A lot of us struggle to build muscle mass. In fact, most of us do. Very rarely (almost never) can a person be found who can pack on a lot of muscle in a short period of time. Most might be lucky to gain a pound or two a month with focused effort. So why we not building muscle?
I saw an article recently that detailed “7 Reasons Why You Can’t Build Muscle”.1 The author actually did a pretty good job. (The reasons presented were: “impatience”, “no mind-muscle connection” (not visualizing what you want to look like), “a lacking diet”, “ego” (not asking for help), “going too fast” (training too much and not recovering), “not sticking to your guns” (switching diet and exercise plans too often), and “indiscipline” (lacking grit and discipline). Personally, I might go a bit further:
You didn’t pick your parents wisely. A large component of any physiological capacity is genetics. Most of us simply don’t have the right genes to grow muscle. We (most of us) can grow some muscle, but we don’t have the genetics to be bodybuilders, physique competitors, or even to have an athletic build. Slow-twitch muscle (endurance athletes and most average people) does not hypertrophy to the same degree as fast-twitch muscle. Myostatin (AKA: growth differentiation factor 8, GDF-8) inhibits myogenesis or muscle growth and differentiation factor. It limits muscle growth (for good reason: muscle requires a lot on energy to maintain; it is a survival mechanism, so to speak). We are not bully whippets or Belgian Blues. Very few have a mutation of the MSTN gene that promote greater overall muscle mass. In addition, there are numerous genetic factors that are required to be most successful in building massive muscle. Most of us should be happy to make our limited gains.
You don’t want to put in the effort. Gaining muscle mass takes work—a lot of hard work. You can’t go to the gym two or three times a week and expect big gains. It can take years to build muscle—or longer. For most, the gains will be nominal, but, nevertheless, worth it. (If you are one who says, “I don’t want to lift weights because I don’t want big bulky muscles”, don’t worry. You don’t want to put in the effort.
You can’t commit to the necessary diet. Gaining muscle mass requires a careful hypercaloric diet and emphasis on proper macro balance and timing. You can’t eat junk food or be on a calorie restrictive diet and gain a significant amount of muscle. (You also don’t want to eat excessively, if you are a hard-gainer—unless you are willing to pack on fat with the muscle.) You need protein (roughly 1 g per pound of body weight), but you don’t have to go to extremes. You will also need to eat carbohydrates. Focus on vegetables, fruits, and healthy grains/starches. Keto or high-fat/low-carbs is not going to fuel muscle hypertrophy or high-volume training. You don’t have to eat a lot of carbs, if you are worried it’ll “make you fat”. For most, roughly 1 g per pound of body weight on training days (less on non-training days) will be a good start.
Your training sucks. It isn’t too complicated. Keep it simple. Lift heavy (at least 70% of your maximum and do so regularly. If you aren’t making some gains, try something different, e.g., a different volume scheme (number of sets x number of repetitions). Master the technique for the basic 5 (squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and row) and apply progressive overload. If you are doing a bunch of light weight moves on a Bosu ball or really high repetitions with light weight, you are going to gain a lot of muscle. High volume training will promote sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (increased muscle volume) only if the load is sufficient (i.e., weight x repetitions x sets is sufficient—weight is the critical parameter). Myofibrillar hypertrophy (increased size of the muscle contractile proteins) requires heavy loads and is best accomplished with fewer than 12 repetitions per set. There is no perfect program, but what works for you is what is best for you. Specificity and progressive overload are essential.
Gains will come, if you do the work and are patient. Do the work!
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
1https://generationiron.com/reasons-why-you-cant-build-muscle/?fbclid=IwAR3JgBIQcY8nX8No4JHHcwiGNcJpe8EsKwb6cBqIek8vqQEdXiqiGjaY0p4