Honestly I thought hitting 200lb muscle was just about lifting heavy and eating chicken breasts. Spoiler: I was dead wrong for years. Almost quit lifting ’cause I kept spinning my wheels.
My Dumb Starting Point
Back in 2020, I hit the gym HARD. Six days a week, sometimes twice a day. Ate like a horse too – shoveled down everything in sight. My scale went up, sure… but mostly just felt puffy and sluggish. After eight months of this grind? Barely 170lb, looked soft. Super frustrating.
The Big Mistakes I Made
Turns out I messed up big time:
- Piling plates on the bar like an idiot. More weight, more ego, right? Wrong. My form turned to garbage. Tweaked my lower back twice. Couldn’t squat properly for weeks. Felt like an old man just bending down.
- Stuffing my face 24/7. Thought calories were king. My “bulk” looked like daily fast food runs. Burgers, fries, boba tea… yeah, protein shakes too, but drowning ’em in sugary crap. Felt like crap.
- Zero chill days. Skipped rest days like a badge of honor. Woke up feeling wrecked, muscles always sore. Couldn’t even hit Monday’s bench press properly ’cause my pecs were still fried from Friday.
- Sleep? What’s that? Binge-watching Netflix until 2 AM. Up at 6 AM for work. Dragged myself to the gym anyway. Felt like lifting through mud.
- Playing protein shake roulette. Just scooped whatever powder was cheap. Didn’t track grams. Some days? Barely hit 100g protein. No wonder my arms stayed twigs.
When I FINALLY Figured It Out
Got pissed off one morning looking in the mirror. Hired a legit coach. He tore my plan apart.
- Slowed DOWN on the weights. Focused on feeling the muscle squeeze every rep. Dropped weight? Yeah. But dang, my back and chest started actually growing because I wasn’t just heaving the bar around.
- Ate smarter, not just more. Tracked protein RELIGIOUSLY – 1g per pound, minimum. Meal prepped actual chicken, rice, veggies. Cut the junk. Still ate my pizzas, but planned for ’em. The bloat vanished.
- Rest became sacred. Two full days OFF. No arguments. Actually took naps sometimes. Shockingly, my strength jumped.
- Bed by 10 PM. Period. Dark room, cool temp. Felt like a new person after two weeks. Energy through the roof.
- Picked ONE quality protein powder. Simple whey isolate. Measured it. Didn’t pretend three scoops equaled a steak. Took my fish oil like a grown-up too.
Took consistency, sure. Slower than I wanted? Absolutely. But this month? Stepped on the scale at 201.5lb. Solid. Visible abs while bulking. Didn’t think that was possible. Screwed up for years trying to outwork bad habits. Fixing the basics? That’s what actually moves the needle.