Working out too much?

[Dazzla]

Hey,

I'm 6'2 currently at 150 pounds. I've been working out 4-5 days a week for almost a year now. I've been eating more then before, but I haven't seen any 'real' gains as far as muscle mass or weight goes.

I'm kind of at a crossroad right now on how I should change my routine.

Option 1, stop going to the gym for a month or two, focus more on just eating and gaining fat/mass that way.

Option 2, continue going to gym 4-6 days a week, continue eating regularly.

BTW: At this point I'm not taking any supplements (protein etc). I used those stupid pre-workout creatine drinks, but they stop working after awhile lol.

Looking forward to your responses!

 

[Northstar]

What kind of workouts are you doing?

 

[Omnis]

Yeah, you're probably catabolic. Forget about workouts... what's your diet look like? I assume you're trying to bulk up, right?

 

[Bram Turismo]

Training 5 days a week is nothing dangerous, but only if you train your muscles seperately. If you do full body workouts everyday, quit them and take a break. When doing full body workouts, you don't want to spend more than 3 days in the gym. Also, find out what kind of metabolism you have. If you have a fast metabolism, you want to eat a ton of food to replenish your energy levels. If you haven't made serious weight gains during your workouts, then this is another sign you have been doing too much. Don't think about protein shakes, it's a waste of money compared to decent healthy food. Eat healthy, eat a lot, train 3 days a week and sleep a lot = get big.

 

[Der Alta]

To follow up on this a bit, the guys above are right on with what they say.

When it comes to Supplements, they are exactly that: Supplements. They cannot take the place of real food. I'm on a pre-contest diet right now, and most of what I eat is Chicken, Fish, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice and Spinach.

If you want to "bulk up", Oatmeal in the morning along with some protein (Eggs, or a shake). Mid morning some Yogurt and a potato. Lunch = Chicken, Brown Rice, Green vegetable (not peas, too much sugar in them). Mid afternoon = Meal Replacement Shake, and Potato. Dinner = Steak, Sweet Potato and Green Veggie. Then a Protein Shake after your workout. That's 6 meals a day in the range of 400-500 calories each.

If you want to gain more size quicker, eat more steak than chicken. You'll add a few pounds of Fat, but you'll pack on muscle quicker.

To directly address your situation, You're tall and skinny, which will make it hard to gain muscle. Eating to gain weight is your best bet. Take a week off and mentally relax and prepare yourself for a new workout. Focus on the muscle movement, not so much the weights when doing the exercise.

4 days a week, with a strict layout.
Day One: Legs and Shoulders. 8 total sets each body part. (2 or 3 exercises broken up)
Day Two: Abs, Traps, Biceps. 100 reps Anyway/anyhow for Abs. 8-9 total sets per body part.
Day Three: Pec, Hamstring, Calf. 8 total sets each body part. (2 or 3 exercises broken up)

Day Four: Back, Triceps. Chin-ups and Deadlifts are your biggest mass building exercise for Back. Again, 8-9 total sets each body part. (2 or 3 exercises broken up)

Day Five, six and Seven are all about rest. Eat the same way as you do every other day. Rest is just as important as working out.

If you want, I can load up one of my workout regiments and you can compare, evaluate it.

Pay attention to the mirror. Forget the scale.

Squats, and Deadlifts will help you gain overall body strength. Stick with heavy exercises and focus on each rep. Less time between sets. Leave the cell phone in the car.

I train 5 days a week, twice a day right now. I do my cardio in the morning and my weights in the evening. I hit each body part once a week. Abs, Calves, Legs, Chest, Shoulders, Back, Traps, Biceps, Triceps and Forearms.

 

[NLxAROSA]

I did a lot of reading up on the matter of supplements: most supplements either don't work at all or they contain stuff that works in quantities too low to be of any use. Personally, I think stuff like creatine, tribulus, etc. etc. are just placebos for people not training properly or hard enough. So when they use these supplements, they feel more confident and train harder or pay more attention, hence they see result. Most research supports this (just do some looking up). And most of them are expensive, you can buy a LOT of quality food for the amounts involved! And pre-workout supps are usually overpriced caffeine-based garbage.

The only supplements that work IMO are post-workout shakes (whey with some fast carbs). Vitamin supplements and BCAA's can be handy in case you are cutting though, but that does not apply to you.

On the matter of food: make a schedule of all (and I mean ALL) your intake on a daily basis. That will give you the insight whether you are taking in enough and if it's the right distribution of carbs/proteins/fats. It can also be a starting point to create a proper diet.

 

[Omnis]

Creatine does work but you gotta use it right-- gotta load it and all that crap. Protein supps and multivitamins are really the only things worthwhile though.

 

[Pako]

Old post but still a valid question. I will say one thing. "Muscle Confusion". Ok, that was two words but I still mean it. It's OK to hit the same muscle group once or twice a week but change up the routine and exercises, light weight heavy reps, heavy weight, light reps, ect. Keep the muscle guessing, keep the muscle growing. I have been on a 5 day a week, two week cycle and it seems to work pretty good and have seen some great gains over the years. Sure, I have plateaued, but there are genetic limitations that I am faced with now, and unless I am willing to introduce more than what my body is capable of making, I don't see myself getting much bigger. That's ok though, 5'11" at 250, benching 405 for a couple reps and hip sled pressing over 1400 lbs for 20 reps isn't a bad plateau. My surgery last year has set me back but am making gains again and will be back to where I was. Just some additional advise to the already great info presented here. So remember, "Muscle Confusion", but don't forget nutrition and rest. We only grow when we're resting.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

You are 6'2" 150 and not gaining.......

This WILL help for sure. https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=121521&highlight=ectomorph

 

[Dazzla]

Totally forgot about this thread, I've gained significantly (for me) in the past few months when I created this thread.

I'm at about 162 pounds, bench has gone from 115 (when I made this thread) to 155. I don't think its fat because my muscles have become alot more defined and look ripped when I'm working out. Of course I doubt I gained 12 pounds of muscle mass in 4-5 months lol

I think for me the biggest difference was I started eating alot more meat; chicken breasts almost every second time, having proper 4-5 meals a day, and making sure I took my protein/weight gainer properly everyday.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Totally forgot about this thread, I've gained significantly (for me) in the past few months when I created this thread.

I'm at about 162 pounds, bench has gone from 115 (when I made this thread) to 155. I don't think its fat because my muscles have become alot more defined and look ripped when I'm working out. Of course I doubt I gained 12 pounds of muscle mass in 4-5 months lol

I think for me the biggest difference was I started eating alot more meat; chicken breasts almost every second time, having proper 4-5 meals a day, and making sure I took my protein/weight gainer properly everyday.

Yup pretty much everything I suggested in the link in post #9 would have helped for sure.

 

[lbsf1]

Sorry to revive a slightly old thread. But I just wanted to add something. Working out in the gym constantly isn't everything. I don't work out using weights or anything (Acept 20 pressups sit ups and a couple of similar excersises before going to bed) I just do lots of cycling (at least 1-1.5 hours a day). Now I have a half decent 4-6pack. I don't do anything special with my diet I just try to eat healthy stuff and try not to snack.
So if weights isn't doing it for you try cardio.


(I'm 14 so I don't know if this would work for adults)

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Sorry to revive a slightly old thread. But I just wanted to add something. Working out in the gym constantly isn't everything. I don't work out using weights or anything (Acept 20 pressups sit ups and a couple of similar excersises before going to bed) I just do lots of cycling (at least 1-1.5 hours a day). Now I have a half decent 4-6pack. I don't do anything special with my diet I just try to eat healthy stuff and try not to snack.
So if weights isn't doing it for you try cardio.


(I'm 14 so I don't know if this would work for adults)

The OP is trying to gain weight and gain muscle mass. That wont happen doing cardio all the time. That will just burn off excess fat and if anything, cause him to lose weight. (Which will allow the abs to show more because the bodyfat % is low enough for them to be visible)

If you want to gain muscle mas you HAVE to workout and you HAVE to eat. Everything has already been discussed in this thread. The link in post 9 is loaded with information about gaining weight. If you do what I did in post 9 you will put on at least 20-30 lbs in 3 months.