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Expectations

Hoping that I don't have unrealistic expectations

CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted

Hi Scott!


  I'm very much new to these forums, so much in fact that the pleasant smell of the plastic wrappings is still present. I didn't wanted to waste any time after completing my registration on this website to bring up a concern which has been on the back of my head for a good while

 

  I've been exclusively working out at home for several months now, perhaps it might even round up to a year, something I should know but sadly my memory isn't the sharpest tool in the shack. During this period I've maintained a fairly decent degree of consistency both on the exercising and nutrition aspects and also got enough sleep throughout the vast majority of nights as I know how important that is in order to allow your body to recover properly.


  I do intend to keep training at home as it's an environment where I feel very comfortable at and have no issues finding the right motivation to push myself really hard despite the shortage of equipment as opposed to a traditional gym. I do have over 5 years of regular gym workouts that have given me the basis of the physique I currently hold, despite how inconsistent I was along the way. I'm not bs'ing you when saying that my weight has fluctuated over 20kg within those aforementioned 5 years without me being on any form of anabolic supplementation, and I nearly fell prey to anorexia at one point, such was my obsession to look very lean.


  Anyway, enough with the fluff, my main concern is that if it's remotely realistic to think I can add more muscle size to my frame whilst maintaining a home workout regime, knowing the existing limitations, regardless of how hard I push myself. This is how I look atm, sorry for wearing shorts over my head on that last picture but I'm a bit self conscious about my face which is basically a fancy way of saying I don't like it.


Edit: Weirdly enough, the site says I've registered on the 8th of August when it has in fact occurred today.


Another edit because I forgot to mention what I think is a rather relevant piece of information. I've recently acquired 3 resistance bands and incorporated them on my workouts. They are quite helpful indeed.



Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

Hi Scott!


  I'm very much new to these forums, so much in fact that the pleasant smell of the plastic wrappings is still present. I didn't wanted to waste any time after completing my registration on this website to bring up a concern which has been on the back of my head for a good while

 

  I've been exclusively working out at home for several months now, perhaps it might even round up to a year, something I should know but sadly my memory isn't the sharpest tool in the shack. During this period I've maintained a fairly decent degree of consistency both on the exercising and nutrition aspects and also got enough sleep throughout the vast majority of nights as I know how important that is in order to allow your body to recover properly.


  I do intend to keep training at home as it's an environment where I feel very comfortable at and have no issues finding the right motivation to push myself really hard despite the shortage of equipment as opposed to a traditional gym. I do have over 5 years of regular gym workouts that have given me the basis of the physique I currently hold, despite how inconsistent I was along the way. I'm not bs'ing you when saying that my weight has fluctuated over 20kg within those aforementioned 5 years without me being on any form of anabolic supplementation, and I nearly fell prey to anorexia at one point, such was my obsession to look very lean.


  Anyway, enough with the fluff, my main concern is that if it's remotely realistic to think I can add more muscle size to my frame whilst maintaining a home workout regime, knowing the existing limitations, regardless of how hard I push myself. This is how I look atm, sorry for wearing shorts over my head on that last picture but I'm a bit self conscious about my face which is basically a fancy way of saying I don't like it.


Edit: Weirdly enough, the site says I've registered on the 8th of August when it has in fact occurred today.


Another edit because I forgot to mention what I think is a rather relevant piece of information. I've recently acquired 3 resistance bands and incorporated them on my workouts. They are quite helpful indeed.



@CEVRAM96 Hey Carlos! I can tell you've been pretty consistent over those previous 5 years of gym training man, your physique is awesome! All that hard work has paid off my friend!


You're right, working out at home does have it's limitations - it can be hard to overload when training at home! Bands can be a good tool and then you can find household things as well, like I did with my bucket workout on YouTube!


Aside from that, you can obviously look to do more reps, more sets, or you can increase your time under tension (do slower negatives). These are all ways you can overload!


So to answer your question, can you add more muscle to your frame at home, it is possible! Though it will be harder. With 5 years of gym experience, if you are going to continue to workout at home, my recommendation would be to invest in some more equipment to have at home!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 Hey Carlos! I can tell you've been pretty consistent over those previous 5 years of gym training man, your physique is awesome! All that hard work has paid off my friend!


You're right, working out at home does have it's limitations - it can be hard to overload when training at home! Bands can be a good tool and then you can find household things as well, like I did with my bucket workout on YouTube!


Aside from that, you can obviously look to do more reps, more sets, or you can increase your time under tension (do slower negatives). These are all ways you can overload!


So to answer your question, can you add more muscle to your frame at home, it is possible! Though it will be harder. With 5 years of gym experience, if you are going to continue to workout at home, my recommendation would be to invest in some more equipment to have at home!

  Many thanks for your magnifying compliment, those words mean a whole lot coming from you! I still think that my chest and triceps are lagging a bit in proportion to everything else and they've always been very stubborn areas to add on mass, despite how much of an emphasis I've put on them almost since I first began working out. 


  My current home available equipment is very limited and so are the funds sadly as we speak. Besides the 3 resistance bands I've mentioned, there are two backpacks filled with water containers and books, one weighting around 18kg and the other about 13kg which have undergone extensive usage over the past several months. Interesting that you've mentioned the slower negatives because that's exactly what I did today for single arm bicep curls using the heavier backpack and man, the strain was real!


  I do actually have quite a difficult time gaining weight although I consume a pretty good amount of calories on a daily basis. Maybe I own a fast metabolism paired with genetics to be predominantly skinny so in oder to effectively surpass such constraints, I need to double my efforts in the workouts and make sure my food supply is always on a higher caloric end. I do fear that staying on a plateau for too long might edge my mind towards a negative spectrum of self loathing ideas once again though. Natty struggles I suppose, something I'm sure you're widely familiar with as you've been doing this for way longer than me.


  I'm at a point where I can't realistically expect to make a lot of future gains entirely on my own merits, or naturally to word it differently, certainly my ultimate genetic potential isn't a distant milestone anymore but nonetheless, I really, really want to squeeze out every single drop of potential my body still has to offer and for that to happen, I think I need to step up my game even further. Do you have some hahhhdcore home workout plans for someone looking for a real challenge?


  If not, maybe I'll ask our good friend from Teaching Men's Fashion...wonder what sponsored product he would package that workout around to make a video of whilst saying how much it sucked 😁.


Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

  Many thanks for your magnifying compliment, those words mean a whole lot coming from you! I still think that my chest and triceps are lagging a bit in proportion to everything else and they've always been very stubborn areas to add on mass, despite how much of an emphasis I've put on them almost since I first began working out. 


  My current home available equipment is very limited and so are the funds sadly as we speak. Besides the 3 resistance bands I've mentioned, there are two backpacks filled with water containers and books, one weighting around 18kg and the other about 13kg which have undergone extensive usage over the past several months. Interesting that you've mentioned the slower negatives because that's exactly what I did today for single arm bicep curls using the heavier backpack and man, the strain was real!


  I do actually have quite a difficult time gaining weight although I consume a pretty good amount of calories on a daily basis. Maybe I own a fast metabolism paired with genetics to be predominantly skinny so in oder to effectively surpass such constraints, I need to double my efforts in the workouts and make sure my food supply is always on a higher caloric end. I do fear that staying on a plateau for too long might edge my mind towards a negative spectrum of self loathing ideas once again though. Natty struggles I suppose, something I'm sure you're widely familiar with as you've been doing this for way longer than me.


  I'm at a point where I can't realistically expect to make a lot of future gains entirely on my own merits, or naturally to word it differently, certainly my ultimate genetic potential isn't a distant milestone anymore but nonetheless, I really, really want to squeeze out every single drop of potential my body still has to offer and for that to happen, I think I need to step up my game even further. Do you have some hahhhdcore home workout plans for someone looking for a real challenge?


  If not, maybe I'll ask our good friend from Teaching Men's Fashion...wonder what sponsored product he would package that workout around to make a video of whilst saying how much it sucked 😁.


@CEVRAM96 If you have a hard time gaining weight, just means you need to up whatever the calories are that you're already having man! Even if you bump them up by 100 - 200 more!


I do have a full home program here on the site which I'll link to for you below, you can give that a shot! It's more of an endurance / fat loss routine, but if you pair it with a calorie surplus you might be able to work it to your advantage. Besides, it's going to be one of the best things you can do while at home with minimal equipment!


https://muscularstrength.com/program/12-week-home-program

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 If you have a hard time gaining weight, just means you need to up whatever the calories are that you're already having man! Even if you bump them up by 100 - 200 more!


I do have a full home program here on the site which I'll link to for you below, you can give that a shot! It's more of an endurance / fat loss routine, but if you pair it with a calorie surplus you might be able to work it to your advantage. Besides, it's going to be one of the best things you can do while at home with minimal equipment!


https://muscularstrength.com/program/12-week-home-program

  Thanks Scott, I'll see if I can give that workout a good run. Since I'm doing my training at home under full privacy, at least there won't be any sort of urging mental stimulus to try and make myself look good while performing the exercises which is one of the main reasons I prefer this to the gym, despite knowing that most folks there aren't really going to care about your own shenanigans.


  Also, how can I effectively yet safely train my neck muscles to add some solid thickness to it? I would really like to increase the neck volume in order to improve my overall aesthetics.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

  Thanks Scott, I'll see if I can give that workout a good run. Since I'm doing my training at home under full privacy, at least there won't be any sort of urging mental stimulus to try and make myself look good while performing the exercises which is one of the main reasons I prefer this to the gym, despite knowing that most folks there aren't really going to care about your own shenanigans.


  Also, how can I effectively yet safely train my neck muscles to add some solid thickness to it? I would really like to increase the neck volume in order to improve my overall aesthetics.

@CEVRAM96 You should never worry about how you look while working out man haha. Just make sure your form is right, aside from that, we all make weird faces when lifting!


And check out this video for neck training!



Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 You should never worry about how you look while working out man haha. Just make sure your form is right, aside from that, we all make weird faces when lifting!


And check out this video for neck training!



  Excellent! That's exactly what I was looking for and although I don't have access to weighted plates here at home, the resistance bands should work just fine as an alternative.


  And yeah for sure, if you've never pulled a face whilst lifting reminiscent of dealing with severe constipation after a cheat day then you never actually pushed yourself hard in your workouts.


  I have another doubt which is how to best target the width of your arms, you know, improve their visual from the front. Is it by mainly focusing on the brachioradialis with hammer and inverted curls or putting emphasis in the long head of the bicep?





Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

  Excellent! That's exactly what I was looking for and although I don't have access to weighted plates here at home, the resistance bands should work just fine as an alternative.


  And yeah for sure, if you've never pulled a face whilst lifting reminiscent of dealing with severe constipation after a cheat day then you never actually pushed yourself hard in your workouts.


  I have another doubt which is how to best target the width of your arms, you know, improve their visual from the front. Is it by mainly focusing on the brachioradialis with hammer and inverted curls or putting emphasis in the long head of the bicep?





@CEVRAM96 For your arms, you're better off focusing on the long and short heads of the biceps. Working the brachioradialis will help with thickness from the side.


So try incorporating some wide-grip and close-grip curl variations!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 For your arms, you're better off focusing on the long and short heads of the biceps. Working the brachioradialis will help with thickness from the side.


So try incorporating some wide-grip and close-grip curl variations!

  Will do! Thanks once more. This might come off as something rather senseless to most but to me it's a relevant concern which is in regards to my legs. Now to put things straight, I don't dislike doing leg work and neither do I have any issues going really hard on them, the problem is that I feel as if my legs are getting a little too bulky for my liking albeit they never were a focus point within my training regime unlike chest or triceps.


  I seem to have a genetic predisposition for beefy legs and to be entirely honest, my ideal physique would be one that's more upper body dominant but with well built legs nonetheless, just nothing excessively large. So what should I do? Should I keep doing leg work in the same moulds as I do for all the other muscle groups or look into a different approach for the lower body? 


  I want to have strong, highly functional and well sculpted legs for sure but I don't want them to be the prominent aspect of my physical aesthetics if possible.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

  Will do! Thanks once more. This might come off as something rather senseless to most but to me it's a relevant concern which is in regards to my legs. Now to put things straight, I don't dislike doing leg work and neither do I have any issues going really hard on them, the problem is that I feel as if my legs are getting a little too bulky for my liking albeit they never were a focus point within my training regime unlike chest or triceps.


  I seem to have a genetic predisposition for beefy legs and to be entirely honest, my ideal physique would be one that's more upper body dominant but with well built legs nonetheless, just nothing excessively large. So what should I do? Should I keep doing leg work in the same moulds as I do for all the other muscle groups or look into a different approach for the lower body? 


  I want to have strong, highly functional and well sculpted legs for sure but I don't want them to be the prominent aspect of my physical aesthetics if possible.

@CEVRAM96 Keep training your legs, but don't train them to the point of muscle breakdown. So it would be more like going through the motions. Training them enough to even get a pump, but just enough to maintain if that's what you want!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 Keep training your legs, but don't train them to the point of muscle breakdown. So it would be more like going through the motions. Training them enough to even get a pump, but just enough to maintain if that's what you want!

   Very well, that's what I shall do from now on. I'm hoping to make some noticeable gains until the end of the year so that I can finally do a proper cut and get shredded by traditional and sustainable standards. I would guess somewhere along the lines of 10% body fat.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

   Very well, that's what I shall do from now on. I'm hoping to make some noticeable gains until the end of the year so that I can finally do a proper cut and get shredded by traditional and sustainable standards. I would guess somewhere along the lines of 10% body fat.

@CEVRAM96 That's a good plan man! Just make sure you are getting those lean gains with a 250 - 500 calorie surplus!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 That's a good plan man! Just make sure you are getting those lean gains with a 250 - 500 calorie surplus!

  Definitely will! If I start seeing some noticeable flab forming then I'll be sure to reduce my caloric intake slighly.


  Is there any viable alternative to traditional deadlifting that works your lower back efficiently? It's not only that I'm unable to perform heavy deadlifts at home without the suitable equipment but this exercise in particular is one which typically causes me some serious discomfort such as major shortness of breath and acute heart palpitations, hence why I've stopped doing it altogether at the gym whilst I was still going there.


  Ever since an anxiety disorder developed within me a couple years ago, deadlifting became utterly unbearable and on a few occasions it actually triggered sudden full fledged panic attacks. In fact, there was a period where I couldn't even exercise past the warm up stages because I would always end up feeling horrible as soon as my heartbeat and breathing picked up the pace. Luckily, an effective medication was prescribed to me and I haven't experienced another panic attack in a while but this dastardly fear of them remains present nonetheless and it's an hampering factor towards the ability to push myself as hard as my body can handle.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

  Definitely will! If I start seeing some noticeable flab forming then I'll be sure to reduce my caloric intake slighly.


  Is there any viable alternative to traditional deadlifting that works your lower back efficiently? It's not only that I'm unable to perform heavy deadlifts at home without the suitable equipment but this exercise in particular is one which typically causes me some serious discomfort such as major shortness of breath and acute heart palpitations, hence why I've stopped doing it altogether at the gym whilst I was still going there.


  Ever since an anxiety disorder developed within me a couple years ago, deadlifting became utterly unbearable and on a few occasions it actually triggered sudden full fledged panic attacks. In fact, there was a period where I couldn't even exercise past the warm up stages because I would always end up feeling horrible as soon as my heartbeat and breathing picked up the pace. Luckily, an effective medication was prescribed to me and I haven't experienced another panic attack in a while but this dastardly fear of them remains present nonetheless and it's an hampering factor towards the ability to push myself as hard as my body can handle.

@CEVRAM96 Sorry to hear that man. Nothing will work as effectively as a deadlift really, there isn't an alternative you can do. You could do rack pulls instead with a shorter range of motion.


But if you're actually looking for direct lower back work, you're better off with something like a good morning or a hyper-extension!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
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