MUSCLE-BUILDING MISTAKES TO AVOID

MUSCLE-BUILDING MISTAKES TO AVOID

If you are feeling a bit stuck on your muscle-gaining journey today we’ll cover some of the mistakes that might be hindering your gains and what to do to troubleshoot your routine your nutrition and everything else that can help you get that muscular physique you’re so hard working for

Here are the most common mistakes people make when trying to build muscle mass fast:

Not having a plan

Nothing can lead to failure as going blindly without a clear plan as it is the foundation for achieving any and every goal. Solid training and nutrition plans are the surefire road to success and it is the only way to make improvements. 

A great plan should be tailored to your specific scenario, schedule, level of skills, and any past injuries or restrictions you may have regarding your training and nutrition. If your plan does not take all of these into consideration you won't be able to follow it in the long run. This leads us to our next point.

Not being consistent 

Consistency is the number one quality that will lead you to your goals. No matter how good your plan is if it is not sustainable and enjoyable and you can’t do t without skipping workouts or meals for at least a few months, you won’t see results. And even if you have a plan that is not perfect but you do it consistently and without pause, you would get better than average results guaranteed.

Expecting instant results and getting discouraged too quick

This one goes ted with the previous points and s on the more mental aspect of the whole process. What you expect to get out of your plan and more importantly when you expect to attain it can make or brae your results. And this can be the recipe for disaster and discouragement that lead to most people quitting too soon just before reaping the benefits of all the hard work they put in.

So what you need to consider here is the rate at which your body builds muscle mass, which according to research is 2-4 lbs of muscle per month for most beginners and 1-2 lbs per month for more advanced ones (more than 1-2 years of training experience). So bare in mind that this will be a slow steady process, but if you follow all the advice in this article you can expect to build some noticeable muscle in around 1-2 months.

Not eating right

Nutrition is of paramount importance for any health-related goal whether it is losing fat building muscle or just improving your health overall. And it is even more important when trying to build more muscle as there are a few pitfalls you have to avoid here:

• Not eating enough and getting enough calories: you need to be on a moderate caloric surplus if you want to build more muscle as the process consumes energy and you need to supply it through your diet. So eat plenty of nutritious foods and add healthy carbs, fats, and lots of protein.

• Not eating enough protein: your body bulls muscle from the protein you give it from your meals. Aiming for 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body mass s recommended to stimulate muscle growth.

• Eating everything in sight: just because you have to be on a caloric surplus is not a free license to eat everything you can put your hands on. You want to stimulate muscle gain without gaining too much fat. Aim for a caloric surplus of only 10-15% of your maintenance calories.

• Not hydrating yourself: Most people don’t realize how much water you can lose through sweat while training you can lose up to two liters an hour, and all that water needs replacing. If you don’t pay attention to proper hydration you will find yourself not gaining any muscle mass as it can affect your hormones and nutrient delivery to your muscles.

If you need extra help with nutrition to achieve your goals make sure to check our amazing meal prep service that can help you get all the nutrients you need to build the physique you always wanted.

Not training right

The other side of the coin for optimal muscle gain is your training plan. There are a few mistakes to avoid here as well:

• Not learning proper form: this is number one as you can not expect to gain muscle get stronger and progress in your training if you continuously injure yourself and have to take time offs. Learn the proper form of every exercise and never sacrifice it for lifting more weight or getting an extra rep.

• Picking the wrong exercises: One of the most common issues we see at the gym is overdoing isolation movement and not doing enough heavy compound lifting, which is the best way to build muscle fast. You can read this article to learn more about compound exercises and why they are the best way to build muscle and this one to learn more about how many exercises you should be doing per muscle group each week.

• Not training hard enough: you need to lift heavy and often, the optimum intensity for building muscle mass is 70-80% of your 1 rep max staying mostly on a rep range of 3 sets of 4-6 reps for most exercises. You can see our suggested training plans to start with here.

• Not being consistent and constantly changing your training: As mentioned before consistency is the most important factor in getting results, and that also means staying with your training plan for at least 6-8 weeks to be able to see results. Many people like to jump between training programs and switch exercises around never achieving real results.

• Not getting progressively stronger: You need to be making progress on your training and gradually increasing intensity or volume, that is lifting heavier weights for more reps and sets. This is called progressive overload and is necessary for optimal muscle gain.

Not resting and recovering right

Rest and recovery are just as important for muscle building as the hard training is. Here are some things to avoid:

• Not sleeping enough: Sleeping is necessary for optimum health and for building muscle mass. The hormones in charge of regulating muscle repair and growth are working when you sleep so literally you grow while you rest.

• Not taking days off: this can lead to accumulated fatigue, not allowing enough days for your muscles to recover and rebuild themselves stronger, and lead to injuries.

• Not resting enough between sets: if you want to lift heavy and progress in your training, you need to take enough rest to allow your muscles to be ready to lift the same weight or even higher. 3-5 minutes between sets on your heavier compound lifts and 2-3 minutes on assistance lifts.

Not measuring or tracking your progress

The last piece of advice is to always gather information about your process. If you don’t know how much you’re lifting, how many reps how much you’re eating, or how much you weigh then how are you supposed to know if you’re making progress or not? Keep in mind the process is slow and gradual, so you need to gather a lot of data to identify where you have made progress what has wired for you in the past, and what needs changing it is a good idea to maintain a training log and weigh yourself every week or every two weeks, tracking your meals and calories and above everything else be consistent.