Are you unable to put on any more muscle mass? As much as that sounds like a cheesy infomercial, the fact is, you answered yes. There could be one reason you aren’t putting on any more mass or there could be a hundred reasons you are not getting any bigger. What I can’t do is take everyone one by one and explain to them what there issue is. What I will do is explain the most common reasons why you can’t seem to gain lbs of muscle. You see, if you have been stuck at the same size for the last couple of months, more then likely you are making one or more of the mistakes am listing here. If so, consider yourself lucky, it could be a quick fix and you will be back on the muscle gain road once again.
1. Not consuming enough:
I know, you gained the weight you have by eating the amount you are eating now. That is the problem, you were 130 pounds eating 2700 calories and now you are 135 pounds and eating the same amount. If this is your situation, the fix is simple, consume more calories. You are eating just enough to maintain that 135 pound physique. Like I said in my article “The truth to gaining mass for hardgainers “, a simple formula to calculate how many calories you should consume is, take your body weight and multiply it by 22. So, if you are 140 pounds, 3080-3360 calories a day is enough to put on muscle mass, as you gain a pound here and there you will simply recalculate using your current body weight.
2. You have plateaud:
2. You have plateaud:
Just like eating, most people are afraid to change a routine that has shown results in the past. If you have been working out a certain way and have gained 5-10 lbs, why would you change the routine, right? You take the “if its not broken, don’t fix it” approach. So here is what happens; your body gets used to the workout and eventually prepares itself as best as it can to continue to do it. When you started the workout, your body had to adjust in strength and size to perform that routine. Now that your body is at a strength and size level where it doesn’t have to get any larger or stronger to perform the workout, it plateaus. The key is to change up the routine, whether you perform different exercises, increase weight more often, or go from individual muscle groups to full body to work some muscle groups more consistently. A plateau is inevitable when weight training, but the only thing holding you back from surpassing it is the fear of change.
3. Failing to Focus on Compound workouts:
What are the top mass gaining exercises? The top size building workouts are all compound. Am I against isolation? No. Isolation workouts are great for definition and I think they play a very crucial roll in bodybuilding. Compound exercises on the other hand are great for size and strength. The reason they are great for building size is because they not only target large muscles, but they target various muscles simotaneously. If you are not focusing mainly on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, pull ups, and dips, you are doing yourself a big injustice.
3. Failing to Focus on Compound workouts:
What are the top mass gaining exercises? The top size building workouts are all compound. Am I against isolation? No. Isolation workouts are great for definition and I think they play a very crucial roll in bodybuilding. Compound exercises on the other hand are great for size and strength. The reason they are great for building size is because they not only target large muscles, but they target various muscles simotaneously. If you are not focusing mainly on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, pull ups, and dips, you are doing yourself a big injustice.
4. Relying too much on supplements:
Another big error that you could be making is relying on supplements. Do supplements work? yes, some supplements do aid in putting on muscle mass. Here is where we go wrong; we think that since we are on a certain supplement that we won’t have to work as hard since we have some sort of assistance. That is completely wrong; the supplement is not going to build muscle on its own, it is only going to give you the ability to build it. Without the effort, those supplements are garbage. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t the point be to work the same amount while taking the supplement? You see, these supplements don’t make muscle, your hard work and diet do. These pills and powders can only go as far as to give you the ability to build more muscle, but they won’t make a difference unless you are playing your part.
5. Not enough rest:
I know first hand how frustrating it can get when you aren’t seeing yourself grow. Some people’s first instinct would probably be to workout more. Although that seems like it may be the answer, it isn’t. In fact, working out too much is one of the biggest issues when trying to gain muscle mass. Resting while trying to pack on pounds of muscle mass is very important. To put it very simple, you don’t rest, you don’t gain mass. Am I saying to work muscle groups once a week? Not at all. What I am saying is don’t over do it. Make sure to rest at least 24-48 hours between muscle groups. Also, good sleep at night is extremely crucial. While we are asleep is the main time that our muscles recover and get larger. That being said, don’t hesitate to take days off from the gym and make sure to get a good nights sleep every single night.
Go Gain Lbs
Whether you are a skinny or just your average weight lifter, these steps will help you on your journey to putting on muscle. I hope that if you are going through a sudden decrease of muscle gains, this article has answered your questions as to why you have no been getting larger. If it is just one item on the list or all of them, the answers are here and the only thing stopping you from unbelievable muscle growth is to take charge and make those changes.
Go Gain Lbs
Whether you are a skinny or just your average weight lifter, these steps will help you on your journey to putting on muscle. I hope that if you are going through a sudden decrease of muscle gains, this article has answered your questions as to why you have no been getting larger. If it is just one item on the list or all of them, the answers are here and the only thing stopping you from unbelievable muscle growth is to take charge and make those changes.
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5 comments:
Grea post, you make a good point about the supplements. Time to take this advice and go get huge!
Thanks musclemonsters, i gained 10 pounds and seemed to get stuck there. I guess its time to eat more, makes sence just never really thought about it.
Good very insightful article. A lot of easily overlooked very important techniques. Definitely makes a lot of sense.
See about the resting part, I only have an option to work out Mon-Fri and no chance on the weekends due to work.
Is it OK to do two body parts on one day?
For example:
Monday: Back and Chest
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday:Legs and Shoulders
Thursday Rest
Friday: Arms.
Also adding cardio along with those days. Is this OK? Or is it considered working out too much?
At the moment ive been going 5 straight days doing shoulders on Monday
Legs Tuesday
Back Wednesday
Chest Thursday
Arms Friday.
So im assuming im not giving my body the rest it needs due to working out that much.
Sorry for the long story, but my main question-is it ok to workout more than one body part per day as the example above?
BTW, Great website.
That is a great question. First off id like to say thanks for reading and im glad you like the site.
Ok, so different body parts on the same day is fine. But, chest and back? I would rather you did one large muscle group with a smaller group. For example: Monday-chest and triceps, Tuesday-back and biceps, weds- off, Thursday-legs, and Friday-shoulders and traps.
That will reach your whole body, and it also will give you 3 days to rest. Try that out, and remember that diet and lifting the proper amounts of weight is very important. You don't want to lift to heavy and def not too light. I suggest anywhere from 5-8 reps per set. If you cant do at least 5, lower the weight, if your doing more then 8, add some weight. Feel free to contact me at Musclemonsters@gmail.com with any further questions. Thanks again!
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