nuknuk
MuscleChemistry member
Most people who start bodybuilding don’t stick with it very long before quitting. That’s just a reflection of how most people who start any type of fitness program fizzle out fast. We all see how gyms are packed with new people every January, but by February most of the New Year’s Resolution types have vanished into thin air. Often the underlying reason in both cases is a failure to see results. It’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t see any return on your efforts within a couple weeks. They fail to see results for the most part because they have no idea what they are doing.
For the determined, this will not discourage them and they carry on. Of those, only a small percentage will ever build a physique that remotely resembles the goal they had in mind when they set out. It could be that their goals were not totally realistic. For example, looking at a top pro on the cover of a magazine and deciding you want to look like that too is only realistic if you too were born with the same very rare, gifted genetics. And just to keep it real, drugs play a role as well. But assuming that a person did not overshoot in their initial expectations, I would still estimate that most never make the gains they could have and should have. Why is that? Over the years I have made these observations over and over again in people who failed to reach their true potential. Why don’t people grow to the size they should? There are a few very common reasons.
Too much emphasis on how much weight they lift.
If you want to be a powerlifter, that’s great! Go be one. But if you want to be a bodybuilder, you need to get the idea out of your head that the amount of weight you lift matters. Men have egos, and many simply can not and will not do this. I see people using terrible form just to handle more weight, doing just a couple reps when 8-12 would be better, relying on spotters to lift half the weight for them, and generally failing to actually stimulate the target muscle. I can’t tell you how many times someone has complained to me about their lack of chest or leg size, making a point to tell me they can bench press or squat X amount. Some truly get offended when I reply, “so why do you have a flat chest/ckicken legs?”
Not eating enough and not eating quality food.
You can’t gain a lot of muscle without eating a lot of food, at regular intervals, for years – period. Many guys skip meals, rely way too much on shakes and bars instead of eating real food, and opt for low quality protein sources. There is a very big difference between a chicken breast you grill yourself versus some crappy frozen breaded chicken tenders you heat up in your toaster over. Anyone I have ever talked to who complains they can’t weight assures me that ‘they eat good.’ It usually takes me about 60 seconds of questioning to see that they have no clue what good eating really means – high-quality meals every 2-3 hours, every day. Usually I know someone doesn’t eat well when the first thing they ask me about is what supplements to use. Supplements are only worth buying and using if your diet is on point. How much should you eat? Simple answer: if you’re not gaining, you need to eat more than you are now!
Overtraining and lack of sleep
Enthusiasm to train is commendable, but there does come a point where you get diminishing returns. It’s always tempting to do more exercises and more sets, but never forget that without recovery, there is no growth. No workout aside from back or legs should take you more than an hour. You should not feel totally drained and exhausted at the end of a workout. Don’t train every day! Take at least two days a week off from weights every week. I train two days on, one day off; and that works pretty well. As far as sleep, you know you need eight hours. But do you get it? If not, there had better be a good reason like work, school, or family demands. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and energy in the gym and sabotaging your gains.
Partying
Far be it from me to tell any of you not to drink or use recreational drugs. It’s your life and your body. But if you truly want to build as much muscle as you possibly can, you really need to make things like that very occasional. They stress and poison your system as a whole, and you should know that your overall health has a lot to do with gaining muscle.
Using too many machines
I use machines at pretty much every workout, but they are a compliment to free weights, not a substitute. Keep the basics in your routine: flat or incline bench press, squats, deadlifts, military press, barbell rows, chins, and dips. I like to start my workouts with more basics and do the machine stuff a bit later. It’s a good way to make sure you never lose the basic free weight movements that will always deliver results.
Train hard!
It should go without saying, but you need to take your sets to failure. I know not everyone believes this, but I do. Growing is fairly easy in the beginning, but it gets tougher as the years go by – trust me. Your muscles will only keep growing if you keep giving them a reason to. You can also use intensity boosting techniques like drop sets, forced reps, and supersets, but be careful – too much of those will overtrain you. Pay attention to your body and the signals it sends. That will help you avoid overtraining and injury.
Those are just a few reasons people don’t grow. There are more, but these are by far the biggest offenders! Hopefully you aren’t making any of these mistakes. If you are, it’s time to make a change right now!
For the determined, this will not discourage them and they carry on. Of those, only a small percentage will ever build a physique that remotely resembles the goal they had in mind when they set out. It could be that their goals were not totally realistic. For example, looking at a top pro on the cover of a magazine and deciding you want to look like that too is only realistic if you too were born with the same very rare, gifted genetics. And just to keep it real, drugs play a role as well. But assuming that a person did not overshoot in their initial expectations, I would still estimate that most never make the gains they could have and should have. Why is that? Over the years I have made these observations over and over again in people who failed to reach their true potential. Why don’t people grow to the size they should? There are a few very common reasons.
Too much emphasis on how much weight they lift.
If you want to be a powerlifter, that’s great! Go be one. But if you want to be a bodybuilder, you need to get the idea out of your head that the amount of weight you lift matters. Men have egos, and many simply can not and will not do this. I see people using terrible form just to handle more weight, doing just a couple reps when 8-12 would be better, relying on spotters to lift half the weight for them, and generally failing to actually stimulate the target muscle. I can’t tell you how many times someone has complained to me about their lack of chest or leg size, making a point to tell me they can bench press or squat X amount. Some truly get offended when I reply, “so why do you have a flat chest/ckicken legs?”
Not eating enough and not eating quality food.
You can’t gain a lot of muscle without eating a lot of food, at regular intervals, for years – period. Many guys skip meals, rely way too much on shakes and bars instead of eating real food, and opt for low quality protein sources. There is a very big difference between a chicken breast you grill yourself versus some crappy frozen breaded chicken tenders you heat up in your toaster over. Anyone I have ever talked to who complains they can’t weight assures me that ‘they eat good.’ It usually takes me about 60 seconds of questioning to see that they have no clue what good eating really means – high-quality meals every 2-3 hours, every day. Usually I know someone doesn’t eat well when the first thing they ask me about is what supplements to use. Supplements are only worth buying and using if your diet is on point. How much should you eat? Simple answer: if you’re not gaining, you need to eat more than you are now!
Overtraining and lack of sleep
Enthusiasm to train is commendable, but there does come a point where you get diminishing returns. It’s always tempting to do more exercises and more sets, but never forget that without recovery, there is no growth. No workout aside from back or legs should take you more than an hour. You should not feel totally drained and exhausted at the end of a workout. Don’t train every day! Take at least two days a week off from weights every week. I train two days on, one day off; and that works pretty well. As far as sleep, you know you need eight hours. But do you get it? If not, there had better be a good reason like work, school, or family demands. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and energy in the gym and sabotaging your gains.
Partying
Far be it from me to tell any of you not to drink or use recreational drugs. It’s your life and your body. But if you truly want to build as much muscle as you possibly can, you really need to make things like that very occasional. They stress and poison your system as a whole, and you should know that your overall health has a lot to do with gaining muscle.
Using too many machines
I use machines at pretty much every workout, but they are a compliment to free weights, not a substitute. Keep the basics in your routine: flat or incline bench press, squats, deadlifts, military press, barbell rows, chins, and dips. I like to start my workouts with more basics and do the machine stuff a bit later. It’s a good way to make sure you never lose the basic free weight movements that will always deliver results.
Train hard!
It should go without saying, but you need to take your sets to failure. I know not everyone believes this, but I do. Growing is fairly easy in the beginning, but it gets tougher as the years go by – trust me. Your muscles will only keep growing if you keep giving them a reason to. You can also use intensity boosting techniques like drop sets, forced reps, and supersets, but be careful – too much of those will overtrain you. Pay attention to your body and the signals it sends. That will help you avoid overtraining and injury.
Those are just a few reasons people don’t grow. There are more, but these are by far the biggest offenders! Hopefully you aren’t making any of these mistakes. If you are, it’s time to make a change right now!
