Build Muscle: Top 9 Reasons you’re Struggling

Build Muscle
Build Muscle You decided to gain muscle, so you joined a gym, cleaned your diet, bought some weights for training at home, and even purchased activewear, but your plan does not seem to be working.
Do not worry, as you are not the first among bodybuilding enthusiasts who have struggled to gain muscle despite their best efforts. It happens to a lot of people. However, the reasons can be different.
Here are nine reasons you may be facing hurdles in developing muscles:
1. Lack of Action Plan
Only the decision to get in shape and joining the gym is not enough to achieve your goals. You need to have a well-thought action plan. First, you must identify your personal goals.
For example, you may not be up for a full-body workout. You should also know your body type. We all have physical limitations, and it is possible to work around them. There are plenty of similar factors to consider when making your action plan.
2. Lifting More than Heavier
There is a science to bodybuilding and you must understand that to make it work. Many beginners choose lighter weights at the gym and start doing more repetitions.
This means you are only ‘lifting’ more instead of lifting heavier. Your body builds muscles when you put stress on certain parts. For this reason, you need to increase gradually the amount of weight you lift combined with the right amount of repetitions.
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3. Lack of Consistency
Once you have decided on pursuing bodybuilding and have developed an action plan, you must consistently follow it. Going to the gym one week and not the next is not going to help you move forward along this journey.
The rule is to exercise each body part once a week, every week. Similarly, you must also be consistent with your diet plan. Regularly indulging in cheat days will set you back on your goals.
4. Lack of Nutrition
Talking about your diet plan, proper nutrition is necessary for building the muscles. In an attempt to get fit, some people wrongly assume that they need to eat less. What they need is to eat right. Muscle growth requires a protein-rich but low-carbohydrate diet.
It does not mean that you can ignore carbs and fats completely. Experts recommend having 2.2 grams of protein, 5.5 grams of carbs, and 0.9 grams of fats per kilogram body weight per day. Moreover, bodybuilders are required to eat throughout the day.
5. Lack of Rest
As much as your body needs the workout and nourishment to gain muscles, it also needs rest. When you perform weight training at the gym, it breaks down the muscles.
Next, what you eat feeds the muscles. It is when your body is resting or sleeping that it builds the muscles. So do prioritize a good sleep schedule in your action plan.
6. Too Much Cardio

Some beginners focus cardio to lower fat in the body. This can also hinder the body’s process to develop muscle mass. If you want to perform cardio, it is better to integrate HIIT cardio sessions into your workout routine.
7. Slacking on Compound Exercises
Do not put off doing compound exercises at the end of your workout when you have become tired. During the first half of the session, when you are still fresh, focus on compound exercises like deadlifts and squats. In the last half, you can do the isolation exercises like curls and calf raises.
8. Lack of Positivity
Constant negative thoughts can lead to stress, which in turn affects your overall health. You can keep working on lifting weights but if you do not work on managing negativity and stress, you will not see the desired results.
9. Lack of Patience
You must practice patience. Your body has a system, which you need to respect. Nothing will change overnight. Be consistent and motivated, but not impatient. Work on your body with all that you can control, and then give it time to do the rest.
You can also consult bodybuilding experts to get even better advice on why you may be struggling to gain muscles.