Not satisfied with physique: lack of thickness/mass
MrElculver2424
Posts: 17 Member
Hi,
I'm 21 and I've been working out for a few years consistently now, but not for any competitive reasons...just to be in shape. I'm 5'6" and I've always been on the skinny and small side. I always could eat a lot of food and not gain weight.
About 2 years ago I was about 125 pounds. Since then, through weightlifting and eating a LOT more, I've gone up to 140. But for some reason, my physique doesn't "look" the way I want it to. Let me explain...
I've obviously gained some weight, but it doesn't seem to be going into my big muscle groups (chest, arms, back). It seems to just hang onto my waist, if anything. I'm not fat at all, and the outline of my abs are slightly visible, but the additional calories seem to not be going anywhere.
I can tell I've gained muscle, but my arms, chest, and especially my joint areas (elbow area, etc.) look skinny and underdeveloped. I don't really know how else to explain this, but I see a lot of other guys who seem to have more thickness...have more "mass" on them. That's what I'm trying to go for, but it's not happening.
I'm quite educated and experienced in what to do in the gym, so I don't think it could be that. My routine is very standard (Chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders/legs, plus abs every other day). I do 12-16 reps per set because that's ideal for hypertrophy, which is what I want. I work out 6 days a week for an hour each day, and I go hard and don't fool around.
I don't know exactly what the problem is, but I'll lay out a couple possibilities in hopes that someone can help me figure it out:
1) My diet is not very good and never has been. Everything I eat is either frozen or comes in a box, and I only eat very basic foods because that's all I like. These include frozen pancakes, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets/tenders, mozzarella sticks, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanuts, greek yogurt, and occasionally some cookies or snacks (but I don't usually eat junk food). For beverages, all I drink is chocolate milk (lots of it) and water. And I drink a protein shake after every workout. AND I even track my calories and macros in an app, and I usually eat around 90 grams of fat/day and 130 grams of protein/day, which is good. I'm in college so I eat for convenience and quickness and I stay away from things that take long to prepare. I've tried vegetables and fruit, and I'm lucky if I make it a few days before feeling like I have to get back to my "regular" food again. Plus, fruit is very low-calorie, meaning I have to devote more time (that I don't have) to eating every day since an apple is basically worth nothing.
2) My sleep schedule is unnatural. I actually probably get 8-10 hours of sleep each day (maybe a little too much), but it's not at standard times. I have a delayed sleep onset disorder, meaning I can't fall asleep until after 3 am. A lot of times I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep before I have to get up for class, so then I spend the afternoons getting the rest of my sleep in between classes and other responsibilities.
So, I'm not sure exactly what my issue is, because despite gaining weight, I haven't put on the "thickness" or "mass" that I want to. Please help me figure out what's going on. Thank you!
I'm 21 and I've been working out for a few years consistently now, but not for any competitive reasons...just to be in shape. I'm 5'6" and I've always been on the skinny and small side. I always could eat a lot of food and not gain weight.
About 2 years ago I was about 125 pounds. Since then, through weightlifting and eating a LOT more, I've gone up to 140. But for some reason, my physique doesn't "look" the way I want it to. Let me explain...
I've obviously gained some weight, but it doesn't seem to be going into my big muscle groups (chest, arms, back). It seems to just hang onto my waist, if anything. I'm not fat at all, and the outline of my abs are slightly visible, but the additional calories seem to not be going anywhere.
I can tell I've gained muscle, but my arms, chest, and especially my joint areas (elbow area, etc.) look skinny and underdeveloped. I don't really know how else to explain this, but I see a lot of other guys who seem to have more thickness...have more "mass" on them. That's what I'm trying to go for, but it's not happening.
I'm quite educated and experienced in what to do in the gym, so I don't think it could be that. My routine is very standard (Chest/triceps, back/biceps, shoulders/legs, plus abs every other day). I do 12-16 reps per set because that's ideal for hypertrophy, which is what I want. I work out 6 days a week for an hour each day, and I go hard and don't fool around.
I don't know exactly what the problem is, but I'll lay out a couple possibilities in hopes that someone can help me figure it out:
1) My diet is not very good and never has been. Everything I eat is either frozen or comes in a box, and I only eat very basic foods because that's all I like. These include frozen pancakes, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets/tenders, mozzarella sticks, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanuts, greek yogurt, and occasionally some cookies or snacks (but I don't usually eat junk food). For beverages, all I drink is chocolate milk (lots of it) and water. And I drink a protein shake after every workout. AND I even track my calories and macros in an app, and I usually eat around 90 grams of fat/day and 130 grams of protein/day, which is good. I'm in college so I eat for convenience and quickness and I stay away from things that take long to prepare. I've tried vegetables and fruit, and I'm lucky if I make it a few days before feeling like I have to get back to my "regular" food again. Plus, fruit is very low-calorie, meaning I have to devote more time (that I don't have) to eating every day since an apple is basically worth nothing.
2) My sleep schedule is unnatural. I actually probably get 8-10 hours of sleep each day (maybe a little too much), but it's not at standard times. I have a delayed sleep onset disorder, meaning I can't fall asleep until after 3 am. A lot of times I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep before I have to get up for class, so then I spend the afternoons getting the rest of my sleep in between classes and other responsibilities.
So, I'm not sure exactly what my issue is, because despite gaining weight, I haven't put on the "thickness" or "mass" that I want to. Please help me figure out what's going on. Thank you!
0
Replies
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »Can you upload a photo so we can see what you mean?
Sure...first picture is me now, but I've looked pretty much exactly like this for as long as I can remember...at least for the past year. I can't seem to put on any more thickness. The physique in the second image is kind of what I'm going for...seems thicker and healthier overall to me honestly. What is the difference between these two? Is it as simple as the fact that I pretty much eat crap processed food?
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I asked for a photo so that people who know far more than me could assist you better.
However, this is my opinion, but I wouldn't say that you look "under developed" at all.
Well thanks; I knew some people would say I'm fine. Yeah, I guess I'm fine, but I still want to put more weight and mass on, and as quickly as possible.
So I'm trying to figure out if it's just a matter of continuing to eat 3,200 calories a day and working out hard, or if I'm missing something or should change something about how I go about fitness.
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Open your training logs and look back 6 months, are you lifting more weight for the same number of reps in the compound movements?2
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MrElculver2424 wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I asked for a photo so that people who know far more than me could assist you better.
However, this is my opinion, but I wouldn't say that you look "under developed" at all.
Well thanks; I knew some people would say I'm fine. Yeah, I guess I'm fine, but I still want to put more weight and mass on, and as quickly as possible.
So I'm trying to figure out if it's just a matter of continuing to eat 3,200 calories a day and working out hard, or if I'm missing something or should change something about how I go about fitness.
Have you done multiple bulk/cut cycles? And what training program are you following? If the lifting program you are doing is not optimal it will not produce the results you want. Most will do multiple cycles until the reach their desired results.
Your diet will steer your goal. Cutting will need a calorie deficit to lose fat, and surplus is need to build muscle.
If you are just maintaining current weight on 3200 calories then you are recomping which is a very slow paced method to lose fat/build muscle over a greater period of time while keeping your weight the same.
2 -
You are making good progress - I would Deadlift / bench /overhead press & bent over row w/ a barbell - all heavy in the 4-6 rep range. If you are not gaining weight you need to eat more eat some more protein - in a college dorm hardboiled eggs, cheese, or peanut butter sandwiches might work. Eastcoast Jim1
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Open your training logs and look back 6 months, are you lifting more weight for the same number of reps in the compound movements?
In the past 6 months, I've only gone up in the weight very very slightly. Honestly, I discovered that I simply wasn't going hard enough, so I recently was able to up the weight a little bit and dial in a little more energy and focus. So I guess I'll see if that yields better progress over the near future...1 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I asked for a photo so that people who know far more than me could assist you better.
However, this is my opinion, but I wouldn't say that you look "under developed" at all.
Well thanks; I knew some people would say I'm fine. Yeah, I guess I'm fine, but I still want to put more weight and mass on, and as quickly as possible.
So I'm trying to figure out if it's just a matter of continuing to eat 3,200 calories a day and working out hard, or if I'm missing something or should change something about how I go about fitness.
Have you done multiple bulk/cut cycles? And what training program are you following? If the lifting program you are doing is not optimal it will not produce the results you want. Most will do multiple cycles until the reach their desired results.
Your diet will steer your goal. Cutting will need a calorie deficit to lose fat, and surplus is need to build muscle.
If you are just maintaining current weight on 3200 calories then you are recomping which is a very slow paced method to lose fat/build muscle over a greater period of time while keeping your weight the same.
In the past, I've done maybe one bulk and cut cycle. Right now I'm in a "bulk" but have been for the past several months and I'm not seeing enough progress, which is why I have no plans to cut any time soon.
According to the best calorie tracking apps, my maintenance intake would be 2,900 cal/day (because I am "active"), and slow weight gain would be around 3,200. But even at that, I'm not seeing enough progress in my opinion. So maybe I just have to up it even more to like 3,500? It's just annoying because I feel like I have to eat constantly and I feel bloated all the time. But maybe that's all it is.0 -
You are making good progress - I would Deadlift / bench /overhead press & bent over row w/ a barbell - all heavy in the 4-6 rep range. If you are not gaining weight you need to eat more eat some more protein - in a college dorm hardboiled eggs, cheese, or peanut butter sandwiches might work. Eastcoast Jim
Thanks for the comments...although I personally am against deadlifting as well as working out in low-rep ranges. As far as I know, those are more for pure strength, which I'm not interested in. For some people that's good, but I want maximum hypertrophy and endurance, which I've read comes more from the 10-14 range and up. I will try eating even more as well.3 -
I understand about the higher rep ranges for maximum hypertrophy but you might see a nice little boost in progress if you drop to 6-8 for 6 weeks.3
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MrElculver2424 wrote: »MrElculver2424 wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I asked for a photo so that people who know far more than me could assist you better.
However, this is my opinion, but I wouldn't say that you look "under developed" at all.
Well thanks; I knew some people would say I'm fine. Yeah, I guess I'm fine, but I still want to put more weight and mass on, and as quickly as possible.
So I'm trying to figure out if it's just a matter of continuing to eat 3,200 calories a day and working out hard, or if I'm missing something or should change something about how I go about fitness.
Have you done multiple bulk/cut cycles? And what training program are you following? If the lifting program you are doing is not optimal it will not produce the results you want. Most will do multiple cycles until the reach their desired results.
Your diet will steer your goal. Cutting will need a calorie deficit to lose fat, and surplus is need to build muscle.
If you are just maintaining current weight on 3200 calories then you are recomping which is a very slow paced method to lose fat/build muscle over a greater period of time while keeping your weight the same.
In the past, I've done maybe one bulk and cut cycle. Right now I'm in a "bulk" but have been for the past several months and I'm not seeing enough progress, which is why I have no plans to cut any time soon.
According to the best calorie tracking apps, my maintenance intake would be 2,900 cal/day (because I am "active"), and slow weight gain would be around 3,200. But even at that, I'm not seeing enough progress in my opinion. So maybe I just have to up it even more to like 3,500? It's just annoying because I feel like I have to eat constantly and I feel bloated all the time. But maybe that's all it is.
Forget what the calculators estimate. Are you actually gaining weight (ideally around 1 lb a week or so)? If not, add a little more, in increments of 100 calories or so.4 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »You are making good progress - I would Deadlift / bench /overhead press & bent over row w/ a barbell - all heavy in the 4-6 rep range. If you are not gaining weight you need to eat more eat some more protein - in a college dorm hardboiled eggs, cheese, or peanut butter sandwiches might work. Eastcoast Jim
Thanks for the comments...although I personally am against deadlifting as well as working out in low-rep ranges. As far as I know, those are more for pure strength, which I'm not interested in. For some people that's good, but I want maximum hypertrophy and endurance, which I've read comes more from the 10-14 range and up. I will try eating even more as well.
You want thickness - what you are doing is not doing that or you would not asked the question - do what I said - increase the weight regularly - eat & don't worry about your abs for a while - you will get thicker - back traps shoulders & chest & arms and don't forget to squat. do some hi rep curls after everything else if you want to Eastcoast Jim3 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »I've obviously gained some weight, but it doesn't seem to be going into my big muscle groups (chest, arms, back). It seems to just hang onto my waist, if anything. I'm not fat at all, and the outline of my abs are slightly visible, but the additional calories seem to not be going anywhere.
Since when did legs quit being a big muscle group? If you do work legs, your comments don't make that seem like an area of emphasis. Squats and deadlifts are compound movements that will go a long way to building the mass your're looking for (along with appropriate nutrition).3 -
Based on your personal description I was going to suggest following this guy.
http://instagram.com/lankyprogresstv
But then you posted your picture, and I’m speechless.
All this old lady can say is “Thank you”.10 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »You are making good progress - I would Deadlift / bench /overhead press & bent over row w/ a barbell - all heavy in the 4-6 rep range. If you are not gaining weight you need to eat more eat some more protein - in a college dorm hardboiled eggs, cheese, or peanut butter sandwiches might work. Eastcoast Jim
Thanks for the comments...although I personally am against deadlifting as well as working out in low-rep ranges. As far as I know, those are more for pure strength, which I'm not interested in. For some people that's good, but I want maximum hypertrophy and endurance, which I've read comes more from the 10-14 range and up. I will try eating even more as well.
The thing is, muscle growth is a result of many factors (tension, damage and stress to the muscles), I think if you aren't happy with the results you are getting but you are putting weight on.. the problem most likely lies with your programming. Instead of focusing only on high rep ranges, I would branch out and hit the muscle fibers from all angles with lower, moderate, and high rep ranges, some people respond differently, and just fatiguing the muscle each time may not be enough. Also keep in mind, if you are over stressing the muscle (excessive muscle damage by too much volume all at once and going to failure each time) you can actually interfere with the muscle building process.
Also you have to have a lot of patience... it can takes years to build your physique, and some muscles are just slower to grow than others.8 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »You are making good progress - I would Deadlift / bench /overhead press & bent over row w/ a barbell - all heavy in the 4-6 rep range. If you are not gaining weight you need to eat more eat some more protein - in a college dorm hardboiled eggs, cheese, or peanut butter sandwiches might work. Eastcoast Jim
Thanks for the comments...although I personally am against deadlifting as well as working out in low-rep ranges. As far as I know, those are more for pure strength, which I'm not interested in. For some people that's good, but I want maximum hypertrophy and endurance, which I've read comes more from the 10-14 range and up. I will try eating even more as well.
The thing is, muscle growth is a result of many factors (tension, damage and stress to the muscles), I think if you aren't happy with the results you are getting but you are putting weight on.. the problem most likely lies with your programming. Instead of focusing only on high rep ranges, I would branch out and hit the muscle fibers from all angles with lower, moderate, and high rep ranges, some people respond differently, and just fatiguing the muscle each time may not be enough. Also keep in mind, if you are over stressing the muscle (excessive muscle damage by too much volume all at once and going to failure each time) you can actually interfere with the muscle building process.
Also you have to have a lot of patience... it can takes years to build your physique, and some muscles are just slower to grow than others.
All of this^^! You also don't say much about your program but a concern that jumped out at me is 6 days per week. If you are doing lots of iso's, maybe. But muscle growth needs recovery time and 6 days may not be giving it enough. Also, hypertrophy occurs in all rep ranges to some degree. Some lower rep range/ higher weight will give you more strength to then up weights in hypertrophy range and progress.6 -
MrElculver2424 wrote: »MrElculver2424 wrote: »TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I asked for a photo so that people who know far more than me could assist you better.
However, this is my opinion, but I wouldn't say that you look "under developed" at all.
Well thanks; I knew some people would say I'm fine. Yeah, I guess I'm fine, but I still want to put more weight and mass on, and as quickly as possible.
So I'm trying to figure out if it's just a matter of continuing to eat 3,200 calories a day and working out hard, or if I'm missing something or should change something about how I go about fitness.
Have you done multiple bulk/cut cycles? And what training program are you following? If the lifting program you are doing is not optimal it will not produce the results you want. Most will do multiple cycles until the reach their desired results.
Your diet will steer your goal. Cutting will need a calorie deficit to lose fat, and surplus is need to build muscle.
If you are just maintaining current weight on 3200 calories then you are recomping which is a very slow paced method to lose fat/build muscle over a greater period of time while keeping your weight the same.
In the past, I've done maybe one bulk and cut cycle. Right now I'm in a "bulk" but have been for the past several months and I'm not seeing enough progress, which is why I have no plans to cut any time soon.
According to the best calorie tracking apps, my maintenance intake would be 2,900 cal/day (because I am "active"), and slow weight gain would be around 3,200. But even at that, I'm not seeing enough progress in my opinion. So maybe I just have to up it even more to like 3,500? It's just annoying because I feel like I have to eat constantly and I feel bloated all the time. But maybe that's all it is.
I am throwing this out there, if you started at a higher body fat% perhaps the proportion of fat to muscle gain you are getting is not optimal, calorie partitioning has become an issue.
I am going with what others regarding your program. We all can work 5-6 days a week in the gym and go hard, but if what you are doing is not producing the results you want you should review the program and maybe switch to another one, these will have recovery days built in as well. As mentioned above it can take years to build the physique you want, patience with the process is key. Consider doing several cycles.1 -
1)You look fine.
2)You probably have some form of body dyamorphia like a lot of gym goers.
3) if you’re not making the progress you think you should be then your training isn’t as great as you think
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I honestly think you should cut, it will make your muscles pop out more and give you that illusion of thickness.0
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If you're doing your own programming I'd suggest you read some books on the subject.
"The Muscle and strength Nutrition/Training pyramid" books by Eric Helms, Andrea Valdez and Andy Morgan are really great.
"The Scientific Principles of Strength Training" by Mike Israetel, James Hoffmann and Chad Wesley Smith is a bit more technical but is also really good.2 -
You have a very good physique at this time.
Not knowing how you train and what you do in your workouts leaves us without important info.
You definitely don't need to get leaner.
I would recommend a full-body routine with basic exercises 3 times a week.
Squat
Calf raises
Bench press
Barbell row
Overhead press
Barbell curl
Deadlift (once per week)
3 work sets of 8-12 reps. Add weight wen you get 3 sets of 12 reps.
No cardio.
Get it done and get out of the gym.
That's all you have to do besides getting adequate calories.
Don't workout 4-6 times a week and don't add more exercises.
You also have to be realistic about a natural physique.
Look up bodybuilders from the 1940s and 1950s before steroids really took off.
Guys like Steve Reeves, Clancy Ross, Jack LaLanne, etc.
1
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