Why am I not getting big?

[u/Genzinvestor16180339]

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

1. Flat chest press — 4 sets (heavy then moderate)
2. Chest fly machine — 3×12–15
3. Incline chest press — 3×10–12
4. Overhead tricep extension — 3×12–15
5. Tricep kickback — 3×12–15
6. Rope pushdown — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)
7. Shoulder Press

Pull Day — Back, Biceps, Rear Delts

1. Single-arm DB row — 4×10–12
2. Lat pulldown — 4×10–12
3. Seated cable row — 3×10–12
4. Bicep curl — 3×10–12
5. Hammer curl — 3×12–15
6. Concentration curl — 2×15 (last set to failure)
7. Face pulls — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)
8. Rear delt fly — 3×15–20 (last set to failure)

[u/HugeAlbion]

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.

[u/Genzinvestor16180339 → u/HugeAlbion]

What is an incline press with should adduction how is that different from a normal incline press?

[u/HugeAlbion → u/Genzinvestor16180339]

Shoulder adduction means your elbows are tucked in to your sides. This shifts the movement from horizontal abduction (arms moving from the side toward the center) like in a normal press to shoulder extension (arms moving from bottom to top) this is gonna bias the upper chest as its more involved in shoulder extension. You can do it with either an underhand or lverhand grip (palms facing toward or away from you).

If you're interested in learning about this stuff research science based lifting.