For many of us, keeping fit is a part of life.
We want to be strong, powerful, and athletic. It is something that complements the rest of our lives. But for some, getting that desirable “ripped” physique is a challenge. It never seems like it is in reach. We pound the weights at the gym week after week, but our muscles just won’t grow. What’s going wrong?
While the bodybuilding magazines would have you believe that anyone can get muscles if they train hard, that’s not the case. Human beings fall on a spectrum. Some of us have the genetics that allows us to adapt to the training stimulus quickly. Others, however, aren’t so lucky. They will always be at a disadvantage.
Not being able to build muscle is actually a sensible biological adaptation. You don’t necessarily want your body to waste precious resources building muscles that you don’t need, just in case there’s a food shortage in the future. Instead, you want your body to optimize – to create muscles that are the right size for daily tasks, but that won’t leave you low on energy. “Hard gainers,” therefore, are often in a better position to weather a storm that interrupts the food supply.
So if you struggle to build muscle, is there any hope for you? Surely there must be something that you can do!
It turns out that there is, but you should never expect the same results as somebody with genetics that predispose them to muscle formation.
Here are some of the reasons that your muscles won’t grow, even if you hit the gym hard.
You’re Not Supplementing
When you look at bodybuilder muscles in magazines, you’re seeing something that is genuinely extreme. These people dedicate their existence to building bigger biceps and firmer abs. And they take some pretty drastic measures to get there.
It’s not just a matter of eating a few egg whites in the morning. Many of these guys have a cozy relationship with their favorite supplement store, ordering pills and potions by the bucketload.
Hardgainers need to pay attention to supplement stacks even more than people who pack on muscle naturally. Creatinine, for instance, is one of the most potent muscle-builders known.
You’re Sticking To The Same Routine, Week After Week
The second major factor you’re not building muscle is that you’re sticking with the same routine, week after week. If you want to get your muscles to grow, you have to signal to the body that it needs to adapt. If you don’t, it’ll become complacent and come to believe that it has found equilibrium.
Where possible, switch up how you work out every week. Try new exercises from new angles. Don’t use the same movements for more than three weeks in a row. And, where possible, combine cardio into your weights routine. Activating both aerobic and anaerobic respiration can be just what you need to force your muscles to adapt.
Being a hard gainer is a reality for many of you. But that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with small muscles. You’re not.