A typical query I get is, why am I not seeing higher results from the gym? It’s no secret that the most important reason lots of us train is to look super jacked. Yet, despite hours spent within the gym and meticulous attention to nutrition, many fall in need of their desired physique.
In some cases, this lack of progress even results in considered one of the worst questions a person can get—Do you even lift, bro? Sorry, I needed to.
In this text, I’ll cover the eight commonest obstacles to your progress. From misconceptions about training to dietary slip-ups, understanding what is going on unsuitable is step one to unleashing your true potential.
So, in case you’re able to stop feeling neglected and begin seeing real results, keep reading to uncover the secrets to achieving a physique that reflects your dedication and discipline to the gym.
1: Not Devoting Enough Time To Constructing Muscle
The largest reason you do not appear to be you lift is that you might want to spend more time constructing muscle. Sounds obvious, right? Well, not exactly.
Contrary to popular belief, the important thing to looking such as you lift will not be a shredded six-pack but as an alternative spending time constructing muscle. The misperception that being lean is the one option to show your gains is holding you back. It is time to shift your focus from immediate aesthetics to long-term muscle development.
Making gains as a natural lifter takes loads of time. No really. You will have to do every little thing right for years to construct an excellent physique. A part of doing every little thing right is eating enough. One have to be in a calorie surplus to create an optimal muscle-building environment. In other words, you’ll be able to gain muscle by eating at maintenance and even in a calorie deficit under the correct conditions, but you’ll be able to only maximize muscle growth with a surplus of energy (calories).
For those who’re overly concerned with staying lean, it’s possible you’ll miss out on maximizing muscle growth. But here’s the excellent news: a 2023 study by Helms and colleagues found that you just needn’t go on a drastic bulk to construct muscle.¹
In truth, a 5-20% increase in calories above maintenance is sufficient to maximize growth. For somebody with a day by day caloric intake of two,000 calories, 5-20% would translate to a rise of .
So, step one to looking such as you lift is to spend time in a 5-20% calorie surplus. You needn’t do that 12 months around, but commit to at the least 3-6 months. For the remainder of the 12 months, you’ll be able to eat at maintenance.
Whatever you do, don’t cut. There shall be loads of time for that. Your abs will still be there after you place some muscle in your frame. Except now, they may actually look impressive.
2: Lack of Effort
Alright, I’m about to rustle some jimmies.
I actually have a matter for you. How hard do you train? Be honest. How much effort do you place into your workouts? Yours or anyone’s effort is difficult to measure because it’s mostly subjective. Need proof? Just chat with some people on the gym about how hard they’re working.
Come back to me once you find someone willing to confess they’re holding back. Most individuals check the entire boxes except effort. They’ve an excellent training plan, an ice-cold energy drink, and fancy gym clothes. The issue is they should push themselves harder to see any progress.
Please don’t take what I’m saying personally. It isn’t even your fault. It is the fault of the evidence-based fitness community. For years, people “within the know” have identified that you just needn’t train to failure to construct muscle.
On the surface, research shows that training to failure will not be required for gains in strength and muscle size.² , the caveat is you might want to train near failure to see gains, likely inside 1 to three reps.
A cool study in 2021 checked out this issue.³ The researchers took 160 trained men and asked them the next query: “What weight do you often lift for ten repetitions on a free-weight bench press exercise?” Then, after a warmup, the themes were instructed to go to failure using the load they sometimes do ten reps with. On average, the themes accomplished 16 reps.
So, based on this, people leave around six reps within the tank. That is simply too many. If you were within the study, what number of reps would you get with the load you often use for ten reps? Ideally, it could be around 10-13.
Look, it doesn’t matter how advanced your training program is on paper. The trouble you place in will determine how much progress you make. For those who leave six or more reps within the tank on every set of each exercise, it’s going to add up.
Embrace the challenge of taking each set near failure. Keep a record of your workouts and strive to surpass your previous numbers. The goal is to progressively increase the weights or the variety of reps in every workout. You will not at all times outperform your logbook, but the intent to surpass it should at all times be there. It’s this intent that keeps you honest.
3: Doing a Bunch of Junk Volume
The controversy on training volume has a wealthy history. Within the era of Arnold Schwarzenegger, high-volume training was the trend. These athletes would engage in marathon workouts, sometimes lasting 4 or 5 hours a day, six days every week.
However, within the 80s and 90s, there have been proponents of high-intensity training like Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates, who focused on shorter, more intense sessions of 30-45 minutes, 3 or 4 days every week. While each approaches have their merits, the optimal solution for most people lies somewhere in between.
An efficient training program is all about balance. It provides enough training volume to stimulate gains without pushing it too far. Research indicates an excellent start line is around ten weekly sets per muscle group.⁴
From there, you’ll be able to add sets until you reach a top range of around twenty to 25 weekly sets. Beyond that, it approaches what known as . Junk volume refers to any additional training volume beyond essential to stimulate muscle growth or adaptation.
The difficulty with junk volume is diminishing returns and wasted time. For those who train six days every week for three hours each workout, you spend eighteen hours every week within the gym. Compare this to someone who trains for one hour each workout 4 days every week. That person only spends 4 hours every week within the gym. It’s 4 hours in comparison with eighteen. It’s hard to justify spending 12 more hours weekly within the gym for minimal (if any) additional progress. Unfortunately, you do not get bonus points for doing loads of low-quality work.
4: No Clear Goals
For those who don’t appear to be you lift, it is perhaps because you might want to spend more time moving in a single direction. If one week, you might be bodybuilding, the following, you might be powerlifting, and the one after that, you might be preparing for a marathon, you’ll just spin your wheels. Can some people construct incredible physiques as “hybrid athletes?” Yes, in fact. But likelihood is, that is not you.
You want to make up your mind. Do you need to appear to be you lift or not? Because in case you do, you might have to prioritize hypertrophy training. That have to be your goal. I’m not saying you might want to jump on stage and compete in bodybuilding, however the bodybuilders have it right. They know easy methods to construct muscle. Get on a bodybuilding program and keep on with it. Stay disciplined.
The second issue we want to debate is program hopping. I get it; all of us get tempted by the shiny object syndrome, at all times searching for a latest or higher option to do things. But in case you are at all times trying latest programs, how will you recognize once you find one which works? You will not.
5: Using Bad Form
Most gymgoers can be higher off attempting to impress others with good technique reasonably than lifting heavy weights. At the very least I’m more impressed once I see picture-perfect technique. Perhaps since it’s so rare?
Bad form is available in a wide range of conditions. It exists on a continuum. On one end, you might have the form of form that makes you fear for an individual’s life. However, you might have a technique that appears good to the typical observer, but it surely’s off enough to cut back the stimulus on the goal muscle. I need to concentrate on the latter.
There are just a few key points when talking about technique. Some of the significant is load. I see many individuals who use good form with light weights, only to have all of it disintegrate when going heavy. There must be a consistent standard of technique from set to set. .
As well as, placing the best amount of force on the muscle and the smallest amount of stress on the joints and connective tissues is one other essential aspect of fine form.
The bench press is a wonderful example of this. For those who do not feel a bench press in your chest, likelihood is you might be doing it unsuitable. With an excellent setup and proper technique, the bench press can effectively goal the chest while minimizing joint stress. Nevertheless, benching with a flat back, flared elbows, and poor bar positioning can take all the strain from the chest and distribute it to the tendons and ligaments. Not only is that this dangerous, but it surely makes the movement less effective.
6: Not Resting Long Enough Between Sets
It could surprise you, but resting longer between sets is best for muscle growth and goes hand in hand with beating the logbook. Improving performance shall be difficult in case your goal is to hurry through your workouts. .
Allow two to 5 minutes of rest between sets for the compound movements (squats, bench presses, deadlifts, etc.). You’ll be able to get by taking a one- to two-minute break from the isolation exercises.
Here’s a final reminder. Five minutes may seem to be an extended time, but it surely’s not. It’s not enough time to get distracted by your phone, take a leisurely bathroom break, refill your water bottle, or talk together with your buddies. Whilst you don’t need to look at the clock consistently, use this time to take a seat down, hydrate, and mentally prepare for the following set.
7: Doing Too Much Cardio
First, I really like cardio. Apart from all of the health advantages, being in good cardiovascular shape may profit your weight training. That said, as with all things, simply because some is nice doesn’t suggest more is healthier.
There are two concerns with cardio – how much you do and once you do it. How much you do comes all the way down to calories in versus calories out. There’s a reason why we add cardio during a fat-loss phase: it helps burn calories. Nevertheless, once you aim to construct muscle, an abundance of cardio will cut into your calorie surplus. In low to moderate amounts, that is nothing to fret about.
As a rule of thumb, keep the total time you spend doing cardio half as much as you spend lifting weights. For instance, in case you lift weights for 4 hours per week, the entire time spent on cardio ought to be two hours or less. Most of your cardio ought to be low to moderate intensity because that is simple to recuperate from, but in case you enjoy HIIT, you’ll be able to throw some in, too.
The is a scientific term describing how cardio and resistance training can hinder muscle gains when done together. These two forms of exercises can trigger conflicting physiological adaptations and signaling pathways, resulting in less muscle hypertrophy and strength than performing them individually. It’s why you do not see many bodybuilders running in marathons.
Before you get scared away from doing cardio again, hear me out.
In 2017, a meta-analysis demonstrated that the timing of cardiovascular exercise significantly influences the interference effect.⁵ Within the paper, the researchers found that doing cardio before lifting decreased performance.
There are not any surprises there. Nevertheless, the interesting a part of the study showed that when it comes to the adaptations from cardio, the advantages were the identical in case you did cardio before or after lifting.
Listed here are the take-home points:
- Limit cardio to half the period of time you spend lifting weights.
- Attempt to separate your cardio and weightlifting sessions as far apart as possible. The best time to do cardio is on a rest day from lifting weights. The second best time is six hours before or after a lifting session. If you might have to do them in the identical workout, lift first, then do cardio.
8: Not Prioritizing Your Arms, Side Delts, Traps and Calves
I’m all for training the large muscles. Having a giant chest, back, and legs is very important. Nevertheless, in a t-shirt and shorts, your arms, shoulders, traps, and calves stand out above every little thing else.
For those who don’t appear to be you lift, you is perhaps weak in just a few key muscles. I do not care how big your back is. If you might have puny arms, you’ll look small.
Let’s analyze your training program. First, do you train the entire muscles I listed? I bet you train your arms, but what about your side delts, traps, and calves?
Next, in case you do train them, how well?
For a muscle to grow, it needs volume, intensity, and progression. Throwing a few lazy sets at the tip of an extended leg workout will not be enough to construct big calves.
Here’s what I need you to do. Follow the workouts below for the following few months. I do not care what else you include but do these exercises first in your routine. Push these exercises hard, and search for week-to-week progression wherever possible.
Push Day:
- Close Grip Bench Press: 3 sets x 6-8 reps
- EZ Bar Lying Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell Side Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable or Machine Side Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Pull Day:
- Hammer Curl: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Incline Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- EZ Bar Preacher Curl: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Dumbbell Shrug: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Smith Machine Shrug: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Leg day:
- Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Conclusion
As we wrap up, I actually have yet another query for you. Are you sure you do not appear to be you lift? Or are you comparing your physique to a sauced-up bodybuilder you follow on Instagram? It’s a vital query to ask.
You want to have realistic expectations. Look, this is not an excuse to lower your standards, but expecting to appear to be a fitness model who has been on gear for a decade is a recipe for disappointment.
After taking a sensible view of your physique, the following thing to do is analyze what you might be doing. Are you making any of the mistakes I went over within the article? There isn’t any shame in it. I’ve made a few of these mistakes before. It happens to the perfect of us. The hot button is recognizing it and making changes. A greater physique is within the cards for you. I realize it. All you might have to do is put the recommendations from this text into practice. Start today. Good luck!
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