7 Reasons Why You’re Not Building Muscle
1. Underestimating your calorie consumption.
Calorie consumption is the solution to most hardgainers problems in building muscle. You simply cannot assume that you’re eating enough calories by casually keeping a mental note of what you’ve eaten throughout the day, you have to record down on pen and paper what foods you’ve consumed.
Calorie consumption is the solution to most hardgainers problems in building muscle. You simply cannot assume that you’re eating enough calories by casually keeping a mental note of what you’ve eaten throughout the day, you have to record down on pen and paper what foods you’ve consumed.
2. Not eating the right ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fats.
The optimum ratio of carbs, protein and fats is 50%, 30% and 20% respectively. This ratio will provide the optimum level for synthesizing protein into muscle mass.
The optimum ratio of carbs, protein and fats is 50%, 30% and 20% respectively. This ratio will provide the optimum level for synthesizing protein into muscle mass.
3. Not drinking enough water.
Water is even more important than food in that it’s essential for many bodily functions. Many hardgainers underestimate the importance of drinking enough water before, during and after training sessions. One way to overcome this problem is to bring a water bottle everytime you train.
Water is even more important than food in that it’s essential for many bodily functions. Many hardgainers underestimate the importance of drinking enough water before, during and after training sessions. One way to overcome this problem is to bring a water bottle everytime you train.
4. Poor workout routine.
Choosing the right workout routine is vital for building muscle. Picking exercises straight out of bodybuilding magazines and articles written by professional bodybuilders will cause you to overtrain. Your workout routine should be composed mainly of compound exercises such as pullups, chinups, pushups, bench press, dips, squats and deadlifts.
Choosing the right workout routine is vital for building muscle. Picking exercises straight out of bodybuilding magazines and articles written by professional bodybuilders will cause you to overtrain. Your workout routine should be composed mainly of compound exercises such as pullups, chinups, pushups, bench press, dips, squats and deadlifts.
5. Poor exercise technique.
You’ve chosen the right exercises for your workout but are you performing them correctly? If you want to place the maximum amount of stress on your muscle tissue you have to use good form. Don’t follow the advice or copy other people in the gym, this is how bad habits spread. Good form include keeping your reps slow and controlled, three seconds on the eccentric phase (lowering) and one second on the concentric phase (lifting) is recommended. Don’t use momentum (swinging) as you’re not stimulating your muscles correctly. Use full range of motion so that you’ll increase not only the stress on the muscles but also your flexibility.
You’ve chosen the right exercises for your workout but are you performing them correctly? If you want to place the maximum amount of stress on your muscle tissue you have to use good form. Don’t follow the advice or copy other people in the gym, this is how bad habits spread. Good form include keeping your reps slow and controlled, three seconds on the eccentric phase (lowering) and one second on the concentric phase (lifting) is recommended. Don’t use momentum (swinging) as you’re not stimulating your muscles correctly. Use full range of motion so that you’ll increase not only the stress on the muscles but also your flexibility.
6. Not getting enough sleep.
Sleep is your body’s time recover by getting rid of metabolic wastes and repairing damaged muscle tissue brought about in the gym. Aim to get 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Tips to getting adequate sleep include developing sleeping habits by waking up at the same time each day, refraining from physical activity two hours before bedtime and refraining from taking stimulants within 4-6 hours of bedtime.
Sleep is your body’s time recover by getting rid of metabolic wastes and repairing damaged muscle tissue brought about in the gym. Aim to get 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Tips to getting adequate sleep include developing sleeping habits by waking up at the same time each day, refraining from physical activity two hours before bedtime and refraining from taking stimulants within 4-6 hours of bedtime.
7 Losing focus of your fitness goals.
Finally if you’re not gaining any muscle mass it may be due to lack of motivation. Can you honestly put 100% everytime you hit the gym? Ways you can help yourself stay motivated include keeping a training diary, taking before and after photos, getting a photo of a former hardgainer who’s succeeded in gaining muscle, get involved with online fitness forums, watch training videos from former hardgainers and psyching yourself up before a training session with motivating music.
Finally if you’re not gaining any muscle mass it may be due to lack of motivation. Can you honestly put 100% everytime you hit the gym? Ways you can help yourself stay motivated include keeping a training diary, taking before and after photos, getting a photo of a former hardgainer who’s succeeded in gaining muscle, get involved with online fitness forums, watch training videos from former hardgainers and psyching yourself up before a training session with motivating music.
