Take it easy. Forget your friends and their progression. We each have different bodies with different metabolisms.
Especially at 16, your body hasn't finished changing yet. But doing exercise consistently around 3x a week, will help you develop a better metabolism over time.
Working out is something that take time for some to get results. Just don't give up. Keep at it. There are more benefits to working out than just big muscles and weight loss. It can really help your mental health as well.
I do PPL 6x, i used to love going to the gym thats why i do PPL the reddit one and currently the coolcicada one, however now it just seems like a chore, there should be atleast some progression, but when i get under the bar its as if i just dont have any strength, in fact, i m sure i m regressing a bit
Maybe you're pushing yourself too hard and not resting well enough. Make sure you get enough sleep. Diet wise, just try to eat balanced meals with lots of protein and fiber. A little bit of carbs is okay, especially in the morning for breakfast or lunch. Especially from grains, beans, vegetables, maybe some fruits. They give you energy for your workout. Make sure you eat well during the day before a workout. But not directly before working out, or you'll feel sluggish.
Don't worry about the fat. If you're doing heavy weights you're gonna get gains, not lose weight. If your objective is to lose fat, then your gotta eat way less, cut sugars and carbs and do more cardio.
I have been balancing all that, idk what the issue is maybe test or genetics? Program seems tried and tested
I've been working out for 10 years pretty consistently. I eat what I want and don't really diet but I'm careful with portions.
I'm 43 now. Even after over 10 years of going to the gym I still have a bit of a gut. Can't help it. It is what it is. I just learned to accept it. However, my body shape changed. Wider shoulders and lats, thicker thighs and butt, more muscular arms and shoulders. But still a little on the thicc side. People have asked me if I was a wrestler lol. I just learned to accept my physique and appreciate it. It's part of who I am and honestly, nobody complained but me. In fact I got a lot of positive remarks and it really boosted my confidence.
You're still young at 16. Like I said, your body is going to go through changes in your 20s, 30's and even 40's. Give yourself some time. Maybe when you hit your 20's your metabolism will change and because you've already been working out your physionomy will change.
If it's becoming a chore and it's not fun, do it less often and change your routine. Make it fun. Get a kinesiologist to help as well if you can. They know how the muscles work best and can give you an incredible program that'll change how you work out and give you better results without hurting yourself.
It could seriously be your age. Your body could be preparing for a growth spurt, which would reduce the amount of strength training gains you get.
You’re a teenager. Slow down. Getting to a healthy weight is great. Being physically fit is great.
Focusing on the size, shape of your muscles is probably unhealthy. Talk to a doctor.
Body dimorphism is a real problem for young men your age. And, as others have said, everyone is different. Bodies are different, they respond to exercise and diet differently, they develop at different rates and have different limits. When you’re young it’s possible to do more harm than good if you push too far too fast.
You’ve accomplished a lot, already. Get on a program that focuses on health and be patient.
I dont think i m body dysmorphic, i just am super concerned about why am i not progressing on my lifts for so long
You listed your current stats, but what were your starting stats? I bet they were a lot different. You should be competing with yourself, not others.
I couldn’t bench an empty bar, its not about stats its the fact i haven’t been progressing for months
Hmmm, are you doing progressive overload and logging your workouts?
Yeah i hv been trying to add weight but always fail, i m thinking of doing a different program like the other guy suggested
They sell microplates that you can use as well if you are having trouble progressing with standard plates. Also, working out to failure on the last set and doing a drop set to failure with a lighter weight are ways to progress.
Hm i (hv been) trying to add 2.5kg only, ig changing the program might work tbh
I've had some success using microplates to do 2.5lbs increments instead of 5lbs increments to progress some stuff that plateaued for me, like dumbbell OHP.
Try changing things up. I watch Renaissance Periodization on YouTube for a lot of workout science, and doing the same exercise for a really long time can let it get stale, as your body just gets too used to it. Try more variations on the movements, or different isolation exercises. Whatever you do, try it for at least 3-6 months.
Thanks for ur info, i do change up isolation exercises regularly tho, i dont think there are any replacements but for the main lifts
High squats, low squats, front squats (probably only worth doing with a safety squat bar), deficit deadlift, sumo deadlift, incline/decline press, etc, off the top of my head.
Also, don't be afraid to drop some of the main lifts for 3-6 months to let them fully refresh. No one says you need to do OHP to build shoulders, and sometimes taking some time off sets you up to OHP better than ever 6+ months from now.
Plateaus will happen, and part of the journey is figuring out how to break through them. It usually comes down to one of two possibilities: pushing yourself too hard, or not hard enough.
What does it mean to be pushing too hard? Your body needs to recover from the workouts and grow bigger/stronger. This means needing adequate food/sleep/rest and low stress. All of these variables affect each other. If you eat less, sleep less, or have a generally more stressful life, you'll have to go easier on your workouts to compensate. I understand that you don't have full control over your diet, and that's fine. We make do with what we have, and you still have control over your workouts. Some options to consider:
What about not pushing hard enough? For that, you need to get a feel for what it's like to push hard. Renaissance Periodization's YouTube channel had a bunch of these "Training muscle X with person Y" videos, and they tend to be very good demonstrations of what it looks like to push hard. Keep in mind that workouts like these should be the minority of your overall workout plan if they're even there at all, but it's good to know what to aim for when you do have those days scheduled.
I'm my opinion, focusing on strength training is a good idea when everything else is suboptimal. A lot of gains can be made on the powerlifting movements by just practicing and optimizing your technique.
Thanks a lot for your info, i m currently considering changing the program, but i will keep what u said in mind :)
my parents dont like me even going to the gym
Curious why your parents don't like you going to the gym?
Perfect is the enemy of gains!
It takes a long time to see visible progress for most people.
If you stop now you will still be skinny fat in ten years and wishing you had kept at it.
Just popping back into this post.
How you doing with it bruh?
I hv started making good progress by changing up programs, ig my RPE was way too high (maybe volume as well) and i couldn’t leave enough gas to actually recover between sessions
Thanks to the above guy who recommended BFS, i was browsing and found ‘GZCLP’ which is a very similar program, but it gives u ur training max and percentages so that u dont push urself too hard and overtrain, i had to strip back a ton of weight though, but in 4 weeks i definitely hv been progressing, especially on squat on OHP, i had to strip a ton more weight on bench and dead though, i haven’t still reached back to the weight i was doing pre switch, but i definitely have been progressing as my reps on AMRAP have been staying pretty constant despite the weight going up, i hv gained some little size as well
So yeah too high of an rpe and volume (i m not doing many isolation movements either, just the vanilla program (3 exercises per session) + couple exercises to target some weak spots, or as a prehab (facepulls, upper chest flies etc)), ig i got too sucked on internets ‘high intensity, 1 RIR, 15sets a week’ bullshit
Thanks for asking, hv a beautiful day :)
I’m actually curious about your nutrition/diet vs. what you’re lifts/program are.
At your age, almost anything from a weightlifting standpoint should help stimulate muscle growth.
How many calories are you eating each day? Is this something you’re able to track? How about grams of protein per day?
Skinny fat is a tricky place to be because if you cut down a lot of weight, there isn’t much muscle to make it look good/worthwhile.
Program is the coolcicada PPL I m definitely in a surplus tho i hv been gaining weight steadily, i m around 3 kgs up in the last 2 months Protein i m sure i get 100-120 gms on avg tho, i used to track my calories but i lost that habit because like i said i hv stopped enjoying the process much, but still i dont miss any opportunity to get some protien in hehe
Are your weights always static? Or do you mix it up?
What does your diet look like? I know you said your parents aren't a fan, but you can still do some rough math and figure out what (if anything) you're lacking. My guess would be, since you're eating what you're parents make, you could be lacking protein or something. In college, our strength trainers would feed guys in your position peanut butter and honey sandwiches with protein shakes.
There are also supplements you could take... but I don't like suggesting those because your body could react differently than mine or anyone else's. Do your due diligence on those... but when I was your age (maaaaany moons ago lol) I used to take one tablespoon of glutamine direct on my tongue and wash it down with water right after a work out. Don't know if the direct approach was necessary, but it was the thing at the time.
All of that being said...don't quit. I've been in your shoes, and it's waaaaaaay to easy to go back to being a "fat fuck" and anything is better than nothing, even if your goals don't manifest immediately. It might be time to try a different workout though, check out the "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" workout (assuming it's still around). The places I've been that used it had a lot of success with it and produced some very strong individuals. If you're interested, let me know and I'll see if I can scrounge up a link or some material.
Protein I get around 100-120 gms, I looked up BFS, seems like a 2 days week program, i m running PPL 6x a week rn
It's changed then... it used to be a 5 day a week deal.
Hm OK, thanks for ur help :)
Here is more what I was suggesting, take it for what it's worth...it's a fairly old system lol.
Hm this seems kind of an athlete type workout
It absolutely is... but it's a start to building up your core muscle groups. Once you build that, then you can start fine tuning specific groups as you want.
It absolutely is... but it's a start to building up your core muscle groups. Once you build that, then you can start fine tuning specific groups as you want.
Should I try this then? Seems very intimidating tbh, i haven’t done many of these exercises ever, it will also definitely turn heads haha
You don't have to go nuts with it... but switching up your exercises and confusing your body is the ideal way to build muscle mass.
A lot of them can be done in the privacy of your room (if you don't live on the upper floors of an apartment), or a back yard. The lifts are really the only thing you need the gym for, the rest can be done anywhere.
Should I try this then?
Only you can really answer that, this is a workout I have personal experience with and have 100% seen it transform people in your exact situation. Will it do the same for you? I don't know. Will it kill you if you do it for a month? Probably not. Will you learn something? Probably, and no day is a waste in which you learn something.
If you DO wind up giving it a shot, I'd love to hear how to pans out for you.
Hm ok ig i will try, what exercises are supposed to be in ur ‘auxiliary’ lifts tho, like i see there is not a pulling exercise there, so like i add a row or anything to those auxiliary lifts, and in flexibility and plyometrics, should i just wing it or are there specific ones i should do?, also what is ‘technique’
Also thanks a lot for helping :)
Edit 2: and set rep scheme? Ig the strength one 3x5-8
Here is the "standard" list of auxiliary exercises, but really it can be any lift that focuses on the muscle group you're exercising that day. This workout is modular in that you can tweak it to whatever lifts work best for you.
And you're welcome... I'm by no means an authority on any of it... but I've been in your shoes and if my trial and error can expedite your goals, then it costs me nothing but my coffee getting cold while I type.
Feel free to reach out if you've got any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
I missed your edit:
Week 1- 3x3 (strength)
Week 2 - 3x5 (stamina)
Week 3 - 5, 3, 1 (rep max)
Week 4 3x10 (recover)
Also about plyometrics and ‘techniques’ if u dont mind😅
Plyometrics are kind of a choose your own adventure in this workout. We encouraged explosive movements like box jumps, squat jumps, mountain climbers, skip jumps, etc. Basically anything that encouraged development of fast twitch muscles.
I'm sure you'll get as many different answers as people you ask in that regard, so just do a bit of reading about the basics of Plyometrics and you can tailor them to your specific use case.
Ok, thanks a lot for the info, I will try from sat which is my first day of the week for gym