Gain Muscle Mass!
Learn to gain muscle mass and build the body of your dreams!
It is pretty common for weight lifters to wonder why they can't gain muscle mass. The truth is it could be because of a whole bunch of reasons.
This guide will attempt to help you figure out how you can build muscle mass by addressing fourteen common mistakes bodybuilders make all the time.
If you have any additional questions for me check out the contact us page and shoot me an email.
1. You’re not getting enough calories
The majority of people who seem to not gain muscle mass are not getting enough calories. Your body requires a certain amount of calories just to maintain your body weight; this is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). If you are getting fewer calories than your BMR you will lose weight. You want to make sure you are getting more than your BMR because you will start to gain weight. How do you figure out your BMR? The easiest way to figure out your BMR is to use our BMR Calculator. The calculator uses the Harris Benedict formula which is one of the most accurate ways of calculating your daily caloric needs. Check out the calculator and figure out how many calories you are supposed to be getting. You might be surprised! Now that you have figured out your BMR you need to add 500 calories to the number the BMR Calculator gave you. This number is how many calories you need to be getting everyday to gain muscle mass.
Example
- Your calculated BMR is 2,630 calories
- You need 3,130 calories to gain muscle mass.
- You need 2,130 calories to lose weight.
2.You’re not eating the right foods
As long as you are eating calories in surplus of your BMR you will grow. However, if you aren't eating the right foods you can pretty much assume you are not getting the most out of your efforts. You might even be putting on extra body fat with only small muscle gains. The best way to to plan out a muscle building diet is to set up a protein/carbohydrate/fat (P/C/F) ratio. I prefer the 40/40/20 ratio, this means that 40% of your daily calories need to come from protein, 40% from carbohydrates, and 20% from fats.
Using the example above:
- 40% of 2,630 is 1052 calories from protein. Divide by 4, and that’s 263g protein per day
- 40% of 2,630 is 1052 calories from carbs. Divide by 4, and that’s 263g carbs per day
- 20% of 2,630 is 526 calories from fat. Divide by 9, and that’s 58g fat per day
So now you need to work on spreading 263g of protein, 263g of carbohydrates, and 58g of fats out over 5-6 meals during the day.
3. You’re not eating enough meals
The days of eating 3 square meals is over. Research has shown that eating 5-6 smaller meals a not only increases metabolism but also helps maintain, lose, and gain weight. I like to think of your body as a campfire. You don't want to throw too much wood on the fire because you will smother it. Instead you want to gradually add more wood which will make it burn more efficiently and become larger!
You want to eat 5-6 smaller meals a day with the exception of breakfast, lunch, and dinner which are generally larger meals for most of us.
Many people think "I'm not going to have time for all those meals". The truth is you need to make time for those meals by planning ahead and preparing for them. Some people like to set aside some time on the weekend to plan out their entire week whereas others like to think about it the day before. Do whatever works for you but make sure you are planning out your meals because it will make it a lot easier when the time comes.
If you really don't think you will have time to prepare meals for yourself think about Meal Replacements. They are really easy to prepare and have all the nutrients you would get from a home cooked meal, probably even more!
4. You’re not getting enough water
Water is often underestimated by aspiring bodybuilders. Water is essential for lots of various bodily processes. If you feel dehydrated before walking in to the gym it's all ready too late, you need to be constantly hydrating your body. Keeping your self hydrated should be a priority throughout your entire day. Dehydration is often the reason people can't gain muscle mass.
Here are some signs of dehydration you should look out for:
- Feeling thirsty (obviously)
- Fatigue. Feeling tired for no apparent reason.
- Dry mouth and possible sore throat
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Dark urine with strong odor
Drinking water is easy, there is no excuse why you cannot do it. Just carry a bottle of water around and keep sipping on it during the day.
Drinking water becomes especially important when you are taking supplements like creatine that dehydrate you. You need to make sure to drink much more when you are taking supplements like this.
5. Your Workout Routine Sucks
Many people find their workout routines in magazines and articles written by professional bodybuilders. This could be why you can't gain muscle mass, these routines are not designed for beginners and will only result in wasted energy, time, and frustration. Pick a routine that is designed for someone like you and you will gain muscle mass.
A good workout routine consists of the following:
- Allowing days for rest between workout days.
- Muscle groups arranged to avoid overtraining.
- Muscle groups arranged so all muscles can be worked to fatigue.
- Implementing both compound and isoation exercises.
- Good warm-up, stretching, and cool down.
If you need a little help designing a routine we have a bodybuilding routines page full of workouts for every type of bodybuilder. Check out the Bodybuilding Routines page where we have a bunch of great workout plans for all types of athletes.
6. You’ve been using the same workout too long
Building muscle is simply your muscles responding to increased stress. When you put stress on your muscles in the gym they respond by growing bigger to cope with the stress. However, the body is very quick to adapt to these changes, including your workout. Once the body adapts to the changes in your workouts it no longer needs to gain muscle mass and strength.
In order to maximize the bodies ability to gain muscle mass, your workout needs to be changed quite frequently. It is a good idea to change your workout roughly every 8 weeks. However, if you continue to grow stronger after 8 weeks, keep going! Everyone is different so go with what works for you!
7. You’re not focused on progression
Progression is extremely important when you want to gain muscle mass. It is the progression of weight, strength, and intensity in bodybuilding that keeps you growing stronger and bigger.
Every week you should enter the gym with a new goal in mind that you want to reach. As we said earlier your body responds to increased stress by building muscle. This is why carrying a training log can be so helpful. You should look back at the previous week and try to out-do some aspect of your previous workout, weather it is more reps or a higher weight. This progression is what will help you gain muscle mass.
If you still feel like you can progress try reading up on your nutrition and workout routines.
8. Your exercise technique is bad
You may be doing the right exercises, but are you doing them right? If you want to maximize the amount of stress on your muscles, while minimizing injury, you need to perform each exercise with correct form. Don't be tempted to copy others in the gym, this is how bad habits spread.
Here are a few general rules that apply to most exercises:
- Learn the exercises form before adding weight
- Use slow and controlled movements
- Use a full range of motion
- Minimize momentum when lifting the weights
- Don't lock out your joints at the top of movements
Check out the Bodybuilding Exercise page for video instructions of how to perform a huge variety of strength training exercises.
9. You’re doing the wrong exercises
Doing the wrong exercises is common for new weight lifters. It is important to get a mix of compound and isolation exercises in your workouts. Compound exercises are the best for building big muscles, because they require so many different muscle fibers which puts extra stress on your body. For every 2-3 compound exercises that you do, you should do one isolation exercise. This does not apply to muscle groups like calves, forarms, and arms where the majority of exercises are isolation.
Here are some compound exercises that are great ways to gain muscle mass:
Check out the exercises section for more compound and isolation exercises.
10. You’re not training your legs
Legs are one of the most important, if not the most important body part you can train. You have the ability to impact the rest of your body by training your legs. The best leg exercise you can do is the squat, not only does it train the majority of your upper body, it also causes so much stress to your muscles it releases a growth hormone to cope with the stress. This means that your biceps and triceps can even benefit from the squats.
Leg training is difficult and requires lots of hard work, but training them is essential for developing a well rounded physique.
Check out the leg exercises section of our website for video instruction of some great leg exercises that will help gain muscle mass.
11. You’re not getting enough sleep
Sleep is your body's time to recharge. For bodybuilders it is the time when your body repairs it's muscle tissue. It is simple without sleep, your body cannot completely repair itself. It is essential to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Here are some tips to getting a good night's rest:
- Minimize naps, unless it is completely nessesary
- Don't take stimulants with 4-6 hours of bed time
- Refrain from stressful activities 1-2 hours before bed
- Try to fall asleep and wake up at the same time
- Have a light snack before bed
12. Your post workout nutrition sucks
Your post workout shale/meal is debatably the most important meal of the day. When you finish a workout, your body is crying for nutrients. Your body's protein levels are down, creatine levels are down, and glycogen is depleted. Many people think that simply having a protein shake is enough, but this is not true. A protein shake is better than nothing but still falls short of the ideal post workout shake. Here's what would be better:
Shake containing:
- 1. 30-40g of whey protein powder
- 2. 5g of creatine
- 3. 60-70g of dextrose
About 1 Hour Later:
You should consume a high protein, high carbohydrate, low fat meal about an hour after you have a your post workout shake.
Studies show that taking dextrose with creatine can help the creatine synthesis into the muscle. Dextrose is the most simple carbohydrate which causes a large insulin spike in the body. Insulin is extremely anabolic and helps distribute the creatine throughout the body quickly and efficiently. This is one of the best ways to gain muscle mass.
13. Your pre-workout nutrition sucks
For a well rounded pre-workout meal you should get a high carbohydrate meal. However, you want to make sure you are getting the right type of carbohydrates. You want to get complex carbohydrates instead of simple carbohydrates because they supply a longer constant supply of energy to fuel your workouts. Simple carbohydrates are quickly used by the body and do not supply enough energy for an entire workout.
It would be ideal to get a large carbohydrate meal 1-3 hours before you hit the gym. This might take a little planning but is well worth it. You will most likely need to plan out your 5-6 meals so that you can have one of them fall 1-3 hours before your workout. For some that might mean a big breakfast in the morning, a mid-morning snack, high carbohydrate lunch around noon, and then hitting the gym sometime around 2-3 in the afternoon.
Here are some good examples of complex carbohydrate foods:
- Brown rice
- Potatoes
- Brown Bread
- Oats
- Pasta
For more information of forming a meal plan check out the nutrition guide section of this website.
14. You’re not motivated
Finally, if you still are not gaining muscle it may be to lack of motivation. Can you honestly say you give 100% every time you hit the gym? There are several ways to stay motivated and focused on your goals.
- Keep a daily training log Set bi-weekly goals (use training log to record results, good or bad)
- Take before and after pictures
- Find a picture of someone you want to look like and stick it somewhere you will see it all the time.
- Watch some instructional videos of pro's before you hit the gym
- Set up a playlist of music to get yourself fired up in the gym
I hope that during this article you have found some motivation and information about how to gain muscle mass. If you still feel unsure about how to gain muscle mass feel free to Contact Me anytime with a question and I will do my best to get back to you quickly with some helpful information.
Good luck reaching your goals!
-Brian Grazzini
Creator of CollegeBodybuilding.net
