Thread by @Rob_NBF

5 reasons why you're not getting any stronger

Thread 👇

#1. You train too much.

I've seen some BAD training plans on the internet over the years.

One guy I saw was working out 7 days a week with loads of exercises and sets, with 4 chest days!

If this is you, you need to stop.

Muscle doesn't grow in the gym.

Lifting damages the muscles. It's a stress.

When you remove the stress your body can go about repairing the damage and making you stronger.

This takes a few days so make sure you're giving each muscle group the time it needs to recover.

You also don't need to "absolutely destroy" a body part when you train.

Do you think 30 sets of chest is better than 20?

If so, where does it end? Are 200 sets better than 100?

It's a diminishing returns curve, and you'll hit a point where extra volume is actually not just adding nothing, it's counter productive.

Everyone is different in terms of what volume they can handle.

Most studies agree that 10-20 sets per muscle group per week is optimal.

#2. You're f*cking around.

I'm going to be paraphrasing @martinberkhan a lot with this one.

If you never do the same routine for a few consecutive weeks (ideally longer) & you always try new things in an effort to "spice up" your training, you're not going to get good results.

@Martinberkhan People with "f*ckarounditis" tend to jump from one thing to the next and have some kind of aversion to training hard with barbells and dumbbells - especially big compound movements.

@Martinberkhan There may be a preoccupation with training abs, biceps, isolation exercises and using a lot of cables.

Get on a routine which hits these movements with 1 or 2 compound exercises:

Squat
Hinge
Vertical Push
Vertical Pull
Horizontal Push
Horizontal Pull

@Martinberkhan Those are your priority exercises. Once you've done them you can sprinkle in some isolation exercises or train abs and biceps.

Make sure you track everything you lift, refer back to it and ensure you're increasing the difficulty over time (more reps, more weight).

@Martinberkhan #3. You don't eat enough protein.

Some people eat more protein than necessary, others don't eat enough.

Studies have found that 1.6g of protein per kg of your body weight is the maximum amount of protein needed to build muscle. Make sure you're getting it.

@Martinberkhan Get it with every meal. Not just dinner. And stop fasting if you want to gain size.

@Martinberkhan #4. You don't get enough calories.

Beginners will see gains pretty much regardless of what they eat.

If you're past this stage and no longer seeing gains, it could be because you just don't eat enough.

@Martinberkhan Eat with the intention of seeing the scale go up.

Get an estimation of how many calories you burn in a day using an online calculator.

Then eat more than this. Again, track it to be sure.

Weigh yourself daily, collect the data and check your AVERAGE weight each week.

@Martinberkhan #5. Your sleep is awful.

If you're doing everything else right, it could be this.

It happens time and time again when people have newborn babies at home.

Sleep goes to shit, so does recovery from training and gym performance.

It's a horrible scenario for gaining muscle.

@Martinberkhan If you don't have kids or extenuating circumstances that result in poor sleep, you've got no excuse.

Stop staying up late when you have to get up early. Put the Xbox controller down, put your phone away, and go to sleep.

@Martinberkhan If you DO have kids, know that all is not lost.

1. It gets better. Just give it time.
2. You CAN still make progress but you should 100% adjust your routine.

Cut down to the minimum. Compound exercises only. Hit all your muscle groups 1-2x per week and get out of there.

@Martinberkhan At worst you'll maintain, but I was able to make progress by devising myself a smart routine that worked with 5x20 minute workouts per week.

You can get it here (discount added)

learn.nothingbarredfitness.com/20-minute-musc…

@Martinberkhan That's it!

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