Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsNutritional MistakesFactors That Affect Muscle GrowthTraining Mistakes Can Set You Back, Too
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Nutritional Mistakes
Factors That Affect Muscle Growth
Training Mistakes Can Set You Back, Too
Key TakeawaysBuilding muscle can help strengthen your bones, improve your balance, and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.Many factors play a role in how you can build muscle, including nutrition, genetics, and training.Experts say that some common mistakes can hinder muscle growth, like not eating enough protein, not consuming enough calories, overtraining, or having poor form and technique.
Key Takeaways
Building muscle can help strengthen your bones, improve your balance, and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.Many factors play a role in how you can build muscle, including nutrition, genetics, and training.Experts say that some common mistakes can hinder muscle growth, like not eating enough protein, not consuming enough calories, overtraining, or having poor form and technique.
Muscle growth is an important element of an overall fitness and exercise routine. Building muscle enhances strength and speed and can also reduce the risk of injuries or falls as you age.If you’ve been attempting to build muscle but aren’t seeing results, there may be a few things that you’re doing—or not doing—that are affecting your ability to achieve meaningful muscle gains.
Building muscle (hypertrophy) is a complicated process. In fact, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to building muscle, since it depends on factors like what you eat, how you work out, and your genetics.
Nutritional Mistakes That Could Be Sabotaging Muscle Gains
When you’re trying to gain muscle, you’ll probably run into some challenges or roadblocks that can affect your progress. Here are some of the most common mistakes that can hinder muscle growth and how to correct them, according to Danielle Crumble Smith, RDN, a certified registered dietitian at Top Nutrition Coaching.
1. Not Eating Enough Protein
Eatingprotein, such as lean meats, dairy products, and seafood, is crucial for muscle repair and growth. If you don’t consume enough protein, your body will be unable to grow new muscles, and you’ll see suboptimal improvements.
Ensure youget enough proteinfrom various sources like beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, and plant-based proteins throughout the day. The recommendation is0.5 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weightper day for muscle building.So, an individual weighing 140 pounds would require 70 to 112 grams of protein daily.
“There is a limit to how much protein the body can use effectively at one time for muscle protein synthesis,” Crumble Smith said. “For this reason, it is recommended to distribute protein intake evenly throughout the day, aiming for about 20 to 30 grams of high-quality protein in each meal.”
2. Eating Too Few Calories
Muscles need a calorie surplus to grow. Eldayrie said that if your body is in acaloric deficit, its ability to grow muscle is limited. Insufficient calorie intake can create energy deficits, prompting your body to use muscle for energy instead of growth.
To fix this, you’ll need to consume more calories than you burn. An app can help you track your calorie intake and make adjustments as needed. If you are still having trouble boosting your calorie intake or if you have questions about what your body needs, talk to a registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN).
3. Not Eating Enough Carbs
Carbsare the body’s primary energy source during high-intensity workouts. Not eating enough of them can reduce your performance and slow recovery.
Crumble Smith recommends including a variety of whole grains and minimally processed carbohydrates in your diet, such as quinoa, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and oats.
If you’re doing regular, moderate-to-intense training, carb recommendations may range as follows:
For example, anendurance athleteweighing 140 pounds may require around380 to 637 gramsofcarbohydratesaday.
These ranges are designed to support the energy demands of your training and optimize performance. However, they may vary based on different factors.
4. Not Hydrating Enough
Wateris vital for all bodily functions, including muscle contraction and repair.Dehydrationhas symptoms like muscle cramps, fatigue, and decreased exercise performance.
Not sure how much water you need? Crumble Smith recommends using half your body weight as a starting point to figure out how many ounces per day to drink. If you weigh 140 pounds, your baseline hydration goal could be 70 ounces of water (or about 8 cups) per day, and you can adjust according to your activity.
To prevent dehydration, sip water consistently throughout the day, especially before, during, and after workouts. Remember that foods with a high water content (like some fruit) can also help you reach your daily hydration goal.
Water Intake Recommendations
5. Ignoring Healthy Fats
If you aren’t including enoughhealthy fatsin your diet, your body may be unable to produce enough hormones, such as testosterone, to support muscle growth. Relying too heavily on supplements rather than getting nutrients from whole foods can also lead to nutrient deficiencies and/or imbalances. Plus, eating too many protein bars orshakescan also lead to unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects.
Crumble Smith suggests adding more healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish (like salmon and mackerel), and olive oil, to your diet. In general, prioritize a balanced diet rich in whole foods and use supplements in addition to—not a replacement for—whole foods.
6. Neglecting Post-Workout Nutrition
After a workout, your body is in a prime state to absorb nutrients and start the process of muscle repair and growth.
“Your body needsnutrients to kick-start recovery post-exercise,” Crumble Smith said. If you don’t give your body nutrition after working out, it could lead to slower muscle growth and more fatigue.
She recommends having a balanced meal of proteins and carbohydrates after your workouts and training sessions. If you are not able to go home after a workout, pack a balanced meal of protein and carbohydrates with you to refuel.
Several factors determine your ability to grow and build muscle, including genetics, nutrition, and training. According to Crumble Smith, these elements influence your muscle development and overall fitness:
“This type of exercise causes microtears in muscle fibers, which then repair and grow back stronger and larger,” she said.
The fundamental principles of effective resistance training are consistency, intensity, recovery, and progressive overload. Progressive overload means gradually increasing your routine’s weight, frequency, or number of repetitions to challenge your muscles.
Muscle Strength Matters for Healthy AgingResearch shows that exercises that build muscle mass can slow age-related cognitive decline and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Muscle-building exercise can also improve heart health andlower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Muscle Strength Matters for Healthy Aging
Research shows that exercises that build muscle mass can slow age-related cognitive decline and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Muscle-building exercise can also improve heart health andlower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Undertraining or engaging in low-intensity workouts can also hinder muscle growth. If you’re not overloading your muscles (for example, if you’re using weights that are too light), they won’t be broken down. If your muscle is not breaking down, it won’t get the chance to grow back stronger and build more muscle.
“A lack of microdamage to the muscle means muscle growth will be much slower,” George Eldayrie, MD, a sports medicine physician at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, told Verywell.
Muscle overload requires rest. Make sure you take at least one day of rest per week and avoid strength training in the same muscle group two days in a row.
Crumble Smith said that when creating a lifting plan, remember compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. These exercises work with multiple muscle groups and are highly effective for building strength and muscle.
Your training routine should include a variety of compound movements, like lunges, Bulgarian split squats, leg presses, pull-downs, upright rows, and push-ups. If you are unsure which compound exercises to include, ask a personal trainer or physical therapist.
Summary
Easily overlooked nutritional mistakes, such as not eating enough protein or carbs and underhydrating, can prevent muscle gain. To increase muscle mass more efficiently, fix these mistakes, and maintain consistency and commitment to exercise and nutrition.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Sports Medicine.Resistance training and injury prevention.American College of Sports Medicine.Protein intake for optimal muscle maintenance.Henselmans M, Bjørnsen T, Hedderman R, Vårvik FT.The effect of carbohydrate intake on strength and resistance training performance: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2022;14(4):856. doi:10.3390/nu14040856Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Water and healthier drinks.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?.National Capital Poison Center.Do protein bars give you gas?.Northey JM, Cherbuin N, Pumpa KL, Smee DJ, Rattray B.Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(3):154-160. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096587Johns Hopkins Medicine.Exercise and the heart.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Sports Medicine.Resistance training and injury prevention.American College of Sports Medicine.Protein intake for optimal muscle maintenance.Henselmans M, Bjørnsen T, Hedderman R, Vårvik FT.The effect of carbohydrate intake on strength and resistance training performance: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2022;14(4):856. doi:10.3390/nu14040856Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Water and healthier drinks.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?.National Capital Poison Center.Do protein bars give you gas?.Northey JM, Cherbuin N, Pumpa KL, Smee DJ, Rattray B.Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(3):154-160. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096587Johns Hopkins Medicine.Exercise and the heart.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American College of Sports Medicine.Resistance training and injury prevention.American College of Sports Medicine.Protein intake for optimal muscle maintenance.Henselmans M, Bjørnsen T, Hedderman R, Vårvik FT.The effect of carbohydrate intake on strength and resistance training performance: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2022;14(4):856. doi:10.3390/nu14040856Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Water and healthier drinks.Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?.National Capital Poison Center.Do protein bars give you gas?.Northey JM, Cherbuin N, Pumpa KL, Smee DJ, Rattray B.Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(3):154-160. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096587Johns Hopkins Medicine.Exercise and the heart.
American College of Sports Medicine.Resistance training and injury prevention.
American College of Sports Medicine.Protein intake for optimal muscle maintenance.
Henselmans M, Bjørnsen T, Hedderman R, Vårvik FT.The effect of carbohydrate intake on strength and resistance training performance: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2022;14(4):856. doi:10.3390/nu14040856
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Water and healthier drinks.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.How much water do you need?.
National Capital Poison Center.Do protein bars give you gas?.
Northey JM, Cherbuin N, Pumpa KL, Smee DJ, Rattray B.Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(3):154-160. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096587
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Exercise and the heart.
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