If there is one thing I’ve learned during my 35+ years as a personal trainer, it’s that building muscle and getting stronger is hard work. Your body is inherently lazy and would prefer to remain weak, skinny, and soft. It doesn’t want to change.
Consequently, you’ll have to force it to adapt and grow by exposing it to an intense training stimulus. In short, you’ve got to pay your dues in the gym.
However, just hitting the gym and lifting weights is no guarantee of success. In fact, many people are fervent gym-goers but have no real gains to show for it. Their workouts are ineffective, and their progress is slow or non-existent.
If you are frustrated by your lack of progress, you are probably making one or several muscle and strength-building mistakes. Remove these obstacles, and you’ll soon start to see the gains you want.
In this article, I reveal the top ten things that lifters get wrong, and how to fix them.
Mistake # 1 – Training Without a Plan
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We had a saying in the British Royal Marines: Failing to plan means planning to fail. Having a plan gives direction to your efforts and makes the most of the resources you have available. A plan is like a map to success!
Despite this, a lot of lifters turn up to the gym with no real idea of what they’re going to do. In many cases, they meet up with a buddy and decide there and then which muscles and exercises they’re going to do. Invariably, this means chest and biceps – again!
This is sometimes called the “instinctive training principle,” but, really, it’s the mistake that’s preventing you from making gains.
The best way to build muscle and strength is to follow a logical, balanced, progressive program. This will ensure that you work all major muscle groups evenly while gradually increasing the intensity and volume of your training.
Solution: There are dozens of training plans in the Fitness Vault archives. Pick one, run it for the next 6-8 weeks, and then pick another. Alternatively, learn how to write your own workouts by checking out this step-by-step guide.
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Mistake # 2 – Changing Programs Too Often
Many exercisers are constantly looking for the perfect program. In fact, they’re so determined to find the best one that they switch workouts almost every week.
Unfortunately, all this change will undermine your progress.
You don’t need lots of variety to build muscle or get stronger. There are no secret techniques, special exercises, or magic training splits. Provided you adhere to the principles of effective training, almost any workout and any exercises will make you stronger and more muscular.
Some exercisers vary their workouts because of something called the “muscle confusion principle.” However, like many bro-science concepts, muscle confusion is not backed by any meaningful research.
Solution: Pick a program and stick with it for the next few months. Gradually raise your weights as you get stronger and your muscles will grow. Stick with your current plan until your progress starts to stall. At that point, you are ready for a new program.
Mistake # 3 – Not Training Hard Enough
Muscles need to be bullied into getting stronger. If you don’t work hard enough, there is no reason for your muscles to adapt and grow.
Think about it like this: Training is like going out in the sunshine. A few minutes of sun exposure won’t affect your skin much. But, go out in intense sunshine for long enough and you’ll develop a tan. A tan is your body’s way of protecting itself from further sun exposure.
Easy workouts don’t build muscle. In fact, they’re really just a waste of time and energy. Studies tell us that you need to push your muscles to within 2-3 reps of failure to trigger increases in muscle strength and size (1).
It’s human nature to want to avoid discomfort and pain. However, you’ll need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable if you want to build muscle. That’s why “no pain, no gain” is such a bodybuilding truism.
Solution: A lot of exercisers end their sets a long way from failure. They feel their muscles starting to burn and quit way too early. So, keep pumping out the reps until you feel like you only have 2-3 left in the tank. If in doubt, push all the way to failure to ensure you really are training hard enough.
Mistake # 4 – Missing Workouts
Even the best training plan will only work if you follow it. Not for a week or a month, but for as long as it takes to get the results you want. Workout adherence and consistency are essential for your success.
Unfortunately, many people skip almost as many workouts as they complete, and missed workouts do not build muscle!
Life has a habit of trying to keep you out of the gym, but to be successful, you need to avoid the temptation to skip workouts. Ways to do this include:
- Creating a workout plan that slots seamlessly into your current lifestyle.
- Prioritizing your workouts over other non-essential commitments.
- Working out with a training partner to help keep you accountable.
- Working out at home when you can’t make it to the gym.
- Catching up missed workouts at the earliest opportunity.
Of course, barriers to training are sometimes insurmountable. That said, in my professional experience, the most common cause of missed workouts is laziness.
Solution: The longer your unbroken workout streak is, the better your results will be. So, take whatever steps necessary to avoid missing workouts. Only take time off for injuries, illness, and other major life events.
Mistake # 5 – Not Keeping A Training Journal
You are only as strong as your last workout, and to get stronger, you must employ something called progressive overload, where you gradually increase the difficulty of your program (2).
You do this by:
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- Increasing your weights
- Doing more reps
- Doing more sets
- Reducing rest periods
- Using more challenging exercises
But, how can you manipulate these variables if you don’t keep track of your workouts in a training journal? You’ll have to rely on your memory which, let’s face it, is unreliable and prone to mistakes.
Recording your workouts in a training journal makes it much easier to monitor your progress and gradually increase the difficulty of your workouts. In addition, you’ll also be able to identify what works and what doesn’t, shaping your future training programs.
You can track your workouts with pen and paper or use a note app on your phone. Regardless of how you do it, not recording your workouts will severely undermine your progress.
Solution: Don’t spend your inter-set rest periods updating your social media! Instead, make a note of the exercises you’ve been doing, and the weight, reps, and sets. Use this information to track your progress, ensure you’re your workouts are progressive, and identify what works and what doesn’t.
Mistake # 6 – Not Paying Enough Attention to Rest and Recovery
Training takes a lot out of your body. It depletes muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrates), causes microscopic damage to your muscle fibers, and uses a lot of mental and physical energy. Consequently, your muscles are actually weaker and smaller at the end of your workout than at the beginning.
The anabolic processes responsible for muscle growth happen while you are resting. It’s only as your muscles recover between workouts that you get bigger and stronger.
Training every day without a break, not getting enough sleep, and doing a lot of additional physical activity all impede recovery, bringing your progress to a crashing halt. It’s like the old saying goes, you can’t burn a candle at both ends.
Solution: Make sure you put back into your body what intense training takes out. This includes getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night, having 1-3 rest days from training per week, and avoiding too much additional strenuous physical activity. Periodic deloads can also be helpful.
Mistake # 7 – Ignoring the Importance of Nutrition
Food is one of life’s pleasures but, as the saying goes, you are what you eat. That’s especially true for people who want to build muscle and strength.
The food you eat provides the very building blocks of muscle and the fuel that powers through your workouts. Just as a racing car needs the right type of fuel to function properly, so too does your body.
It’s beyond the scope of this article to discuss all the ins and outs of bodybuilding nutrition but the basic principles include:
- Consume a small kilocalorie surplus to fuel your workouts and muscle growth.
- Get 6 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
- Eat mostly nutrient-rich, natural foods.
- Drink plenty of water to maintain hydration.
- Eat junk food infrequently and in small amounts. Avoid too many cheat meals.
- Supplement wisely to plug any nutritional gaps.
Solution: While you don’t have to become obsessed with your diet, you must provide your body with the energy and nutrients it needs for muscle growth. Create or follow a sustainable diet plan so your muscles get what they need to recover and grow.
Mistake # 8 – Ego Lifting
Strength training and bodybuilding are ego-driven activities. After all, the main purpose is self-improvement and personal development. However, it’s all too easy to get too hung up on how much weight you are lifting, making your workouts less effective than they should be.
For example, using more weight than you can handle may force you to use your legs and back during biceps curls or reduce your depth during squats. This is essentially cheating, but the only person you hurt is yourself.
Ego lifting takes work away from the muscles you want to target, making your workouts less effective despite the greater load. It’s also a great way to get injured, which may force you to miss workouts as you heal.
Solution: Use the heaviest weights you can lift in good form. If you have to cheat a weight up, it’s too heavy. Make sure you can feel the target muscles throughout the entire range of motion, emphasizing that all-important mind-muscle connection.
Mistake # 9 – Ignoring Injuries
Injuries are part and parcel of working out. Push your body hard enough, and things like joint pain and muscle strains are inevitable. However, while they are commonplace, you should never ignore an injury as they have an annoying habit of getting worse. More severe injuries may even stop you from training altogether.
There is a big difference between training around an injury (e.g., skipping biceps curls because of a painful elbow) and training through pain. The former is fine, while the latter is not.
Solution: You aren’t a pro athlete whose livelihood depends on your strength and muscle mass. Rather, you’re working out for personal satisfaction and enjoyment. So, don’t train through pain. Instead, rest up to allow your injuries to heal, seeking medical attention if the pain is severe or persistent.
Related: Common Bodybuilding Injuries and How to Avoid Them
Mistake # 10 – Not Getting a Handle on Stress
Stress can be a real progress killer. It causes a rise in cortisol, which is a muscle-catabolizing hormone. In short, stress breaks muscle tissue down, impeding your attempts to get bigger and stronger.
While it’s all but impossible to completely avoid stress, there are plenty of things you can do to minimize its negative impact. These include:
- Eating a balanced diet.
- Limiting your caffeine intake.
- Getting enough sleep.
- Using breathing exercises.
- Avoiding known stressors.
- Exercising regularly.
- Learning to be more patient and forgiving.
- Avoiding perfectionism.
- Learning to delegate.
- Practicing good time management.
Solution: While stress is largely unavoidable, you can control how you respond in stressful situations. Learn how to manage your stress levels by developing coping strategies designed to minimize cortisol and limit your fight-or-flight stress response.
Related: How Stress Hurts Your Gains and What to Do About It
Conclusion
I hate to see anyone wasting their time and energy on unproductive workouts. Training for strength and muscle mass is hard, and it’s a shame to see anyone failing to get the results they want.
While genetics play a part in your success, you won’t reach your genetic potential if you keep on making mistakes.
So, audit your workouts, lifestyle, diet, etc., to see if you are inadvertently undermining your gains. Remove these obstacles and start getting the workout results you deserve!
References:
- Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022 Mar;11(2):202-211. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2021.01.007. Epub 2021 Jan 23. PMID: 33497853; PMCID: PMC9068575.
- Peterson MD, Pistilli E, Haff GG, Hoffman EP, Gordon PM. Progression of volume load and muscular adaptation during resistance exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 Jun;111(6):1063-71. doi: 10.1007/s00421-010-1735-9. Epub 2010 Nov 27. PMID: 21113614; PMCID: PMC4215195.
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