5 Reasons You Can’t Build Muscle Mass

Reason 3 – you are “Exercising” instead of “Training”

Although exercise is great for overall health, it does not guarantee that you will build muscle mass or look like an athlete. Sweating while working out means only one thing – the body is regulating its temperature, and it usually happens when the body burns calories.

Hard workout is not equal to smart workout. Smart exercise involves the use of the best muscle building tools in the gym – complex exercises such as bench press, squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, barbell rows, etc. You also need to focus on progression or becoming stronger with each session in the gym Lifting 10 pounds for 30 minutes you can really make you sweat, but it will do next to nothing for increasing your muscles.

Do your weight training smart. After your warm up sets, do a few work sets where you will lift a heavy enough (for you) weight. For most people this is a weight that they can lift 5-8 times till failure. Also try to increase the weight you lift every two to three weeks. These don’t need to be big increases – a pound or two more on the bar is just enough.

You can do the same thing with the reps. If last time you did squats with 250 lbs for 8 reps, this workout try to do 10 reps with the same weight. This constant desire for progress is the magic behind the process of building muscle.

Scenario 4 – You do too much cardio

You are thin and cannot gain any muscle. Why would you do 5-6 hours of cardio a week then?

Cardio exercises are great for overall health and losing weight. They have their own role in every training routine. But for hardgainers, too much cardio can only hamper the process of gaining weight and building muscles.

Limit your cardio sessions 3-4 times a week, and let your cardio sessions last about 25-30 minutes. This is quite enough to rip the benefits of doing cardio and improve your health.

Scenario 5 – You want to keep your six pack so badly that you are afraid to gain a little weight

Ok, so you may be able to see your six pack, but that’s only because you are too skinny. Take a look at your arms, legs, back and shoulders. Are you missing about 15 or more lbs on your frame?

Rather than having to worry about the level of fat in your body, focus on adding 15 lbs muscles. The extra weight will make you look great and “jacked”, so no one will notice those extra 2 pounds you are currently obsessed about.