workout doesn't look very strong to me.  I would maybe do your day 1 workout again on day 3.  Or something like:

DB bench press
DB shoulder press
Close grip bench
DB incline

I guess I am just not a big fan of ab workouts, or at least not dedicating a full day to them.  Others may disagree with me though.


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## MAC24/7 (Feb 6, 2010)

i do my whole arm everyday then i just stop at the fatigue stage


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## Curt James (Feb 6, 2010)

Geared Jesus said:


> mostly ass meat and beaks.



LMAO!


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## Curt James (Feb 6, 2010)

Great thread. Lots of useful information here!

I'm going to stock up on ass meat and beaks.


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## nova1970sb (Feb 6, 2010)

thanks guys that grocery list is helpful. and i do the abs all that day just because its convienient to do after cardio. i will look into cutting my cardio in half though guys, again thanks.


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## Merkaba (Feb 6, 2010)

I can look at your diet and see you're too low on calories as a first hunch.  That looks like you might be getting what 2000?  Don't forget about olive oil shots.  Add a tablespoon to your shakes and to your veggies or whatever.  120 or so calories a tablespoon.  EVOO is lighter tasting.  Try some in some oatmeal or rice or something with your eggs or later with dinner.  Where's your good carbs?  You're eating two bread sandwiches a day and lets face it, the PB and J is weak.  I love them, but that would be a snack for extra calories.  Get some meat and some brown rice and veggies or something. 

 If you look at your diet then you have to have a hunch that it is weak.  Does that look, say even 50% like a bodybuilder's (muscle gainers) diet...?  Geez i'm glad you've upped your food since last year!  As I say, the diet is 50% of the work.  Keep the protein up.  Hell looks like you get more protein than I do on some days and I'm 250.  How many grams protein in your shakes and are you making them yourself?  I try to do 60 to 90 gram shakes with raw oats inside, Peri-workout.  I make it about 45 minutes out and the oats get a little gummy but its good to me.  I'll consume a third before...a third during and a third afterwards...at least when I'm not being slack this is what I do.  My diet is my weakest spot for me.  I don't like to eat as much as I need to and since I'm cutting(not on superbowl sunday) Its even more of a challenge cause if Im not careful, I can go into ketosis and not eat all freakin day once I start cutting carbs out.  Just step up the diet intensity if you feel like your gym intensity is up to par.  

And yea I agree, don't do too much cardio...I'd stick to a good 15 minutes max of light jogging or walking,  maybe a few times a week,  but your workout should be intense enough to keep your body in good cardio vascular shape.  It's easy to over do the gym, especially being a guy. You don't need to go to failure but you need that heavy rep range, around 5 to 8.   Less is more in many cases.

I wouldn't listen to much else this "trainer" has to say if that's his rationale for training legs twice a week.  I would say twice but one day go heavy and low reps on Quad dominant movements and light and higher rep on hams, then on the second day heavy and low reps on hams and light and high on quads.


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## gtbmed (Feb 6, 2010)

In short, track your intake on fitday, track your weight loss/gain during the same time interval.  Increase/decrease calories accordingly.


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## nova1970sb (Feb 7, 2010)

i have been using precision engineered whey protien mix. its 18 grams per serving and i double up on it. as of yesterday i started mixing it with milk for a little more protien, before i was using water so now each shake is about 46 grams of protien. oh and for beverages through the day all i have is water besides my shake. and how much vegetables should be eaten in a day?


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## gtbmed (Feb 7, 2010)

Veggies don't really count AFAIK.  Eat as many as you want/can.

And if you're going to make changes, try to be honest/specific with yourself and record your changes.  You need to keep some kind of record if you want to know which changes help you accomplish your goals.


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## T_man (Feb 7, 2010)

gtbmed said:


> Veggies don't really count AFAIK.  Eat as many as you want/can.
> 
> And if you're going to make changes, try to be honest/specific with yourself and record your changes.  You need to keep some kind of record if you want to know which changes help you accomplish your goals.



Depends on the vegetables. I think you're referring mostly to fibrous veggies.


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## Merkaba (Feb 7, 2010)

yea brocolli and spinach for the win.  Lots of "veggies" are loaded with starch, some beans, for example.


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