what kind of progress should you be seeing in?

RobAMerc

Lads,

2 years at it, what kind of progress should I be seeing.

I started with the 5x5 then moved on to some other full body WO's I liked the look of and am now trying the DoggCrapp. I eat well with the exception of boozey fridays. Weight wise I am about 1/2 stone heavier with much lower BF as I was a bit porkey. Always a 3 day split rarely miss a session always try my best.

OH tells me there is a noticable diff, people have commented on me obviously working out, shirts defo tighter but I havn't busted out of any yet and I just dont feel like I am getting to be as big as I want to.

Saw a photo of myself today and in all honesty was a little shocked and am feeling a bit disheartened - nowhere near as lean or as big as I had hoped.

So after 2 years what should I be seeing ?

Ta
Rob

Hanley

How would you rate your effort and dedication on a scale of 1-10 over the last 2 years. 10 being the absolute max (ie doing NOTHING but eating, sleeping, breathing and living training)

double GG

2 years is a long time but it ONLY depends on you. Depends on YOUR diet, YOUR workout, YOUR recovery, YOUR dedication.

Visible goals aren't real goals. Have your lifts increased? it's the most important.

RobAMerc

Hanley wrote: »

How would you rate your effort and dedication on a scale of 1-10 over the last 2 years. 10 being the absolute max (ie doing NOTHING but eating, sleeping, breathing and living training)

double GG wrote: »

2 years is a long time but it ONLY depends on you. Depends on YOUR diet, YOUR workout, YOUR recovery, YOUR dedication.

Visible goals aren't real goals. Have your lifts increased? it's the most important.

Honestly - in the GYM between 6 and 10 average 8.
Food 7 all the time - I was a fatty, I am not going back but I'm near 40 with wife and kids, daddy needs to let the hair down and enjoy an icecream the odd time ( once a month is normal for me although not regularly )

Lifts have most definitely increased I just expected to be huge by now

Chancer3001

change what your doing and do it very well for a while.

Try IF for a month or two, itll cut some fat and make you look visibly better.

Adding muscle takes a LONG time. Cuttig fat can be done quicker in my experience

Will Heffernan

I'll leave this thread to others BUT is telling people to try/do 'Intermittent Fasting' the new nutritional equivalent of try/do starting strength is for everything else here at boards?

Maybe I need to find the Intermittent Fasting thread responsible for this new phase of advice but people need to realise IF won't cure cancer and fix unemployment.

We need another 3 meals versus 6 meals debate only this time make it 6 meals versus 3 meals versus 1 meal.

OP you will decrease your body fat and look better if you consume less calories than you expend over a consistent and prolonged period of time...whether you do that by IF or KFC makes so little 'real' difference as to be irrelevant.

If you want to consume 3000 calories in the evening in a 3hr window or 1000 calories 3 times a day in 3 1hr windows or 500 calories 6 times a day in 6 30 minute windows.

Find the nutritional 'strategy' that works for you because the effect of these strategies are more important psychologically that physiologically.

In answer to your initial questions 2 years is long enough to have changed yourself physiologically in any way possible. Assuming you are an 'average' person for no other reason than I don't know other wise...you could of added about 1kg a month of muscle every month for the first year and about half that every month in year after. That would be ideally so even if you were being conservative...2 years has been enough time for you to add say 7.5-10kg of muscle and there's no reason for you not to have gotten fairly ripped as well.

So in short...in 2 years you should be huge and ripped...is that not the case?

RobAMerc

Will Heffernan wrote: »

I'll leave this thread to others BUT is telling people to try/do 'Intermittent Fasting' the new nutritional equivalent of try/do starting strength is for everything else here at boards?

Maybe I need to find the Intermittent Fasting thread responsible for this new phase of advice but people need to realise IF won't cure cancer and fix unemployment.

We need another 3 meals versus 6 meals debate only this time make it 6 meals versus 3 meals versus 1 meal.

OP you will decrease your body fat and look better if you consume less calories than you expend over a consistent and prolonged period of time...whether you do that by IF or KFC makes so little 'real' difference as to be irrelevant.

If you want to consume 3000 calories in the evening in a 3hr window or 1000 calories 3 times a day in 3 1hr windows or 500 calories 6 times a day in 6 30 minute windows.

Find the nutritional 'strategy' that works for you because the effect of these strategies are more important psychologically that physiologically.

In answer to your initial questions 2 years is long enough to have changed yourself physiologically in any way possible. Assuming you are an 'average' person for no other reason than I don't know other wise...you could of added about 1kg a month of muscle every month for the first year and about half that every month in year after. That would be ideally so even if you were being conservative...2 years has been enough time for you to add say 7.5-10kg of muscle and there's no reason for you not to have gotten fairly ripped as well.

So in short...in 2 years you should be huge and ripped...is that not the case?

That's not the case no. I think part of my issue has always been that I was over weight and its hard for me to consume the mins of cals I need to get big as I fear being fatty again.
I have been doing IF for three months now and there is a diff no doubt and i am bigger in general but I just ain't as big as I expected to be.

I think the answer is I need to give it 10/10 every time and stop bitching here instead looking for someone else to blame.

Thanks lads

Will Heffernan

RobAMerc wrote: »

That's not the case no.

You are not on your own in that club.

RobAMerc wrote: »

I think part of my issue has always been that I was over weight and its hard for me to consume the mins of cals I need to get big as I fear being fatty again.

It's hard...that's why so few people actually manage it.

RobAMerc wrote: »

I have been doing IF for three months now and there is a diff no doubt and i am bigger in general but I just ain't as big as I expected to be.

You want to get bigger? Can I ask...how many pro and amateur bodybuilders out there do you think are doing IF like you are do you think? You can just give me a rough approximation....I'll go first...1%...and I only say that because as the ad says...there's always 1.

RobAMerc wrote: »

I think the answer is I need to give it 10/10 every time and stop bitching here instead looking for someone else to blame.

Thanks lads

I don't think that's the answer...but I am not the boss of you. Good luck.

RobAMerc

Firstly, thanks for the replies lads - I appreciate it.

Will Heffernan wrote: »

You want to get bigger? Can I ask...how many pro and amateur bodybuilders out there do you think are doing IF like you are do you think? You can just give me a rough approximation....I'll go first...1%...and I only say that because as the ad says...there's always 1.

You are not a fan I take it ? In fairness since starting I've put on weight yet look leaner - you can't argue with that can you ?

Will Heffernan wrote: »

I don't think that's the answer...but I am not the boss of you. Good luck.

What do you think is the answer if giving it socks in the gym aint it ?

Will Heffernan

RobAMerc wrote: »

Firstly, thanks for the replies lads - I appreciate it.

No problem.

RobAMerc wrote: »

You are not a fan I take it?

I am a fan actually. But when given a choice when I need to put a screw in between my hammer that I love and the screwdriver I love I always choose my screwdriver. You want to put a screw in and have asked advice...you want to use a hammer...I am just telling you to consider perhaps using another tool instead.

RobAMerc wrote: »

In fairness since starting I've put on weight yet look leaner - you can't argue with that can you ?

I am not arguing....when I was younger and I used to smash screws in with hammers all the time. I am sure you will manage to get that screw in no matter what....if a hammer is all you want to use...then bang away

RobAMerc wrote: »

What do you think is the answer if giving it socks in the gym aint it ?

You can not give it 100% everyday in the gym....any more than you can speed to work everyday without ever getting a ticket or having a crash.

The reason that most people in the gym look exactly the same as most people who don't go to the gym is because training is a science. It is pretty much the only health related area where people on the whole won't pay for expert advice and are willing to just roll the dice with whatever they think they know or on the advice of friends or a pretty much anonymous forum.

Next time you are in the gym...look around at all the machines and imagine instead that they are all dentist chairs....would you let any of the people there work on your teeth? Would you walk up to the person with the best teeth in the place and ask them to give your teeth a going over...come up with a plan for your teeth?

Any way...you are going to do what you are going to do. I doubt seriously that you are likely to do any real significant damage to yourself and that in fact quite the opposite that what you are doing is making you happier and healthier....so keep it up and enjoy it...and worry less about the outcome.

Chancer3001

Try IF for a month or two, itll cut some fat and make you look visibly better


My advice re IF was to cut some fat. This would hopefully give him renewed motivation to stick with the gym (like its done for me)

Will Heffernan

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Try IF for a month or two, itll cut some fat and make you look visibly better

My advice re IF was to cut some fat. This would hopefully give him renewed motivation to stick with the gym (like its done for me)

Grand....I take it all back...starting strength and IF and you'll be jakt and have ripped abs.

I'm sorry...I don't know what I was thinking. I'll leave you guys to it.

deadlybuzzman

COH posted a link over on strength sports and I spotted this article on the same site, before you go crazy pay plenty of attention to the last page

http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/eating_through_the_sticking_points#.UJ6nquRSjIw

Chancer3001

starting strength and IF would be a decent combination now you mention it

ebixa82

If you are not seeing results after such a long time then you are doing something wrong.

Get a couple, even one, with a personal trainer and nutritionist because whatever you are doing clearly isnt working