# Help Needed!



## Matt-11 (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi Guys,

I go to the gym 5 days per week and run at the opposite end of the day for 3 of those days. I have a stressful job, but still never miss a meal or a training session.

The problem is that I appear to be finding it really difficult to put on muscle, for example I could put on 3 pounds in a week and loose it all the following week whilst following the same workout routine and diet plan.

*WHY AM I NOT PUTTING ON ANYMORE LEAN MUSCLE? I'm 5'9 and 72KG and quite lean *

*
*

Here is my daily diet plan: -

06:10 - Pharma Whey protein shake + half a banana

06:30 - Workout for one hour ending with another Pharma Whey protein shake

07:50 - Piece of Salmon, brown pasta, green beans

10:30 - Chicken breast, bit of brown pasta and green beans

13:00 - Chicken breast, brown pasta, beans and cheese

16:30 - Can of tuna, orange

20:00 - Either, chicken/beef/fish with little carbs and veg

22:30 - Pharma Whey protein shake

Here is my workout schedule all of which are 4 sets on each excercise with 12, 10, 8, 8 reps & all weight sessions are in the morning: -

*Monday - Back *- Machine Lat Pull Down, Bent over rows, Seated close grip rows, Wide grip pull-ups, Hyper extentions, Cable pull downs (different grip), abs

Run in evening

*Tuesday - Biceps & Triceps* - bb curl, db preacer curl, db hammer curl & EZ bar close grip curl - Triceps = skull crushers, pull down cable with rope, pull down cable with straight bar, db kickbacks & one arm light cable pull down, abs

*Wednesday - Chest* - Smith flat bench press, Smith incline bench press, Flat db press, incline db press, flat flys, incline flys, cable crosovers, abs

Run in evening

*
Thursday -* off

*Friday - Legs *- Leg press machine, calve raise machine, smith machine squat, leg extentions (quads) & hamstring curls, Abs

Run in evening

*Saturday -* Shoulders - Seated DB press, DB side raises, DB front raises, DB rear delts, DB shrugs, smith machine overhead press, abs

*Sunday -* Off

I still want to be lean, where am I going wrong???

All of your advice is appreciated

Cheers

Matt


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

try decrease the sessions your doing weights to 3 a week. you will get better results with more rest. 5 is too many sessions for weights


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

at moment im doing monday: chest,tricep. wednesday : back,bicep Friday: legs shoulders


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

also id increase the calories your taking in. easy way to do this is eat more fats full fat milk,peanuts/peanut butter cheese or oily fish like mackrel. also try this shake a couple times a day (not straight after training) whey,fullfat milk,oats,peanut butter in blender plenty calories there


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## Matt-11 (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks, I'll give the extra calories a go. I worry that if I don't train the 5 days in the gym, then I'll put a lot of fat on or i this not the case?


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

weight training 5 times a week doesnt give your muscles time to recover i know ull get better results on 3 sessions a week. its the cardio that will stop the fat being gained not the weights. carry on doing same cardio but dont be scared of putting a bit of fat on as if your wanting to get bigger you probably will put a bit on. but it isnt a big deal to get rid of a bit of fat once your happy with the size your at.

Try 3 times a week bit more fats with your meals and that shake i suggested instead of shake with breakfast and before bed. do it for a month you will get better results. need any more help just message me im no expert but know the basics


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## Sharp161 (Jan 31, 2010)

Post your macros for your diet.

Id say most common things your doin wrong, not eating enough and not training hard enough and just cus you train 5 times a week doesnt mean your training hard!


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## wanabemassive (Nov 29, 2011)

I'm not a pro builder... but, everyone has different physiologies. I put on muscle and fat really easily, my mate has never been over 5% body fat even though he eats like a beast.

But you'll grow more if you concentrate on bulking. It's hard to grow at you maximum if you're also cutting - and this is a lot more important if you're the skinny type. Genereally skinny guys, don't realise that they move and do a lot more exercise than most, they also eat a lot better. You're eating like a semi pro builder before a competition, and there's no real need to. There's also no real need to go running. And there's also no need for all those body exercises. Every time you're in the gym you're burning calories. You need to hit it really hard, and then rest. Less is more in your case.

For me, I can go running and eat lean and it it wont stop me growing. I have a problem cutting. But if you're the skinny type then you should pay attention to bulking.

What I would do:

- eat what you like when you like, literally: burgers, pizzas, rice, pasta, any high calorie food (don't eat MacDonalds every day, but you know what I mean - salmon and salad wont bulk you up). And obviously protein every few hours.

- stop running.

- Drop isolation exercises and concentrate on compound. (dead lifts, shoulder press, bench press, squats)

- Exercise in the evening. Morning exercise is well known to burn more calories, since you're working on an empty tank.

- Do less exercise days, and less exercises, just hit the days and exercises you do, a lot harder.

Something like: Mondays: Chest and back, Wednesdays: Arms and shoulders. Fridays: legs. And don't do 10 exercise per body part. Thats what pros do, that eat 3 cows a day and take "extra supplements".. lol

Basically do this for a couple of months and see. You will put on a little fat, your biceps wont be quite as defined. Your abs wont pop out. But you'll grow all over at your best rate. Then a few weeks before you get your top off, you can cut back and go back to what you're doing now.

The other thing is that skinny guys, my mate included, are scared to get fat at all. If he doesn't have an 8 pack he freaks out. Probably why he's always been ripped. But doing all this, won't make you "fat". You'll just have a 6 pack instead...lol not the end of the world if you put on half a stone over the next few months.


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## Matt-11 (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for the advice Kingdale, appreciated!

thanks for the response Sharpe 161, I think it is down to not eating enough of the right calories over not training hard enough, I lift heavy, hard and intense with a training partner.


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

no problem just try it for at least month i know ull be happy with results. let us know how u get on


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## Matt-11 (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks Wannabemassive, there is a lot of good advice here that I will take. I think we all fall into a mind trap that if we change an apect of our routine, then we will either get fat or skinny! But change is a good thing if it's done right I guess.

Advice taken,

Cheers


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## liam0810 (Jan 6, 2011)

I'm going to reiterate what the others are saying. Up yours cals as you don't seem to be eating enough carbs or fats. Drop the cardio as this is burning crucial calories. Also, change might be good for you as you have said that you don't seem to be getting any bigger in the routine you are in now


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## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

why don't you look into getting specific diet advice to go along with a training program? investing in some solid knowledge would be great for overall progress and allow you to have a second eye constantly following your progress?


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## I Punched A Cow (Nov 21, 2010)

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks guys, some good advice. I'm one of the skinny guys who eats and eats and never seems to alter my weight at all and it gets frustrating. At the minute I'm just eating like a trooper.


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

I Punched A Cow said:


> Exactly what I was looking for, thanks guys, some good advice. I'm one of the skinny guys who eats and eats and never seems to alter my weight at all and it gets frustrating. At the minute I'm just eating like a trooper.


You think you eat and eat but you don't otherwise you'd put weight on

Go punch a cow, knock her out and eat it.... the whole thing and see if you dont put any weight on


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## kingdale (Nov 2, 2010)

write down what you eat for couple days n put it up on here. if u aint putting on any weight i imagine it isnt enough


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

Eat more.

Less cardio.

Cardio burns calories, if your not consuming enough calories then you burn your hard earned muscle. It is VERY difficult to gain mass AND remain lean unless your willing to wait a long time or be " assisted "


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## I Punched A Cow (Nov 21, 2010)

Breda said:


> You think you eat and eat but you don't otherwise you'd put weight on
> 
> Go punch a cow, knock her out and eat it.... the whole thing and see if you dont put any weight on


Good point lol I've been thinking I need to invest in a blender to make some decent shakes because at work I can't always eat enough aand in the evenings I'm so full I just cant force anymore.


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## Breda (May 2, 2011)

I Punched A Cow said:


> Good point lol I've been thinking I need to invest in a blender to make some decent shakes because at work I can't always eat enough aand in the evenings I'm so full I just cant force anymore.


Shakes are always good if you cant physically eat any more or when you dont have the time.

Plenty of good, healthy bulking shakes in the diet section mate but i'll tell you mine

2 scoops whey

1 tbl spoon nut butter

A good glug or 2 of double cream

1 banana

some oats

1tbl spoon olive oil

You can get a lot healthier options but that has plenty of calories in it


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## I Punched A Cow (Nov 21, 2010)

Thanks, I will give some of them a try, think they'll definitely help! Time to get serious, probably will put some of my own pics up to show everyone what I'm working with. A bit of weight will definitely be one of the first things I need to do.


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## I Punched A Cow (Nov 21, 2010)

Got my blender today, it is pretty awesome! Bought the value one from argos first but when I got it home it didn't work (shocker) so I upgraded. Got only one question and that's about the oats, do you just shove them in as they are, dry? Not really ever had anything to do with them.


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## Rusty_Mann (Oct 31, 2011)

I've seen big gains since decreasing my sessions from 5 down t 3 and taking on more calories try it the body needs a change in order to grow and not pleateau ( stuck in a rut ) .... and realise that winter is here the body naturally puts on fat stores this time of year....


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## Numb (Jan 11, 2010)

I Punched A Cow said:


> Got my blender today, it is pretty awesome! Bought the value one from argos first but when I got it home it didn't work (shocker) so I upgraded. Got only one question and that's about the oats, do you just shove them in as they are, dry? Not really ever had anything to do with them.


Yup just throw them in, I assume your going to mix them with milk/water/protein/icecream ect?


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## I Punched A Cow (Nov 21, 2010)

Yeah milk will be the main ingredient, really could do with a cow in the back garden. Tried a few bananas with some protein earlier which were very nice, no bits, no lumps. Just need to check out some of the recipes now to find some good shakes!


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## Hendrix (Sep 16, 2009)

Breda said:


> You think you eat and eat but you don't otherwise you'd put weight on
> 
> Go punch a cow, knock her out and eat it.... the whole thing and see if you dont put any weight on


Good advise mate.

True story, Jay Cutler would literally save up his money as a farm worker and buy a cow, have it minced up into bricks and store in a huge frezzer.

Even though he has great genetics for BB, he was astounding people with his progress, and at 19 was freaking Huge, and pretty low BF.

Look at pics of Jay at 19, he almost never deviated from an incredibly high cal diet


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## BodyBuilding101 (Mar 8, 2006)

hendrix said:


> Good advise mate.
> 
> True story, Jay Cutler would literally save up his money as a farm worker and buy a cow, have it minced up into bricks and store in a huge frezzer.
> 
> ...


link to 19 year old pic http://jaycutlerbodybuilder.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-did-jay-cutler-look-at-19-years-old.html

But wasn't he on AAS even before 19? Not that im detracting from the hard work and commitment that it takes even with AAS to get a physique like that


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## biggzz (Apr 21, 2011)

hendrix said:


> Good advise mate.
> 
> True story, Jay Cutler would literally save up his money as a farm worker and buy a cow


 What wrong with buying half a cow!


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