A common question I get is, why am I not seeing better results from the gym? It's no secret that the biggest reason many of us train is to look super jacked. Yet, despite hours spent in the gym and meticulous attention to nutrition, many fall short of their desired physique. In some cases, this lack of progress even leads to one of the worst questions a man can get—Do you even lift, bro? Sorry, I had
to.
In this article, I will cover the eight most common obstacles to your progress. From misconceptions about training to dietary slip-ups, understanding what's going wrong is the first step to unleashing your true potential. So, if you're ready to stop feeling overlooked and start seeing real results, keep reading to uncover the secrets to achieving a physique that reflects your dedication and discipline to the gym.
1: Not Devoting Enough Time To Building
Muscle
The biggest reason you don't look like you lift is that you need to spend more time building muscle. Sounds obvious, right? Well, not exactly.
Contrary to popular belief, the key to looking like you lift is not a shredded six-pack but instead spending time building muscle. The misconception that being lean is the only way to show your gains is holding you back. It's time to shift your focus from immediate aesthetics to long-term muscle
development.
Making gains as a natural lifter takes a lot of time. No really. You have to do everything right for years to build a good physique. Part of doing everything right is eating enough. One must be in a calorie surplus to create an optimal muscle-building environment. In other words, you can gain muscle by eating at maintenance or even in a calorie deficit under the right conditions, but you can only maximize muscle growth with a surplus of energy
(calories).
If you're overly concerned with staying lean, you may miss out on maximizing muscle growth. But here's the good news: a 2023 study by Helms and colleagues found that you don't need to go on a drastic bulk to build muscle [1]. In fact, a 5-20% increase in calories above maintenance is enough to maximize growth. For someone with a daily caloric intake of 2,000 calories, 5-20% would translate to an increase of only 100-400 calories daily.
So, the
first step to looking like you lift is to spend time in a 5-20% calorie surplus. You don't need to do this year around but commit to at least 3-6 months. For the rest of the year, you can eat at maintenance. Whatever you do, don't cut. There will be plenty of time for that. Your abs will still be there after you put some muscle on your frame. Except now, they will actually look impressive.
2: Lack of Effort
Alright, I'm about to rustle some
jimmies.
I have a question for you. How hard do you train? Be honest. How much effort do you put into your workouts? Your or anyone's effort is challenging to measure since it's mostly subjective. Need proof? Just chat with some people at the gym about how hard they're working. Come back to me when you find someone willing to admit they're holding back. Most people check all of the boxes except effort. They have a good training plan, an ice-cold energy drink, and fancy gym
clothes. The problem is they need to push themselves harder to see any progress.
Please don't take what I'm saying personally. It's not even your fault. It's the fault of the evidence-based fitness community. For years, people "in the know" have pointed out that you don't need to train to failure to build muscle. On the surface, research shows that training to failure is not required for gains in strength and muscle size [2]. However, the caveat is you need to train close to
failure to see gains, likely within 1 to 3 reps.
A cool study in 2021 looked at this issue [3]. The researchers took 160 trained men and asked them the following question: "What weight do you usually lift for ten repetitions on a free-weight bench press exercise?" Then, after a warmup, the subjects were instructed to go to failure using the weight they usually do ten reps with. On average, the subjects completed 16 reps.
So, based on this, people leave
around six reps in the tank. That is too many. If you were in the study, how many reps would you get with the weight you usually use for ten reps? Ideally, it would be around 10-13. Look, it doesn't matter how advanced your training program is on paper. The effort you put in will determine how much progress you make. If you leave six or more reps in the tank on every set of every exercise, it will add up.
Embrace the challenge of taking each set close to failure. Keep a record
of your workouts and strive to surpass your previous numbers. The goal is to progressively increase the weights or the number of reps in every workout. You won't always outperform your logbook, but the intent to surpass it should always be there. It's this intent that keeps you honest.
3: Doing a Bunch of Junk Volume
The debate on training volume has a rich history. In the era of Arnold Schwarzenegger, high-volume training was the trend. These athletes would
engage in marathon workouts, sometimes lasting 4 or 5 hours a day, six days a week. On the other hand, in the 80s and 90s, there were proponents of high-intensity training like Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates, who focused on shorter, more intense sessions of 30-45 minutes, 3 or 4 days a week. While both approaches have their merits, the optimal solution for most individuals lies somewhere in between.
An effective training program is all about balance. It provides enough training
volume to stimulate gains without pushing it too far. Research indicates a good starting point is around ten weekly sets per muscle group [4]. From there, you can add sets until you reach a top range of around twenty to twenty-five weekly sets. Beyond that, it approaches what is called junk volume. Junk volume refers to any additional training volume beyond necessary to stimulate muscle growth or adaptation.
The issue with junk volume is diminishing returns and wasted time. If
you train six days a week for three hours each workout, you spend eighteen hours a week in the gym. Compare this to someone who trains for one hour each workout four days a week. That person only spends four hours a week in the gym. It's four hours compared to eighteen. It's hard to justify spending 12 more hours weekly in the gym for minimal (if any) additional progress. Unfortunately, you don't get bonus points for doing a lot of low-quality work.
4: No Clear
Goals
If you don't look like you lift, it might be because you need to spend more time moving in one direction. If one week, you are bodybuilding, the next, you are powerlifting, and the one after that, you are preparing for a marathon, you will just spin your wheels. Can some people build incredible physiques as "hybrid athletes?" Yes, of course. But chances are, that's not you.
You need to make up your mind. Do you want to look like you lift or not? Because
if you do, you have to prioritize hypertrophy training. That must be your goal. I'm not saying you need to jump on stage and compete in bodybuilding, but the bodybuilders have it right. They know how to build muscle. Get on a bodybuilding program and stick with it. Stay disciplined.
The second issue we need to discuss is program hopping. I get it; we all get tempted by the shiny object syndrome, always looking for a new or better way to do things. But if you are always trying
new programs, how will you know when you find one that works? You won't.
5: Using Bad Form
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