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Training

Working Out Hard – But No Results?

Myprotein
Writer and expert7 years ago
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By Myprotein Writer

Ben White

  When it comes to training there are many different variables to making progress, and, sometimes, even with your best efforts you don't feel like you’re getting anywhere.

Implement the changes below to help you supercharge your results!

Not Mixing Up Your Training?

  If you don’t rotate training on a frequent basis your improvements with that training plan will slow down very quickly.

It is recommended that you change your training regime every 6 weeks to make sure your body doesn’t get used to what you are doing.

? I would also say that every 3 weeks make a small adjustment to your routine to really keep your muscles guessing.

When you keep your muscles guessing they have to adjust to what you’re doing, when you always train the same your body is used to what you’re doing and it is less likely to want to change, switch it up and watch your body adapt!

Training splits

 

training splits

When it comes to training you have to make sure you are training hard - but also training smart.

The idea of training splits is to make sure you are allowing your body adequate time to rest and recover from training sessions as well as being able to devote your time in the gym to really working a specific area hard.

If you’re currently training 4-days a week and performing full body workouts on each of these days, you are not allowing your muscles to recover before the next session. This will mean you aren't going to be making the improvements and results you want.

To remedy this try using a specific body are split similar to the following:

Day Training Split
1 Chest and Triceps
2 Back and Biceps
3 Shoulders and Abs
4 Legs

This will work all the major areas of your body and because it's only one day a week for each area, this will give you plenty of time to recover.

? Training splits like the above, dedicated to specific areas, are great for getting so much more done!

Are You Sleeping Enough?

  Sleep is always mentioned when it comes to training and this is for one very good and crucial reason; your muscle building hormones are only released during sleep. This is the reason babies sleep so much and why they grow so quickly!

You should realistically aim for around 8 hours a night for the optimal amount of recovery.

Struggle to get a lot of sleep? Find out how to sleep better!

Are you eating enough?

 

nutrition for training

Now this is a question I tend to ask a lot of people who are struggling to make the gains they want - and the answer is usually always yes.

However, when we look at the daily diet it's pretty clear to see they are nowhere near eating enough of the essential macronutrients and calories that they need every day.

As a general rule of thumb for someone who wants to gain lean muscle mass you tend to need to eat (roughly):

Protein - 1g per pound of body weight

Carbohydrates - 1.5-2g per pound of body weight

Fats - 0.5g per pound of body weight

? This may sound like a lot of food to get through in your usual 3 meals a day, and in truth if you wanted to eat this amount of food in 3 meals you would need to have a pretty big plate to fit it all on.

? You may instead want to try and eat between 5 and 8 meals a day so you are having smaller amounts of food at more regular intervals to keep your body fueled and to make sure you are hitting your macros.

Keep Falling Off Track?

  Consistency in training and nutrition is very important, when you fall off track for a day it’s not the end of the world!

cheat meal

When it lasts a couple of days its slightly more of a big deal - but if it doesn’t happen too often it isn’t going to cause much of a problem.

The issue is however, falling off the wagon every weekend can really slow down your progress.

It's understandable that it's not possible to spend your whole life living a perfectly 'clean' and healthy lifestyle - but there are things you can go when you go out to keep you on track:

Dinner Out

  Depending on where you go for dinner out you can substitute parts of your meal for something that will fit your macros better. Try swapping chips for rice for example or ask for sauces to be served on the size to limit the caloric intake (plus sauces tend to be packed with sugar)!

At the bar

  Alcohol is full of calories, but because it provides no nutritional benefit these are called empty calories. This means you can take in a lot of additional calories which are just purely going to be stored as fat.

Keep it simple and just drop the amount you drink - or have water in between drinks - this will not only reduce the calories but it will prevent feeling a little worse for wear in the morning. You might even be able to train!

Take Home Message 

  If you are having problems with making the improvements you want, the first step is to check what you’re doing in your training and your nutrition.

Identify your issues and use the tips above to help you get back on track!

Whey ProteinLean muscle

Foam RollerFlexibility

BCAA'sMuscle recovery

Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.

Myprotein
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