Need help: Reached plateu (Body building)

[Helper_man]

Asalam Alykum WrWb

I need help of brothers who are heavy lifters and bulked up.

I am frustrated because hitting the gym hard is not working. I am starting to feel i am wasting my time the no. of hours I spent.

Whats the way of going about bulking up and getting ripped.. ?

What exactly do u guys do and how long did it take for you?

JazakAllah khair

[xs11ax]

personally i dont think its good to be huge in the first place. bodybuilding only emphasises sculpting the muscles to look good but when trying to apply that strength to real life then it sometimes fails. most bodybuilders who want to get huge use a number of different supplements including steroids to get like that. i knew a guy once who became very big in a very short time. he was taking a cocktail of different supplements which included steroids. i once ended up behind him on a flight of steps in a normal residential building so you can imagine the steps were not that steep or long. halfway up the steps the bodybuilder was completely out of breath and had to stop to rest lol!

so if you want to make fast gains then you are going to have to take supplements from the mundane such as protein shakes to the dangerous such as steroids, but of course i would never recommend steroids.

what are you trying to get out of lifting weights? do you want to look huge or do you want practical strength?

post your routine including the reps and sets and how much you lift.

[Helper_man]

JazakAllah khair brother,

I wrote down my routine, its in bits and pieces, hoping that youl sort it out for me. I am a beginner but the beginner stage has been for years now. Starting to get frustrated about it.

I totally agree with what you said. I am aware about the harmful effects of steroids and supplements. So I don’t think I am ever going to use supplements.

I want to eat clean and stay clean (which is harder than a marathon + expensive) I was wondering if there are natural ways of bulking up? What exactly should I be feeding on for a source of protein in a healthy way? Steamed chicken? Raw eggs (minus - yolk). How much, how many times?


This is what I am looking for:
I am looking to have minimal body fat percentage, added lean muscle mass, high metabolic rate and a balance of both, practical strength and bulk (not huge).

My routine:
Err.. heres the messy part.

Ideally (Happens for 2 weeks in a month)
-Traditional workout, 4 days a week, alternate days. Generally, 4 exercise for each muscle, set of 3, 12 reps.

Day 1 – Chest + Tri + 15 min cardio
Day 2 – Back + Bi + 15 min cardio
Day 3 – Shoulders + Forearms + 15 min cardio
Day 4 – Legs

Non ideally – when time is short (happens very regularly)
Day 1 – Upper body
Day 2 – Lower body

This is something that I am enjoying lately more than body building, I do this in the weekend, when there is no time for gym in the weekdays:
1 hour of squash + 15 min rest + 1 hour of tennis + 15 min rest + 1 hour of basketball + 15 min rest + 1 hour swimming –
Takes around 5 hours but I feel more rewarded and satisfied with this.

I do know it is not a disciplined and planned approach but this is it. That’s whats the best I can get out of my time. My gym is in 3 places.. Home + Regular gym + University. I have no idea how to organize myself and personalize it for better results.

Intention is to be fit for myself and salah, get most out of my day without getting exhausted and mostly, channel all those excess temptations into a good thing.

How should I go about correcting myself. Take your time brother but a detailed reply would be great =)

Anyone is welcome to help the helper man

[Aram]

what exactly is the benefits of body building? do people just do it to make themselves look "good" ?
are there any benefits healthwise? because built people just kinda look fat to me and the way they move around is like fat people too as though they are struggling to walk and breathe

and don't you guys consume something like 5000+ calories a day, and spend hours and hours at the gym, sounds like a fat waste of time and food and money

does it actually even help in things like training for war...i cant imagine it does judging by the way they struggle to move around

sorry for going off topic....i just don't understand the benefits, its an awful lot of work you put in..im just not sure what you get out of it apart from the way it looks

[xs11ax]

JazakAllah khair brother,

I wrote down my routine, its in bits and pieces, hoping that youl sort it out for me. I am a beginner but the beginner stage has been for years now. Starting to get frustrated about it.

I totally agree with what you said. I am aware about the harmful effects of steroids and supplements. So I don’t think I am ever going to use supplements.

I want to eat clean and stay clean (which is harder than a marathon + expensive) I was wondering if there are natural ways of bulking up? What exactly should I be feeding on for a source of protein in a healthy way? Steamed chicken? Raw eggs (minus - yolk). How much, how many times?


This is what I am looking for:
I am looking to have minimal body fat percentage, added lean muscle mass, high metabolic rate and a balance of both, practical strength and bulk (not huge).

My routine:
Err.. heres the messy part.

Ideally (Happens for 2 weeks in a month)
-Traditional workout, 4 days a week, alternate days. Generally, 4 exercise for each muscle, set of 3, 12 reps.

Day 1 – Chest + Tri + 15 min cardio
Day 2 – Back + Bi + 15 min cardio
Day 3 – Shoulders + Forearms + 15 min cardio
Day 4 – Legs

Non ideally – when time is short (happens very regularly)
Day 1 – Upper body
Day 2 – Lower body

This is something that I am enjoying lately more than body building, I do this in the weekend, when there is no time for gym in the weekdays:
1 hour of squash + 15 min rest + 1 hour of tennis + 15 min rest + 1 hour of basketball + 15 min rest + 1 hour swimming –
Takes around 5 hours but I feel more rewarded and satisfied with this.

I do know it is not a disciplined and planned approach but this is it. That’s whats the best I can get out of my time. My gym is in 3 places.. Home + Regular gym + University. I have no idea how to organize myself and personalize it for better results.

Intention is to be fit for myself and salah, get most out of my day without getting exhausted and mostly, channel all those excess temptations into a good thing.

How should I go about correcting myself. Take your time brother but a detailed reply would be great =)

Anyone is welcome to help the helper man

sorry bro i missed your post.

in your original post you were complaining about not making gains but from your routine its obvious why lol! at the very least you need to be regular and consistent in your training. once you are regular and consistent then its just a matter of eating right and training right.

but i think i have said before on another thread. i am not a BIG fan of just weight training. weight training should just be ONE part of your training regime. and you should not aim towards just looking big. getting huge is not practical and out of the gym its not going to be very useful to have loads of muscle but then not being able to move. i usually aim for using lighter weights with higher reps. at the moment i am bench pressing 90lbs and doing 1 set of 40 fast reps with proper form. then i do the rest of my basic routine and go back to the bench. i do 3-4 sets like this. on the last 2-3 sets on the bench i am pressing about 25-30 reps at 90lbs. i know a lot of bodybuilders would laugh at this routine (they call it crossfit. btw check crossfit out on the net) but i find it is better for gaining practical muscle.

[Abu Marwan]

It's a weird sport but very popular in Egypt. It seems focused on building a very particular type of physique and then standing around in Speedos flexing. The posing part requires quite a lot of training and skill as well. (The Speedo bit is probably prohibited, over exposure being the primary objective.)

People get into bodybuilding for lots of different reasons, and not everyone is a contender.

You ask an interesting question about benefits. This might be applied to any sport. What use is it to be able to bounce a ball on top of your head for five minutes? Unless you work in the circus, this doesn't seem like a very useful skill to me either, not even in war.

So, what are the benefits of sports in general?

Once you have a list of these, you can match them up to particular activities.

Salaam,

Abu Marwan

[Helper_man]

sorry bro i missed your post.

in your original post you were complaining about not making gains but from your routine its obvious why lol! at the very least you need to be regular and consistent in your training. once you are regular and consistent then its just a matter of eating right and training right.

but i think i have said before on another thread. i am not a BIG fan of just weight training. weight training should just be ONE part of your training regime. and you should not aim towards just looking big. getting huge is not practical and out of the gym its not going to be very useful to have loads of muscle but then not being able to move. i usually aim for using lighter weights with higher reps. at the moment i am bench pressing 90lbs and doing 1 set of 40 fast reps with proper form. then i do the rest of my basic routine and go back to the bench. i do 3-4 sets like this. on the last 2-3 sets on the bench i am pressing about 25-30 reps at 90lbs. i know a lot of bodybuilders would laugh at this routine (they call it crossfit. btw check crossfit out on the net) but i find it is better for gaining practical muscle.

JazakAllah khair brother for the advice.

Yeah i did come across cross fit. MashAllah, 40 reps with 90lbs in a set, I am sure you must be very toned and with high practical strength.

I bench 90 Kgs in 12 reps for 3 sets, I think i am going to start doing what you do.

I think in an earlier thread some time ago somebody recommended your name as the ultimate person to ask for body building

[Helper_man]

what exactly is the benefits of body building? do people just do it to make themselves look "good" ?
are there any benefits healthwise? because built people just kinda look fat to me and the way they move around is like fat people too as though they are struggling to walk and breathe

and don't you guys consume something like 5000+ calories a day, and spend hours and hours at the gym, sounds like a fat waste of time and food and money

does it actually even help in things like training for war...i cant imagine it does judging by the way they struggle to move around

sorry for going off topic....i just don't understand the benefits, its an awful lot of work you put in..im just not sure what you get out of it apart from the way it looks

Wa alykum Asalam.

Sister when someone says "body building", the immediate picture you imagine is a puffed up guy who is probably the size of 2 men, walking in ego lol

For normal guys -

-Lifting weights is known to burn more calories than cardio. If combined gives you a greater plus

-Weight lifting is a great stress buster. I can list out almost 15 endocrinic hormones and peptides which are released in response. All for the good.

-You look good - you feel good - you do good - Helps the psych, self esteem, confidence.

-If combined with sports and outdoor activities, it gives you practical strength enough to fight in case you need to. Not sure about "war" but def prepares you with strength

-Its a good way to channel energy specially for youth, id rather be spending time in this than hanging out with friends, cinema, smoking, getting heightened by the youthful ways of these days.

-It creates discipline in your life.

-Many others.

[xs11ax]

I think in an earlier thread some time ago somebody recommended your name as the ultimate person to ask for body building

brother...

you got the wrong guy. i think they were talking about brother ahmed, but he doesnt post here anymore.

[NNoor]

sorry bro i missed your post.

in your original post you were complaining about not making gains but from your routine its obvious why lol! at the very least you need to be regular and consistent in your training. once you are regular and consistent then its just a matter of eating right and training right.

but i think i have said before on another thread. i am not a BIG fan of just weight training. weight training should just be ONE part of your training regime. and you should not aim towards just looking big. getting huge is not practical and out of the gym its not going to be very useful to have loads of muscle but then not being able to move. i usually aim for using lighter weights with higher reps. at the moment i am bench pressing 90lbs and doing 1 set of 40 fast reps with proper form. then i do the rest of my basic routine and go back to the bench. i do 3-4 sets like this. on the last 2-3 sets on the bench i am pressing about 25-30 reps at 90lbs. i know a lot of bodybuilders would laugh at this routine (they call it crossfit. btw check crossfit out on the net) but i find it is better for gaining practical muscle.

I have to disagree with this. I'm into powerlifting/olympic lifting...and this notion of "functional strength" or "practical strength" is really misunderstood. Yes, certain exercises, usually the ones that involve machines, like the leg press, are not functional. Because it is isolating your leg muscles, the strength you will gain from doing leg presses is only really good for doing leg presses. However, if you do heavy squats for example, that is working your legs plus your lower back and core. The strength you gain from that will be useful in any number of activities that involve lifting and moving heavy objects (e.g. furniture). It will also strengthen your body, and hopefully if you build up your strength and mass when you're young, you will retain a good amount of strength in old age. That's a major motivation for me, so I don't have to be dependent on people once I'm old,

Doing endless reps of a lift is essentially pointless. For example, a person who does a 3x5 routine for squats with 225 lbs will easily be able to bodyweight squats for 40 reps. But will a guy who only does bodyweight squats for 40 reps day in day out be able to squat 225 lbs? Of course not. So whose strength is more functional? They only way to get stronger is to gradually increase the load on your muscles so they get stronger to adapt.

People think that being really strong means being huge. That is not the case. The reason bodybuilders have bad stamina is because they don't train cardio usually and they have too much mass. While it's true that a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle, the converse is not necessarily true. You can make huge strength gains without putting on any mass by improving the neural adaptation (muscle fiber recruitment). Of course, at a certain point, your muscle will have to grow in order to get stronger, but you could weigh a lean 160 lbs and deadlift the same amount of weight as a guy who weighs a lean 180 lbs depending on how efficient your muscles are.