So you have been training hard and eating right and your not seeing any changes in the mirror, if so then this is the article for you.

First off, you have no reason thinking “why your not building any muscle” if you have just started bodybuilding. This article is targeted toward dedicated trainees who have committed more that 90 days of hard work and are still not seeing any results.

Here are the main reasons why your not building any muscle:

1. You Haven’t Switched Up Your Routine In God Knows How Long

The human body is extremely adaptive, in order to survive and evolve our bodies have to adapt to different environments and stress.

Performing the same exercises, in the same order, for the same repetitions will lead to a plateau fast. The human body is built for survival, not to build muscle. Eventually it will figure out how to use the least energy and effort to lift the same weight, while this is good for the body, it is terrible for your muscle building and strength goals.

To counter the effects of adaptation switch up your workout ever 6-12 weeks. Change the exercise order, rep scheme, number of sets and use advanced techniques such as drop sets and pre-exhaaustion.

2. Your Diet Is Far From Perfect

In order to build muscle your diet has to be top notch. When people are trying to lose fat they count every calorie and track their macros meticulously and once bulking season comes around “everything goes” in the kitchen.

Truth is, if you want to build quality muscle your diet has to be even more precise than if you were trying to lose fat. This means getting at least 1-1.5 grams of protein, 1-2 grams of carbohydrates and .5 grams fat, per pound bodyweight.

A calorie surplus is key, a surplus of about 500 calories per day will put add some quality muscle to your frame. But don’t go overboard or those excess calories will convert to fat.

3. Your Killing Your Gains With Cardio

Cardio is vital for maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system, but doing too much will hurt your chances of building any muscle. While bulking only perform cardio once or twice per week, preferably on your off days.

Excess cardio produces the stress hormone cortisol, cortisol is highly catabolic and you definitely don’t want it while trying to build muscle. Doing cardio on your off days will help you recover faster and may even reduce fat.

4. You Don’t Lift Heavy

As you now know our body adapt to certain stress levels. If you are lifting light weights for 15 reps you will build endurance but you won’t build any muscle.

Lift in the 6-10 range on compound exercises, like the bench press and squat, and 8-12 range on isolation exercises like bicep curls and lateral raises.

5. Your Not Drinking Enough Water

This is often overlooked when trying to build muscle. Dehydration is no joke and it’s an easy problem to fix. You may be dehydrated if you:

• Feel thirsty.
• Fatigue easily.
• Have dry mouth all the time.
• Have headaches.
• Have dark urine.
• Loss of appetite.

You can solve all these problems and build more muscle by chugging 3 liters of water daily.

6. Your Not Sleeping Enough

A lack of sleep is probably the biggest killer of muscle. In todays world 8 hours of sleep is a luxury, but if you are serious about building muscle you will make time for 8-10 hours sleep.

During sleep your body produces the 2 key anabolic hormones, growth hormone and testosterone. Cutting sleep short means you won’t grow and recover as quickly as you would like to. More rest also means more energy in the gym. To help get more sleep:

• Don’t take any stimulants 4 hours before bed.
• Only go to sleep when your tired, no point lying there tossing and turning.
• Avoid TV at night, read a book instead.
• Don’t stress.
• Meditate.

 

7. You Neglect Post-Workout Nutrition

You should be taking advantage of the post-workout 45 minute anabolic window. Here’s how you can utilize the post-workout anabolic window, consume:

• 30-50 Grams whey protein.
• 2 Bananas or other fast digesting carbohydrate.
• 5 Grams of creatine.
  

  8. You Don’t Pay Any Attention To Pre-Workout Nutrition

  Pre-Workout nutrition can make or break your workout. In order to build muscle you must have an intense workout, to have an intense workout you must have intense energy, and thats where pre-workout nutrition comes in.

  About 2-3 hours prior to your workout eat a meal high in protein and complex carbohydrates, avoid fats as much as possible in the pre workout period. A sample meal might consist of brown rice and lean chicken breast or fish.

  Within 45 minutes of your workout:

• 30 grams whey protein.
• Fast Digesting Carbohydrate – Banana, apple or dark chocolate (natural no2 source)
• Your favorite pre-workout supplement. (Optional)
  

  9. Your Form Is An Epic Fail

  Control the weight, don’t let the weight control you. If you find yourself swinging the weight or not able to reach the desired rep range, it’s time to let go of your ego and drop the weight.

  When contracting the muscle, lift as fast as possible, during the eccentric period lower the weight slowly.

  Most importantly, using improper form causes countless injuries in gyms worldwide.

  10. Your Not Consistent

  Most people expect to see results within 2 or 3 weeks. You most likely won’t see any changes in the mirror in 2 or 3 weeks, try 2 or 3 months. Realistically expect to gain 1-2 pounds per month, over a period of a year that’s 12-24 pounds of dry muscle. So stick to the course, it may be tough but in the end it will be worth it.

 

by extremebodyfit

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