3 Reasons You Aren't Growing!
Perpetual growth, by way of the training stimulus, is the daily goal of a bodybuilder. It is what propels us to do things that ‘regular’ people would deem ridiculous. Why would anyone want to put themselves though the type of pain and agony that we actually enjoy, just to build maybe one more ounce of muscle on our frames? Well, to answer that, it’s because we love it and knowing that we are in control of how our body looks and feels, is an awesome way to live. Now, in saying that, it’s not as easy as just going to the gym, working out, drinking your post-workout Warzone Whey protein shake, go home, sleep and grow. If it were that easy, then everyone would be jacked and huge. Of course, this is the basic formula to follow for growth, but I know there are many of you out there right now who can’t figure out why you aren’t growing at the rate you think you should be. So, to help you figure out your woes, and the reason you’re having some issues with your tissues in the growth department, here are my top three reasons as to why you’re probably not growing.
Reason #1: You Aren’t Eating Enough
In an age where everything you do has to get posted to your social media accounts, because if it doesn’t it didn’t actually happen, far too many people are concerned with always looking a certain way versus looking the way you have to look in order to see real growth. Here’s the truth; you will never grow copious amounts of muscle tissue if you are always in a caloric deficit or on a calorie restricting diet so that you maintain a certain level of body fat. Now, I’m not saying to allow yourself to get sloppy, because if you’re a bodybuilder you should always look like one. What I am saying is you need to eat and eat a ton of clean food in order to build massive amounts of new muscle tissue. If that means you lose a little sharpness to your physique or you hold a little more fat around the love handles, then so be it. It will all be in the name of being bigger when you cut down again which, if you’re really a bodybuilder, is what you should always be chasing.
Reason #2: You’re Not Training Hard Enough
The training stimulus is there to provide an opportunity for hypertrophy to occur. This process cannot happen if you never provide your body with different types of resistance that it is unaccustomed to dealing with. The easiest way to approach this is by keeping the progressive overload theory in mind at all times. To build muscle, you have to apply positive stress on the targeted muscle group in a way that elicits a need to adapt, be it by getting stronger or more efficient, so that muscle tissue is broken down and new muscle is regenerated to repair that damage and then some. That’s the basis of the process you are putting yourself through from training, if you are training hard enough. Many times, what you believe to be hard training would be classified as a warm up to those who actually do train hard. Not sure if you’re training hard enough, well reach out and I will put you in touch with people who train hard themselves or people who put people through a tremendous amount of positive pain during their training sessions together, and you’ll find out quickly enough where you stand in that regard.
Reason #3: You Haven’t Actually Adhered to a Plan
This might be the biggest factor in why most people never realize their true potential for growth and it isn’t always their fault. With so much information out there at your fingertips, it really is difficult to settle on one ideology or one plan when they all seem to be great approaches, and all have people backing that approach saying that it worked for them so why wouldn’t it work for you. We’ve all seen this and when you’re just starting out or even a few years into this whole bodybuilding thing, the temptation to move from one plan to the next is very present. Here’s the thing, the plan that is going to work for you is the plan that you can stick with for a significant amount of pre-determined time so that you can give whatever it is you decide to do, a fighting chance at working. It doesn’t matter what the plan is, you’ll never know its benefits if you simply do not allow enough time to pass. My suggestion here would be to give whatever you decide to do a good three to six months of consistent and dedicated effort on your part, prior to making your final evaluation of that plan. During this time, you’ll know for sure if this is something for you or not. Then, move on, take what you liked from the previous plan with you onto the next, discard the rest, hit refresh and fire things up again. This is the only way you’ll know what works for you and what doesn’t so just be patient and stick to the plan.
There are of course other reasons that may be holding you back for achieving your growth goals, which include things like stress, balance within your life and all the other responsibilities you have, maybe monetary issues and anything else that could potentially throw you off your bodybuilding rhythm, and that happens. Just know, that bodybuilding and accruing muscle tissue isn’t an easy task to accomplish and it takes a long time before you see significant growth. By ensuring that you’re getting in enough food, you’re actually training hard enough, you have committed yourself to sticking to a plan and you take all of your Advanced Genetics supplements like Go Dark to improve your sleep, at least you’re giving yourself a fighting chance at building muscle. That’s about as good as it gets for any of us so as long as you’re doing these things, you shouldn’t have anymore issues with your tissues with respect to growing muscle. Good luck!
Author: Dana Bushell
Dana Bushell, a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University (BAHK, B.Ed) is an Educator, Writer, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Nutrition Advisor, Contest Prep/Lifestyle Coach and former competitive bodybuilder, who has been involved in the Fitness Industry for over 25 years. He has worked and written for major fitness publications and many popular bodybuilding sites, is a Gym Star Team member and works hard at teaching and promoting a fitness-based lifestyle in his career as a Physical Education Specialist.