You can build muscle incredibly rapidly in just a few months with the proper nutrition and exercise regimen. However, if you engage in any of these common muscle-building sabotage tactics, you'll experience less than stellar results, even if you're doing everything else right. So keep reading to learn more about the five worst ways you sabotage your muscle-building efforts to avoid making the same mistakes as most other people who want to get bigger and stronger.
1. Not getting enough sleep
We all know that getting plenty of sleep helps improve our overall health and well-being, but it also plays a vital role in building muscle. That's because, during sleep, muscles recover from exercise stress and grow bigger—meaning that if you don't get enough rest, your hard work at the gym may be for nothing. So aim to get about eight hours of quality shut-eye per night (yes, every night).
2. Skipping post-workout nutrition
If you're working out regularly, your body needs to recover and rebuild itself. Skipping post-workout nutrition will slow down muscle growth, recovery, and development. Using a quality protein powder such as LA Whey Gold can help muscles repair themselves more quickly from intense training.
3. Working out with an injury
If you have an injury, your body can give you several signs. Listen to them! If you're experiencing any pain beyond mild soreness, persisting more than a couple of days after an intense workout—it's best to step back from physical activity for at least a few days. As much as we want to push through discomfort, doing so could lead to worsening conditions or even permanent damage (especially if it involves weightlifting). So what should you do instead? Resting and treating your injury is essential; meanwhile, focus on healthy ways to stay fit. A stationary bike or swimming laps are good choices while letting injured muscles heal.
4. Lacking confidence
There's a saying that success breeds success. In other words, when you feel good about yourself and are proud of your accomplishments, it will motivate you to do even more great things. Unfortunately, one of the biggest mistakes people make when building muscle is not feeling confident enough to reach for bigger goals. This could be one of your biggest roadblocks if you have never taken time to celebrate your achievements or don't think highly enough of yourself and therefore believe reaching specific goals is impossible. However, everyone can cultivate confidence, so before long, you may find yourself in a position where everything seems possible. That's precisely how successful bodybuilders get started.
5. Not lifting heavy
If you're not lifting heavy, you're doing yourself a disservice in two ways. First, training with heavier weights is significantly more effective for building strength and power than lighter weights. Second, moving around too light of weight does nothing to develop lean muscle mass, so you'll be thinner, but you won't necessarily look better in clothes (if that matters to you). So to build up your muscles in a way that shows off at least some definition, don't go too light on your lift. If possible, try using weights between 60 and 80 per cent of your one-rep max and don’t forget to use a muscle builder such as Norateen Extreme to give you that strength you need to life like a monster.
