What (if anything) am I doing wrong?

[writher]

Hey guys,
I've been working out for about 3 months now. I go every weekday.

Monday - Shoudlers
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Chest
Thursday - Back
Friday - Arms

I drink 2 whey protein shakes per day, and I eat tons of other protein throughout the day and I very much limit my "white" carbs. I stick to about 75-80% of my carbs coming from whole grain. I take a multivitamin, and I do mixup my routine to some degree every week. The gains that I have seen thus far are small. I also do eat about 6 small meals per day.

I am wondering what I might be doing wrong :

1) working out too often?
2) not enough?
3) Not hard enough?

Or is it not reasonable to expect large gains within this period of time?
I also do about 1 hour of cardio everyday, should I cut that out? (I've been trying to cut fat as well as gain lean mass at the same time - I'm around 11-11.5% Bodyfat according to the machine at the gym...not sure how accurate it is though)

 

[[S]alvatore]

Ok before we can honestly say what the problem is, you need to post up your whole routine (exercises, sets, reps), and your whole diet.

Eg.

7am Wake
40g Whey in water

7:15
10 egg whites scrambled
3 cups cream of rice/oatmeal
3 rice cakes
1 apple

10:15
170g skinless grilled chicken breast
1 cup grits
170g yams
1 cup steamed asparagus

But I can already tell that your routine might be the problem, targeting 1 muscle group a day isn't ideal. Because they will also get hit on other workout days.

 

[writher]

Ok, my diet is not the same everyday....but here is a typical day for me:

6:20am Wake up

7:00am Breakfast - either grapenuts or oatmeal

7:15am First Protein Shake - 1.5scoops of Whey, skim milk, banana, (and sometimes a a spoonful of natural reduced fat peanut butter), multivitamin

8:00am Get to work

10:00am - Eat something - usually a can of tuna or salmon with light mayonnaise...sometimes accompanied by whole wheat bread

12:00pm - Eat again....grilled chicken breast with carrots

3:00pm - Eat again....lentil/vegetable soup, sometimes substitute with a protein bar

4:00pm - Leave work, drink creatine supplement

5:00pm - Workout

6:00pm - Leave gym

6:20 - Drink Protein Shake - 2 scoops protein, skim milk, banana

7:00pm - Grilled Tilapia or Steak, sometimes accompanied by whole wheat pasta

 

[writher]

I just read the "A Unit" post, and its interesting. I don't do squats that often, I have been doing dead lifts - but not as a main component of my routine.

I also never do pullups or chinups mainly because I can hardly do more than 1 of each at a time.

I am about 6' 2" and weigh 190.

 

[brucevangeorge]

Ok, my diet is not the same everyday....but here is a typical day for me:

6:20am Wake up

7:00am Breakfast - either grapenuts or oatmeal

7:15am First Protein Shake - 1.5scoops of Whey, skim milk, banana, (and sometimes a a spoonful of natural reduced fat peanut butter), multivitamin

8:00am Get to work

10:00am - Eat something - usually a can of tuna or salmon with light mayonnaise...sometimes accompanied by whole wheat bread

12:00pm - Eat again....grilled chicken breast with carrots

3:00pm - Eat again....lentil/vegetable soup, sometimes substitute with a protein bar

4:00pm - Leave work, drink creatine supplement

5:00pm - Workout

6:00pm - Leave gym

6:20 - Drink Protein Shake - 2 scoops protein, skim milk, banana

7:00pm - Grilled Tilapia or Steak, sometimes accompanied by whole wheat pasta

I eat that much in two meals.

Also try to get carbs with your post workout shake. Post-workout should have lots of protein and carbs (complex... like oatmeal). Try a few combinations in a blender.. whey, egg, otameal flour, banana, milk... etc.

And by lots of protein I mean like ~80g.

 

[semag]

here's what to do.... and if you're in agreement, i'll give you more info, but here's my suggestion.

Go to the gym 3 days a week, mon-weds-friday.

Monday = squats.
Wednesday=bench.
Friday=deads.

This is your routine (basically). The rest is just gravy (but i'll give you the gravy stuff if you want.)

Now... every week, add 2.5 lbs on the bar. Now you're making gains.

 

[chickenlegs03]

I'm actually just starting to bulk for a second time, so take my advice with a grain of salt. (fyi, I gained about 20lbs on my first bulk)

The meals are okay, though it seems you might be getting too much protein and not enough carbs.

As for this:

4:00pm - Leave work, drink creatine supplement

5:00pm - Workout

6:00pm - Leave gym

6:20 - Drink Protein Shake - 2 scoops protein, skim milk, banana

Last year when I was bulking the first time around, I got a session or two with a personal trainer. He gave me some golden advice. You take tons of protein before working out, and tons of carbs after.

You're taking protein before and after. Don't just take creatine before working out, take some whey protein as well. Also, after workouts, don't wait until you leave the gym (20min later!) to drink your post drink; drink it immediately after you work out. I use pure maltodextrin, or "carbo-gain" for post-workouts...2 servings is about 100g of carbs, which is good for muscle recovery.

Also drink more water during the day. And I've heard eating peanuts at night can boost testosterone very slightly...I try do it anyway.

Oh, and lastly, how much sleep are you getting? Make sure you sleep at least 7hrs/night, or how ever much so you're not tired the next day. And don't do cardio, it sucks for gaining weight.

good luck

 

[The_Lifter]

He gave me some golden advice. You take tons of protein before working out, and tons of carbs after.

You're taking protein before and after. Don't just take creatine before working out, take some whey protein as well. Also, after workouts, don't wait until you leave the gym (20min later!) to drink your post drink; drink it immediately after you work out. I use pure maltodextrin, or "carbo-gain" for post-workouts...2 servings is about 100g of carbs, which is good for muscle recovery.

A couple of things.

Tons of protien before working out isn't the way to go, especially when most of your blood is moving away from the gut during excercise. Most digestion actually stops. If you were going to take "tons" of protein, I'd do it by way of a protein shake about 15 minutes before so that it might actually be absorbed.

Pure maltodextrin, as I have said before, is pretty much sugar. You're taking 100g of sugar after a workout. Tell me, have you ever tried dividing it up into high gi and low gi? There were a couple of threads on this back in the day which suggested that spilting it like this would reduce the risks, for example, insulin sensitivity and adipose tissue spillover. As I recall one was called 'an ode to oatmeal' and there was one on bb.com too, something like "high gi after workout'.

 

[chickenlegs03]

A couple of things.

Tons of protien before working out isn't the way to go, especially when most of your blood is moving away from the gut during excercise. Most digestion actually stops. If you were going to take "tons" of protein, I'd do it by way of a protein shake about 15 minutes before so that it might actually be absorbed.

Pure maltodextrin, as I have said before, is pretty much sugar. You're taking 100g of sugar after a workout. Tell me, have you ever tried dividing it up into high gi and low gi? There were a couple of threads on this back in the day which suggested that spilting it like this would reduce the risks, for example, insulin sensitivity and adipose tissue spillover. As I recall one was called 'an ode to oatmeal' and there was one on bb.com too, something like "high gi after workout'.

Thanks for clarifying those things. Like I said, I'm pretty much a beginner myself. The thing is though, I can't really take oatmeal to the gym to have right after I workout...I tried blending and it's not that great. I've read that malto is a complex carb...yes, a sugar, but is it just like taking regular sugar? I guess I'll eat oatmeal 20-30min after my workouts though.

Actually I also eat microwaved potatoes.