Thread: I dont get it....

If you've gained 10 pounds and are starting to look fatter you probably need to clean up your diet. You're probably not going to add some muscle without adding some fat.

Perfectly normal

If you're getting bigger you're adding some fat and some muscle. It's practically impossible to add the latter without some of the former.

It's been only 2 months, which in terms of muscle building isn't long at all. It takes years to build muscles. Have patience. 10 lbs in 2 months is plenty gain. I'm sure you gained muscle. You just might not notice. A lot of people expect drastic physique changes right off the bat, but even for beginners the gains aren't that significant.

Can you tell me your improvements on the following exercises?

(1.) Squat
(2.) Deadlift (or stigg-legged, if that's what you've been using)
(3.) Bench
(4.) Military Press (this should be standing by the way, my guess is you're seated...that's a shoulder press -- very different exercises)

Ditch the pulldowns and use pullups/chinups in their place. Also, add a row variation to the first workout.

Take squats from the first workout and put them on the second workout. Remove dips from the second workout. This way, you'll have push and pull sessions.

10 pounds in 2 months is pretty good, if lifts are going up, that means muscle is too. it took me about 6 months to see "good" results in my body

personally, i would never ever eliminate dips.

Originally Posted by stepaukas

personally, i would never ever eliminate dips.

Alright, then eliminate bench.

He has two chest-dominant exercises, but one for each other plane of motion (except horizontal pulling, which he doesn't have yet).

The point of removing them was to balance the routine. Like most guys, even the ones who put together seemingly good routines, there's usually an emphasis on chest work, or muscle groups visible from the front. As it is, his second workout is a hell of a lot of upper pushing, then everything else is pushed to the first workout.

Dips are a great exercise, I agree, but if you're going to use a lower-volume program based on compounds with one lift per plane of motion I'd always go with a bench/chest press variation, as, when performed properly, they incorporate the whole body. Dips have the core element, but bench uses leg/foot positioning to transfer energy through the entire body.

Also, I've observed that more people perform dips improperly than bench. Not like it's a complicated exercise, but it's easy to get caught up in "how many can I do quickly with partial ROM" -- like pullups (I see fewer people poorly performing rows than pullups).

i should have been more clear...

i would adjust training to keep the dips in there. keep all the compound movements, but never ever eliminate pullups or dips from a program.

just my opinion.

Odds are you aren't going to see much difference in how you look. You see yourself every day. Any changes happen gradually and since you're seeing it little by little it doesn't seem like anything is happening. As far as your abs go it's like has already been said, you can't add muscle without a little fat. To build muscle you need to take in more calories than you burn.

thanks guys .. i bench with 170lbs , i do pulldowns with 125lbs , ive squatted 300lbs before , but i have lower back issues so im slowly increasing the weight back up again ... i military press with about 115-120 lbs .. and i do dips with 25lbs on my waist ...btw i took the routine from Brawn by stuart mcrobert .. and i intend on doing his other workout next

Day one
General warmup
a. Squat
b. Parallel bar dips
c. Prone rows
Cool down

Day two
General warmup
a. Trap Bar deadlift
b. Bench press or incline press
c. Pullup (or chin)
Cool down

Edit: elite, I would do regular deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts if your lower back issues don't prevent you from doing them. Trap bar deadlifts are more similar to squats than they are to deadlifts in my opinion.

Originally Posted by stepaukas

i should have been more clear...

i would adjust training to keep the dips in there. keep all the compound movements, but never ever eliminate pullups or dips from a program.

just my opinion.

Dips are very, very hard on the shoulder capsule. There are definitely reasons to eliminate them, the most important of which has to do with injury prevention and RC health.

I agree Dips are very stressful to the shoulders and inner tendons that connect chest to shoulders. I stopped doing dips altogether and still had good tricep and chest gains.