Why am I not building muscle?

Question

I work out about 5 times a week, usually for 45-60 minutes a workout. I'm 18 years old, 6'1, and 165 pounds. The problem is I've been working out for two months and have put on 3 pounds? I take creatine immediately after my workout, and about an hour after I make a protein shake. I eat great, meats/fruits, everything. One day I work biceps/abs and the other tri/chest....then alternate with fri/sat off. What am I doing wrong? One week i'll do 4 sets of 8 with a heavy weight, then next week do 6 sets of 10 with lighter weights, alternating all the time. Any suggestions....I feel like I'm destined to not put on weight.

Answer 1

two things. 1) be patient. two months isnt very long and it takes time to build muscle. 2) skip the light weights and dont stop at 8 reps. Increase the weight by 5 to 10 pounds each set and do reps until you cant do any more. this is the best way to build mass.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

You just answered the reason why you are not building muscle. You are exercising too many times per week. You should work out 3 times per week, and on alternate day where you are not, then you should do lots or cardio, such as swimming as well as jogging.
As for the weights that you lift, doing 3 sets of heavy weights is really all that you need.
By the way, as far as what you weigh, not to be alarmed. Believe it or not you weigh more than myself. I just turned 28 in July, and I am 5'10" tall and I weigh 143 pounds. I don't like lifting weights, and so I avoid it. What I do is jogging 5 miles daily with my dog daily, as well as swimming for 1 hour daily non-stop. I get a fantastic cardio workout, which is really the most important muscle that you have. I highly recommend the same for you as well, and not to be concerned about your weight.
Good luck.

Answer 4

your muscles grow because of 2 reasons. The first is when muscle fibers increase in number and density. This leads to strenth gains acheived with heavy weights, doing between 1 and 7 reps. The second happens when muscles contract for longer. Light weight high rep of 12-15. Then also there is a rep range inbetween these two so using this method and using core exercises meaning ones that work the largest muscle groups, will improve your size. Heres what you do.

Monday: 4sets 5 reps 90 second rests inbetween
wednesday: 2 sets 15 reps 30 sec rest inbetween
friday: 3 sets 10 reps 60 sec rest inbetween

1 wide-grip deadlift
( works: lower back, hamstrings)

2a Dumb-bell incline press
(works: chest, triceps)

2b cable row
(works: back, biceps)

3a wide-grip lat pull down
(works: back, biceps)

3b swiss-ball pike
(works: abs)
* exercises labeled A&B are to be done right after each other before rest.

One gram of protien for each pound of body weight. Drink protein shake right after workout. You may think that you are not going to make gains because you are not in the gym everyday. This is false thinking. The body grows at rest because it is able to repair itself. Everyday workouts were made popular back in the days. These guys were also shooting roids. Eat good and do this routiene and you will pack on the muscle.

Answer 5

there could be a number of problems, the first and most common mistake kids make is taking too much of a suppliment such as creatine, by taking twice as much that is prescribed on the lable you might think it will have twice the affect, if you are taking a suppliment you should be taking less than prescribed to get maximum efficiency, trust me, also if you over work your muscles they will get smaller and weaker, if you are just starting to work out you should probably only work out three times a week without suppliments, you can get your protein though eggs, chicken, fish(tuna), and milk and your creatine through red meat, working out to gain weight is not something you can jump into and expect to see results right away, when you start something new you should start out slow, when you are lifting weight concentrate on the right form which most people (99.99%) dont do, when you do certain exercises, you should only feel one muscle doing the work, for instance, if you are doing bicept curls, lower the weight you are using and stand with your shoulders and elbows (and only your shoulders and elbows) against a wall, try doing the curls now, it should be a whole lot harder (even with less weight) because the only muscle you are using is your bicepts, if you do them any other way (even sitting down on a curling chair) you are using your shoulders back abs and any other muscle that can help

Answer 6

Actually, there are certain body types, and you may possess one of the skinny body types. I would't worry too much about it. Maybe you could cut back a little on working out, but stay working out. Eventually you may start building more muscle. When that happens you should go all out like you are now.

Here is a tip for lifting that many people do not know, concentrate on your life, before and during your lift. Imagine your body doing the exact lifts, in the form, imagine your muslces tightening. This helps build tons of muscle. Have you ever had a dream when you ran in it a lot? If so, you probably felt tired the day after, same thing. If you imagine doing something, your body actually acts as though it does it to an extent

Answer 7

James -
You may not be getting enough protein. Drink your protein shake directly after working out. Some people drink it while working out.

Also, more weight, less reps - bulks you up. More reps, less
weights tones you.

Also, remember that its only been two months for the gained 3 pounds. Just like you should not take weight off to fast....
putting it on too fast can be unhealthy also.

For better insight....ask someone at your local gym. I am sure
that they can give you better insight to what will work for you!!

Good luck

Answer 8

Make sure your consuming 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Spread this over 6 meals/snacks per day . This is roughly 27 grams of protein per meal. Take in good complex carbohydrates with each meal and start by increasing the amount of calories you're currently consuming by 500 calories per day. This equates to 3,500 calories or 1 pound of muscle gain per week. If you begin gaining fat, cut the extra 500 calories out on your non- training days.
Keep in mind that 3 pounds of muscle in two months is 18 pounds per year.
With the above recommendations, I hope you can gain even more.
Best of luck,
Jake Nelson, BS, MS, NASM-CPT
http://www.thesportsclubla.com

Answer 9

I think your expectations of gaining muscle are too high,you can't just put on mounds of muscle after only two months,it takes time.Try increasing the weight after a month or so.What you are doing sounds fine give it a little more time.

Answer 10

you are overtraining and you need to change your chest and tricep workout to where you have 2 days rest because the banch press works the tris hard and they need time to rest and rebuild.
you may consider a weeks rest.