Have you ever wondered why your muscles stopped growing after a few months of training, even though you are training very hard? Most people don’t realize that there is a science to increasing muscle, and many factors are involved. First, you need the proper workout, diet, hormones, rest, and supplements to grow ripped muscles. Here are seven reasons your muscles stopped growing and how to get your muscle to grow again.
1. Training too hard.
When you train your muscles intensely, you are breaking down your muscles. So your muscles need to recover from the damages you inflicted on them.
Most people should train each muscle group only once or twice a week. Listen to your body. You need to do less if you don’t recover before your next workout. Some signs of not recovering fast enough are muscle soreness, joint soreness, muscle weakness, fatigue, emotional stress, and fearing your next workout.
2. Training too long.
Keep your workout intense, but do not exercise for more than an hour each time. After 45 minutes of intensive training, your cortisol level will increase. This hormone destroys muscle cells.
Cortisol is a hormone similar to testosterone, but instead of building muscles, it shrinks muscles. The longer your body feels stress, tension, or pressure, the more cortisol it creates. All hormones are the body’s response to the fight-or-flight theory. When your body faces a threat, it has to decide if it will fight or run. Testosterone gives you bigger muscles so you can fight. In contrast, cortisol gives you smaller muscles so you can run more quickly.
3. Not sleeping enough.
You need to sleep more for good muscle growth. Also, this is because your muscles grow when you sleep. So sleep over 8 hours a day and watch those muscles grow faster.
Most people don’t realize that your body repairs and builds itself during sleep. Like a business, your body shuts down at night so it can make repairs and improvements. Most of your hormones are at work while you sleep. Not only does your body build muscle while you sleep, but it also burns stomach fat.
4. Drinking too much alcohol.
Alcohol breaks down muscle mass. It also has many other destructive characteristics. Most people call alcohol a drink. Instead, it is a legal drug that the government sanctions.
The alcohol industry encourages you to drink responsibly, and government officials prohibit you from drinking and driving. However, your doctor and insurance companies also inform you are at risk of damaging your organs when you drink too much.
Also, alcohol distorts your judgment and causes you to make poor decisions that can harm your health and fitness. Finally, too much alcohol can cause a hangover, preventing you from exercising the next day.
5. Not changing workout routine.
You must change your workout routine every 6-8 weeks. Your muscles adapt to your routine and stop growing. You can change your workout through a periodization plan. A good workout program lasts about 16 weeks and addresses frequent change-ups in the exercises, sets, reps, and weight. You should plan for change because your body cannot change without a change in your workout.
6. No progressive overload.
Another form of change is progressive overload. Increasing your reps, sets, or weight every time you train a particular muscle group is best. A workout is a type of work, and we define work as moving heavy objects for a specific amount of time. It takes big muscles to move heavy weight. Thus, the heavier the weight, the bigger the muscles will grow. Because your body adapts, if you slowly increase the weight, your body will grow to respond to your workout.
7. Insufficient protein.
If you want to build bigger muscles, you must eat more protein. Protein is the building block for your muscles. While carbs and fat provide the body with energy, only protein can build muscles. Therefore, we recommend you need 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight equivalent.
If you don’t eat enough protein with your regular diet, try a supplement with protein shakes. While your workout is the match that starts the process, your diet is the fuel that keeps it going. You build a muscular body in the kitchen, not the gym. A good rule is that your diet is 80% of your fitness, and your workout is 20% of your fitness. Therefore, spend more time planning your diet and making more sacrifices.
The bottom line on why muscles stop growing during bodybuilding
Growing muscles is a complex process and can even challenge newbies once the body adapts to a workout. It is not uncommon for newbies to not understand why muscles stop growing. After all, if the training was working, why did it stop?
The seven reasons muscle stops growing even though you are training hard to explain how you can get your muscles to grow again. There are many more methods to grow your muscles more prominent, but these seven reasons and how to overcome them will be sufficient for an average new bodybuilder.
By following sound principles, you can keep your body growing until you reach your genetic ceiling, which takes years to achieve. Keep the process simple. Change your workout and diet as needed to get the best results. Finally, don’t forget that only change causes change.