You may already know the “common” reasons and factors that contribute to you having a hard time gaining weight and building muscle.
What I want to touch are some common reasons you may not have considered.
1. You are too smart for your own good.
This is a biggie.
I can’t count how many discussions I’ve had with guys who seem to know more about gaining weight than I do.
They are asking me about studies and training techniques that I’ve never even heard of, lol.
Great, I’m not an encyclopedia, but that doesn’t explain why they all weigh less than a buck 25. It’s one think to “know” and but an entirely different thing to do!
Listen, you may certainly be smarter than that huge, buff guy in the gym, but hey… he’s huge and buff, which is what you want so maybe you can learn something there.
Getting bigger is not brain surgery. In fact, many a guy has gotten huge without being the sharpest tool in the shed! Why? Because they can follow basic instructions and they won’t over-think.
2. You over-analyze and second guess.
It’s good to want to know the details and specifics before you begin a program, but don’t let it control you to the point where you do nothing. It’s called “analysis paralysis” and is simply an excuse for not getting started.
3. You overestimate the need for variety in eating.
Don’t like the idea of eating the same foods everyday, day in an day out? Sorry, but suck it up.
Pretty much everyone I know who has tried to create a varied muscle building diet where they eat constantly changing meals each day ends up quitting. On the other-hand, most of those I know who have been successful in building muscle (and losing fat for that matter) end up eating the same boring things each day to achieve that success.
It’s great to have a fancy meal plan with tasty recipes and complicated meals, but a huge part of your success hinges on you actually being able to follow your program.
It’s a huge task to eat more calories. That alone takes work and planning. Now, when you add the element of switching foods each day you make it exponentially more difficult and ultimately doomed for failure.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for switching out foods such as eating fish instead of chicken or trading steak for turkey. Nice and simple. But if you are wanting to cook some long drawn out recipes on a daily basis, it just won’t happen unless you have a personal chef.
4. You overestimate the need for variety in your training.
It’s definitely fun to switch workouts. Heck, pick up a magazine and you are bombarded with the message of “variety”. “You need variety in your workouts”. “If you aren’t gaining, you need to switch it up”. I’m sure you’ve heard all this before.
Now, I will make this quick — if you’re relatively new to training, lack of variety is NOT why you aren’t making progress. In fact, you shouldn’t be switching anything until you have a good strength foundation and some solid reasons to switch. Just wanting to “because” is not a reason.
5. You look too far ahead.
Let’s face it, losing fat or building muscle is a long term commitment and requires some definite work, but don’t discourage yourself before you even begin. If you look at all that you have to do you can easily talk yourself out of it.
It’s like the old saying “how do you eat an elephant?” Of course the answer is one bite at a time. The same goes for losing weight, building muscle or learning to fly an airplane.
So I propose you do this — break your task into smaller weekly goals and then focus only on what you have to do today. Don’t think about next week or next month. Just today.
6. You lack of confidence in yourself and have over-confidence in strangers.
I have a saying on my forum “Don’t let your success or failure depend upon affirmations from strangers”. That simply means don’t let others determine if you will succeed or fail.
Negativity is infectious and all successful people I know avoid it like the plague. Don’t let others discourage you from YOUR plan, YOUR goal and ultimately YOUR success. This holds true for gym acquaintances, coworkers, friends, family and especially internet know-it-alls.
