Hello! So I am a 16 year old weighing 130 lb, and 5'7" and I just have a couple questions about my progress thus far and an issue I have been having.

So my overall goals are to bulk while staying lean, mostly in my upper body. So I have been weight lifting for over a year now and I feel by looking in the mirror and past pictures that i have not made the progress that I wanted to. I dont feel that I am getting bigger or stronger. I regularly work out 3-4 days a week for 45-60 minutes, all weight lifting. I use all exercises and workouts from Mr. Scott Herman's videos and i try to focus on quality technique, full range of motion, and just working hard. I do all sets in drop sets and aim for 8-10 reps per set. I try to eat around 130g of protein per day while also eating fairly healthily, getting my essential nutrients. After every workout I drink a regular whey isolate protein drink.

Now, about 2 and a half months ago I injured my lower back (no clear diagnoses) and I stopped working out and was resting, going to physical therapy,and healing for 2 and a half months. But about a week ago I started working out regularly again and my back feels much better and doesnt seem to be much of an issue. Now a new problem I have noticed is that when I go to workout, I am abnomrally, very tired and energy deprived, even in the beginning of my workout. I know that beause I took a 2.5 month break from weight lifting, my body needs to get back into the swing of things but I havent ever a problem like this before. Usually around the 5th or 6th rep of set I get most energy deprived and tired and I am panting for breath. I dont know if I should just give myself some more time to adjust to working out again, eat more of certain foods, drink more water, take longer rest periods, etc. Any tips, help, or suggestions for helping me reach my goals and fixing issues I would very much appreciate, thank you.

Hey @NickMercurio98!

If you haven't seen any results or the results you wanted, it could be down to a number of factors.

Some people genetically take longer to actually respond to training than others. However, the biggest problem for why you aren't growing is usually down to your meal plan. You need to be fuelling your body enough to grow, and at your age, you need more calories than an average person because you are still growing.

What is your current meal plan? Can you list for us your current daily calories, protein, fat and carb intake?

Another factor that could be working against you is the type of training you are doing. Maybe your body responds better to low rep training, or just 8-12 rep training without drop sets. Also, are you training muscles once a week, twice a week? What is your current workout split for the week?

And how much cardio are you doing? Too much cardio can be bad for your muscle gain goals.

About your lack of energy, again I would say it comes down to your food intake and overall rest. While training is important, both nutrition AND rest are equally, if not more important for growing muscle. This could also be due to the type of training you are doing. If you have poor recovery but are working each muscle group twice a week, that could be a reason for your lack of energy. Do you get at least 7-9 hours sleep each night? How are you eating before you go to the gym?

If you can answer some of these questions we can help you out some more :)

Jordan

Thank you very much for your help @JoeHurricane !! I will try to answer your questions as best I can!

Calories: around 2000

Fat: around 90g

Protein: 120g

Carbohydrates: around 110g

I train my muscles 3-4 times a week and my split usually looks something like...

Sunday: Chest and Triceps

Monday or Tuesday: Biceps, Shoulders and Delts

Wednesday or Thursday: Abs and Legs

Friday: Back

Cardio-wise, In the summer I used to either run a few miles in intervals of 1/2 mile walk then 1/2 swift jog, riding my bike for 30 minutes, or High Intesity Interval Training for 20 minutes, 2-3 times a week. But now, its a little too cold for me! so i rarely do any cardio.

I get a solid 7-8 hours of sleep per night and I usually eat a small snack like a bowl of non-fat yogurt or a banana, 20-30 minutes before I go to the gym.

I hope these answers/ information helps and can help you help me!! Thank you very much again!

Nick

Nick,

My only suggestion is to bump your macros up. 130 grams of protein really isn't enough for growth at your age. At 16 and until you are around 21, you will be growing like a weed based on your genetic make-up. As such, when you add in weight training your requirement for nutrients goes up dramatically. 1g/lb of protein should be more like 1.5g/lb. For you, this would be 195g of protein. You also will want your carbs at a level that is at least 1g/lb of body weight as well. This means at least 130g of carbs if not closer to 200g. I know you want to grow and stay lean but unless you are already overweight 2000 calories is not enough. You need to be closer to 2500 to 3000 calories per day. Your testosterone and growth hormone levels will be at their highest levels ever in your life right now and until your early 20's.

Your genetic growth potential can not be fully realized if you don't feed your body enough nutrients and calories to support growth. This is why your are experinecing the growth and energy issues :-)

John

John is absolutely right, 2000 calories is not enough for you to see the growth you should be making. Believe me, I know from experience.

I wasn't the thinest guy at college, and in order to drop some weight I decided to not only start doing lots of cardio and going to the gym, but I cut down what I was eating. It was the biggest mistake I could have made. By lowering my food intake, of course I got rid of some excess weight, but I did it at the worst possible time because I was still growing and needed the food to keep growing. Instead, I missed out on a few years of potentially my best growth periods.

So increase those calories!! haha. John has suggested some good numbers. Keep the fat the same, and if you still aren't making progress with all of those numbers, increase them further.

Seeing as you aren't doing cardio, I'm guessing that's not a problem for your lack of energy.

Sleep looks good. I would say, if you can, try and eat some sort of meal filled with protein and slow digesting carbs for fuel before you go to the gym. A snack is good if you're short on time, but if you can, try and get a good meal in about 1-1 and a half hours before you hit the gym.

Jordan

Thank you very much @jmboiardi and @JoeHurricane for your help !! I will start making the changes you suggested right away and hopefully they'll help me fix all my problems and meet my goals ! Thank you again and i realy appreciate your guidance for me

Nick

Great posts guys!