Whenever we start taking our fitness goals seriously, we get pretty wild in researching
and learning every single detail we possibly can to ensure that we do everything right.
Unfortunately, some important details still slip through the cracks, and that’s especially
the case when trying to understand how to build muscle.
Sure, most of us understand that muscle growth hinges upon good training and getting enough
nutrients.
However, there are some common mistakes that might be holding us back from maximizing our
gains.
Let’s go ahead and dive into three potential muscle building mistakes you might be making
that you should definitely try to fix now.
First, a quick reminder that preorders for new PicFit shirts are still going until August
15th.
Get them for 15% off with the code picfitnew, while you still can at picfitshop.com Thank
you!
Now for number 1: You’re not training close enough to failure.
To build muscle, our goal is to properly activate and fatigue them in order to drive the mechanisms
of muscle hypertrophy adaptation.
First, we need to ensure that we’re maximizing motor unit recruitment, where the size principle
dictates that higher threshold muscle fibers, like type 2 fibers, are only recruited once
fatigue-resistant fibers, like type 1, reaches muscular fatigue.
In short, the best means to fatigue and activate all muscle fibers is to train with relatively
high effort, often achieved with training close to failure.
The only issue, however, is that people’s perception of failure is often a bit off.
Or rather, many people think they’re training close to failure when they actually have plenty
left in the tank.
In order to deal with this inaccuracy, occasionally training to ACTUAL failure, the point in which
you cannot concentrically move a load without sacrificing form, might be the answer.
After all, experiencing actual failure, safely and with a spotter of course, will help you
understand when to stop short of failure in future workouts.
In many programs, it’s often recommended to train to the point where you have about
1 to 2 reps in reserve, or RIR.
This simply means that, had you continue your set, you’d only muster 1 to 2 reps before
reaching failure.
As mentioned, reaching this point consistently will ensure that all muscle fibers are properly
activated, giving your muscles the best stimulus for growth.
Number 2, Mismanaging Progression and Volume I’d be one of the first to tout the importance
of progressing volume in your training especially if your goal is to build muscle.
After all, many studies show that the best predictor of muscle hypertrophy is in fact
volume, which commonly is measured as reps times sets times load, the weight on the bar.
However, this doesn’t mean that more and more volume will always produce more and more
gains.
In fact, too much volume has shownt o have diminishing returns to a point of actually
curtailing adaptation.
The big question though, that is still up for debate in scientific research, is at what
point is more volume no longer effective?
Some experts would break it down to anthropometric measures and fitness levels to summarize a
personalized maximal recoverable volume, or MRV, in which you program into your training.
Some would take a more reactionary approach by gauging how one responds to volume progression.
For most, the simpler option is obviously the second one.
Although it is not entirely accurate, it would at least rely mostly on one important factor:
YOUR response to volume.
How you respond to a certain amount of volume and how it affects your gains, strength, effort
levels, recovery, and even mood, should then reflect your progression programming.
If you’re getting sufficient gains from something like 12 sets per muscle group per
week and dialing that up to 15 sets doesn’t make things better, or even make things worse,
then simply maintaining 12 sets might be best for you.
Some cookie cutter training programs unfortunately don’t do that.
They simply add one rep here and there, throw on an arbitrary load increment per week, or
even tack on more sets just to push volume further while ignoring you actually making
progress.
Now, this is not to say that more volume is not important.
The main takeaway is to progress your volume appropriately based on your actual results
instead of trying to push more volume in order to see results.
And finally, number 3, thinking you need to cut when you actually need to build muscle.
I came to this realization after reading many questions and comments in my other videos.
A lot of people, ironically usually those with little to no training experience, think
that burning fat is the missing ingredient to their muscle aesthetic.
The problem lies, however, when people overemphasize fat burning to the point where they start
eating so less that the nutrients become insufficient in supporting continuous and optimal muscle
growth.
Even if burning fat is your main goal, preserving lean mass should still be a priority.
That’s best achieved with a slight calorie deficit paired with both cardio and resistance
training.
But we’re talking about building muscle.
For most people who are carrying an average amount of weight and fat, the better approach
would be to simply stick to a decent training program, shoot for more protein and healthy
whole food choices, and stay close to your calorie maintenance, the number of calories
sufficient enough for you to sustain your current weight.
It’s amazing how just sticking these fundamentals, plus enough sleep, would get people much closer
to their aesthetic goals than just burning fat.
Instead of reducing bodyfat percentage by reducing fat mass, increasing lean mass to
fat ratio is much more ideal, at least in opinion.
But again, it’s important to stick to the fundamentals and let the results come to you.
And most importantly, be consistent.
And there you have it.
Three potential reasons why you’re not building as much muscle as you can.
I hope you found this video helpful.
Also again, there’s only a few more days left for pre-orders on the new PicFit Shop
launch, so please come check it out today.
Let me know about other muscle building mistakes you might have encountered in the comments
below.
If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with your muscle-loving
friends.
As always, thank you for watching and GET YOUR PROTEIN!