I'm not sure I'd be capable of injecting myself.

@MaligantTyrant I haven't ordered it yet, but I'll make sure to do some more research before I do.

If you're not willing to stick a tiny needle in your butt or other large muscle group, you aren't gung ho on the idea of steroids. You have a post-cycle stack on the ready, right? If not, most, possibly all of your gains are going to go in the toilet a few weeks after the cycle is over.

Any advice on how to overcome a 120lbs overhead press plateau? I was thinking of just bumping it up to 125 even though I can barely do two reps at that weight since that method improved my bench.

Try freeweights if you aren't already. I already went over this with dystopia4, but the goal is to 'shock' the muscle group, and the human body has an impressive (but irritating in these circumstances) ability to adapt extremely well to consistent stresses put upon it. The freeweights force each arm to work independently and will also help improve the stabilizer muscles. You won't be able to do as much, but you will definitely be surprised later on. Everything ties in together, which is why compound exercises are so paramount. Having well-developed deltoids (anterior especially) can do wonders for your bench. Try front raises and things like that to round out your shoulders. Good luck.

In addition to the above, eat a little more high quality food.

@Diamhea Will do, thanks.

@BarrayLamarBonds I think I pretty much have my diet in check. Eat a lot of lean protein, whole grains, veggies, and try to eat at least a few hundred calories over my TDEE a day.

@VoidApostle Also be sure to add in healthy fats. Stuff like olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocados, etc. Very overlooked food group these days.

I'm no expert on the topic but taking "supplements" to help you gain muscle mass or energy, whatever, can lead to cancer. Is that really worth it? What's worse than getting cancer?

People tell me "you only live once". Yes exactly, so why would you throw it all away just to gain some muscle? Steak has lots of protein, plus it's delicious. I would just stick to a regular diet, without any pills, needles or other shit that you would get a drug store.

The "if you take X, you'll get cancer" argument is a weak one, largely due to the fact that supplements - in general, tend not to be any more carcinogenic than the food you eat (and the chemicals in them), the environment you reside in, and the natural genetic processes that are going on within your body. In fact, the (most frightening) part about cancer is that it's a condition that can arise at any time on any person. Living your life in fear of getting cancer will likely make you live a less-than-stellar life experience.

The main issue with supplements is that quality control varies wildly... but that's an issue that can be solvable through better regulation.

Oh I am completely aware that carcinogens are all around us, but the intakes of supplements is completely optional, why add more to the list? You need food and water to live, it is mandatory.

Then again, this is coming from a social smoker and drinker.

So I've been in the gym for 3 months. According to my scale I've lost 7 kg (15 lb) where I've lost 5% of total fat, 4% water . I look thinner (mainly from the belly and face) and I've built some noticeable (not massive but palpable) mass especially in shoulders, back and arms. If helps, my BMI dropped 2,7%.

I go there not more than 4 days per week where I do 30 min cardio and work separate muscles each day: bicep and shoulders; triceps-torso and back; legs and abs. For the 4th day I do a bit of more cardio and more general stuff. I curl not more than 22lb per hand for bicep/trícep workout, not more than 42 for torso/back, not more than 32 for Z bar exercises. I vary weights for exercises especially if they are attacking the same muscular group but I don't lift more weight if I can't do the exercise properly. At my gym I see guys lifting very heavy weights but they do the exercises in a visually painful positions maybe cause they're doing too much effort.

I wonder if you have any advice/idea to keep going or getting good results.

Seems like you're doing rather well...I don't know if I can really point you in a more proper direction. 15lbs is nothing to scoff at. Keep it up, and keep mixing up the exercises!

Unfortunately, this is the hardest lift to add weight on... It feels like a huge deal every time you add 5 lbs. I was stuck at 130 for what felt like half a year, then went from 135 to 150 in the span of 2 weeks. Just keep making sure you're making gains with your other lifts and you'll eventually start hitting whatever lagging muscle is causing you issues. I'm assuming you're doing this standing, which requires all your muscles to work in tandem to stablize your body... sometimes it's not your shoulders that's limiting you, but weak hamstrings or even your lats or abs.

If you really want to focus on this movement specifically, though, I'd recommend doing your last set with strict form until you're spent... then bust a few more out with a bit of leg drive. After failing that, jerk it up a few times. Focus on controlling the negatives. I've read that people have had good effect sitting in a squat rack to do a semi-seated shoulder press (that is, they're sitting on the ground with no back support while performing the press). Haven't tried that myself, though, since it seems like it would look a bit silly.

what evidence do you have to offer for your 'natural is better' worldview?

I don't want to just dump in a thread and move on, but this is slightly relevant to the most recent topic here:

http://i.imgur.com/yDCJ2pi.jpg

I can't do anything but tip my cap to that level of trolling.

Though a few more people will undoubtedly come away from it thinking creatine is a steroid, or whatever else they'll come up with.

This is a bit off topic but are there such thing as testosterone pills? I need some more of those hormones. Being Chinese, we can't really grow beards, or have deep voices. Main motivation is to impress the ghost woman. ^^

yep. last physiology guy I asked about 'em says they're not worth taking. if you're that serious, get injectibles...they'll actually do something. but with all the side-effects/medical considerations, you might not want to take those.

Yeah, word on the streets is that oral steroids or pro-hormones have all the negative effects of injectables and only provide a fraction of the benefits. If you're gonna roid, may as well stick it. Or just go with test boosters like DAA that won't wreak havoc on your endocrine system... you'll only get a small boost out of those, though.

Have you tried simply eating more food though? I try to stay lean personally, but (anecdotally) all my fastest strength gains came when I did a powerlifting program while eating like a damned fatass. Bulking is not a myth. That's a giant failure of so called "ectomorphs"... they only eat half of what they should be eating to put on mass. Don't eat until you're full.... eat until you hate yourself.

Oral steroids are effective - some efficacy is eroded during the digestive process, but you'll generally take a comparatively larger dose with oral concoctions to compensate for that loss. They're also hard on the liver, so there's another layer of health risks associated with oral steroids as opposed to injectable steroids.

So let's talk about some musicians in the metal field who are in good shape and clearly take care of themselves. Alex Staropoli from Rhapsody of Fire has seriously gotten in great shape. He isn't massive but he is ripped and looks good. Petrucci put on a ton of weight and while he looks a bit bloated, is hardly recognizable from the past at times. Broderick from Megadeth is a pretty solid dude...as is Orion from Behemoth. Anyone else?

Staropoli:

Heh heh, I remember multiple times me eating so much that I literally had to rest for a while or lean over the toilet in case I vomit it back up lol

Hmpf, I wish I was built like that Rhapsody dude. I've been working out for a few years now but seem to have quite a problem
of building up mass. Sure - I am bigger than when I started but I seem to be a fast gainer regarding mass in the legs and lats
but a damn slow gainer when it comes to breast and esp. arms & shoulders. Maybe it has to do with my arms being rather "long"
and somehow the muscles there are aligned "wrong" (don't know - just a thought).

I tried many things and training plans and also eat really big and rather clean (fresh, self cooked stuff, whole grains, lots of
dairy and chicken, no fast food) but where I really gain despite training hard is my gut I don't know *sigh* - maybe it's in
my genes ore it's some kind of "old thing" (being 37) mixed with stupid metabolism…

Two weeks ago I started a new approach and only work out twice a week (but really focussed and hard), giving my body
way more time for recovery than in the years before. We'll see if this will do the trick but I'm sceptical…

I've seen your pics from the pics thread, and you do look like you lift for sure, dude. You're a good looking man, m8 (no homo)

@MalignantTyrant

Thanks for that. I'm basically contended with myself in general but frustrated that certain parts
like my arms and shoulders don't get bigger while others like my legs and lats (thats ok/good)
and gut/belly (bad!) do…

When my recent training plan is through in 3 weeks I think I try out some high intensity stuff like
super-sets or superslow exercises to shock certain parts. Together with more recovery time due to
only working out two times a week this will maybe sth new to my body to which it will "react"...

In my opinion, everybody has both their genetic flaws and at least one genetic 'gift' of sorts. For me the weakness is wide waist, strength is my back. Grauer, if I recall you seem rather solidly built, but not a huge dude height wise. You say you have long, lanky arms (which I do as well). It might just be takingl longer to 'fill out' those muscle groups. This is a common issue for taller dudes, as the mass has to be spread over a larger area. I was always jealous of short dudes that would lift for a few months and look solid as fvck afterward. Hey, it'll all work out. Keep switching it up (like you seem to be) and eat enough!

Well, I'm not huge regarding height but with 6.06955381 feet (according to google calculating my 185 cm ) a bit
above the average german And sure I will keep switching up and continuing to workout but slowly I'm starting to
get unpatient, haha...

I'm in the same boat as you, grauer. The solution I found is to find a gym/health buddy whose body you want to replicate and adopt their habits, their schedule, their way of doing things.

It's working for me... slowly, but I expect it would take time.

Hmm, maybe I'll take that into consideration, too. However I'm a bit sceptical to this as each body reacts to certain issues/schedules/etc
on it's own and I doubt one could just "copy a body" just be adopting others way of living & training.

It's been about a year since I've been to the gym, for lots of various health issues. But now I'm getting better and can't wait to go back. I've lost a bit of muscle mass/gained a bit of fat in the interim but it's nothing I can't climb back from. Here's a recent pic taken a week ago. I used to be a lot more defined with probably 10 pounds more muscle D: *slits throat*


I'm gonna start a new fitness regime and diet soon. Hopefully I can get some good cardio in without fucking up my hp flexor again.

Lifted for the first time in a month and it was a glorious moment that transcended both time and space.

In all seriousness, it is really good to be back at it and it's amazing what a positive effect exercise can have on your mood. Haven't gotten real exercise for a month and it definitely made me feel shitty. Unfortunately gained about ten pounds back from the weight I lost. It's also pretty crazy what a month can make in terms of what you can lift. Could only squat much less than I did a month ago and now my legs are so sore it hurts to walk. This gym is pretty cool it also has a rock climbing wall and a pool with a view overlooking the mountains. Only problem is the gym doesn't have a place to deadlift, which is a bit ridiculous.

I've been having back pains lately. At first I thought it was standing up all the time at work cause I have flat feet, but I've been off for about 2 weeks now, and the pain resides. It makes it difficult to sleep. I mostly feel it when I think about it actually, might be linked to stress?

I laid off the weight lifting at the gym for now, and just doing cardio. I usually do chest and shoulder press with dumb bells, and machines for the rest of my muscles. Heard walking and jogging is good for the back.

Does the pain radiate down a leg, by any chance?

Generally, though, it wouldn't be a bad idea to focus on back stretches and abdominals. Your abs act similar to a support belt, pulling in your lower back and straightening your posture.

It also may not hurt to try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs. That helps to fix posture, which is usually a leading cause of back pain.

Well, I managed to get my OHP to 130. Bad news is a dropped a plate on my toe and was reduced to hobbling so I'll have to take a break from lifting for a while.

Hm, sounds like this could be a vertebral blockage (which can be even caused by just a single, "easy" wrong movement or even just stress, too).
I personally would say you should go to see a doctor. Sometimes (I had my share of those so I know a bit about this) those blockages will eventually
loosen but two weeks seems a bit too long. The body often reacts to this with some kind of inflammation-like reaction of the muscles/nerves
near the affected vertebra so taking pain amplifiers with an additional anti-inflammatory effect (like Ibuprofen (that's how it is called in
germany at least) together with a manual rest of the blocked part by an orthopedist or physiotherapist is the most common and helpful
therapy. At least if, like Derigin stated before, it doesn't radiate much from the affected part. The thing is that by reacting to the pain with some
kind of "protective stance" other areas, too, will start to annoy you sooner or later.

I had some pain issues, too, again in the last few weeks. However those were no blockades this time but some serious cramped muscles in
my upper back which couldn't be solved by pills and massages fully. My physiotherapist (who's also an osteopath) then interviewed my
about my diet. He told me that my high dose of daily protein (in form of many eggs, curd/dairy and meat) could be the problem maker
as the not digested protein has effects on my digesting and as such bloating up my intestines which are somewhat linked by the tissue
and very fine muscles of the spine. And as a result of the "bloating" tearing at those. Sounded a bit strange to me at first but I immediately
limited my protein dosage and cut the bowl of curd in the late evening (nearly 40 grams of protein after all) and after three days those
annoying cramps were gone. Weird...

It may be a bit tricky to diagnose it without an assessment (even with with a proper examination in up to 90 % of back pain cases, no definitive diagnosis can be made)
Could you answer the following question:

what is your problem? (pain, stiffness etc.)
where is the pain exactly? (general lower back, left versus right, one spot exactly, radiation into the leg and area of the leg)
how did the pain come up? (wrong movement, gradually etc.)
did the pain get worse or better over time, or no change?
How would you describe the pain? (sharp, shooting, burning, dull, aching etc.)
Is the pain the same during the day or is it worse in the morning/evening?
which movements/positions/activities worsen the pain? (sitting, bending over, standing, lying, walking etc.)
which movements/positions/activities alleviate the pain?
is there a change in sensation in your leg? (tingling, walking ants, numb, cramps etc.)
do you experience a lack of strength in the leg? (not because of pain)

In general stretching of back muscles and strengthening of the abdominals (not the rectus abdomis "six pack" but the obliques and transverse) is a good idea. practice the posterior tilt of the pelvis as this position can reduce the load on the back up to 30 % (through abdominal pressure and stabilization of the vertebrates through the thoracolumbar fascia)

I can move ok normally, so I don't think it's stiffness. Just pain. The pain feels like it's the general lower back (left and right sides), but also feels like it's connected to my shoulder blade muscles somehow. However most of the pain is located in the lower back.

No idea how the pain came up. Trying to isolate the problem by cutting out certain things. Like I said laying off weight lifting, but will do stretches as recommended by Hymnofwolves, and Derigin.

The pain has stayed the same overtime.

Not sure how to describe the pain as I do not know the difference between "sharp, shooting, burning, dull, aching", but if I had to pick one I'd say aching.

It is definitely in it's worst in the evening, when I am trying to sleep. So perhaps it is the way I am sleeping. I lie down in a bed. But I had no problem sleeping in the car when we went on a road trip.

Sitting, bending over, standing and lying worsens the pain. I can feel and hear some cracking when I stretch it, although not very loudly and it doesn't hurt. Actually it's only one crack and it's coming from the same place.

I think walking and stretching alleviates the pain.

No change in sensation in my leg or lack of strength.

Will do more stretches from now on as mentioned above.

From your answers I would conclude that there is no disc problems or herniation. What I Think is the issue is that there is a (minor) lumbar instability which is probably caused by a lack of coordination/strength of the Small muscles in your back. I expect that your Long back muscles are now mainly responsible for the current movements that you perform in your back. As a result you have tight long back muscles (iliocostalis, longisimus..) and weak/unused small back muscles which lead to insufficient control of your Individual vertebrae. This could explain the connection with your shoulder blades (maybe also a blocked rib), why it is a general area, the aching nature of the pain and the cracking at one spot (usually cracking is considered as not bad as long as it isn't painful).
This is just what I expect would could be the cause, perhaps it is related to your general posture. Stretching and abdominals, good posture plus core stability training is my current advise. Perhaps you can find someone to massage your back. Try to do that for some time and gradually come back to lifting. If the pain doesn't go away in 2-3 weeks, let someone check it out.
I hope this will help

Ok. Thanks Hymnofwolves.

I've searched around a bit on the internet for this, but I figured I might as well ask here too: Does anybody else find that hard exercise requires you to sleep a LOT more than usual? I often need to sleep more than others, but recently I put in an especially hard workout and found out that I slept a solid 16 hours that night. I wonder if this is in particular due to how shitty my cardiovascular system is from smoking and being generally lazy. I've quit smoking and am trying to jog after sessions of heavy lifting. I wonder if that might just be too damn much for now, or at least if I might recover more easily in the future.

I would stick with bodyweight exercises and light cardio for good 4-6 months before moving on to heavy weights. Are you trying to gain weight or lose it?