Why do I look like I'm not gaining muscle?

[Anonymous]

So back in the middle of janurary to beginning of februrary I bought a pull up bar for my room door. I could only do 3-4 chin ups (so maybe 1 pullup) Well fastforward to now. I can do 14 chin ups and about 10 pull ups yet my muscles are no bigger or toned than they were back in janurary. I talked to a guy at a gym he said I just need to eat more protein. Well I have eggs every morning about 3 greek yougurts in a day and plenty of turkey lunch meat. Yet I am not gaining any mass. What is happening because I'm clearly 3-4x stronger than I was a few months ago. I am doing it for the strength and not just the way I look but there is something clearly wrong here.

[looneymalooney]

Adding muscle is done by stressing the muscle. When this is done and fed properly, the muscle cells break and multiply.
Wanna hear the workout I currently do?
chin ups, push ups with different variations, Svend chest presses, dips, then some elastic band exercises, barbels exercises for the chest, shoulders and biceps.
So i go through all these with about 10-20 sec of rest between them.
Then start all over until I can't take it. I certainly do not look like you would imagine me. Why? It takes longer to build mass by trying to get your proteins from food.
The guy at the gym told you about proteins but had shakes and powder in his mind. The protein powders and shakes are fast absorbed and help build mass faster but I don't take them as I actually do not trust them and my stomach is a mess.

[BZerpy]

Full blown ectomorph here. I have QUADRUPLED (not kidding) my food intake over the last 3 years. I work out 4-5 times a week. Strength has increased incredibly. Muscle gain has been MINISCULE IF ANYTHING. Sure im more toned but actual mass is hard to come by for me.
In 3 years my weight has ballooned from 57kg to 60kg. Yes I was joking. Its ridiculous. Being ectomorphic is a real challenge sometimes.
Especially when people all the time say "you look like you could eat a few extra meals" "why dont you eat more". Okay guys, my stomach is busting because i've eaten an entire grocery store today, im bloated, i feel sick from over eating. Its not helping!!

[Takada]

The protein thing is nonsense, so you can stop eating eggs every morning. The cholesterol will mess you up. It's because you are training muscles that are difficult to see. Pull ups mainly target the back, and you won't see the muscles unless you have a low body fat percentage and are flexing them. Chin ups target the biceps and the sides of your back. Your biceps should be bigger when you flex them, but your back muscles will again not be noticeable.

If nothing works, you may just be an ectomorph, a person who does not pack on muscle or fat quickly.

[emerald77]

It takes months for muscles to start showing. Also, while you're making progress, I don't think that amount of work out will be enough to build muscles.

[Asker]

I'm not doing like 14 chin ups a day. that's just how many I can do at any one set. Upper body workouts I usually do 3 sets of chins ups 14,10,8. And I do a bunch of pushups as well.

[emerald77]

Ohh okay lol. Well then I think you should just give it some time, and don't give up!

[523206720]

Well
1. are you eating protein?
2. are you eating COMPLETE proteins? You need 8 amino acids to make a complete protein - and a lot of foods only contain some of the 8 protein amino acids but not all of the acids you need to build muscle. If your protein is incomplete - it has to be combined with other complete proteins to form a complete protein.

[MyNameIsJonas]

Listen put on a BACKPACK and do pull ups and chin ups.

Start doing chest to bar.

Do 6 sets of 6 with 1 minute rest between.

Mix it up. You need to create new adaptation in order to gain and grow. Also start doing new exercises that incorporate your legs (squats and lunges) you can also do them while wearing a back pack. Working larger muscle groups will increase growth.

[crowplane]

Eggs are excellent. The cholesterol is nothing to worry about. I gained 20 pounds in a year and I was quite thin. If you want mass then you need to lift heavy weights... body weight training like pull-ups are good and all but they build muscular endurance, not mass. There is a difference. I highly recommend if your serious about gaining muscles talk to someone you know who can personally show you how to work out properly. And it takes time to really see results... be patient!

[1GuyOpinion]

Is chin up the only thing you do? You can't expect to gain mass when all you do is chin up (using only your body weight)

Please, just buy a gym membership and do a complete workout.

[Consultant]

Eat more carbs, eat more protein. Your body weight in pounds * 1.2 = grams of protein daily. EVERY. DAY. Especially days after working out.

[Asker]

1.2 grams of protein for each pound. That would be over 200 grams of protein... I weigh like 180

[Consultant]

lol I weigh 200 or so. Welcome to my world.

And who downvoted me? fucktard this is common knowledge in the world of bodybuilding.

[Consultant]

You need to eat more than you ever have before. Seriously, once upon a time I was skinnier than most people I've ever met, a true Ectomorph.

[Asker]

If I ate nothing but greek yogurts all day I still don't think I'd have enough protein to accomplish that. How much protein are in this protein powder things I've never used those because I've always associated those with dbags but I guess I might have to do that.

[Consultant]

Lots of chicken, beef, tuna, fish, eggs, cheese, oats & grains, peanut butter, nuts.

Powders and protein bars are great but only for filling in the gaps between meals.

The 3-meals-a-day is for your average fatass American. For bodybuilders, you eat 5 or 6 smaller wholesome meals throughout the day. That's how you get your macros in. Go to bodybuilding. com and search for a nutrition calculator to see how many calories/carbs/proteins/fats you need to get in.

[Consultant]

Oh and beans and pasta.

[Asker]

I heard multiple small meals a day helps reduce weight compared to 3 meals a day. I work out solely to gain weight. I'd be down to like 160 if I stopped eating healthy and working out. I'm the type of person who would become skinny fat.

[Consultant]

brother this is what you need to do, forget the misconceptions and broscience you've ever heard. Go to bodybuilding. com and read everything you see. Build a workout plan, learn about the nutrition you need and go fulfill your goals!!

[AestheticsFtw]

seriously if you think your gonna build muscle doing some chin ups they you are in the wrong direction, lft heavy weights if you want to build muscle, doing bodyweight is really only good for a pump... at least go to failure

[1GuyOpinion]

This. Chin up ain't doing jack shit.

[Tokana]

How many calories are you taking in? Are you tracking it? How much protein are you consuming? Want to gain muscle... eat more.

[Anonymous]

Initial strength gains are mostly neuromuscular.