Gym Mentality and Size

Cam_Winston21 · 2019-11-06T17:47:26+00:00

Any advice on unfucking especially from taller guys would be appreciated.

6'6" & currently 232 lbs. In my 50s, lifting for > 20 yrs.

Being tall means I've dropped the bench press altogether. Long arms means if I take the bar to my chest, my elbows are so far back it causes shoulder issues. So, I never do BP. Dumbbell presses, machines, flyes, dips, they all continue to add mass. A long torso means now my 'heavy' days on squats are 3 plates as I keep an eye on my lower back, so I usually start with leg extensions then leg presses, then squats, which means the squat weight will be lower than if I'd started off the routine with heavy squats. Meh, the quads get blasted & that's what I'm there for on leg day. I also do rack pulls instead of full DLs when going heavy. Things like that. Not gonna even complain about being tall, it's one of the best blessings, just saying that I've made adjustments as I've gotten older to compensate for all that impact on my joints.

Thus, I'm pain free 99% of the time.

Lately I've adopted a more volume-oriented approach, meaning I do a lot of sets of a moderate amount of reps. Generally 8-12 rep sets with short rests. If I can't move it for 4 reps, I lower the weight. If I can move it for more than 12 reps, I increase the weight. If I'm moving it for 10 when I used to move it for 8, I increase the weight, etc. I no longer do 1RM on anything. I'm fairly strong, but no one cares if I can increase my lift by 10 lbs, however they notice if my arms/chest have an inch more mass.

I intermittent fast, usually OMAD, so I no longer count calories or macros. I just try to eat as much meat in that meal as I can & usually toss back a protein drink as well. I've been skinny, I've been big and now I'm big & fairly lean. Big+lean vs. skinny or big-but-not-lean is like being wealthy vs. average income. Worth every rep, worth every skipped meal, worth every protein drink or steak/egg in order to add mass, worth every deload/vacation to recover.

Lift, eat, recover, repeat.

Sepean · 2019-11-06T15:38:07+00:00

You’re eating too little on your bulks. You should be putting on 2lbs per month. Some of that will be fat, yes - you get rid of that on a cut later.

Getting scared of gaining fat will leave you with very few gains. Bulk/cut cycles is the way to go.

mrpalt1 · 2019-11-06T16:37:01+00:00

I’ve been training ten years and went from about 135lb to 175lb over that time. 1 or 1.5 were “lost” years due to shitty dieting. But anyway about 4lbs a year and I can guarantee I trained my balls off.

First 3 years people always asked me “do you ever see any results?”. Next 5 it was “pfft, genetics: you’re just a naturally muscular guy”. About 2 years ago I finally achieved “fake natty” status.

Solution: be 5’9”.

SteelToeShitKicker · 2019-11-06T16:08:20+00:00

You sound low T. When I was low T, I lifted consistently, my diet was on point, and gains, if any, were sparing. When it was time to cut, all gains were lost. I even cut down to 150lbs at 5'10 and **I was still fucking fat.** All the muscle was gone.

After almost two years on TRT, I half ass my workouts, lift once a week, get bigger, and when I cut, I don't lose any muscle. If I touch the damn weights, I gain muscle. Right now I'm around 160lbs and I look pretty fucking good. The TRT really kicked in after 12-18 months. I have maybe 5 more pounds to lose, then I'm going to bulk and get back on a consistent lifting schedule.

I know you won't listen to me, but you know what? Three years from now, you might remember my words, and get yourself tested. Good luck. BTW, it costs <$40 at discountedlabs.com. No doctor required, pay the money, print the form, walk in, get blood drawn, test results in your in-box in a week or so. They don't pay me, but they should.

Don't listen to the people who say your diet is fucked, you aren't on the right lifting program, you don't sleep enough, etc. It's all bullshit, gaining muscle isn't that hard if your T is at the upper end.

hystericalbonding · 2019-11-06T14:58:48+00:00

If you're continuing to make gains, then keep going. If gains hit a plateau, then find your way past a sticking point. If that doesn't work, or you regress, then periodize differently or switch programs. Volume depends on individual genetics, cutting vs bulking, sleep, NEAT, etc. Autoregulation becomes important when you're out of the beginner phase.

My current weight of 200 is 20lbs heavier but that only equates to 4lbs of gain a year. Not very good

Maybe not good for the first year, but pretty good for subsequent years in someone who is natty.

1 g of pro per lbs of body weight but to get 3200 calories at 200 lbs that becomes a lot of fat and carb calories if you stick to 1 g per lbs of protein.

Do you have a religious or gastrointestinal objection to protein supplements?

Get a live human being to coach you in person, because there are too many variables, and those variables change over time. Don't listen to retards on the internet who have never been to the gym with you. That includes me.

SBIII · 2019-11-06T17:21:46+00:00

You can build around 40-50 lbs of muscle over your lifetime natty. Try out the Casey Butt calculator a few paragraphs down this page.

Hugenstein41 · 2019-11-07T10:52:47+00:00

I'm 6'4" and I was 178 when I saw a picture of myself and I had the physique of Bill Nye the science guy with a little pot belly. So accomplishing being feeble and fat at the same time. Sexy.

I educated myself in fitness and hit it hard for 3 years waking up at 0430 to workout 5x\week, tracking macros on MyFitnessPal etc until I got my hormones checked.

I had made some gains but noone would look at my and know it. I just had worked my way up into non fat skeleton basically normal looking range I guess.

Test was in the 200s and almost 100 SHBG.

That's low as hell.

Trt for me was a great choice as I maintain now in the upper end of the normal range. I'm over 40, not having anymore kids either.

I actually look like I lift now.

So you could check that out. Might not be an issue for you.

Also if you aren't sleeping you aren't going to gain. Alcohol screws up your protein synthesis too.

red-sfpplus · 2019-11-06T16:14:16+00:00

No one here can write a training plan for you.

Monsieur-Incroyable · 2019-11-06T15:00:57+00:00

Are you tracking your BF%?

markpf73 · 2019-11-06T15:57:48+00:00

Get a good lifting partner.

Increase protein and calories as needed for proper recovery.

part_wolf · 2019-11-06T16:18:42+00:00

Here's the document we talked about yesterday: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JVrntkWOm5RvQOE-sJH3aW2jR946-58q/view?usp=sharing. I'd like to make sure that no personal details are on there, so please let me know if anything shows up that might give me away.

The basic premise is four meals a day of whole, unprocessed foods. Each meal is at least 50% veggies, no more than 25% complex carbs, and no more than 25% protein. A modest amount of healthy fat (say, 1 tablespoon olive oil) per meal. No processed food, processed vegetable oils, and no soy products. No snacks. No sugars. No alcohol. You should keep lifting as often and as heavy as you possibly can, but I'd recommend eating an hour or two before your workout or you might run out of gas as I did.

I ended up with 5 less pounds of fat and 2 more pounds of muscle after five weeks. What really helped me is dropping the carbs completely from the fourth meal of the day. I ate some meals late at night and I didn't want to store fat. Probably the best part of this diet is being able to consume about 200G of protein a day and not worry about having to count calories, which I fucking hate doing.

Buy some 3 compartment meal prep trays and get to work. It's not complicated and unless you have serious allergies there's no excuse - nearly everyone can eat all of this stuff.

Trtntrenbrah · 2019-11-07T01:19:48+00:00

hire a prep guy to do ur diet and work out.

FereallyRed · 2019-11-07T23:49:34+00:00

Not enough food, not enough volume, not enough intensity.

I'm not going to pull a routine out of my ass. Those are your issues. And they all distill to laziness.

What do you want?

Title	Gym Mentality and Size
Author	mrpalt1
Upvotes	6
Comments	72
Date	November 6, 2019 2:47 PM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askMRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/askMRP/comments/dshaf7/gym_mentality_and_size/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askMRP/gym-mentality-and-size.294231 https://theredarchive.com/post/294231

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