*sigh*......just not getting any bigger

U

underfooter

0
Here is my situation. I've been working out for about 2 years now, but I've only gotten serious about it (5 times a week over 2-3 times a week) in the last 3 months. After 2 months, I switched up my routine.


I do biceps/triceps one day, chest and shoulders the next. I mix abs in every once and in a while, and I do legs every third day if I get the chance.


I am just not getting bigger. I am getting stronger for sure, I can outlift my peers on most of the machines. They call me 'the tank that no one knows about'. People that just look at me don't think I am strong whatsoever. Mind you, this isn't a self-esteem problem.

It appears as if the only thing getting bigger is my chest, with the rest just toning up. My arm right now is 12" in diameter (30cm), I want to get it up to 15" by the end of the summer. But I need assistance.


Every time I work out I drink a 45g protein drink called ISO XP (creamcicle flavoured). I eat lots of carbs and protein drinks such as pasta, fish, and steak. I'd say I work on a very good diet for body building. When I go to the gym, I do 4 sets of 8 on a high weight.


I need advice badly, I feel like I'm doing it so wrong. If anyone wants to talk to me, reply in this thread, or talk to me via AIM (with 'underfooter12') or via hotmail (peter_jeter@hotmail.com).



Thanks
 
i agree with huff, hard work on squats works wonders. concentrate on the big basic exercises (squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, chins, dips).

plenty of food in the tank is needed also. 5-6 meals a day every 3 hours.
 
"You might want to put a bit more serious effort into the legs since working your larger muscle groups allows for more testosterone release."

Coach Dan, I agree with that statement. My question is how long does that testosterone release from the legs workout last?

For example, lets say I do a super, t-pumpin legs workout one day, and I do any upper body workout the next day or two days after. Will the testosterone still pump up those upper body muscles? I always thought what a person had to testosterone pumpin exercises on the same day (I used to do squats before I'd workout my shoulders or biceps) for the effect. Thanks!
 
so your chest is getting bigger but your arms arent? what exactly are you doing for biceps triceps and shoulders?

You said 4 sets of 8 reps? Try 4 sets of 6 reps maximum weight possible with perfect form.

big arms unflexed = big triceps (recommend dips and rope pull down)

big arms flexed = big biceps (recommend EZ bar because its a compound motion)

also when doing biceps or triceps, never use momentum. once i started doin that, my arms grew.

Im sure im missing stuff. The veterans on this will fill you in more.

Good Luck!
 
No momentum, lower body/back, and 4 sets of 6 (with improved form).

It is these tips that will help. Thanks guys! I'm just glad I wasn't flooded with different types of protein shakes to use.


I'm going to the gym in a few minutes to work on legs and back, tommorow I'll be back to my tricep/bicep routine.
 
i found this

Exercise

Long-term studies show that more than three hours of vigorous exercise each week is linked with 11% higher testosterone levels [1]. However, not all forms of exercise boost testosterone to the same extent. Firstly, it needs to be vigorous, as light to moderate exercise (such as walking) has little effect on testosterone levels [9].

When it comes to weight-training, research carried in the International Journal of Sports Medicine shows that testosterone responds well to a range of repetitions and rest periods [20].

The first workout used low repetitions (5 repetitions), and long rest periods between sets (3 minutes). Workout two involved a higher number of repetitions (10 repetitions), with a shorter period of rest between sets (1 minute). Testosterone levels increased immediately after both workouts, though growth hormone was greater following workout two. Testosterone levels are also higher after four sets of an exercise, compared with two or six [31]

However, testosterone levels can take a dive after a high volume of resistance exercise. Some evidence for this comes from research carried in the Journal of Applied Physiology [26]. Test subjects completed a two-hour bout of exercise consisting of 50 sets of several different exercises, including the squat, bench press, leg press, and lat pulldown. Overnight, free testosterone dropped by around 15%. This was accompanied by a rise in cortisol levels.

Over the long-term, too much exercise also lowers testosterone. Endurance-trained men have lower testosterone levels than men of the same age who never exercise. Testosterone is around 50% higher in sedentary individuals compared to long distance runners [9, 15].

This means you need to be very careful to insert rest days into your workout program, especially if you're doing a lot of high-volume training. That's why the non-linear periodized program described elsewhere on this site has days of complete rest inserted between workouts.

Although testosterone levels vary during the day, reaching a peak in the morning and dropping at the end of the day, there are also peaks and troughs during the year. Both luteinizing hormone and testosterone reach a peak during June and July, with minimum levels present during winter and early spring [2]. Air temperature, rather than light, seems to be responsible for this seasonal variation. Maybe the summer (rather than the winter) is the best time to aim for peak physical condition.
 
Just a quick observation...

Maybe your workouts are too strenous - i.e. your muscles are not getting enough time to recover and then grow.

Try cycling the number of reps and sets...

Week one - 3 sets, 4-7 reps
Week two - 4 sets, 7-11 reps
Week three - 5 sets, 4-7 reps
Week four - Repeat
 
- compound exercises
- perseverance (it took me 3 years for progress, how long should these things take?)
- drugs
- time to recover, work one body area at a time if too slow. A day to recover on each part at least; no ache when working out the next day
- less cardio, especially on areas tying to bulk
 
in the article, it says "Testosterone levels are also higher after four sets of an exercise, compared with two or six" what does the article mean by exercise. does that mean do 4 sets of benching then move on and do 4 sets of flys? or does that mean you do 4 sets of benching and ur done for the day for those muscles?
 
Stupid testosterone.

I'm clearly no expert - but it really seems like your natural hormone levels have more to do with what kind of muscle you'll get than what sort of workouts you do.

I was a runt growing up, and in 8th grade I got sent to some growth specialist - he felt up my nuts then said 'hmmmm'. I ended up getting a shot in my ass once every month. I didn't know or really care about the whole thing; I never minded being short and skinny - I was just sorta dragged along.

Anyway, they were, litereally, giving me steriods. Looking back, I can see that I was a bit more hot tempered during those 6 months and I did a heck of a lot better in wrestling than I did in 7th grade. Had they just told me I was talking roids - I would have worked out a lot more.

---

But really, isn't this why some girls can lift however they want and look like a 'inshape' girl and others start bulking up, and why two guys that are in the shape shape, start doing the same routine, eating the same food - but one gets a lot bigger? (I always wonder about armys. I mean, if you have 50 guys in a platoon or whatever and they do the same workouts next to each other, eat the same food, get the same amount of rest, why are some of them still kinda scrawny and some look like Mr. T?)

Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse as to why I'm not huge yet :)
 
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