Hard workouts in the gym can pay off quite well. Hitting the weights
and getting stronger is a great feeling, and so is additional muscle
growth. It is nice to see the results from the hours and sweat that
you've poured into the iron, but eventually you are going to hit a point
where the muscle growth seems to stop. Even though you are still
working out just as hard, the muscles aren't getting any larger. What
does this mean? Have you reached the limit of your genetic potential for
muscle growth?
Chances are that you are nowhere near that
limit. What usually happens is that the body grows used to the workouts
that you are doing, and that means you are going to experience a period
of stagnation. When you keep doing the same workouts without really
challenging your body, you aren't going to get any larger. Diet can play
a part in this as well.
Changing Workouts for More Muscle
You
may have a great workout plan that you've been following for months. It
has gotten the muscles to grow thus far, so many people stick with the
same workout routine week after week, month after month. Eventually, the
body stops responding. You need to change your workouts if you hope to
stimulate more muscle growth, and you can do this in several ways.
First,
consider adding more weight to your exercises. Lower your reps from the
regular eight or ten all the way down to four to six. Make sure that
you have enough weight for the exercises that getting out those four to
six reps is a challenge. For some of the exercises you are doing, you
will likely need to have a spotter who can make sure you remain safe and
that you do them with the proper form. Increasing the weights will hit
your muscles deep, and you should see some new growth.
Second,
change the exercises that you are doing. Instead of using the Smith
Machine for your squats, you can use the regular squat rack. Add dead
lifts if you don't already do them. Use different machines for your
chest instead of the same old bench routine. The key is to hit your
muscles from different angles and with a different intensity to help
spur growth in them.
Rather than grouping the same body parts in
a work out, you might want to mix them up a bit. Rather than always
doing chest and triceps together, do chest and biceps. Add the biceps to
your back day. Do legs and abs, and add calf exercises into your
shoulder routine. Keep the body guessing and wondering what you are
going to do, and you will see that it really helps.
Your Diet Could Play a Part
You may think that you
are eating healthy, and that might be the case. If you are only eating
healthy foods, then the problem might be with the quantity. When you are
trying to build muscle, you need to make sure that you have more
protein in your diet.
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