Have you been putting your time in the gym and the kitchen? It might not seem like it when you look in the mirror or step on the scale. Do you feel you’re Not Making Progress? Here’s Some Reasons Why!

You’re Not Training Hard Enough

We’ve all seen it. The lifter that tosses the bar up and down for endless reps and then just stops. There’s no doubt they could have kept going. Or there’s the lifter who stops at the slightest hint of effort. Rich always said, make every rep count. That means hard work. You’ve warmed up and you’re doing your working sets. If that set calls for 12 reps and you could have done 20, you aren't training hard enough. You’re wasting your time. You won’t see results until getting that 12th rep takes some serious effort.

You Don’t Drink A Shake Or Eat After Training

When you’re done working out, you need to replenish glycogen. You also need to promote repair and recovery of the muscle tissue you just broke down. This will not happen as efficiently as possible if you wait hours to drink a shake or eat a meal. There’s no reason not to have a post-workout shake after your last set. Once you’re done, mix up Real Carbs with Shake Time. Then, about an hour and a half later, have a quality meal.

You’re Eating Too Few Calories

Is muscle mass your goal? You won’t see meaningful progress until you eat more food. Rich always talked about this. He advocated eating at least 6-8 meals a day. He was right. You should be eating lots of high-quality real food. Do you lead a busy lifestyle and just don’t have time for that many meals? Then go liquid with 5% Nutrition! You’ve got several choices - Snack Time high protein squeeze packs, Real Carbs + Protein, Shake Time, Real Carbs Rice, and Real Carbs. It’s easy to have a shake a couple of times a day when time is crunched. That makes getting your meals in a lot easier. 

Eating Too Many Calories

What if your goal is fat loss? To make progress, you have to have an effective caloric deficit, and you have to be active. That means working out, cardio, and any other means of activity. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther out and walk more. Take a brisk walk on your lunch break. 

What about calories? Cut carbohydrates and fats. Regardless of the goal, keep your protein high. If you have caloric space to fill, do it with protein. Also, add Shred Time if you need a potent caffeine hit with your fat burner (or All Day You Shred if you want our legendary BCAA complex). Top it off with Liquid L-Carnitine 3150. These innovative products can make a tremendous difference and help you get you back on track!

You Don’t Get Enough Sleep

How much sleep do you get every night? Is it quality sleep? Experiencing sleep problems will disrupt your progress. If you suffer from occasional insomnia or wake up a lot during the night, try Knocked The F*ck Out. This innovative all-natural sleep aid will help you get the sleep you need. 

Too Much Partying?

Everybody likes to have a good time, right? Is your sleep quality suffering because you like to have a good time a little too often? You can kiss optimal progress goodbye. Studies have shown that overdoing alcohol consumption will stunt your progress in the gym. In addition, alcohol lowers sleep quality, affecting post-workout recovery. Don’t worry, moderate drinking is ok. The secret is to not let it get out of hand. ^(1,2)

You’re Doing Too Much Cardio

If fat loss is what you’re after, you should do serious cardio. However, if mass is your goal, keep cardio to a minimum. Rich used to do cardio every morning for 30 minutes even when bulking. If you are doing the same, you may have to adjust accordingly depending on how you react. One answer is to do your cardio separately from your weight workouts. That’s what Rich did. If every day is too much, do cardio 3 days a week. If you’re trying to gain size, the only reason to increase cardio is if you’re gaining too much fat. In that case, you’d also want to cut carbs and fat calories.⁽³⁾

Not Enough Cardio?

If fat loss is your goal, are you doing enough cardio? Let’s say you’ve been doin 3-4 sessions a week for 30 minutes, and you aren’t seeing results. First, of course, is to check your nutrition, specifically carbohydrates. Next, up your sessions to 45 minutes. Make sure you’re getting your heart rate up, and if need be, add a 5th session. 

Recap

We’ve seen some possible reasons why you might not be making progress. Now you have the solutions and can get back on track. So don’t wait! Grab your 5% supplements and put these tips to good use today!

References:

1. Lakićević N. (2019). The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Recovery Following Resistance Exercise: A Systematic Review. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology, 4(3), 41. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk4030041
2. Colrain, I. M., Nicholas, C. L., & Baker, F. C. (2014). Alcohol and the sleeping brain. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 125, 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-62619-6.00024-0
3. Hawley J. A. (2009). Molecular responses to strength and endurance training: are they incompatible? Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 34(3), 355–361. https://doi.org/10.1139/H09-023