Confession - Been DCing for ~6 years and I'm not that big

[BULK_CITY]

My stats:
6'2''
27 yrs old
ecto genetics (165 lbs senior in high school)
currently 225 lbs @ 11-13% BF (can see ab outlines + veins in arms)
arms - 16.7'' (I have pretty long arms)
calfs - 16''
waist 35''
deadlift 485x6
squat 315x8 (hurt my back for about a year and had to re start on these... I also go below parallel on these)
db shoulder press seated 95x 10

DC training seriously for about 6 years. Weight lifting seriously for a total of 8-9 years (including the dc training)
diet - gain about 1 lb every 2-3 weeks. I'm trying to just keep gaining lean mass

natty
Got blood tests about 2 yrs ago and everything is very healthy (test levels were about the 60-80% level for a healthy male my age)


Story:
I feel like I should be bigger than I actually am.
I keep my diet pretty tight.
I almost never miss workouts.
I train really hard/intense.
I almost always beat the log book (I'll meet it at the worst) and can do that for about 8 weeks (+- 2 weeks) then I'll cruise and get back to beating the log book.
I've read tons of threads here and on other forums so I know what I'm doing


Is this normal progress or is this on the slow side?
I've always had body dysmorphia and think I'm smaller than I really am. I'm not trying to compete or anything, it's just a goal of mine to have 17.5 - 18'' arms and 17'' calfs.
It's annoying to be one of the strongest guys in my gym, seemingly train harder than almost all of them, and still not be anywhere near the biggest. Makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

thoughts? opinions?
Maybe someone can help me figure out something I'm not seeing/doing wrong.

[Sammich]

You should be eating a looooooooooooooooooooooooot more

[BULK_CITY]

You should be eating a looooooooooooooooooooooooot more

oh ya I forgot to mention I went on some "cutting" phases that took up quite a bit of time... prob around 2 years of total time (maybe less). And the first 3-4 years I would drink 1-2x a week and get buzzed. I stopped drinking that much about 4 yrs ago though.


And I definitely would eat more but it seems like I don't beat the log book much more but I get much fatter when I do eat more... ugh maybe it's genetics or maybe it's me not knowing what I'm doing.

My diet now a days is basically:

300 p / 300-450 c (depending on the day) / 100 fat

and has me growing at around 1 lb every 2-3 weeks. I've tried eating more than that and I just seem to get fatter quicker...

[Sammich]

maybe it's me not knowing what I'm doing.

Let's go with that one.

[BULK_CITY]

Let's go with that one.

any advice?

What kinda progress do you think I should have made already? like where should I be at currently?

[Swaminator]

485x8 in the deadlift is impressive. I would say less than 1 percent of guys who regularly train with weights can do that. I assume you mean free bar deadlift off the ground (not the hammer strength machine). And you went from 165lbs bdwt 9 years ago to 225lbs. Thats 60 lbs. so if you were to continue your current rate you would be 285 lbs by the time you are 37 yrs old. I would say to keep doing what you are doing.

[trucelt]

Your stats don't mean much without pics.....

[thedunhill225]

If you actually are gaining a pound of lean mass every 2-3 weeks rt now just do what your doing. You are fine.

[dakota1981]

"gain about 1 lb every 2-3 weeks. I'm trying to just keep gaining lean mass"

3 weeks being the longest interval translates to roughly 17 lbs of lean mass per year. (Assuming I quoted you correctly.)

Given that, by the time you're 30 you would reach a ballpark weight of approximately 275lbs. Give or take 10 lbs for margin.

At 6'2, or 74", you would be sporting 3.75 lbs per inch. A fairly repspectable mark at 10-12%.

Overall it sounds like your on the right path to me. Good luck with your training.

[CuBanotTe_314]

You can try switching routines. Play around with more volume for a while and see what you get. You've been doing DC already for a long time, and you already pretty strong so if everything else is in check maybe a little more volume is what you need. Having said that, you are probably not going to see the same results you've seen in the past as far as gains go, you are already closing in on 10yrs of training so stuff will come slower now.
Just my .02 cents

[darkguitars2000]

Have you tried working with someone on diet/training?

I train my ass off and can go to mind-numbing failure (more than most in my gyms at least...maybe not quite as well as some of the vets yet)- but anyway, I am capable of that and I THOUGHT I had a good diet, but then realized I was almost never being objective with it. So I hired Shelby, and now my progress is awesome.

[RedSkull]

485x8 in the deadlift is impressive. I would say less than 1 percent of guys who regularly train with weights can do that. I assume you mean free bar deadlift off the ground (not the hammer strength machine). And you went from 165lbs bdwt 9 years ago to 225lbs. Thats 60 lbs. so if you were to continue your current rate you would be 285 lbs by the time you are 37 yrs old. I would say to keep doing what you are doing.

Great post, I agree, enjoy what you have accomplished and don't compare yourself to others too much. 485 X 8 is better than 95%+ of people here, too.

[Jared Ragsdale]

Great post, I agree, enjoy what you have accomplished and don't compare yourself to others too much. 485 X 8 is better than 95%+ of people here, too.

Way better than me

[steel1970]

Way better than me

Haha, if I LOOK at 405 on the bar my back goes out...lol

[TeddyD]

Your progress seems reasonably good to me. 60lbs added to date and putting on 2lbs a month is pretty good.