5 Months in Training and very slow progress. Is this normal?

[Sagz89]

Hello, I desperately need some help! Originally, I weighed about 13 Stone, and in January this year I did all the cardio I could and slimmed down to about 11 stone, eating nothing but soup. In May, I decided I was happy with my weight and I thought I would get into weight training to tone up. I am 22 years old and currently weigh 160Ibs. My general routine is:

 

My general routine is:

 

Day 1: Chest and Legs

Day 2: Football/Soccer

Day 3: Biceps and Triceps

Day 4: Abs and Shoulders

 

I do a combination of supersets and high rep individual sets.

 

After 5 months of training as above, I feel that my muscle growth, particularly my pectorals lack any kind of definition. The key changes I have seen have been in my arms that have grown slightly and have become more defined. My main issue is my 'Man Boobs', as I have been bullied about them in the past and is the main area that I want to tone as I have been conscious of this for years. I cannot seem to remove the fat layer in the lower part of the chest or the fat layer around my stomach, which have come back since I cut down on the cardio. Another issue that someone at the gym suggested was that I may be overtraining? Could this be the case, as I train Monday - Thursday, but rarely Friday and Saturday, as I have to travel elsewhere for the weekends. Therefore, I try to compact my workout during the week.

 

Are there any tips you could give me to get faster results. Although I am a vegetarian, I find that I very easily put on weight no matter what I eat. My current diet is:

 

Breakfast 9am: Bran Flakes Cereal, with approximately 1/2 pint of milk

 

Snack 11am: 1 Banana and a handfull of mixed nuts e.g. almonds and roasted soya nuts

 

Lunch: A mixed bean e.g. chickpeas, soya beans, kidney beans and tomato mix - with either wholemeal pasta or rice

 

Snack 4pm: 1 boiled egg or Quorn Fillet

 

6:30pm: 1 Banana

 

8:30/ 9pm: Tofu/quorn or mixed bean curry with rice and plain yoghurt. 1 Wholemeal Pitta Bread with 150g of cottage cheese.

 

Are there any key areas where I am clearly going wrong, as I feel I should have seen more change over the period of time that I have been training. Or is slow progress for beginners normal?

 

Any help and advice that you could provide would be much appreciated.

 

Many Thanks

[James]

OK firstly 5 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things so you need to be realistic & patient.

 

Your diet & training regime are really bad if you're trying to gain muscle. You need more calories, more good fats, more protein - say around 150/160g per day. You should drop the bodypart split routine & do something like 'Stronglifts 5x5' where you'll focus on getting better at the big compound lifts - no high rep supersets & all that crap.

[Sagz89]

Thanks for your advice. I have just read into the stronglifts programme and think I will give it a go.

 

Are there any foods that you could suggest that I could incorporate into my diet to meet these targets? In all honesty, I have been concious about the volume of food I consume because I seem to gain weight very easily. Having said that I appreciate that good quality food is needed when you want to gain muscle.

 

Do you take any supplements? If so, could you recommend any?

[James]

If you're doing Stronglifts it's a good idea to get someone who know what they're doing to help you with technique.

 

You won't add muscle unless you're in calorie surplus, so inevitably you'll add some fat too. You can minimise fat gain though by 'clean bulking' i.e. surplus of calories but eating good stuff like nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados, wholegrains, legumes, rather than a 'dirty bulk' where you just eat any old crap inclduign plenty of junk.

 

At your weight & activity level your maintenance level is probbaly around 2500 kcal per day. I'd say you need at least 3000 per day to see any real gains & probably 400o if oyu want to gain mass quickly.

 

Suuplements aren't necessary but can be a useful & cheap way to get extra calories/protein when you're on the run. I use pea protein powder & also creatine. A good snack is a shake made with soy milk, cocoa, pea protein & lots of natural peanut butter.

[Nicholas_Weir]

Make surre you are performing the exercises with correct form, and a decent tempo as these can dramatically effect your overall gains on a strength program. Also EAT EAT and EAT some more; as already mentioned. Try to get 3500-500 clean cals a day