‘Why am I not getting bigger?’ is one of the most common question from bodybuilders around the world. After all you are training hard, with good muscle building nutrition in your diet, yet your gains are still minimal. The frustration can be a huge blow to your motivation after so many months of hardwork. So, what exactly is the answer? Well, there are a few likely causes, see if any of these ring a bell with you, together they show you how to build muscle up:

1) Are you eating lots? Under eaters could be the real name for many hardgainers. As this is frequently the reason for small muscle gains. The key to building muscle mass is frequent high calorie meals! Consuming food every two hours is a very useful guideline that will help you intake the required amount of calories. Make sure you snack lots on food such as: dried fruit and nuts, yoghurt, cottage cheese,  cereal and milk, protein bars, fresh fruit, and protein shakes, etc

2) Are you getting enough protein? To build muscle mass fast you should aim for 1.5 grams of protein for each pound of bodyweight per day. Excellent protein sources include: chicken, fish, turkey as well as dairy products. Eat lots of everything and do not be too concerned about eating low fat products, you need the calories remember. of course you require decent quality calories but you can do a ripping stage at a later date to remove excess body fat. making use of whey protein shakes is an excellent way to increase your protein intake, the larger tubs of course are normally better value of money.

3) Have your routines ceased to be useful? If you can dictate out loud your session off the cuff then that likely means you have been doing the workout for quite a while now. If you do not stimulate your muscle in a variety of ways then it will stop growing. What about really mixing things up with aided lifts, negatives, partials, super sets and so on. You may just try doing the same routine only backwards and se how that change works, how about doing 10 sets consisting of 10 reps for just one exercise like the benchpress (get ready to be sore!) how about taking a week off from your session to allow your body to completely recover. As you can see there are endless variations, make sure you use them.

4) Are you managing to take enough rest? Did you ever witness someone workout and then leave with more muscle than when they had entered? Never. Clearly then you build muscle mass when you are at home and not when you are lifting barbells. If you are not resting lots then you are limiting the amount of time available for the muscle to grow. If anything over compensate and give your body more than enough time to grow. Try reducing your workouts to working out once muscle group per week. Also reducing the number of sets per body part, how about a maximum of 3-5 really intense sets per body part per workout. Give them a go and the results will be the validation of them!

5) Are you consuming enough water? Your progress will suffer dramatically if you aren’t drinking enough. A lot of water is required in order for your to build muscle mass. Carry a bottle with you in the car and never stop drinking from it.

So the initial question: ‘Why am I not getting bigger?’ as you can tell certainly has more than one response. Answer with extreme honesty the above questions and if you need to make a few changes then do so. If you are not meeting just one of the above points then you may well have found the reason for your limited growth. Some alterations are required if any of these guidelines are not being properly followed. Certainly there are a huge variety of reasons why you aren’t building muscle mass fast but they are the typical probelms. Now hit the gym and go get massive!