I dont get it! Lift twice as much but look half as big!

[x_SANDMAN_x]

This is driving me crazy! I lift almost double the weights some of guys at the gym do but they look way bigger and well defined than me! Some of them are even pro bodybuilders. Even thou ive been bodybuilding way longer than a lot of them, i literally dont even look like a bodybuilder! And alot of them dont even eat properly, most of them dont even know jack shit about nutrition and dieting. And im talking about basic stuff like white bread vs whole wheat! Let alone macros and 6 meals a day! The 15 years ive been bodybuilding, i havent seen not one person keep a log! And here i am, properly dieting, keeping a workout journal and basically doing everything 100 times better than everyone and yet, they look 100 times better. And it cant be that they are "genetically gifted" because not everyone at the 20 plus gyms ive been to thats been bodybuilding for more than 3 years is genetically gifted!

So i dont get it! What am i doing wrong?


Age: 29
Height: 6'5
Weight: 234lb
bf: %18

[Sulixe]

its pretty hard to fill a 6'5 frame. they may look more "buff" than you, but i think if you measured their arms/leg and compared them to your own emasurement, you would be bigger.

[gixxerboy1]

i would agree your height has alot to do with it. I doubt pro body builders dont know what they are doing.
post up your diet. at 18% it may need some work.

[borkach]

6'5. thats a serious height! try gettin more cut, i find you can be big but a guy who is 50lbs lighter than you could be super cut and it will just make him look bigger.

[sxxen]

its pretty hard to fill a 6'5 frame. they may look more "buff" than you, but i think if you measured their arms/leg and compared them to your own emasurement, you would be bigger.

A 22" set of arms is hardly impressive if you're obese. (I'm not saying the OP is)

This reminds me of the people on bb.org bragging that they have 17-19" arms yet they have absolutely no definition. Size doesn't matter, aesthetics and strength does. OP has strength, so he needs to work on aesthetics. He can't complain about not looking "big" if he's 18% bodyfat (he's probably more, since people underestimate the amount of fat they carry). If you slim down, I guarantee that you will look "bigger". Franco Columbu and Serge Nubret had 18" biceps yet they both look incredible.

Looking "big" really has nothing to do with measurements. Just my $0.02.

[binsser]

yeah dont over-train either 3-4 sets on each muscle group max bud!

[x_SANDMAN_x]

im at %18 bf cz im bulking at the moment. Im cutting once im done with my cycle...expecting to get down to about %9.

If my bf was lower than it is now, i would look even less muscular! if i take off my shirt yeah, you would probably tell that i work out (thats considering i maintain exactly the amount of muscles i have now but only lower fat). but with clothes on, i would just look thin, not muscular thin, but just thin. But even thou, i would be lifting more than the big buffed guy at the gym. Im talking about the bodybuilder look...i dont have that. and thats frustrating!

[Bonaparte]

Some people are just strong and look like crap, others look good but can't put up impressive numbers. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. That's life, I guess.

[sxxen]

im at %18 bf cz im bulking at the moment. Im cutting once im done with my cycle...expecting to get down to about %9.

If my bf was lower than it is now, i would look even less muscular! if i take off my shirt yeah, you would probably tell that i work out (thats considering i maintain exactly the amount of muscles i have now but only lower fat). but with clothes on, i would just look thin, not muscular thin, but just thin. But even thou, i would be lifting more than the big buffed guy at the gym. Im talking about the bodybuilder look...i dont have that. and thats frustrating!

Are you eating right?

[sxxen]

Some people are just strong and look like crap, others look good but can't put up impressive numbers. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. That's life, I guess.

I've never seen someone that is muscular but weak.

[x_SANDMAN_x]

i would agree your height has alot to do with it. I doubt pro body builders dont know what they are doing.
post up your diet. at 18% it may need some work.

Here's my diet.

[Bonaparte]

I've never seen someone that is muscular but weak.

Really? I mean...really? You think everyone is exactly as strong as they appear in every exercise?

[sxxen]

Really? Because I see plenty of guys in the gym who aren't nearly as well built as me, yet can put up more on bench or deadlift.
A lot of it is about how you train, too (compound vs isolation lifts, etc).

I guess it's over semantics. I think what you lift would be, to the general population, considered impressive. I think the average male can probably only bench 115 for a few reps.

Are those people you're comparing yourself to considered powerlifters?

How is your muscular endurance? From what I've read, powerlifters can lift a lot, but only for a few reps. Bodybuilders can lift less, but do more reps. This is just me mumbling out my thoughts and really has no point lol.

[Bonaparte]

I guess it's over semantics. I think what you lift would be, to the general population, considered impressive. I think the average male can probably only bench 115 for a few reps.

Are those people you're comparing yourself to considered powerlifters?

How is your muscular endurance? From what I've read, powerlifters can lift a lot, but only for a few reps. Bodybuilders can lift less, but do more reps. This is just me mumbling out my thoughts and really has no point lol.

Of course. Obviously I'm a beast compared to the average person on the street, but what I mean is that I don't put up much more (on certain lifts) than guys with mediocre builds who just come into the gym a few times a week and bench press.
But enough about me. I already made my point in my first post.

[binsser]

yeah its not exactly true i mean i can seated row top weight 296 pounds where as my mate in the gym tryed copying me and couldnt even do one and hes 3 time bigger than me im like 14 stone dead but strong as fck and hes like 19 stone but weaker its just down to genetics i think how strong you are natty alot of people say i was born very strong and fast just lucky i guess!

but its def not how you look!

[songdog]

At 18% bf the last thing you want to do is bulk.All you are going to do is get fatter.Sorry thats the way it works.Hit the diet section.You will find this out.

[x_SANDMAN_x]

At 18% bf the last thing you want to do is bulk.All you are going to do is get fatter.Sorry thats the way it works.Hit the diet section.You will find this out.

Im maintaining %18, up from 14 since the start of my cycle!
Anyway, im not worried about the fat. Thats not why im posting

[Supertotal]

I hear this a lot in the gyms, and I see it happening too, even when those I'm watching don't. It always puzzles me how guys can hit the gym hard for years on end, and never even come close to getting past that beginner stage. By getting past beginner stage I mean that people can tell you work out when you have normal clothes on. 3 years and no improvement? Unless you are eating for a 180lb guy, I doubt its diet. Most of these 'diet' freaks just look like skinny people to me.

When I see or hear this, it is the same thing in 90% of cases. It is HOW you train, what exercises you do, how often you do them, and most importantly it is how you do those exercises. You do the right stuff the right way in the gym, sleep enough, get enough protein and don't eat stupid foods too often and you can override any genetic disadvantage.

[gixxerboy1]

Could be you are over training. You may need to switch you work out up

[Far from massive]

Agreed on the overtraining, frequently those unhappy with their progress overtrain only making the problem worse, and yes without a great diet its easy to overtrain and still have high body fat %. Study your pulse-rate when you first wake up and then a minute afterward. Now once you have mapped out the numbers try reducing your training and see if your waking heart-rate decreases if so you are overtraining and this is being reflected in an elevated heart rate since your body has not fully recovered during the nights sleep. Please note that if you are not sleeping enough or if you change the amount of sleep when testing then the results will be skewed.

Another thing I like to do is if you have a exercise bike at the gym that reads in watts then pedal at say 140 watts ( whatever it takes wattage wise to get you slightly above your target zone for cardio for your age) for 10 minutes and then note your heart rate during the last 10 seconds. After doing this a few times you will have an idea of how much your heart rate is elevated by a certain amount of work giving you a good idea of your general condition before you start your workout. I like to employ this method as sometimes you may feel tired and not want to workout but when you test on the bike you find that it was all in your head and your body is fine, more importantly..many times after riding you will find that your body is indeed fatiqued and by realizing it and not working out at all or not working out hard you can often stop an impending sickness or slump dead in its tracks before it has time to develop.

I would like to give credit to Eddie B (Olympic cycling coach) for teaching me the importance of waking heartbeat way back in 1980 when I was first under his instruction.

[buffgator]

There's something your not doing right 234 & 18% is very small for a 6'5" frame.

[TopDogg]

that reminds me of when i was 16 years old, i was easily leg pressing 1000lbs and i was 110-115lbs. I use to beat nearly 99% of the bodybuilders haha true story

[lovbyts]

I get asked all the time why other people can lift more than me but I'm a lot bigger than them. OK granted you are BIG/Tall so it makes a difference on perspective. A lot of it is how you lift. Most guys who lift heavy the form is not great and they use fast movements. I focus on form, making sure I HIT the muscle I am working on. If I'm doing curls and I have to stop because my shoulders are sore Im doing it wrong. If I have to stop because my biceps are on fire I'm doing it right. Focus on the muscle, not the weight. Focus on certain body parts, not overall body workouts. Forget the old school working everything 3x a week. 2x is max. I only work 1 body part a week and love the results so far the last 3 years. You still have to mix it up though.

[lovbyts]

that reminds me of when i was 16 years old, i was easily leg pressing 1000lbs and i was 110-115lbs. I use to beat nearly 99% of the bodybuilders haha true story

LOL, same here in high school. I was 135. I use to press the stack with weight added and 2 people standing on it. Football players couldn't do it but still my legs were not BIG. I only use under 300 max now and my legs are 3x as big.

[cro]

what??? i do that as a warm up .. i agree with that while on cycle , not off,.

[cro]

hey there

yeah dont over-train either 3-4 sets on each muscle group max bud!

[Times Roman]

This is driving me crazy! I lift almost double the weights some of guys at the gym do but they look way bigger and well defined than me! Some of them are even pro bodybuilders. Even thou ive been bodybuilding way longer than a lot of them, i literally dont even look like a bodybuilder! And alot of them dont even eat properly, most of them dont even know jack shit about nutrition and dieting. And im talking about basic stuff like white bread vs whole wheat! Let alone macros and 6 meals a day! The 15 years ive been bodybuilding, i havent seen not one person keep a log! And here i am, properly dieting, keeping a workout journal and basically doing everything 100 times better than everyone and yet, they look 100 times better. And it cant be that they are "genetically gifted" because not everyone at the 20 plus gyms ive been to thats been bodybuilding for more than 3 years is genetically gifted!

So i dont get it! What am i doing wrong?


Age: 29
Height: 6'5
Weight: 234lb
bf: %18

You are looking at this all wrong. These other blokes that are all buff 'n stuff seem fairly weak compared to you. Be thankful! Maybe they are more normal than you think. It could be worse. you could still look the same, and be half as strong.

[x_SANDMAN_x]

Could be you are over training. You may need to switch you work out up

Done that numerous times. I do i certain routine for about 12 weeks, i take a 2 week break (or until i feel well rested) and then i hit the gym again for another 12 weeks with a different routine/program

[x_SANDMAN_x]

Agreed on the overtraining, frequently those unhappy with their progress overtrain only making the problem worse, and yes without a great diet its easy to overtrain and still have high body fat %. Study your pulse-rate when you first wake up and then a minute afterward. Now once you have mapped out the numbers try reducing your training and see if your waking heart-rate decreases if so you are overtraining and this is being reflected in an elevated heart rate since your body has not fully recovered during the nights sleep. Please note that if you are not sleeping enough or if you change the amount of sleep when testing then the results will be skewed.

Another thing I like to do is if you have a exercise bike at the gym that reads in watts then pedal at say 140 watts ( whatever it takes wattage wise to get you slightly above your target zone for cardio for your age) for 10 minutes and then note your heart rate during the last 10 seconds. After doing this a few times you will have an idea of how much your heart rate is elevated by a certain amount of work giving you a good idea of your general condition before you start your workout. I like to employ this method as sometimes you may feel tired and not want to workout but when you test on the bike you find that it was all in your head and your body is fine, more importantly..many times after riding you will find that your body is indeed fatiqued and by realizing it and not working out at all or not working out hard you can often stop an impending sickness or slump dead in its tracks before it has time to develop.

I would like to give credit to Eddie B (Olympic cycling coach) for teaching me the importance of waking heartbeat way back in 1980 when I was first under his instruction.

Great stuff! Will definitely try it! Thanks alot!

[x_SANDMAN_x]

Im currently in the middle of my 16 weeks cycle...if im overtraining, what should i do? Take a week off?

[ghettoboyd]

when are peeps going to realize bbing isnt about the weight so much as feeling the muscle work, and working it hard...then are pleanty of guys in my gym that can out lift me but they look like crap cus there workouts are unorganized,inconsistant and built around ther ego rather than finding what works for them.....another thing im seeing lately is peeps trying to overthink there routiens doing all this unilateral crap rather than trying to keep it simple and working hard on there compound movements...remember bbing isnt about lifting 300+ lbs, its looking like you can imho...

[PK-V]

Up the dosage and lower the reps

- greg valentino

[lc1213]

I know what you are talking about OP. My buddy is about 5'9, 165 lbs with about 9% bf and looks ripped up and has great definition. I'm almost 6'0 207lbs with about 16% bf and dont have great definition. If you put us side by side you would think he could out lift me but on bench press I out bench him by nearly 70 lbs.

[Str8Jakked]

My buddy is about 5'9, 165 lbs with about 9% bf and looks ripped up and has great definition. I'm almost 6'0 207lbs with about 16% bf and dont have great definition. If you put us side by side you would think he could out lift me

Illusion is a splendid thing...

[lovbyts]

Im currently in the middle of my 16 weeks cycle...if im overtraining, what should i do? Take a week off?

No especially on cycle. Change your routine. Dont do so many sets if you are doing to many. Dont work each muscle group more than 2x a week if you are. Just change things up. Stop trying to be a STRONG man lifting heavy if that's not your goal. Drop 10, 20 lbs in weight and concentrate on going slow and form. Make sure you FEEL the muscle you are working. That should be the one that burns on those last couple of reps to failure.

[PK-V]

lovbyts sum'd it up good

make the muscle do the lifting

your body has no idea what weight your using

you can make 50kg feel like 100

[themoreyouknow]

i've learned over the years that its not the weight you lift its how you lift it! a lot of prop bb even say that. just the weight you lift by about 15-20% and you super strict form. and a lot has to do with genetics and what works best for your body. I grow better with higher volume where others can do a few exercises per muscle and grow just fine. find out what works best for you

[x_SANDMAN_x]

No especially on cycle. Change your routine. Dont do so many sets if you are doing to many. Dont work each muscle group more than 2x a week if you are. Just change things up. Stop trying to be a STRONG man lifting heavy if that's not your goal. Drop 10, 20 lbs in weight and concentrate on going slow and form. Make sure you FEEL the muscle you are working. That should be the one that burns on those last couple of reps to failure.

My routine is something like:

Sat:
Chest & biceps

Chest: 4 exercises, 4 sets per exercise @ 12, 10, 8, 6 reps

Biceps: same as above but 3 exercises instead of 4.

Sun:
Rest

Mon:
Shoulders and traps

Shoulders: Same as chest

Traps: 4 sets @ 20, 18, 15, 12 reps

Tue:
Back and triceps

Back: same as chest

Triceps: same as biceps

Wed:
Rest

Thursday:
Legs: Same as chest

Friday:
Rest

Am i doing too much? How should i modify?

As for form, my form is ALWAYS %100, at worst times %90. Its something that've always taken seriously. I even keep a record on my workout journal. For instance, if my form was off today, i would write on my journal something like "%90 form, do same next time but focus on form"

No way could form be the reason im not "buffed"!

[sxxen]

No offense, but it could just be genetics. Being 6'5" is going to be hard to fill that frame with enough muscle mass to make you looking like a body builder. There's a reason why most body builders are 5'5" to 5'10". Muscle shape/bellies, insertions, and size are all genetics, and very, very few people are blessed enough to be at the good end of the spectrum.

[lovbyts]

You will be surprised at how good you think your form is and reality sometimes. Try cutting all exercises down to3 exercises and 3 sets max. Try dropping your weight quite a bit and do some SLOW motion reps. Dont do fast reps, make them supper slow. Later in a few weeks or ever other week change this up to slow going down and blast up with heavier weights.

Like I said make sure you feel each and every rep and squeeze at the top, try to hold at the top of most reps for a couple of seconds. Not locking out your elbows on bench I mean on a squeeze like cable flys, pull downs, rows anything you can hold for a 2 or 3 count then SLOWLY release but controlled also.

change up with supper-sets ever so often also. One set after another after another going lighter keeping under 20 reps each until you get down to a ridiculously low weight and BURN.

Again, dong focus on how much you can lift unless you just want to be strong. It's how you lift.