I'm at impasse with my training, please help...

[kiosk]

am gettin a little desperate. I have made little or no muscle gains over the past 7-9 months. I have been training for over 4 years now (drug-free) and Im definitely a hardgainer, while I have managed to add ~20lbs of lean muscle I have also gotten fatter (now at 18% BF I think) and what pisses me off more is all the fat is around my belly.
So for the last year or so Ive attempted to add muscle while keeping fat gain minimal, however neither is working. is amazing because by weight has remained steady at 215lbs for 7-9 months.

I cant afford to gain any more fat, actually I want to get down to 12%, but I also cant afford to lose an ounce of muscle. Just looking for some general diet/training recommendations to help me out with this.

Hell, am even tempted to try a cycle, but I am afraid I wont be able to devote it the dedication, I have 3 kidz to watch and a f'ed up job, I can only train 3x week max.

 

[kiosk]

Oops, I knew I forgot something.

Body Specs (inches)
----------
Height - 73 (6'1'')
Wrist - 7.25
Ankle - 9.5
Waist - 37
Belly - 39
Legs - 27
Chest - 45
Hips - 42
Arms - 17
Weight - 215lbs
%BF - 16/18%
Resting HR/min - 54

Training
---------
5x5 routine
3 day split concentrating
on DL/ATF Squats/Incline Bench/Military Press
Squat ATF = 225bls (5x5)
DL = 225lbs (5x5)
Incline Bench = 170lbs (5x5)
Military Press = 125lbs (5x5)

Diet
----
Kinda a mess, Between 3000-3500cal/day
Try to focus on low GI carb, 2 protein shakes day
meats (lot chicken, meats and fish)
I eat a "bad" portion probably once a day (a fried dish or bad starch)

 

[casualbb]

unfortunately the actual stimulus for changing your weight is eating. a good routine will shift the composition of weight lost/gained away from fat

a person at your level will have a hard time gaining only muscle, that tends to be a noob thing.

this may be stressful but i think you should either commit to dieting or commit to bulking. i'd recommend dieting, b/c the fatter you are when you start the fatter you become off of a bulk

 

[kiosk]

I definitely need to lean down, but man I cant afford lose muscle after all the blood and sweat to gain it.
any diet/training plan recommended? I had good sucess prebiously on the south beach diet but it made me weak......

 

[rbtrout]

If you want to be lean and you're eating 3000-3500 cals a day, drop about 250 cals a day and maintain that for a week. Then repeat this each week until you get to around 2200 cals. This will allow your body to get used to eating less, but at a slower rate so you can maintain the max amount of muscle. You need to be lifting hard during this time to keep the muscle. If you slack off, you'll probably lose strength and muscle.
I went from 260 at the end of December to 215 at the end of March (just under 4 pounds a week, too quick). I only lost a bit of size/strength. I would have kept nearly all size/strength had I slowed the process a bit. Many say that 2-4 pounds per week is a good rate.
Hope this helps.

 

[TheOak84]

id say, if u gain 20 pounds in 9 months, and 5-7 pounds is muscle, thats pretty good.

 

[thelion2005]

It has been my experience that without the assistance of aas, you will lose muscle with the fat. The good news is you can look terrific - not larger, but lean and healthy - with a dramatic change in diet.

You did the South Beach? Try just eliminating all simple sugars (includes fruit and all flours)and fueling up on meat/fish/fowl, a few eggs, lots of veggies and decaf for the next 8 weeks. Eat 5 times a day and don't count calories.

Train 3 times a week like now, but forget about maxing out ... do 3 x 8, 2-3 exercises per body part, full body.

You'll drop about 20 lbs of water and fat, revealing the muscle underneath. Energy will be high. The belly will disappear.

 

[BOOEY]

I definitely need to lean down, but man I cant afford lose muscle after all the blood and sweat to gain it.
any diet/training plan recommended? I had good sucess prebiously on the south beach diet but it made me weak......

Well, I think you'd be better served in the long run if you got strict with your diet and threw in some cardio. You can minimize the muscle loss by keeping this process a slow one. Slowly reduce your calories and watch the scale. A good diet consists of 40/40/20 p/c/f. Time your protein and carb meals right, and you shouldn't lose any muscle.

Now, 18% is up there. So once you lose some weight, you're going to appear smaller. This is where most guy's lose it. You have to realize that at 18%bf, even if you think it's all concentrated in one area, your whole body is covered in fat to some degree. You will shrink, but the key is to remember that this is fat coming off, not muscle. Think of your goal and don't lose sight.

Once you get lean enough, that's the time to slowly start adding more calories. I would even continue to do cardio to keep the fat in check. And again, time the protein and carb meals right, and you should be able to keep the fat gain at a minimum. Good luck bro,

 

[kiosk]

thx lot all.
I am going to get my diet in order and lower by carb intake, I had luck with that before (except PWO shakes or breakfast oatmeal)

My worry is still gauging when I start to lose muscle.....will a loss in strenght reflect that? I plan to go to a higher rep range (8 or 12), should I maintain a consistent weight for all sets and if I have trouble maintaining will that mean muscle loss is occurring?

Also, I f'ing hate cardio...I rather lift till bones break....is cardio a must?

 

[Kane Fan]

I'd say if you have 17" arms and weight 215 your not a hardgainer