4 Reasons You're Not Gaining Muscle

714rah714 · September 2012

That's a good article. I've been in a calorie deficit for a while now and it has occured to me that it is going to be impossible for me to really gain muscle while doing so.

At least you wont be losing, which is a great concern amongst the MFP community.

Cr01502 · September 2012

so when it says to vary your rep range, how often is it suggested to do so?

I usually design myself a program that looks like this:

Week 1: Endurance Training 15- 20 reps 30 seconds rest
Week 2: Endurance Training 13-15 reps 30 seconds rest
Week 3: Hypertrohy Training 10-12 reps 2 minutes rest
Week 4 Hypertrophy Training 9-11 reps 90 seconds rest
Week 5: Hypertrophy Training 8-10 reps 60 seconds rest
Week 6: Hypertrohy Training 6- 8 reps 60 seconds rest
Week 7: Strength Training 3-5 reps 5 minutes rest
Week 8: Strength Training 1-2 reps 3 minutes rest

As the reps decrease the weight increases. At the end of and 8 week cycle I take a week of active recovery (i.e. yoga, hikes, etc)
then record and reassess my goals. This program is a generic program for Hypertrophy however it can be maniputaletd to change your goals. For example if I'm fighting I would do alot less hypertrophy and do more endurance and power training. As far as cardio goes I have heavy cardio in the Endurance phase of lifting and taper it down during the Hypertrohy and Strength phases.

RiverManUK · September 2012

I eat a high protein diet I thought that helps build muscle is this true? Do you have any suggestion how not to lose the little muscle I have during weight loss?

Only exercise, however mild, helps to maintain or build muscle.

I believe protein is useful as nutrition when exercising as it is easily used by muscles when repairing, instead of getting laid down as fat. Hence the use of protein shakes taken within minutes of finishing exercise.

MMarvelous · September 2012

Bump

neverstray · September 2012

In order to gain muscle, you have to go hard or go home. You can't lift pink barbells and expect to look ike ronnie coleman. NO PAIN NO GAIN! Tkae it from me, strain till' you **** your pants.

...and wind up with a bad case of hemroids. Lol. Great advice.

IronPlayground · September 2012

so its bad to do cardio and strenght training together?

The article talks about the intensity of the cardio. It says cardio paired with strength training has benefits unless the intensity of the cardio is interfering with your strength training.

rachmass1 · September 2012

Bump to read later

nothing1994 · September 2012

Thank u!

Jersey_Devil · September 2012

the only cardio i do on a bulk is HIIT

2youngatheart · September 2012

Bump for later...thanks for sharing!

erickirb · September 2012

so when it says to vary your rep range, how often is it suggested to do so?

-You can do different exercise at different rep ranges in the same workout
-You can do different rep ranges, same routine within the same week but on different days (i.e. Monday-heavy, wed-moderate, Fri-light .)
-You can do the same workout week to week but vary rep ranges weekly, bi-weekly, monthly etc. or
-you can change up the routine and rep ranges along with it every few months.