5 Reasons You Aren’t Building Muscle

Do you find yourself spinning your wheels in the gym? Frustrated with a lack of progress?

You're probably doing at least one of the following. And it's keeping you from getting the absolute most out of your workouts.

Today, we fix that.

Your training is about to be taken up several notches.

Let's dive in.

You Don't Track Your Workouts

If you don't track your workouts, (the exercises you do, the weight you use, and how many reps you get) I can guarantee you're missing out on some gains.

"I remember what I did last time," you might say.

First, you probably don't.

Second, if you don't have a training log to consult with before each workout (or even each set), you aren't immediately aware of what you need to do in order to progress. And what happens in this scenario? You lift the same weight, for the same reps, over and over again.

And your body yawns it's way through your workout.

Progress in the gym hinges on progressive tension overload. That means, getting progressively stronger at the exercises you've chosen to do.

You need to compete with your previous self. You need to beat that log book. One more rep, or five more pounds, as often as you can get it.

This, above all, is what dictates whether you see gains or not.

If you don't track your training, start. And watch the entire game change for you.

You Don't Train with Enough Effort

This is what I mean by "effort."

How close you take each set to failure. How few reps you have left in the tank. How HARD you're working on every set.

Here's why this is so crucial.

Let's say you're doing a set of cable rows, and you're using a weight that allows you to get 12 reps, and no more. That 12th rep is the rep that makes your soul leave your body.

In this case, it's reps 8-12 that stimulate growth.

You need to be within 5 reps of muscular failure before the muscle-stimulating reps kick in.

So, if you do a set of 12 cable rows to muscular failure, you've accumulated 5 stimulating reps in just one set. Solid.

If you stop 3-4 reps shy of failure, you're getting just 1-2 stimulating reps.

And he's the real kick in the teeth- most people who claim they leave a few reps in the tank, leave a lot more than they think. It's possible to get through an entire workout, with hardly any stimulating reps at all.

There's a simple solution to all of this.

Work harder.

Harder sets, taken to (or very near) muscular failure. Every rep performed with perfect form, and controlled tempo.

Do this, and you'll get the stimulus you need to grow muscle.

Bonus- harder sets means you don't need as many of them. So your workouts become more efficient, and you recover faster/ easier between workouts.

You're Not Loading the Muscles You’re Trying to Train

Muscles don't understand weight and reps. They understand tension.

But you would never know that if you take a look at how most people train.

Herky Jerky movements, using as much momentum as possible, jack-hammering reps as quickly as possible.

If your goal is to build up your physique, then how you lift the weight matters.

If you want to get the most out of your training, set your ego aside, and focus on the following:

• control the weight down as you lower it for 2-3 seconds.

• squeeze/ flex the weight up, instead of drilling it up. Keeping that tension on the muscle.

• pause at the bottom of each rep for 1 second before lifting the next rep.

• focus your mind on the working muscle. Feeling it contract and stretch as you move through your reps.

Here's a video showing a complete chest, shoulders, and triceps workout, so you can see how I execute these movements.

You don't see a lot of people training this way.

The reason why is obvious- you'll need to lower the weight you use, and this won't stroke your ego.

So, ask yourself. Do you want to build your ego? Or build some muscle?

You're Not Recovering

There are two places you need to consider your recovery.

Between each set, and throughout the week.

Let's look at your recovery between sets first.

The goal of each set is to get as much output as possible. Move as much weight, for as many reps as possible. If you're not resting enough between sets, you're not going to be fully recovered, which will decrease your output.

The optimal amount of recovery between sets? Between 2-5 minutes, depending on how taxing the exercise.

Now, your recovery during the week.

This is going to vary from person to person, depending on training, sleep, stress, daily responsibilities, and one's ability to recover.

There's no blanket answer here, but I will say I find 4 days of hard training per week to be a sweet spot for most people.

If you want to know if you're recovering well or not, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you getting stronger, or are you stagnating?

2. Do you have achy joints?

3. Are you lethargic, irritable, lacking appetite

The first question is going to be your earliest sign. The other two are indicators that you're already over running your recover. Remember, when you work hard, less is more. 3-4 hard workouts, done with huge effort, and spotless form, will take you a very long way.

You're Not Eating For It

I was going to keep this post focused on training, but this is too crucial to leave off the list.

If you're going to train to build a great body, you need to fuel for it as well.

Here are a few things to focus on:

• Keep food quality high- whole foods, quality sources. Junk food stays to an absolute minimum.

• Eat between 0.8-1g of protein per pound of body weight. Protein is your building block, which makes this a top priority.

• Eat the majority of your carbs (potatoes, rice, oats, etc) in the meals surrounding your workouts.

• Make sure you're eating enough. You don't need to eat a gluttonous amount of food to support muscle growth. But if you aren't seeing any gains at all, you may need to increase the amount of quality food you're taking in.

• Spread your food over at least 4 meals per day. Yes, I'm aware that Intermittent Fasting is all the rage. But it's not optimal if your goal is building muscle. 4-5 meals per day, with protein in each one, is a good frequency to aim for.

Apply the above strategies, and you'll take the quality of your workouts to a new level.