THE path to most goals isn't usually a straight line and that includes the goal of maximum muscle gains.
Life can throw many unexpected challenges and setbacks our way that can slow down our muscle-building progress, or even cause it to stall out completely for a time. That's life sometimes.
However, from my own experience and through observation, I've noticed that much of what's limiting our progress is often within our control. Some of these progress killers are glaringly obvious, others more subtle.
Of course, there are many reasons for lacklustre muscle growth. But let's take a look at these three major growth blockers, understand how they hinder our gains and discuss how we can avoid these pitfalls.
These things are much more detrimental to our progress than the occasional missed workout or being a few grams out on our macros here and there.
Whether it's buzzwords like 'Dad Bod' or the endless stream of shredded physiques on our social media feeds, there seems to be more pressure to stay lean and 'Instagram Ready' all year, especially for the younger generation.
Influencers are now pushing 'maingaining' – hovering around maintenance calories while trying to build muscle slowly – as a modern alternative to traditional bulking. And while it's a good idea not to gain an excessive amount of body fat in a gaining phase, in swinging too far away from traditional 'bulking', many end up under-eating. This seriously limits their muscle-building potential.
Today's social media can be a warped lens to look through when it comes to gaining muscle. Being lean looks good on a screen, but it's a lousy way to approach gaining muscle.
Staying lean is fine if that's the goal. But if the goal is to add a considerable amount of muscle tissue to your frame, trying to keep those abs ripped all the time is only going to slow or stall progress.
Muscle doesn't grow under a microscope of daily mirror checks and Instagram posts. The reality is that building muscle is a slower process than cutting. And the visual changes aren't always that appealing compared to seeing those deeper cuts appearing in your abs week to week like you do when cutting.
Instead of obsessing over that constant lean look, I'm advocating for embracing a structured bulking phase, where your primary goal is maximum muscle growth. This means eating in a controlled surplus –providing your body with the necessary calories for muscle repair and growth – while keeping your food nutrient-dense.
This isn't an excuse for gluttony and indulgence. Quality physiques aren't usually built by dirty bulking on a diet of processed foods. They're developed through consistently disciplined eating and hard training. Muscle growth is a slow, steady journey that takes a lot of effort and an equal measure of patience. So don't sell yourself short on the quantity or quality of your nutrition when you're looking to gain muscle. Accept the temporary increase in body fat, knowing that when you strip back down, that extra muscle will make you look much more impressive.
There's a certain pride and sense of accomplishment we can feel when we're pushing ourselves hard in the gym. Speaking for myself, that's a feeling I chased in my early days of bodybuilding (and sometimes still do), often at the expense of my recovery and muscle growth.
If you're constantly hammering yourself in the gym without taking enough rest, you're not actually building your physique... you're just breaking it down and not affording your body the time and resources to recover properly. If you don't give your body adequate time to repair and replenish, you're constantly running on depleted resources and under-recovered tissues. This can lead to stagnation, burnout and even injury.
Think of the ability to progressively overload as an outcome of adequate recovery and adaptation from previous hard training bouts. If your performance is declining, your pumps feel flat, or your joints are starting to complain, these are red flags that your recovery is suffering.
Rest days allow your body to super-compensate and come back stronger. I know it can feel like we're being lazy, but it's not. It's about being smart. I've come to value my rest days more and more with age, and so have my tendons!
The best programme in the world won't work if you don't stick with it. One of the biggest progress killers is constantly jumping from one training plan to another, always chasing the next "secret" to muscle growth.
Social media has made this much worse. One minute, someone is convincing us that low-volume, high-intensity training is the key. And then the next, we see a celebrity scientist preaching ultra- high-volume. The result? Constant temptation to switch up your training, not staying consistent with one approach long enough to reap the benefits.
Muscle growth thrives on consistency and progression, not constant change. I joke that if you want to 'shock the body', maybe you should try eating once and training six times a day.
We need to give our bodies time to adapt to a training stimulus. Strength, hypertrophy and neurological efficiency all improve with repeated exposure to the same lifts over weeks and months. If we keep changing our training up before that happens, we can just end up spinning our wheels.
That doesn't mean you should never adjust your plan or experiment with different approaches. But rather than chasing novelty, focus on progressive overload – adding weight when you can, increasing reps and enhancing execution over time.
Stick with a well-structured programme for long enough to see measurable progress. Master the basics, execute them with intent and, as cliched as it sounds, trust the process.
The real "secret" to muscle growth lies in consistent effort and time.
About the Author
Alan Carson is a competitive bodybuilder and certified sports nutritionist based in Worcestershire. Competing since 2014, Alan secured the PCA British Masters Over 40s title in 2023 after returning to the stage following a four-year break. Alan works closely with a select number of clients, blending his expertise in nutrition, bodybuilding training and psychological aspects to help them reach peak potential both physically and mentally. With a passion for transformation, he's dedicated to helping clients improve their health, performance and physiques.
Read Alan Carson's previous columns HERE.
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