6 Mistakes That Keep You From Increasing Muscle Mass

An unbalanced diet may explain the lack of increased muscle mass, because although exercise is important, eating is even more.

Building muscle mass is a long and exhausting process in which multiple efforts are required in both diet and physical activity.

Some people, for genetic reasons, do this more easily. Strict programs are, however, almost always necessary to completely change your lifestyle.

However, more and more people are deciding to improve their lifestyle. They want to improve their figure 100% and increase their strength and physical resistance.

The problem is, after a while, a lot of people start to get frustrated because they don’t see the fruits of their efforts.

It is very likely that this is due to mistakes made during the process which affect the results.

Do you feel concerned? In this article, we explain to you what these mistakes can be that prevent you from increasing your muscle mass.

1. You perform long and repetitive cardio exercises

All workout plans generally include cardio exercises. However, if you want to gain muscle mass, these aren’t the most effective.

• First of all, it is important to know that this kind of exercise does not activate the fast-acting muscle fibers, which help shape the body.
• Also, if the training is repetitive, the body will begin to adapt and the benefits diminish over time.
• The ideal is to design a plan with short and demanding cardio intervals, accompanied by short periods of rest.

2. You don’t do compound exercises

There is no doubt that any type of physical exercise offers great benefits for the body. However, when the goal is to increase muscle mass, it is best to opt for activities that help achieve that goal.

A very common mistake is to do isolated exercises rather than compound ones. In other words, for best results, it is recommended to practice exercises that work two or more muscles at the same time.

Examples:

• Press Bench
• Oar with bar
• Squats
• Pull-ups

3. You have a bad diet

Thousands of people manage to perform good daily exercise, but they fail when it comes to their diet.

The point is that, without exaggerating, physical results depend on 70% diet and 30% exercise.

This means that no matter how long you train or lift weights, you won’t see results if you don’t eat a balanced diet.

• If you’re looking to build muscle mass, it’s essential to include protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats in your diet.
• It is recommended that you consume a protein supplement right after training to duplicate the synthesis of the nutrient and therefore achieve better results.
• If you are overweight, it is best to go on a diet to lose body fat before you start striving to build muscle mass.
• Consult a nutritionist to find out what to eat according to your goals and needs.

4. You are not consistent in your workouts

While it is obvious that persistence is one of the keys to getting good results with training, it is important to mention it in a special way. Indeed, some believe that they can see changes with little effort.

• If the training frequency is low, the stimulus we give to the muscles is not enough for their growth.
• It is not a question either of performing exercises in an exaggerated way, because we must respect a recovery time to avoid possible injuries.

5. Your lifestyle is not helping you

Our body responds to the stimuli it receives throughout the day. Therefore, we should not limit the efforts to increase muscle mass only in the gym.

It is fundamental to review our lifestyle habits and identify practices that may interfere with our goals.

Some of the habits you should avoid are:

• Drink sugary drinks instead of water
• Have poor quality of sleep, i.e. sleeping less than 7 hours a day
• Consumption of alcohol and cigarettes
• Drinking excess energy drinks

6. Exercises are not for you

There are hundreds of exercises on the Internet that can be helpful at home and in the gym.

However, these are not always the most recommendable, as not all of them are adapted to the needs of each person.

Therefore, if you are training hard and not getting results, the exercise you have chosen is probably not suitable for you.

• Try to consult a good coach on how to train according to your needs and your lifestyle.

Have you identified any of these errors? If so and you’re still not getting any results, rethink your workouts, check your diet, and fix anything you think might be affecting you.

If you want to gain muscle mass, rest between workouts is as important as the workout itself. Indeed, it is necessary to give time to the muscle so that it can grow bigger.