Help me with my workout and feel not going anywhere? thanks?..

I don't know where to post this. I am not newbie to lifting just to these forums.
I am 22 and  I have been lifting for three years. I am 5"9 and when I started I was weighing 180 pounds at 19. My first year consisted of full body workouts and my second year i cut it up into two every other day and it looked like this.
4 sets of each body part at 8 to 10 reps each.
Day 1
Chest & Bi's
Day 2
Back & Tri
Day 3
Shoulder & legs
The third year my workout was the same but i switched it up 4 days and 2 days rest.
Day 1
Chest & Tri's
Day 2
Back & Bi's
Day 3
Shoulder & abs
Day 4
Legs

I still took protein shakes and stopped the creatine after year 2 I did not see any difference taking that stuff. I weigh now 166 and look it better shape but I am no where, where i want to be.  I stopped drinking soda's and minimize my fried foods. However I do not count calories and how many grams of protein im taking. I always eat chicken for lunch or dinner. Since I was in college and could not go into that 6 meal rule, so i had regular meals a day. Now I got out I can go into a 6 meal plan but i tried that once in the summer and felt hungry throughout the day don't know why(maybe didnt count any techincal stuff.

Now I need your guys help I feel like I am going nowhere and don't want to consider steroids. I want to do a workout where I am going to gain a little bit more bulk and lose that flab around the waist. I want to be a little bit bigger nothing dragstic dont want to be a pro bodybuilder want to have a better looking body. I need to change my diet and Have a better workout. I still be doing roughly the same amount of weight when im working out and when i want to go heavier I dont have the strenth so Im stuck. For example when Im benching, I want to bench more but i can barely go more than 3 reps when I go heavy is this bad? I just stick to the same weight for the past year. I feel my upper body is still skinny and my belly stick out. I want to be a little bit bigger and be cut but not cut and skinny. I need your guys help thanks..I see or feel no progress...I have included some pics..

Help and Tips would be greatly appreciated guys..

also should I as some running and cardio I dont want to hurt my muscle building?

Attached Image(s)

Hey man,

First off from the way you phrased your post it seems like you think things are going to happen overnight.  Your statement about how you don't want to look like a bodybuilder...come on man, you can't just walk into a gym at 166 and walk out ripped weighing 250, that stuff doesn't just happen to you it takes years and years of work. 

About your diet, you should try and eat 5 to 6 times a day or every 3 hours, starting with the moment you wake up, this is very important in that it replenishes your glycogen levels from being in a fasted state.  Now when I say meals I'm not talking about a handful of Fritos.  Each meal should consist of a protein source, a starchy carb, and a fibrous carb.  Towards the end of the day you should cut back on the starchy carbs, especially when dieting down. 

Now it may seem like you are eating more than before and you might be afraid that you will gain weight because of this.  Don't worry, you can eat more and still burn fat, the increased amount of meals serve the purpose of increasing your metabolism and turning you into a fat burning furnace.  They might be smaller in size but they will supply a steady stream of nutrients to your body in 3 hour intervals, as opposed to waiting 5 or 6 hours to eat a meal.  Cut out any junk food, soda, processed junk, basically anything that is in the center aisles of the grocery store.  Notice how all the healthy looking people stick to the outer parts of the store where all the vegetables and meats are.

The last routine you posted looks fine but I wouldn't reccomend it for you.  You say you are not a beginner but if you have been lifting for 3 years and those pictures are what you have to show for it then I am sorry but you are a beginner.  Find a good starter routine like a 5x5 or starting strength and stick with it, make steady progression, don't go into the gym and accept the fact that you just lifted the same damn thing you did last time, that should piss you off, really.

Sorry for the long post, I can try and answer any other questions you might have.

No I appreciate any advice and I Know i am not looking for something overnight Our bodies doesn't work that..

One more thing what is 5x5 or startign strenth now I reall sound like a newbie man Three years and I feel like an Idiot..

Starting strength is a beginners program to help you learn and then progress with the big compound lifts. It will also put some good muscle on you if your eating enough.

I would recommend trying the starting strength program, or any 3 day full body centered around the compound exercises. Im not a huge fan of the spit your doing now, at any level of training.

Dont worry about sounding like a newb, we have all been there...its the only way to learn. I lifted on and off for about 6 years before I finally learned how to really do things.

johny24


No I appreciate any advice and I Know i am not looking for something overnight Our bodies doesn't work that..

One more thing what is 5x5 or startign strenth now I reall sound like a newbie man Three years and I feel like an Idiot..

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Starting strength and 5x5 are two different workout routines but each focuses on the big 3 compounds (squat, bench, deadlift).  These are the most basic exercises and are the most important to any bodybuilding routine.  That is why the routines are geared towards beginners who need to learn the basics.

Here is a starting strength routine:
http://www.startingstrength.net/workouts/

Here is Bill Starr's 5x5 routine:
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

If you don't have too much experience with these lifts then I would strongly advise either buying the book Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe or doing a lot of research on form (search this forum, ask questions, watch videos, read form tutorials, and learn how to feel what is natural and what isn't).

thank you guys