Breaking plateaus with mass building is a little bit more tricky than with cardio. There are more factors. This is probably the most common question I get asked in the gym.
When a client comes to me and asks why they have stopped putting on muscle, I ask them to go through this checklist before throwing in the towel.
1. Are you eating enough?
Think of it this way, there are two fitness goals. Losing weight and gaining mass. Throw toning, firming and whatever else out the window because it will do nothing but complicate things. If your goal is to lose weight you need to cut back on the munchies. When you are trying to gain weight you should be adding at least 500 calories to your menu each day. And no, not like a bag of chips. You are going to need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. So adding more lean protein to your diet (protein is the muscle's building block!) is what you need to do.
2. Are you preforming sets to failure?
The very idea of weight lifting, is that you are lifting until your muscle fibers are broken. Yes, you want to break yourself. This way when the muscle tissue grows back, it will be thicker and stronger to be able to handle the torture you put it through. To destroy your little muscle fibres, you need to lift to failure. This is when a personal trainer comes in handy. Remember, we don't want to hurt ourselves! One more time. You want to lift until you cannot lift another rep. Not until you think you can't do another but until you really REALLY can't! If you find yourself going over 10 reps that's a good sign you have become stronger and you need to add a bit more weight.
3. Set Amount and Order?
If you are trying to build muscle but you're still doing your straight set routine consisting of one exercise for each body part (which worked for about 6 weeks but not anymore) then you need to change it up by adding sets. It takes muscles a couple of sets to get a clue and realize blood is pumping to it. Start by adding a set to every large muscle group exercise in your routine.
Eventually you will want to break the body parts in to days (spit set routine) and stop doing full body workouts.
Example of a 3 day split routine:
Day 1 - Chest, Triceps, Delts, Abs
Day 2 - Back, Biceps, Traps, Forearms
Day 3 - Quad, Glutes, Hams, Calves
NOTE- Give more attention (sets) to bigger muscle groups like the chest and back. When you are pushing for chest exercises you are working your triceps and when pulling you are working your biceps. So if you are doing 3 sets for chest you should do 1 or 2 for triceps.
4. When was the last time you changed your routine?
Remember, your body needs to be surprised. So sticking with the same exercises, in the same order, with the same amount of weight is not going to get you very far. Your muscles are thinking "Rad! I did this workout 2 days ago. No problem" You should be changing your routine every 6 weeks or so for maximum results. Change exercise order, exercises, set amount, weight amount, rep amount etc. There are so many combinations. Hire a personal trainer to write an effective program for you or do some research online. Find a program that interests you.
5. Do you build muscle easily?
Unless you are using steroids (yuck) it takes time and (unfortunately genetics) to get ripped. Have you ever wondered why a lot of body builders are in their prime, winning competitions in their 30's? Well they have been lifting since they were 16. Changing your body takes time and dedication. If an person could look like Arnold in 6 weeks, North America wouldn't have the obesity epidemic on their hands.
Also genetics are a big factor. You should face the reality sooner than later that you might never have huge biceps or abs of steel. I'm not saying give up your hopes and dreams. What I'm saying that you shouldn't put unrealistic expectations on yourself. You just need to work harder than the easy gainers and be happy with your accomplishments.
These suggestions are a good start to seeing some muscle. Try these out but remember to take measurements too. I find a lot of people's body composition DOES change but since they see themselves everyday, they still see a runt in the mirror. When they have in fact, put on some quality muscle. There's no point in having goals if you aren't going to track them.
Happy Lifting!
Kaleena Lawless Personal Training Specialist http://www.kalisthenixfitnessblog.com
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