Here are some reasons why you're not seeing progress from the gym

Are you frustrated from working out so hard, but still not seeing any progress? Here are some reasons why your progress is stalling.

1.) Your nutrition is terrible. Your diet isn't matching your goals. When it comes down to body composition, your diet is 70% of the equation. You aren’t eating enough protein. Or you're eating too much, or you’re not eating enough. When you start working out harder, you get hungrier. You need to be prioritizing the right types of foods, rather than rewarding yourself with junk food. Also, if you’re not eating enough calories, your body won't be able to grow.

2.) You aren't recovering properly. You need to be getting enough sleep. Sleep is vital in order to repair your muscles. Your muscles grow when they are resting.

3.) Your training isn't matching your goals. You aren’t consistent. You need to have a proper plan in place and stick with it. And that doesn’t mean eating healthy Monday through Friday and then going on a binge over the weekend. And if you want to build muscle, you need to prioritize your energy on lifting weights.

4.) You aren't training close to failure. Every set should end within 4 reps of failure, meaning the weights should be heavy enough so that you can only get another 1 to 4 reps at absolute max. If you want to stimulate muscle growth, you need to be putting stress on your muscles for them to grow and adapt to the stressors.

5.) You aren't using the right load. You should be using 30-85% of your 1 Rep Max to optimize muscle growth.

6.) You’re cheating your reps. Your reps need to use your full range of motion. It will utilize more fibers and allow consistent progression week after week.

7.) Your program is ineffective, or you are doing poor exercises. If you don't feel your muscles working, then find a different movement or exercise. Your workouts may be lacking variety, and you may not be targeting each muscle group appropriately.

8.) You have unrealistic goals. Building muscle takes time. When we start working out, the bar is always set high. But it could be too high. You can't get shredded in 2 weeks or even 4 weeks. It takes months, even years, to get to where we want our physiques to actually be.