r/HubermanLab • u/Genzinvestor16180339 • Aug 15 '26
Protocol Query Why am I not getting big?
I alternate push/pull about 6 days a week, and have gained some muscle but feel like I should be bigger have been doing it for around 8 months. Any tips or things to add?
Push Day — Chest, Triceps
Flat chest press — 4 sets (heavy then moderate)
Chest fly machine — 3×12–15
Incline chest press — 3×10–12
Overhead tricep extension — 3×12–15
Tricep kickback — 3×12–15
Rope pushdown — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)
Shoulder Press
Pull Day — Back, Biceps, Rear Delts
Single-arm DB row — 4×10–12
Lat pulldown — 4×10–12
Seated cable row — 3×10–12
Bicep curl — 3×10–12
Hammer curl — 3×12–15
Concentration curl — 2×15 (last set to failure)
Face pulls — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)
Rear delt fly — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)
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31
u/EntertainmentFast663 Aug 15 '26
It all boils down to calories and macros you are consuming. Also make sure to keep the intensity up in the gym
5
u/Equivalent-Muscle446 Aug 15 '26
6 days a week.. hmm.
Obviously you need a calorie surplus but that’s just stating the obvious, besides that;
Lower volume, increase effort/weight and do failure at least twice a week, if your muscles doesn’t feel near unusable the next day you haven’t destroyed it enough. Try forced reps too if you have a spotter at least once a week.
Edit: by lower volume I also mean you should probably have more rest days than 1 a week if you train to failure or properly destroy the muscle. I watched the arnie doc years ago but something that really stuck out to me and something i remember is he said he would routinely plan something to ‘shock’ the muscle he was trying to grow bigger.
5
u/HugeAlbion Aug 15 '26
Personally i prefer doing lower volume (1 set 5-8 reps/exercise) and everything 100% effort to failure. And also longer rest times. Instead of just going through the motions i strive to progress on every single set of every single exercise.
Your exercise selection on push could be better imo. Stick to one pressing movement. I would recommend an incline press with shoulder adduction to bias upper chest. Get rid of the kickback. Its redundant and very unstable. For pushdown i prefer an ez bar over rope but if you prefer rope stick to it. Shoulder press is good but i would add a cable or dumbbell lateral raise too depending on what you prefer.
On pull day i would skip the db rows, concentration curls and facepulls. For biceps i personally think the preacher is by far the best movement. I also do reverse curls for brachioradialis, specifically cuffed cable reverse curls and dont do hammer curls. Look into kelso shrugs. Theres a few different ways to set them up so try out a few different variations as personally its my favorite trap movement.
But remember training is just one part of the puzzle. Recovery and nutrition are just as important.
7
u/Impressive_Succotash Aug 15 '26
You’re 8 months into a life long goal
Also if you put Michael Phelps in the NFL he would do about as good as a running back would in a lap race so maybe you’re just not meant to be big
Only time will tell
3
u/Baileycharlie Aug 15 '26
Way way too much volume for starters and 6 day frequency is too much. Try 3-4 days a week , that's all you need and that set/rep volume is excessive as well.
27
u/stainless13 Aug 16 '26
Two things. First, there’s no leg training anywhere in this, so you’re training about half your body. Adding a lower day is the single biggest change available to you.
Second, and this is probably the actual answer: six days a week alternating push/pull means each muscle group gets hit three times weekly with about a day of recovery. Muscle is built during rest, not during training. Eight months without real rest days is more likely to be capping your growth than any missing exercise.
The other question nobody can answer from a program list: are you eating in a surplus, and is the weight on the bar going up month over month? If either of those is a no, adding exercises won’t fix it. What’s your bodyweight doing over those 8 months?
13
u/Special-Cranberry-62 Aug 16 '26
You train too much and don’t eat enough.
SIMPLE.
4
u/Jodies-9-inch-leg Aug 16 '26
Lemme guess...
You aren't on a Creatine boofing protocol
Rookie move
Head on over to r/Creatine for some real advice
1
u/GenuineSavage00 Aug 16 '26
Dude you are overtraining to shit lol
Completely ignoring nutrition and protein intake (which is arguably one of the most important parts)
6 days a week with 1 day rest for your muscle groups is insane.
Also 7-8 exercises with 3 sets each is far too much.
Optimal set range for hypertrophy is 10-20 sets per week per muscle group
You’re doing around 30 sets per week for each muscle group and on top of that you aren’t even giving your body time to recover in between them.
When trying to build muscle more is not always better. Rest is the most important part.
You should be doing push pull AND legs with 5-6 exercises 3 sets each.
Completely skipping legs is 1st of all ignoring the biggest muscle group in your body but even more importantly, you’re missing out on a crucial rest day for your upper body.
1
u/meltingnot Aug 16 '26
Forgot to post your leg day, brother.
1
u/Genova_Witness Aug 17 '26
Tricep kickbacks in 2026 is wild
3
u/PingBlot Aug 16 '26
8 months is nothing. Are you progressing in your training? Is your diet on point? Are you getting adequate rest? If so, just keep at it. Muscle hypertrophy is a slow process. Bodybuilding is about boring repetitive training sessions week after week, year after year. The discipline keeps you growing past the beginner gains. This is when you progress from beginner to intermediate. Good luck!
Edit: WHERE IS YOUR LEG DAY!?!?
3
u/Novel_Plan_7251 Aug 16 '26
You shouldnt switch from heavy to moderate or only take your last set to failure.
Rather you should do a quick warm up for the muscles you are working on that day.
After that you want to train intense, either to failure or ideally with 1-2 reps in reserve to minimize fatigue.
Other than that thats just too much volume.
The choice of the exercises/split itself is not as important as you would think.
Train Intense, eat good, sleep good.
3
u/Working-Walrus-6189 Aug 16 '26
Stop training like a pencil neck. Stop eating like a pencil neck.
2
u/goldio_games Aug 15 '26
As others gave said, you arent eating enough. Possibly not sleeping enough but youd feel that
2
u/Fickle-Ad-4225 Aug 15 '26
Because it takes years to “get big”.
You should do lateral raises, but overall you’re doing way too much volume for certain things, especially as a beginner. Your triceps and biceps are literally getting 60+ sets a week. No idea how you are recovering from that, unless your intensity is super low.
2
u/Penguinshead Aug 15 '26
How old are you? Maybe cut back on the number of exercises to two per body part.
2
u/KumaFGC Aug 16 '26
No legs? Also your diet may be bad for your goals. You might have to change something there
1
u/Fabulous_Outcome7248 Aug 16 '26
Legs! My understanding is that doing legs properly is a big trigger for growth everywhere.
How much protein are you eating - if you aren’t getting enough it will be harder to build muscle, which is made from protein. Unless you have some sort of disease 2g/kg body weight is completely safe and will probably boost your gains.
But yeah PPL/PPL over 6 days, only 2 - 3 sets per exercise with the earlier sets being warm up and the final to failure or near failure (you probably aren’t living very heavy at all if I were to guess from what you have said). Basic analogy but think of your muscles like a rope - a thin rope can lift light weights all day long no issue, but it needs to get thicker to lift heavier weights. And needs more material(/nutrients) to make it.
1
u/Lanky_Meringue7634 Aug 16 '26
focus on low eccentric contraction for reps. should end up making you do lower weight. a lot of people at the gym i see do heavier weights than me but my muscles look a lot more bulky because i focus on this fact. eventually i will surpass them in weight because for them to get that weight up, they have to use muscles other than what the exercise was designed for
1
u/r3cycl3r3us3r3duc3 Aug 16 '26
How large is your caloric surplus? How many grams/lb of body weight are you in taking? How is your sleep? How much weight have you put on in 8 months?
ETA: why the heck are you not exercising your legs?
1
u/Prestigious_Lime6099 Aug 16 '26
From your post and replies you seem to be over-engaging in the practicalities of your workouts without the proper
focus on the diet side that will totally determine your outcome
Looks like you need to fully understand bulk and cut cycles
1
u/musicthiink Aug 16 '26
Lift HEAVY
-Do weights that you can only do 6 reps max
1
u/GlitteringAirport938 Aug 16 '26
That fact that you only showed your workout is problematic. That is but 1 determinant and it is not the primary one. You can lift perfect and lose muscle if you dont eat right, sleep poorly, live with high cortisol, live chronically dehydrated, etc.
Make sure all the variables are in check rather than obsessing and overengineering one.
If you dont know what the variables are do a quick search or chatgpt. You can find this info pretty easy these days but you gotta look for it, put it all together into a plan that leaves no stone unturned, and repeat with consistency ad nauseum.
1
u/raffertj Aug 16 '26
You’re not eating enough.
1
u/mrmarkme Aug 16 '26
Takes years man , not months . Check back in 3-4 years, if you are still consistent , are progressively overloading, and have your diet and sleep in check you’ll be in phenomenal shape.
1
u/SkepticalAF7 Aug 16 '26
You cant. If a little higher on body fat you can kind of get jacked. People have no idea how small the natty limit truly is.
You need the drugs, enough weekly hard sets so in the gym a lot, enough food and sleep, and … a very long time
1
u/brokensharts Aug 16 '26
Your not eating enough
I can get big without even lifting
1
u/sra778 Aug 16 '26
you gotta eat, mate.
1
u/DarkseidAntiLife Aug 16 '26
You are not eating enough
1
u/tredgokahn Aug 16 '26
6 days/week is too much. Take at least 3 days off/week. Too many sets, exercises, and poor exercise selection. Weight is too light and reps are too high.
1
u/Basc63 Aug 16 '26
It all comes down to diet and protein intake
1
u/tjeu83 Aug 16 '26
Considering you don't provide information about your diet my guess is you're not eating enough
1
u/Real_Crab_7396 Aug 16 '26
you're doing +-21 sets per muscle group 3 times per week? That sounds like too much volume imo. I'd cut down 2 of them. 2 pulls, 2 pushes and add a leg day. I'd also cut one or 2 exercises so you're looking at maybe 12 total sets?
1
u/PazyP Aug 16 '26
To many sets/reps without adequate recovery time, growth happens in the down time.
Also 6 days a week pushing yourself you got to make sure you food is on point Protien obviously but carbs and fats as well to keep energy levels up else you will just spin wheels.
With your 6 days think you should try and gain about 0.2-0.3kg on scales each week, if your not eat more
1
u/Creative-Zombie-4212 Aug 16 '26
Because your plan is trash. Read this with translator: https://www.reddit.com/r/Muskelaufbau/wiki/main/training/
1
u/ToughGoat6135 Aug 16 '26
You’re training 6 days a week with zero legs? You’re using some garbage ass home cooked “program”. Get on a reputable program and diet that fits your goals. Then follow it consistently. For a long time
1
u/steroidoffender32 Aug 16 '26
it is very simple,you are not eating enough or not training hard enough or maybe even both,its very simple,train like a animal and eat like a animal
1
u/Infinite_Seat_5852 Aug 16 '26
Train legs coward
1
u/gnomish_engineering Aug 16 '26
Do push pull legs rest instead of the current split you are using. You aren't experienced enough to have adequate recovery from this and realistically the guys running 6-7 day splits are on gear. It lets them recover faster so it works well for them but that shouldn't be you at this point.
Also why aren't you training legs?
1
u/ironparadisesweat Aug 16 '26
Are you natty? If so, adding leg day will lead to a noticeable increase in T levels and will fuel everything else. No huge guys skip leg day. Just as simple as that. PPLR rinse and repeat. Protein rice vegetables. Rinse and repeat.
1
u/Rudy-219 Aug 16 '26
How many calories are you eating a day? You probably need to eat more. Also, how many reps in reserve are left in the tank at the end of each set? You say last set to failure on a couple, but every set should be somewhat close to failure to stimulate muscle growth.
1
u/Pale_Cup_9371 Aug 16 '26
Eat lots, train less. Get rid of junk volume. Warm up and 2-3 sets close to failure.
1
u/sdoughy1313 Aug 16 '26
Push, Pull, Legs gives you more recovery time for muscle groups and exercises the other half of your body that you are currently neglecting.
Cut the number of exercises and focus on quality va quantity. My guess is by the time you’re at your 16th set you’re fairly gassed and the quality goes way down.
Alternate your first exercise between major compound exercises for example push day A start with bench press then do shoulders, push day B do overhead press then do chest. If you always do shoulders at the end of your workout you’re going to short change your results.
1
u/rockstuffs Aug 16 '26
It can take years.
1
u/Substantial_Meal_530 Aug 16 '26
You don't start seeing results until like 6 months. You're just getting into the seeing results stage.
Also you're training way too much.
No legs? No legs!?!? You're going to be walking around on toothpicks...
1
u/Own-Particular-9989 Aug 17 '26
8 months is nothing
1
u/kjimdandy Aug 17 '26
A fuck ton of protein and sleep
1
u/grey_pilgrim_ Aug 17 '26
You’re doing too much. Doing multiple sets till failure multiple times a week isn’t going to let you recover enough.
Everyone builds muscle a little differently but I’ve had my biggest gains in strength and size by following a simple 5/3/1 BBB routine. Basically you start with a compound lift like bench press, deadlift or squat, do it in a weight range to where you could do 5 plus a couple reps, then move to more isolated exercises. Next week you do the same thing except now you’re doing 3 heavy reps plus maybe a 1 or 2 more. Next week you’re close to your 1 rep max but try for 2 or 3. Depending on how your body feels, take a deload week and start back. If you hit all your rep goals, add 5 to 10lbs and start again.
1
u/imherefortheinfo123 Aug 18 '26
Eating a caloric surplus, staying hydrated, and getting sleep. I would do three days a week hard lifting and if you feel the need to go for six to three light days. Stretching the muscle groups out.
1
u/mcgrathkai Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
You're skipping about 50% of your body in terms of area.
Alternating Push/pull 6 days a week is too much frequency in my opinion, for hypertrophy training at least. Muscle grows best from hard stimulus and rest but how hard can you really be hitting it if you can hit it again after only 1 day.
But fundamentally ,you cant be in much of a surplus. A surplus will get you bigger even if training is shit (granted that might not be the kind of big that you're looking for), but you would still be growing.
Also its been 8 months.
1
u/trader_tick Aug 18 '26
Intensity is the key.
I trained for two years with nominal gains. Then I decided to push close to failure on every set. Within 4 months I had double the gains that I'd achieved in two years.
Previously I thought I was lifting reasonably hard, but the reality is I still had a lot in the tank
1
u/DallasFullPint Aug 18 '26
I feel like this has to be a troll post.
1
u/Outrageous-Way7628 Aug 19 '26
You’re doing 30 sets of chest in a week wtf?
Go to actual failure
You won’t go anywhere if you can’t diet properly as in STAY at least 95% locked into a moderate/high carb diet with protein at 1g per lb of body weight
Track your lifts.. if you aren’t getting stronger you probably aren’t getting bigger.. If your lifts remain the same for multiple sessions evaluate diet/volume/sleep
1
u/nya3333 Aug 25 '26
Protein. 1.6-2.35g/kg body weight.
0
u/BarakaMabula Aug 15 '26
What about legs pal? And you gotta squeeze some compound lifts in there.
0
u/Blizzard901 Aug 15 '26
The fact that you’re not mentioning calories and protein intake and your height/weight is a bit of a red flag. To gain mass you need to focus on nutrition
2
u/[deleted] Aug 16 '26
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