If you’ve been working hard for more muscle but haven’t seen any gains, there are at least a few reasons that might be preventing you from packing that lean muscle mass.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 5 reasons why you’re not gaining muscle mass and how to achieve your body goals quickly.
First, Let’s Understand How Does The Muscle Increase Its Size?
When you work out or do any physical activity, you’re damaging your muscle fibers.
When they’re damaged, your body repairs them by rebuilding them bigger and stronger than they were before. This is how muscle grows.
The process of muscle growth is called hypertrophy, and it’s the result of two things: an increase in the size of the individual muscle fibers, and an increase in the number of muscle fibers.
The size of the individual muscle fibers can be increased through resistance training.
This is when you use weights or other forms of resistance to challenge your muscles.
When you do this, your body adapts by making the individual muscle fibers bigger so they can handle that kind of stress in the future.
The number of muscle fibers can also be increased through resistance training.
5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Trying To Build Muscle
Not Hiring a Personal Trainer
While it’s not a necessity, it’s well recommended, especially for new gym goers.
There are many benefits when working with a personal trainer. Perhaps the most obvious is that a personal trainer can help you create and stick to a workout routine.
If you’re new to working out, or if you’ve hit a plateau in your progress, a personal trainer can help you get over the hump and start seeing results again.
But even experienced exercisers can benefit from working with a personal trainer.
A good trainer will help you target your weaknesses and improve your overall fitness level.
They can also offer encouragement and motivation, which is especially important when you’re feeling frustrated or unmotivated.
And if you have any injuries, a personal trainer can help you work around them so you don’t have to stop exercising altogether.
Not Understanding Your Body Type
Not all body types are created equal, three general somatotypes play a major role in determining your capacity to gain muscle, one of them is ectomorph.
Because of the active metabolism, most of the weight ectomorphs put on will be lean muscle rather than fat which opens an opportunity for them to eat more freely.
Not Enough Protein
Not getting enough protein is one of the most common gym mistakes.
Protein is essential for repairing and building muscle, so it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough of it.
Most people need around 1 gram per pound of body weight each day, but that number can vary depending on your activity level and goals.
If you’re not sure how much protein you need, start by tracking your food intake for a few days and then consulting a nutritionist or dietitian.
They can help you figure out how much protein you should be eating and how to adjust your diet to ensure you’re getting enough.
If you’re not getting enough protein from food alone, consider supplementing with a protein powder.
There are many different types available, so do some research to find one that best suits your needs.
Not Being Consistent
If you don’t stick to a solid workout plan, your body will not respond correctly to your exercises.
Similarly, being consistent with your diet and rest patterns will lead to your body developing in the ways you wish.
If you’re not consistent with your nutrition, training, and rest, you’ll never achieve your fitness goals.
Not Enough Compounds Lifts
A common mistake many people make in the gym is not including enough compound exercises in their workout plan.
They opt instead for more isolation work to improve their physique.
Major lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses which help you gain muscle trigger much greater increases in testosterone compared to isolation exercises.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, 5 common mistakes that may be preventing you from gaining muscle, becoming stronger, leaner, and healthier.
If gaining muscle is your top priority and you’ve struggled to achieve your goal, get back to basics.
Increase your protein and caloric intake, pair it with compound lifts and enough rest to boost your anabolic hormones and achieve your desired weight.
If you perform the basics perfectly and treat every training session as an opportunity to become better, you will see progress slowly but steadily.
