Why Am I Not Getting Bigger?

Author: Tim Ryan

Why am I not getting bigger? is one of the most common question from bodybuilders around the world. After all you are training hard, following a good muscle building diet, yet your gains are still minimal. The sense of frustration after all of the months of effort is tremendous and can be really demotivating. So what is the answer? Well, there are a few likely causes, see if any of these ring a bell with you:

1) Are you eating enough? For some hard gainers you may just as well insert the words 'under eaters'. As this really is a massive cause of lack of muscle mass. In bodybuilding the key to weight gain is eating, lots and often! Eating every two hours is a good guideline and will enable you to take on board as many calories as possible. Make sure you snack lots on food such as: dried fruit and nuts, yoghurt, cottage cheese, cereal and milk, protein bars, fresh fruit, and protein shakes, etc

2) Are you getting enough protein? To build maximum muscle mass you should aim for 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Great sources of protein include: chicken, fish, turkey as well as dairy products. Eat everything don't worry so much about eating low fat products, that will make it harder to get all the calories you need in order to bulk up. Sure you need quality calories but make your life easier and eat everything, remember you can go through a cutting up stage in a few months time. Taking whey protein shakes is another great way to get on board quality protein, purchase the big 5 pound tubs to get the most for your money.

3) Have your routines gone stale? If you can reel off your routine from the top of your head then that probably means you have been doing the same for thing for quite a while now. If you are not provoking your body to grow in new and different ways then it simply is not going to grow. How about mixing things up with, super sets, drop sets, partials, 21s, aided lifts and negatives. You can even just reverse the order of your routine and see what difference that makes, how about 10 sets of 10 reps to failure on just one major exercise such as the bench press (get ready to be sore!) or just give yourself a week off from training to allow your body to fully recover. As you can see there are endless variations, make sure you use them.

4) Are you resting enough? When was the last time you saw someone go into the gym pump iron and then walk out half a stone heavier? Never. So, clearly your muscles don't grow when your pumping iron, they grow when you are resting. If you do not get enough rest than you are limiting the time available for your muscles to grow. If anything you want to give yourself extra time to grow not less. Try dropping to working a muscle group just once a week. Also reducing the number of sets per body part, how about a maximum of 3-5 really intense sets per body part per workout. Think that is not enough, try it and watch the results!

5) Are you drinking enough water? If you are skimping on the water then you really are limiting your progress. Your muscles need copious amounts of water in order to grow. Carry a bottle with you in the car and never stop drinking from it.

So the original question: 'Why am I not getting bigger?' as you can see, has more than one answer. Answer the above questions honestly and make the necessary adjustments. If you are not satisfying just one of the above criteria then you have found the reason why you are not growing. If there are more than one of these points that your bodybuilding lifestyle does not meet then urgent change is required. Of course there are heaps of other reasons why you might not be growing but the above are the usual culprits. Now go hit the gym and gain some weight!

About the Author:

The Author has many years experience in the fitness industry and provides free muscle building guides, articles, tips reviews and more at his website. Discover how to transform your body by clicking: how to build muscle or why am I not getting bigger? now to start transforming your physique today.

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