5 Reasons You're Not Building Muscle
If you’re going to the gym and putting in the work, you not only want to feel better you want to look better. No one likes going to the gym and not seeing any results. You want to see toned arms and strong, firm legs. When you don’t you stand there looking in the mirror thinking, what am I doing wrong? Depending on what you’re doing that question could have a variety of answers. You may need to start using heavier weights, using different reps/sets, or using different movements to get out of your workout plateau.
1. You’re using the same weights
This is listed first for a reason. If you’ve been working out for any period of time, you’ve got stronger. Additional stress on your muscles is what makes them stronger and without changes to the amount of stress when the muscles work, you won’t see continued change. So how do you know when it’s time to get a heavier weight? You have to go by how the weight feels. If rep one and ten feel similar, you need a heavier weight. The last repetition on each set should feel uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to start a little heavy, then back off as your body tires. The extra challenge at the beginning is what matters to make the rest of the workout more beneficial.
2. You’re doing the same movements over and over
What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. We all have our go to gym moves that make us feel good. Everyone loves to see how they look doing curls, shoulder presses, or squats. But if your body knows that every time you come in it’s the same thing you need to shake things up. Changing up the exercises keeps your muscles in a constant state of adaptation. If your muscles don’t have to adapt to a new movement, they will actually learn to do less work while doing the same thing over time. If you’re going into the gym and doing the same total body circuit every day, your muscles will burn out. You need to give muscles time to recover and heal, so they can repair and build. The recovery time is actually when your muscles build, not during the actual workout. Instead of doing bicep curls every time, change it up to do rows or another pulling motion.
3. You’re using the same rep count or tempo
There are two ways to move an object. Lots of hands spreading out the load or a few stronger hands doing more work. If you’re not comfortable increasing your weights but want to increase strength, increasing your reps can be just as effective. The same goes for changing your tempo. You can see improved results without changing your reps or weights, but slowing down the tempo of your movements. By slowing down, you allow the muscle to remain engaged longer and let gravity add to the resistance. The ultimate goal is muscle strain, or what’s called “time under tension”. As long as you work until your muscles are fatigued, you can get just as good results.
4. You need to change intensity
Do you roll through the same exercises at the same pace every time you hit the gym? You may need to change up the intensity. Breaking up your routine with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can boost strength and lean muscle mass gains better than moderate intensity, steady state workouts. HIIT training typically involves timed reps working multiple muscle groups in a movement with little time to recover between sets. The multi-joint movements recruit more muscle fibers, while increasing the cardiovascular load on the body, causing your body to work harder in a shorter period of time.
5. You’re doing cardio wrong
If you’re a stickler for worrying about cardio first, strength training second, you may want to flip that thinking. If you want to reduce body fat and gain lean muscle, it’s best to incorporate weights first and cardio second. Focusing on strength at the beginning of your workout, allows your muscles to work hard while they’re fresh. Doing cardio first will typically mean your body is fatigued by the time you get to the strength portion of your workout. The muscles wont be able to work as hard for you to truly see your muscular strength goals. To maintain your cardiorespiratory fitness and get a good calorie-burn of cardio, finish your workout with a little HIIT.
