You're training 4-5 times a week, you're training hard (or at least you think you are), you're eating protein with each meal, and you're even having a shake post workout…but yet your weight isn't climbing at the rate it should be.
I hear it all too often fr om those who are supposedly trying to add size, "I'm doing this, I'm doing that." SO! Unless you're hammering down the fundamentals day in day out, you're going to end up getting caught up in a game tug of war. Putting on muscle can be an extremely slow and laborious process. The human body is incredibly good at adapting to a stimulus, and it'll do its upmost to maintain homeostasis - a normalised state whereby things more or less stay the same. This is especially true with muscle - if you haven't got all your ducks in a row, and you're not providing it with an optimum environment to grow, then thou shalt remain the same.
1) Calorie Conundrum - the calorie intake is often where people become unstuck. Your muscles need calories to grow and not just any old calorie intake. If you're not providing them with a positive energy balance aka a surplus (an amount greater than daily calorie intake + expenditure), then the chances of them growing are slim. In certain situations, growth has been known to occur in a deficit but that's for another day. Being in a surplus will inevitably lead to an increase in body fat - fear not. If you're not putting on a little excess, the chances are you're not giving your muscles the best possible chance of growing.
2) Mac-grow's - without an appropriate macro balance, once again, you're going struggle to provide that optimum environment for growth. Protein aka the building blocks are essential for growth, but so are carbs and fats - useful for helping regulate your hormonal system. Substituting either of the two at expense of more protein is a schoolboy error as an inadequate carb intake can decrease testosterone, increase cortisol and have an effect on training performance = less gains.
3) Have A Plan, Stan! - entering a gym without a plan is like going to the airport without a passport. Put simply, a lack of structure isn't conducive to the gains. Each week you need to be providing a stimulus that surpasses or differs from the previous week allowing for the required breakdown of muscle tissue. Don't just enter the gym and try and wing it - have a plan; keep a record of training sessions, gradually increase the stimulus and alter exercise order/training splits from time to time to avoid stagnation.
4) Training - muscle is one needy old soul, it needs constant mollycoddling to ensure that it's being given the correct environment to thrive. This is true both in and out of the gym. Merely shifting a weight from A to B doesn't allows cut it, especially when you're at the business end and have been training for a while. Ideally, you need to be hitting muscle groups twice a week, plying them with a combination of volume and intensity, and adhere to methods such as mind muscle connectivity, time under tension etc.
5) Rest - your time away from the gym is when the fun stuff happens - the growth. When you train, you cause trauma to the muscle which breaks it down (muscle protein breakdown). Through the use of food (aka your calories), supplementation and rest, you give them the necessary tools they need to build back up (rate of muscle protein synthesis) and encourage growth to occur. Post training, protein synthesis rates are elevated for up to 48 hours and this is your opportunity to get the macros (carbs, fats, protein) on board. This doesn't mean you need to wait 48 hours before you can train that muscle group again - very much dependent on training intensity and volume. Also, consistently getting sufficient sleep is intrinsic to repair and growth.
Make sure all those ducks are well aligned and don't overcomplicate the process. Find a method that works for you and allows you to stick at it week in week out - consistency is key. Stop looking for the perfect workout (it doesn't exist) - train hard, recover even harder. Stop looking for the perfect macro intake or supplement - create a positive energy balance (surplus) with sufficient amounts of protein (and carbs). Trust the process and keep repeating it until you're hench!
