Building muscle is not as easy as we think. It takes time, dedication, proper nutrition, proper exercise, and lots and lots of patience.
If things are done well and done properly, you might be able to see some gains sooner. On the flip side, it can be easy to delay those gains by not being properly informed/educated.
Here are five muscle building mistakes you'll want to avoid that can inhibit muscle growth.
1. NOT DOING RESISTANCE TRAINING AND/OR LIFTING TOO LIGHT
If you want to build muscle, you have to do resistance training (aka making your muscles work against a weight or force). The fibers in your muscles have to get broken down in order to be rebuilt stronger. That can only be done through resistance training. Hours on a cardio machine is not going build muscle.
Not lifting heavy enough is also going to prevent you from seeing your muscles grow. Lifting weights should be uncomfortable, and what I mean by that is if you feel you can do 30 unbroken reps of an exercise at a certain weight, it's too light for you. There should be some grunting involved.
Here is a good rep range to follow for different goals:
1-5 reps = strength focus
6-12 reps = hypertrophy focus (aesthetics/body building)
12+ reps = muscular endurance focus
Progressive overload is an important term to keep in mind. We want to be able to lift heavier and/or do more reps at that same weight over time.
For example, if Week 1 of a weightlifting program I'm able to do 5 sets of 10 reps of back squats at 100 lbs, by Week 4 I'd like to either see myself doing 5 sets of 10 reps at 110 lbs and/or 5 sets of 15 reps at 100 lbs. More work should be able to be done whether that's in reps or in weight.
Starting with 1-2 days/week with some weightlifting and slowly incorporating more over time is a great start.
2. NOT EATING ENOUGH CALORIES
In order to just function properly our bodies need enough food. Now add building muscle on top of that...food is our friend! We have to EAT!
If we want to build muscle, we can't be in a caloric deficit (eating less than what we're burning throughout the day). We have to be either at maintenance (eating the same amount we're burning - not losing nor gaining weight) or in a caloric surplus (eating more than what we're burning).
Building muscle takes a lot of energy from the body. By eating enough food you're making it easier for your body to do its job, do it well, and do it in a timely manner.
3. NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN
Not only do we have to eat enough calories, we have to eat enough protein. Protein is what makes up muscle, so if there's not enough of it then muscle can't grow.
For active individuals, it's recommended they eat 1 g of protein per pound of goal body weight every day. For example, if a 5'4" female is 180 lbs and her goal weight is 150 lbs, she should be eating 150 g of protein per day.
It can be a struggle at first to try to fit in all that protein if you're not used to it. Try eating some high protein snacks and/or a protein shake throughout the day to make hitting your intake a little easier.
4. NOT SLEEPING AND RECOVERING ENOUGH
Say it with me: sleep. is. everything.
You can do all the workouts in the world for as long as you want, but if you're not sleeping enough it will be very difficult to put on muscle.
Our muscles don't grow when we're working out. Muscle is built during the recovery phase aka when we're resting. If we don't rest enough, muscle doesn't have enough time nor does the body have enough energy to put towards properly regenerating those torn muscle fibers.
Try to get a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep every night. This will support recovery and keep you feeling ready for your next workout.
5. OVERTRAINING
Believe it or not, working out too much is a thing and it can inhibit muscle growth. This ties in with point #4 - muscle grows when we're resting. If our bodies keep getting beaten, especially too hard, and not enough time is dedicated to recovering, muscle won't grow.
Not only can overtraining prevent muscle growth, it can actually cause you to lose muscle as well as increased muscle soreness, hit a plateau in your training, experience a decline in athletic performance, etc.
If training is going to ramp up then so do calories, protein, recovery, etc.
IN SUMMARY
Muscle building is a taxing job for the body and one that's not really necessary in the eyes of our brain/body. The body's main goal is to stay alive and maintain homeostasis. Building muscle is a "perk" if you will. Good behaviors and habits have to be maintained in order to continue experiencing these perks.
Put the effort in to treating your body well and you will reap the benefits.
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