Been lifting for 8 months, not sure what I am doing wrong

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Greco74
Greco74 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I'm 18 and started lifting around 11 months ago. For the first 3 months I did not know what I was doing. I was going to the gym around 3-4 days a week and doing a full body exercise that I made myself, did some cardio/treadmill, some bicep curls, some leg extentions and ab crunches... A bit of everything really.

Problem was I only did 3 sets of each exercise, and didn't work each muscle until it was literally sore by the end of the workout. So I got nowhere in 3 months and pretty much looked the same.

I had skinny legs to start with, average arms for a guy my age (not fat but not muscly either, just no definition but a bit of strength)... But my main insecurity and still is, was my gut/stomach. It always stuck out. People would say I have decent arms, but I always had a gut. And I looked the same.

So I started asking my fitness friends what I was doing wrong, and they told me to target a muscle each day (abs day, legs day, arms day etc)

So I did that for 8 months... Did chest day, biceps day, triceps day, cardio day, and that's pretty much it.

My goal was to lose my gut completely, have a flat stomach and have bigger arms & a line down my chest to seperate the pectorials coz I had a bit of man boobs. At the end of the 8 months which is now, the gut does not stick out AS much but if I took my top off it is still embarrassing to show.

In this 8 months, I have gone from 68KG to 60KG. I have put on some definition in my arms and they have gone just a tiny bit bigger although that might just be the pump from lifting. So in 8 months I have lost 8KG but not made enough progress on my gut, and my arms definitely don't look like someone who's gone to the gym for 8 months.

I have aimed for 1800 calories a day, and on average have consumed 2100 calories a day for the past 8 months, with a day or 2 days around the 3000 calorie mark each week.

My question to you all is, why have I not lost my gut and why have I lost so much weight? I am guessing that because I've lost 8KG worth of weight, maybe that's why my arms don't look bigger... Because I have lost muscle as well as fat?

The only thing is, I can lift heavier at the gym though even though I have lost 8KG and not put on alot of arm definition. I started with chest flys of 15KG dumbells and can now do 22KG dumbells... But something is not right and I don't know what it is.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys! :)

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    strong lifts
    starting strength
    wendler 5/3/1

    you arent seeing results more than likely because you arent focused. have you at least made some strength goals?

    oh and you lost weight because you are eating at a deficit, and at 1800 calories it's pretty large one especially if you're looking to build muscle.

    check out the group eat train progress as well as those 3 lifting programs from above
  • Greco74
    Greco74 Posts: 5
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    Thanks.

    I will search the internet for those 3 programs now.

    I definitely am focused and have been for quite some time, I tried cleaning up my eating, no junk food etc unless it's a Friday or Saturday night and I get it for desert or something like that.

    I have made strength goals in the sense that I want to be able to curl a 40KG EZ bar with ease, or a 25KG dumbell in my hand eventually.

    I remember I struggled using a 15KG dumbell to do pec flies with but now it's easy. I have made strength gains definitely in my arms but I have not noticed them looking that different.

    The only reason I am eating 1800 calories a day is because I wanted to lose my gut. I just want it to go away. So I figured by eating that much then there won't be any fat to go to my stomach after my workouts, but I still haven't gotten the results I want.

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