A lot of us have been here before. You’re going to the gym 4-5 times a week, eating good and getting adequate sleep. However, the gains are still hard to come by. There are a few reasons why you may not be packing on muscle as you expect. Those reasons are as many as the factors that contribute to muscle-building. It just so happens that some reasons are not half as important as others, and maybe you’re paying too much attention to the wrong things.
As much as a lot of people want to believe it has to do with things like; changing their workout plans, adding more complex variations or tweaks to their exercises, most times, the reason you’re not packing on muscle is not far-fetched.
A lot of people do not like hearing this because they prefer to think that packing on muscle is this very complex thing that can only be cracked by incorporating weird exercises in their routine, but maybe, just maybe the most probable reason you’re not packing on muscle is that YOU’RE NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH.
Did that shock you?
All a lot of people need to do in order to pack on impressive muscle is to stop going soft on themselves.
Packing on muscle is really not that complicated. Stop looking for easy fixes. Stop going with the fancy exercises you see on Instagram. Instead, focus on the traditional exercises (squats, pull ups, push-ups, bench press, deadlift, rows etc.), try to regularly improve on those lifts and then… give it time!
I believe so much in the idea of going really hard that I dare to opine that you can get jacked without really knowing how to train, and just by simply working very hard and focusing on progressive overload every single time you step in the gym to workout. Yes, you may run a higher risk of injury, or find it much harder to break through plateaus without some technical knowledge, but you’ll most definitely see some impressive changes for a while.
This is something a lot of influencers in the fitness space will not tell you as it does not help them sell their complex – and sometimes cringey – workout plans, those expensive mass gainers and protein shakes that make them rich. Of course, this is not to discredit any of those things, but before you look to them, make sure you’re putting your body through enough punishment first.
The next time you’re in the gym, make sure you are working harder than the last time, and resist the urge to be soft on yourself.