People go to the gym and start lifting weight in a hope for building muscle size and get stronger. There are amazing benefits for those who can accomplish the goal, however, there are great number of gym enthusiast not seeing the results that they are looking for. Of course, there may be a genetic and environmental factor that may be hindering the ideal outcome, however, there is a possibility that they are not training properly as well.
Training tips, skill tutorial, and sample routines are readily available through internet. Though there are great information out there that can produce amazing results, however, there also an information that may not appropriate. Even when you acquire proper information there is a chance that you may have not understood properly.
In this article I have listed several examples of things that people may be doing that is leading to not seeing any results.
Long Exercise Duration
Wanting the results faster, people tend to exercise for long period of time and with high frequency. Some may train more than 2 hours a session for 6-7 days per week. You may see result initially and may feel good, but there is a high chance of overwork and may lead into burnout. It is important to understand that the muscles get stronger and larger while resting from the exercise. Resting is part of your training and for long lasting results it is vital to balance the exercise and rest. 60 minutes per session with 2-4 times per week is enough.
Chasing Muscle Soreness
Although it is important to train hard, it is not necessary to be sore all the time. If the soreness persists for more than 3 days, the training intensity may have been more than it needed to be. As mentioned earlier, rest and recovery is necessary for muscle growth. Therefore, if you are sore all the time, quality of next session may be compromised.
Muscle soreness represents enough stimulus to the muscles but not a requirement. The muscle does get stronger and larger even without soreness. When you look at cyclist, they have huge thighs but majority of time they are not sore after their training session.
It is false to think your session was a waste because you are not feeling a soreness.
Ignoring the Technique
We all have some level of ego and in the gym, we'd like to look tough and wanting to load up the weights. When you look at YouTube or Instagram, you’ll see people lifting enormous amount of weight and you feel like you should be doing the same.
As much as lifting heavy weight is great way to build strength and size, you cannot appreciate the outcome by ignoring the technique. Grip width on the bar for the bench will determine whether you will be using chest or arm. Proper squat technique does play important role in proper muscle usage along with safety of the exercise.
If you have not mastered the proper technique, learn it first with minimal weight then increase the load to challenge if you can maintain the technique with higher load. If you have any issues mastering technique because of aches and pain, address those issues first.
3 Sets of 10 Repetitions
According to studies repetitions that has benefit in strength and muscle size is anywhere from 1-30 repetitions per set. So why do we settle for 10 repetitions per set only? And why does it have to be 3 sets and not 2 or 5 or 6? Whether it is for strength or muscle size building, you will need enough stimulus. Number repetitions and sets should be selected according to your goal and how much stimulus you want. While you are exercising, these numbers may change based on your soreness, energy level, weight you have set and so on.
For effective relative strength increase through enhancing neural drive we advise to set a load (85-100%)that you can perform for 1-5 reps in perfect form. 6-8 reps per set may be used for strength and hypertrophy gain. 9-12 reps per set is best for hypertrophy while increasing maximal strength. Anything above may have benefit in strength-endurance gains. Reps and sets are usually in inverse relationship, meaning when the repetition is high then the sets are low. When the repetition is low the set is high.
Following Popular Training Program
Designing your training program is not very easy. Even trainers and coaches struggle sometimes. It is understandable for people to rely on internet to search for popular training program. However, popular training program does not mean effective. Biggest reason is it is not designed for you.
Reason why trainers and coaches struggle to write a training program is because every client is different and their condition may vary from session to session. Good thing about creating your own program is you know what you are looking for and familiar with your condition that day.
If you want to follow someone else's training program as a guide, make sure you are adjusting according to your capability and condition. It is fun to challenge yourself with someone else's program, however, there should be baseline program that is dedicated towards your growth.
Kota Shimada
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