[ecko31s]

Sounds like you’re on the right track with your protein intake. You said you were consuming complex carbs, but how many grams per day. If you’re really trying to gain some mass, you’re going to have to increase you daily carbohydrate intake. I’ve done a lot of trial and error periods over the years to see what works best for my body. For me, high protein with low carbs works well when I’m trying to cut down body fat. High protein with high carbohydrate intake works well when I’m trying to gain more muscle mass. You just have to tweak your carb intake so that you’re making good muscle mass gains, without putting on to much fat. Basically for me, the amounts of carbs I consume determine if I am going to put on mass or loose weight. It’s easier to focus on one at a time. It seems like when your trying to get bigger and ripped at the same time the gains seems be very slow. As far as performing exercises I’m sure you already know that compound exercises are best for putting on mass. To make those compound exercises put on the most size from my experience, longer tension times with short rest periods seem to work best. For strength fast reps with longer rest periods work well. For longer tension times just make each rep and set last longer. For example, when doing bench press if you wanted a set to last for 60 secs you could lower the weight for 4 seconds, press it up in one second, and squeeze hard at the top for one second until ten reps are completed. I even do ten second negatives sometimes, but you have to lighten the weight. You will be super sore if you’ve never done slow reps before. Think of it as slowly stretching a muscle while it is contracted. Most people I see in the gym throw the weight up and let it drop back down on their chest before throwing it up again, which in my mind is only performing half a rep because they are working muscles when doing the positive phase. They completely loose the benefit of the negative portion of the exercise when they let the weight just drop. Even with doing normal paced reps, like one second up and one second down, I control the weight down. Anyway, just something to think about if you’re trying to put on muscle mass. I’m not saying it will work for you, but you’re around the same height and size I used be before I tweaked my workouts and nutrition to gain muscle mass.