5 most common muscle growth mistakes
I am so excited that muscle growth is becoming such a popular goal. Gone are the days of restrictive diets and cardio - girls are now choosing to grow muscle and train for strength. I LOVE to see it! However, while a lot of people have a goal to grow muscle, they are often making some key errors which are standing in their way.
Growing muscle is a difficult process, and it requires a lot of patience and commitment. But, like any health and fitness goal, the process becomes a lot easier when you stop standing in your own way, and learn how to make necessary changes to your lifestyle and habits.
To get the most out of your building phase and give your body the best chance at growing muscle, make sure to avoid these 5 common mistakes!
- Not eating enough - This is probably the most common. To build muscle, we need fuel! If you’re spending most of your time in a deficit, you are not creating an optimal environment in your body for muscle growth. Spend time at maintenance or in a small surplus, and remember, you need to eat to grow!
- Overtraining or doing too much cardio - Training too much is going to limit your ability to recover, and will mean you cannot perform to your full potential in your sessions. You need to spend your energy where it counts, so keep cardio to a minimum and ensure you are recovering from your sessions!
- Not allowing enough time - Building muscle is a slow process, and requires a lot of patience. Lots of people pull the pin on a building phase early because they cannot see the results of their efforts, but it’s so important to trust the process and stick with it! Dedicate at least 4-6 months (the longer the better) to a building phase to give your body enough time to change.
- Not training hard enough - Growing muscle happens as an adaptation to stress placed on your muscles, which means you need to be providing your body with sufficient stimulus to grow. If your body isn’t challenged, it won’t change! Make sure you are training with sufficient intensity, and always striving for progressive overload.
- Incorrect exercise selection - Make sure to choose the right exercises for YOUR body. While squats may be great for someone else, they might not be the best for you. Remember, there are no ‘must-do’ exercises. Find variations that work for you and your body!
Soph xx