Hey I am kind of feeling sad right now.
I started working out in December 2024 and since then I am consistantly in the gym. I started off with Full Body for a month but got bored and did a Upper Lower Split for maybe 6 weeks and then I swapped to PPL.
I ran PPL 6x a week.
My workout I could just say was (imo) on the lower end (Push had 2 Chest, 1 Shoulder, 1 Triceps // Pull had 1 Vertical 1 Horizontal 1 Shoulder (Face Pulls basically) and 1 Bicep exercise and Legs I did Barbell Squats, Leg Curls, Extensions, Calf Raises and 1 Ab Exercise)
I am still SKINNY. I mean not skinny my chest and belly are still fat and my arms and legs skinny.
What I changed in diet: Increased Protein intake from never ever tracking in my life to 2.2 g per kg bodyweight. I cut out most crap but still it bad stuff cause I need kcal to gain muscle. I try to eat healthy 3000 kcal a day but its hard but I always have my 2.2g of protein a day in me. The lowest I tracked was 4 months ago 1.55 gramm protein. The highest I had was a month ago with 2.9g of protein per kg bodyweight.
I started at 83.9 kg, droped to 76.5 kg (kcal reduced to 2100-2300) and now I am back to 80 kg after I increased kcal a month and half ago to 3000 kcal.
I am still benching only 22.5 kg (8 reps) dumbbells. I started at 15 kg which is already nothing (male, 32 years old) now. I started Lat Pulldowns at about 30 kg now I am at 73 kg (6 reps)
What am I doing wrong? How can a body (again I am a 32 year old male) only bench 60 kg (Barbell Flatbench Press) for 3 Reps??
Its depressing. People start off at 60 kg. I worked my way to 60 kg and thats considered beginner lift. And I cant even do 4 reps lol.
My genetics are so bad I honestly dont know what to do at this point.
Maybe PPLPPL is too much and I am not recovering properly? But its only 4 exercises day. And I dont even feel tired after training - despite not even being able to lift another rep. People say you should feel exhausted after training. I think if Id go back to the gym I can do another 9 reps of my last weight. But I cant do more than 9 reps of something if my energy is gone.
Today I did Cable Hammer Curls (38 kg…) 11 Reps, then 8 in my second set and in my third set I made 6 reps. It wasnt possible to get 7. I squeezed so hard to try to get the 7 but it wasnt possible. I took a shower, came back to the cable machine and did 9 reps of hammer curls with 38 kg. So I didnt train to failure earlier?
I just want to look decent and not skinny anymore. I need help…
Going to the gym isnt actually the problem at this point. I am so ready for my workouts I cant wait to go again. A reason why I prefer PPLPPL over Upper Lower or Full Body cause I have time to be in the gym every day for 1-2 hours (my workouts currently with these 4-5 exercises only 50 minutes per workout though) but Id have time for more if it was worth it.
Edit: Yeah it might look like progress my Lat Pulldown 30 kg to 73 kg (6 reps) but how am I even sure if I wasnt able to do 73 kg in december 2024 already? I never tried it. I just started off at 30 kg. I remember the 30 kg feeling quite hard, but just by looking in the mirror Id say I didnt gain strength/ muscle at all. My wife says I look wider but I think she is just wanting me to feel proud lol. I slightly remember trying to Bench Press the Barbell (20 kg at my gym) and did a few reps and added 5 kg left and right (so 30 kg) but I eventually instantly switched to Dumbbells cause I had no spotter and was alone most of the time in the gym and didnt want to die early by weights squooshing me. But I also never really bench marked my barbell bench.
Also the shame kicked in. Had 13/14 year olds benching 60 kgs while I was just benching the bar. So I made my final switch to dumbbells and started benching when no one was at the gym.
Today the same 16 year old started his warm ups with 30 kg dumbbells. I get it, he is strong asf but he is 16 years younger than me. I cant even pick up the 25 kg dumbbells and place them properly to start benching lol.
Not even judging him, I am judging me. I wonder how unnormal this is that a male my age cant bench 25 kg dumbbells.
Am I delusional or in a bubble? Maybe 22.5 kg is okay and I am just on the wrong side of youtube and the gym? Is 22.5 kg really that bad? lol.
Have you noticed how much you compare yourself to other people? Each person has their own unique set of qualities that they work with and the game is to maximise those. It should be obvious that if we go into any given endeavour with the expectation that we will be world class in a short time, we are setting ourselves up for a demoralising failure.
You are in a struggle with your challenges, not anyone elses. Set achievable goals and aim at them. Block out everything else and focus on yourself, the improvements will come naturally in time. If something isn’t working, try a new approach. You already keep good records and have discipline, you will eventually home in on the techniques that deliver the best outcomes.
Word
Honestly all I can recommend is stronglifts 5x5, eating enough to build muscle, getting enough rest and only competing against yourself.
Physical health is isn’t a competition. Only thing that matters is that you were better than your last workout.
Best of luck and hopefully someone else can give you more details.
Thanks :-)
Maybe I try that. Is this 5x5 correct (5 Sets, each Set 5 Reps) I just do one day Bench Press, Rows and Squats - Rest 1 Day and then I do Deadlifts, Pull Ups and Shoulder Press 5x5?
Yup! Thats the one. Workout A and B. Do them on alternating days with one rest day in between. Start with an empty bar and slowly add the smallest amount you can with every workout. That’s a very quick summary of it.
5x5 is very well documented and is part of many workout apps, so you won’t struggle finding lots of info on it.
I will look into this. Thanks!
One question though (progression). Does this really want me to do 5 Sets of the same weight with 5 Reps?
So for example 1. Set 50 kg Benchpress 5 Reps. 2. Set, 3. Set, 4. Set and 5. Set also 5 Reps with 50 kg?
Doesnt that imply me choosing a weight with which I can safely do 10 reps for the 1. Set but still only do 5 Reps? Cause if I do 5 Reps with a weight I barely can do 7 reps with, how can I do 2. set with 5 reps? Yt alone the third, fourth and fifth set.
Or do I lower the weight after each set by 2.5 kg or something?
So if I start this wednesday and need to figure out the weight first, I should rather choose a “too light” weight than too heavy?
I am doing 6 Reps of 73 kg Lat Pulldowns currently. So for this I should basically choose maybe 60 kg and try 5 sets of 5 reps with 60. If that works good and it feels like I could have done more try 62.5 kg next time with all 5 sets. If I do 4 Sets with 5 Reps and the fifth set with maybe 4 I stay at 62.5 until I complete 5/5 and then I make a smaller increase again, maybe 1 kg now instead of 2.5 cause I barely made the fifth rep. So I dont increase weight on the first 4 sets now, I wait til I complete the 5/5
Stronglift 5x5 is a strength program (as opposed to a hypertrophy program). In strength training, you generally want to avoid going to failure, so err on the side of going lighter than you think. Considering the rate of progression prescribed by this program, it wouldn’t hurt to start at 0 with just the bar.
So to answer your question, yes, it’s 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight.
Alrighty, Im gonna do some light cardio today and try it tomorrow.
I will be doing A and B. A: Dumbbell Bench Press 5x5 + T Bar Row 5x5 and Squats 5x5 B: Pull Ups 5x5, RDLs 5x5, Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5x5.
Lets see how this goes :)
What I also find is weird (for me) I might be able to do 10 reps of 20 kg dumbbells, but I found it impossible to even lift the 22.5 kg dumbbells. So I’d be stuck on the 20 kg no matter how good I was at them cause my grip strength is too weak for 22.5.
Any ideas how I could fix this?
The program is designed to be done with barbells. If you substitute in DB bench, you’ll plateau a lot sooner. It sounds like your DBs go up by 5lb increments on each side, whereas with a barbell, you can go up by 2.5lb per side at most gyms. You’ll also quickly run into problems setting up since that involves muscles that are weaker than those you use to bench press.
So I’d be stuck on the 20 kg no matter how good I was at them cause my grip strength is too weak for 22.5.
If grip is your issue, then the deadlifts will help.
A few things come to my mind reading this.
- Your goal is to get big, not to lift big weights. Focus on feelings, slow full range of motion, perfect form for the exercises, even if it is a smaller weight.
- Probably related to the first point but if you are pushing too hard to go to higher weights, maybe it impairs your workout volume for each session bc your getting tired quick and can’t do more sets.
You should probably not focus on the weights other people are pushing (especially not the monsters on the internet). It will only make you frustrated. But if you figured you actually want to be strong, regardless of how you look, then eat more and move to a powerlifting program, but that’s a different discussion.
Good luck!
Thanks! :)
I never really was on a program. Just doing PPL with the exercises for that day.
Now I am trying GZCLP. The program says I should use weights based on 85% of my 5RM.
Which is quite good for me, now I am starting this program with a bit lesser calculated RM (or Training Max better said) and can focus on forms of the big lifts.
I hope this will work, I am just basically restarting “kind of” to test the weights and learn the movements correctly.
I don’t have the conversions on top of my head for what 85% of 5RM represents exactly (around 70% of 1RM?), but that sounds maybe a bit “low” for strength?
But if you can go to failure between 5 and 15 reps, again, with great form, that should do! 👍 And if your issue to start with was the volume, then yeah, going for more reps will help.
