5 Mistakes that Might Prevent Muscle Growth

Throughout my career as a personal trainer, I have made many mistakes in regards to building muscles and I strive to help my clients avoid the same mistakes.

Although it is true that you can get lean without doing some cardio training, too much of it can result in softer muscles, especially around your waistline. Naturally, our body releases cortisol during exercise. This is a stress hormone that works by retaining water. So when you exercise too much, you retain too much water in your body. This defeats the purpose of your training.

So if you’re guilty of doing this, take a break. A 2-week break would be great. Instead of doing too much cardio, substitute it by cleaning your house or doing grocery shopping. This will help your body recuperate without skipping on your much-needed exercise.

2. Totally Ditching the Carbs

Carbs are needed because it provides the body energy that helps the body perform its daily activities. When you’re on a diet, totally ditching fat is not advisable because it leaves the body weak and hungry.

The body makes use of protein for energy to compensate for the lack of carbohydrates. Protein is broken down and the end-product is not healthy for the body.

They key is to know when and how much carbs you need to consume. When on a strict diet and not on training, you can take carbs once a day or 2 times a week. When on training, go carbo-loading before, immediately after and 2 to 3 hours after training.

3. Using Lighter Weights

When it comes to bodybuilding remember this: when you ask for less, you get less. So never drop the poundages you use in the gym. Keep working hard so you’ll see results. Also, keep in mind that if you want to get ripped, you embark on a high intensity workout and the diet process.

4. Going for the Easy Calories

Why is it that some people who are on a diet and building muscles, skip the veggies? Don’t you know that eating veggies help you burn more calories? This means one thing, more fat loss.

A diet that strictly contains easy-to-digest food such as yogurt, fruit, milk and protein bars can help you burn more calories. Although veggies may be a bit hard to swallow for some, I think it’s about time to start exploring this option if you really want to know how to build lean muscle and get ripped.

5. Relying Solely on Protein Bars

Here’s one question, how sure are you that you’re really only getting 250 or 300 calories from your protein bar? Maybe your protein bar is actually just a chocolate bar.

You can actually get more nutrients and fewer calories by eating 4 ounces of chicken, ¼ lb of veggies and a teaspoon of fat. So why opt for something processed by a company when you can prepare your own healthy food?

Happy building.

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