Reasons You’re Not Building Muscle!
Reasons You’re Not Building Muscle!
Have you had a hard time building muscle? Have you been lifting weights for months or even years and not seen any appreciable changes in your physique? Well you’re not alone! Here are a few common reasons I find in potential personal training clients for not building muscle.
Not working out with enough intensity
One of the most common mistakes people make is not working out hard enough. Unfortunately, many people lift weights that are too light for them. Weights that don’t promote any meaningful increases in their strength or muscle size. In order to increase strength and muscle mass, it’s important to lift weights that are heavy enough to force your body to adapt. Muscle growth is an adaptation process where you put a significant amount of stress on the muscles to break them down. Our bodies don’t feel comfortable with the stress our muscular system is experiencing.
Therefore, it proceeds to repair and rebuild stronger muscles to combat future stresses our bodies may endure. Many people think they can’t handle a particular weight when in fact they can. Or they stop their set too early because their muscles are burning when they really could have done several more quality repetitions. I’ve trained a lot of people who don’t realize how strong they really are and are surprised by how much weight they can actually lift. A good experienced trainer like the ones here at Training Innovations, don’t just spot you. They will provide both a physical and mental safety net that will allow you to push harder.
Poor exercise execution
I often times see people spending hours upon hours in the gym. They may plan their workouts, log their weights and reps, then they go to actually perform the exercise with improper form. This is because they are not focusing on the actual muscle they are training. The mind muscle connection is just not there. When this occurs we start shifting the load from our weaker muscles to our stronger more dominant muscles or even worse, our joints. When I go to the shooting range, I can practice shooting for several hours a day. But if my fundamental technique is wrong, then all I am practicing is bad habits. However, when you start improving your fundamentals and improve exercise execution, tiny improvements add up to significant gains. Remember when you overload the muscle you are working, you will produce massive amounts of hypertrophy inducing tension.
Poor Nutrition
If you work out with enough intensity, you will break down muscle tissue. This will leave your body in a state of depletion. Which means the glycogen stores of your muscle have been used up for fuel. And some of the proteins in your muscle have also been broken down and damaged. And this cycle creates a perfect environment in your body for nutrient absorption. After your workout, your body tries to rebuild its glycogen stores and repair and regrow those muscle building proteins. With proper nutrient consumption after exercise, you will rebuild your muscle proteins and glycogen stores. And this will stimulate the growth of new muscle tissue. So the next time you are packing your gym bag, don’t forget your protein powder and your Training Innovations Shaker Cup!!
For more information on reasons you’re not building muscle, losing weight, or if you’re frustrated with your level of fitness and are looking to hire a personal trainer, contact us.
