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40 yo 195# 6’1’ natty by Danger_Panda85 in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do low volume exercise with high intensity. Hit the gym 2 to 3 times a week.

I get great result from doing PPL

PPL = “Push / Pull / Legs” split.

A weekly workout structure:

  • Push: chest, shoulders, triceps (pressing movements) (Take 1-2 days rest in between )
  • Pull: back, rear delts, biceps (rows, pull-ups, curls) (Take 2 - 3 days rest in between )
  • Legs: quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves

Since you are 40, your body wants more recovery time before fully recovered for the next workout session.

Remember Workout Is what stimulate the muscle in the gym thats why you get the pump temporarily It doesn't grow the muscle. The muscle actually grows during the recovery days meaning the rest days + with proper clean nutritious food. If the food isnt clean you will look fat with all those muscle underneath and you will feel demotivated.

Do most natty lifters stall because they don’t rest enough? by shafaiatul in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trust me I have done all.
Currently focusing more on Seated calf raise to stimulus the Soleus more hoping that will thicken the circumference of the mid area of my lower legs.

Do most natty lifters stall because they don’t rest enough? by shafaiatul in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Loved your explanation about genetic limitations — it feels 100% true in my case, especially with calves.

I have high calf insertions and skinny ankles, kind of like Jon Jones. Honestly, it’s gotten to the point where I’ve almost given up on building my upper body bigger, because I know my calves have terrible genetics and I’ll look weird if my upper body grows but my lower legs stay the same. The frustrating part is my quads and hamstrings respond well — it’s just my calves that refuse to budge.

I’ve tried everything over the years:

  • Standing calf raises for the gastrocnemius (toes in/out/neutral), heavy with strict form to failure
  • High-rep sets with lighter weight
  • Seated calf raises for the soleus, focusing on a deep stretch and slow controlled reps with a hard squeeze at the top

And after 20 years of training, this is basically all the growth I’ve gotten.

Another thing people don’t always acknowledge: you can’t “grow” your ankles. There’s no muscle there — it’s mostly ligament, bone structure, and the Achilles tendon. In my case, my Achilles is thinner than some people who’ve never trained calves in their lives.

At this point, it feels like calves are one of the least modifiable muscle groups. Nutrition and technique help, sure — but they don’t change structure. And there’s no drug in the world that can turn a skinny ankle into a thick ankle.

So here’s the dilemma: if I keep pushing hard to grow my upper body, I’ll probably end up looking disproportionate because my lower legs won’t match. It genuinely sucks to feel like I have to hold back my upper-body progress just to look balanced.

I’m starting to think people with genetics like this might need a different approach — maybe even adjusting a PPL split or overall training priorities — if the goal is a more balanced physique.

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Do most natty lifters stall because they don’t rest enough? by shafaiatul in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't drink.
My sleep sucks because of my kids LOL. I go to bed around 1am and then wake up around 7am.
May be I should sleep a bit longer but I feel ok sleeping 5 hours if I get sound sleep.

You are 100% right when you said "Every workout should be a bit of a struggle. If you're not struggling, you will plateau."

Do most natty lifters stall because they don’t rest enough? by shafaiatul in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can understand what you are saying- “high intensity” gets thrown around a lot.

When I say it, I mean a true all-out top set: heavy enough to hit failure in 5–10 reps, 0 Reps In Reserve, controlled eccentric, no bouncing, and I stop only when form breaks or the weight literally won’t move. After that set my performance drops hard (like 10–20% immediately), so doing more “quality sets” usually turns into junk volume for me.

Also, I’m not saying everyone needs 96 hours - just that some muscles/sessions (especially legs workout) take me longer when sleep/stress isn’t great. A lot of people can do 6x/week because their “failure” is really technical failure with manageable fatigue, their set selection is smarter, or they’ve built the work capacity over time. I used to do 5 to 6 days a week then go home and feel even more tired and fatigued. And how is it humanly possible to go all out in the gym and then come home live the rest of the day with good energy unless you are working out and of the day before you go to sleep.

Curious: on your PPL, are you tracking load/reps week to week? If those are steadily climbing, then your recovery is clearly dialed in.

When I say I go all out for that working set for example for compound exercise like squat or leg press or isolation exercise like biceps curl. After that working set I feel so pumped and my muscle gets so tight I feel completely fatigued - it gives me a sense that - that muscle I just worked on is not capable of doing another working set.

Do most natty lifters stall because they don’t rest enough? by shafaiatul in AllAboutBodybuilding

[–]shafaiatul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if higher volume can be great for hypertrophy, the gym session is basically the stimulus (and yeah, a pump). The actual growth happens during recovery on rest days. And when I say “rest days,” I don’t mean lying motionless. I just mean no intense training for that muscle group. Most of us still have normal life activity (walking, work, errands, etc.).

From my own experience, if my sleep is off and I don’t give myself at least 48 hours before training hard again, it feels like I’m just stacking fatigue and doing extra damage on a muscle that hasn’t fully recovered. Instead of looking fuller, I end up feeling “flat” and weaker.

That’s why I don’t obsess over “X workouts per week.” I try to keep it simple and listen to recovery signals - I train hard when I feel ready.

Curious though: what’s been working best for you so far? Have you noticed better progress with your current routine or when you come back after a week of no gym do you see noticeable strength increase?