Have more protein bro! Lift heavy bro! You eat more protein and lift heavy and nothing happens. You don’t seem to have any progress at all. Muscle building is one of the difficult tasks of bodybuilding.
Achieving lean body mass is a very difficult task. You need a perfect mindset, diet, and training. Muscle building is not about picking weights up and putting them down. It takes hard work, determination, and consistency. An added bonus that can help you reach your goals faster is to increase HGH levels. HGH can help to increase metabolism, burn more fat and build lean muscle mass.
Some of the reasons you’re not gaining that muscle you have craved so hard are
Not Training Intensely
If you think lifting light weights is going to do something, you are wrong. Bodybuilding is all about pushing your limits. If you train lower than your capacity you will never build muscle. Try to improve your strength by lifting heavy.
The heavier you will train the more muscle you will gain. Challenge your body. Don’t make your body habitual to your training. Include drop sets & supersets in your workout & see the difference. Make sure you feel the pain the next day you work out. Lifting 10 lbs dumbbells isn’t going to get you anywhere.
NO PAIN NO GAIN
Not Getting Enough Sleep & Rest
You need to charge your body by resting it properly. Even your phone needs to be charged once it’s the battery is down. It’s the same for your body. After working all day you need to rest in order to recover your body. You put your phone to charge every night do the same for your body.
Aim to have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. According to a study, lack of sleep increases cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone that can break down muscle tissues. And that does not want you would want. Cortisol is mainly linked to stress, which is not good for your health.
Our HGH levels(growth hormone) levels are highest when we sleep. When you work out your muscle grow but change doesn’t happen until you have a good sleep.
Irregularity
I have seen people working their sweats out in the morning and having drinks in the evening. With this type of attitude, you aren’t getting anywhere. You need to be consistent with your diet, training & sleep. Giving your 100% at the gym is not going to work if you are not going to give your 100% outside the gym.
You are only going to work out for around 1 hour a day. The real magic depends upon how you utilize your 23 hours. Going to the gym is the easy part, having a proper diet is difficult. This is where you need your focus on.
Eat Clean Train Hard
Not Eating Enough
When you don’t eat enough calories you are not feeding your muscles right. Your muscle needs food to grow. You may think you are eating enough but you maybe not. Calculate your calories & see what your body demands. Growing muscle depends on what type of food you are eating.
Eat the right amount of protein, carbs & fats. Protein will build your muscle, Carbs will provide you energy & Fats help in proper protein synthesis. Each of these needs to work together in order to be effective. You can’t only have proteins & build muscle.
People mostly have their diet plan tailored by their trainers but they never follow it. It’s 40% workout & 60 % of what you eat. I have seen people lift heavyweight at the gym and have no muscle definition. You definitely don’t what it that way.
Not Eating Quality Food
Eating junk food every day makes your workout invalid. You will not build muscle if the only thing you eat contains junk in it. Eat quality food. Eat good sources of proteins like fish & chicken, Quality carbs like brown rice, sweet potato, and oats & Healthy fats like olive oil. These are clean food & they will not cause any fat gain. The only thing you can gain by eating these types of food is muscle.
Not Eating Enough Protein
Protein builds muscle and if you don’t eat enough protein you want. For people looking to build muscle, they should eat between 1.2 to 1.5 g of per kg or .6 to .8 g per pound of their body weight.
The harder you will train the harder your protein intake should be. Protein foods generally have a good amino profile which further helps in the muscle-building process.
Doing Too Much Cardio
If you eat accordingly, then doing cardio is OK. But if you are already eating too less then cardio is going to further decrease your muscle mass. If you are looking to lose fat and build muscle at the same time then doing cardio is fine but make sure you do the right type of cardio. Also, prioritize resistance training before even switching to cardio.
You Don’t Keep Track Of your workout
Not having a proper workout plan will not help at all. Workout plans are designed so that they can help you achieve your goals. Search for some muscle-building workout plans which are made especially for putting on muscle mass.
Stress
Stress makes your body tired. You need to relax your life before even thinking of putting on muscle. A proper mind-muscle connection is required to build muscle. Try to meditate. The lower you are stressed out in life the faster your body will recover.
Cheating On Your Reps
The only reps that count are the ones that are the most difficult. People put down their weight when they are about to feel the pain in their muscles. If you don’t fatigue your muscle they won’t grow. Don’t lift heavy weights and do some bad reps, instead lift what you are capable of and do proper reps. Try to have a full range of motion with your reps.
Depending Only On Supplements
Supplements alone aren’t going to help you put on muscle. Although they surely help in boosting the muscle-building process. Eating real food is the key to build muscle. Have you ever seen a bodybuilder say all you need is Supplements? They eat real food. Real food provides you with all the vitamins your body needs.
GENERAL TIPS
If you are not able to fulfill your calorie requirements try to make some mass gainer shake. A lot of people would suggest you go with the mass gainer supplement route but I wouldn’t suggest so. These mass gainer supplements have a lot of sugar in them. Try to have as much natural food as you can.
Recipe for making mass gainer shake at home (Add or remove something from this according to your goals)
- Milk
- Almonds
- Peanut Butter
- Oats
- Whey protein (optional)
- Banana
Mix these ingredients in a blender & blend them. This shake can have as much as 1000 calories.
Muscle building takes time. Most people think that they can gain muscle in a very short period of time. Try to have some realistic goals in your mind.
“Rule of thumb: Eat for what you’re going to be doing and not for what you have done”
