WEEK 133 :: How Should One Alter Workout If They Are Not Growing?

[the_fake_webmaster]

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* Note: How can I win? Answer all questions in the order that they are asked.

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TOPIC: How Should One Alter Their Workout If They Are Not Growing?

For the week of: 10/14 - 10/20
Monday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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If you are frequently hitting the gym and not making progress you need to step back and make some changes.

How should one alter their workout routine if they are not growing? Be specific.

What are some reasons why people will stop seeing progress for a period of time?

How important is it to alter the workout if you have stopped growing but still train the same?

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

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Thanks,
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[dragonmoose]

one can alter there workout in many ways if there not growing. known also as a plateau.
First you need to understand why this is. In a nutshell your muscles/body got use to it and is able to handle the load of your work out easily. its not afraid of your work out or being ripped up by it either. there fore it doesnt need to grow or get stronger. it can handle it now.
so then you need to change that by one/some /or all of the following.

1 more weight.
2. more sets
3. more excercises
but not really more repetitions keep between 6-and 10 for growth.
4. more calories more protein more chicken and eggs and some beef too but more chicken than beef.
add something all the time. keep your body guessing ohh and having a nice soreness that kind of hurts for the next three days might be a good indicator for you also. means you ripped it up and now the body must rebuild the muscle bigger better and stronger for next time.


people can stop seeing results from other things besides an accustumed workout.
nutrition very important!!!!!!!!!!!! more important than working out correctly.
you need to eat. and eat quality food. chicken turkey fruits vegetables take your pick.
but even more a grreat protein shakes and supplements. ie creatine glutamine, multi vitamin. and lots of water. so eat eat ..... and eat quality calories

and also remember GET YOUR SLEEP..... ITS VERY IMPORTANT ALSO. its when you repair and grow.
if you party i recommend dont party on days youve worked out. go to sleep.
it better for you.

and on altering your workout YES it is very important to alter your work outs. like i said earlier keep your body guessing and keep it under a harder load than the previous work out and youll get results.
1. more weight
2. add another excercise to routine
3. add more sets
4. more food more protein more calories

[-lysergic-]

In order for the athlete or lifter to understand why he/she is stuck in a plateau one must first take a step back and evaluate ones position with regard to -
1.training
2.nutrition
3.rest

1.Often athletes train far too hard and far too frequently.
2.Sometimes they train far too less and with low intensity.

The body has a tendency to stay in the same state.

For athletes in the first category it would be wise to take a week or two off from training during which he must dramatically increase his calorie intake i.e spike his protein intake by roughly 15-20% carbs by 30-40% and fats marginally.If the athlete has been training exhaustively enough in the period before he/she should experience minor gains in the form of muscle mass and negligible gains in the form of fat depending upon the athletes genetic composition.Food intake must remain very clean as this is a rest period of little or no activity during which the athlete is feeding his/her muscles.Such a program is advisable for athletes by perhaps taking a weeks vacation to ones favorite holiday destination.
After this period one could follow a modified functional workout routine to further spike gains coupled with another marginal increase in caloric intake(protein by 5-10% and carbs by 10-20%).Fats composition must also increase proportionately in sync with ones prior intake.
The routine one may follow could look like this
MON:SQUAT 5*10-6 HEAVY
DEADLIFT "
LUNGES "
LEG CURL SEATED AND LYING5*6-10 HEAVY
CALF RAISES( ALTERNATE SEATED OR STANDING) "

*DONT FORGET TO WARM UP WITH 1-2HIGH REP LOW WT SETS

TUE: PULLUPS 3* FAILURE ADD WEIGHT IF REPS GO ABOVE 10 ON ALL 3 SETS
LAT PULLDOWN 5*6-10 HEAVY
BENT OVER BARBELL ROWS "
ONE ARM OR T BAR ROWS(ALTERNATE)3*6-10 HEAVY
SHRUGS"
WED : ABS/OBLIQUES FIRST THEN CARDIO-40MINS MODERATE INTENSITY
ABS MUST BE PERFORMED WITH RESISTANCE AND REPS KEPT IN THE 6-12 RANGE SQUEEZING AND EXHALING ALL THE AIR OUT OF ONES LUNGS ON THE POSITIVE PHASE OF THE MOVEMENT
ROPE CABLE CRUNCH 5*6-10 MODERATE WEIGHT(exhaust upper abdominals first leaving greater chances of isolating the often neglected lower ab region)
HANGING LEG RAISES "
SIDE TWISTS OR AIR BIKE NO WEIGHT


THURS: BARBELL BENCH PRESS 5*6-10 HEAVY
INCLINE/DECLINE DB PRESS "
CLEAN JERK AND PRESS "
CABLE CROSSOVER 3*8-10
PUSHUPS TO FAILURE 3 SETS

FRI : CARDIO AND ABS

SAT : SEATED DB OR BARBELL PRESS 5*6-10 HEAVY
FRONT RAISES 3*8-12
LATERAL RAISES 5*8-12
CABLE REAR DELT RAISES 3*8-12
SEATED MACHINE REAR DELT FLY "
CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS5*6-10 HEAVY
SKULL CRUSHER "
DUMBELL KICKBACKS 3*8-12
BARBELL OR EZ BARR OR PREACHER CURL 5*6-10 HEAVY
CONCENTRATION CURL 2*8-12
HAMMER CURL3*8-12

SUN : FULL REST PLUS MASSAGE atleast once in 2-3wks(IF ACCESS IS POSSIBLE)

ALL MOVEMENTS ASIDE FROM CLEAN JERK AND PRESS MUST BE PERFORMED IN A CONTROLLED FASHION SQUEEZING THE MUSCLE ON EACH REP

THIS WORKOUT IS VERY INTENSE AND WILL ADVOCATE A SPONGE EFFECT (DRAIN THE MUSCLES COMPLETELY) COUPLED WITH A HIGH CALORIC INTAKE WILL FORCE THE MUSCLES TO GROW REGARDLESS OF YOUR GENES.
THE PROGRAM IS USELESS WITHOUT A HIGH CALORIE DIET.
REST 6-10HOURS

For athletes in the second category they should perform this routine for a cycle of 6-8wk coupled with a calorie spike of 15-20%protein 20-40%carbs and fats marginally,after which the athlete must take a week to ten days of active rest (no weight training) during which food intake must be further spiked(proteins 5-10% and carbs 10-20% and fats marginally)

GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BEST

[TheSovereign]

How should one alter their workout routine if they are not growing?

There are many things you can do to "shock" your muscles. If you're not growing than that could possible mean that you have been doing the same workout for too long of a period of time. In other words, you maybe have not improved your fitness, only become better at a particular workout regimen. However, if you like the workout your on there are still some changes you can make with in the workout to shock your muscles and spur some growth.
1) Change the order of your lifts. Don't always do chest followed by back and back followed by legs. Perhaps make a cycled where you do Chest on Monday, Back on Wednesday, and Legs on Friday; then the next week do Legs on Monday, Chest on Wednesday, and Back on Friday.
2) Do more reps. Its a different type of training if you lighten up the weight but preform the lift for many times. If this is something you're not used to than chances are your muscles will be shocked and forced to work harder, resulting in some good gains.
3) Do fewer sets. If muscular endurance (essential # 2) as listed above is not your cup of tea, then try doing a small number of sets with a medium number of reps. For example 5 sets of 5 reps or 3 sets of 8 reps. These will move your tenancy from light weight & lots of reps to a heavy weight for a few reps, the key being that you're always pushing the envelope and making slow but steady progress.
4) DO ALL 3!! If you like your current workout, then change up the order and in about a month, change the order again AND change the number or sets and reps, and in another month do the same thing. Don't be afraid to be creative when it comes to designing your workout routine. Maybe throw in 3 sets of 25 or 8 sets of three. Anything out of the norm will shock your muscles, make them work harder, and help you break a plateau.

** NOTE: it is important to change up your workout any where from a little, to doing a completely different workout. This should be done every 4 - 6 weeks to ensure that you are constantly shocking your muscles and never getting to used to a particular routing. Keep in mind that even though change is good, it takes about a month to see/feel the effects of a particular program **


What are some reasons why people will stop seeing progress for a period of time?

Reason 1: You have been doing the same thing for too long, if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. Read above for more on this reason.

Reason 2: You're not getting enough sleep. Sleep is very important because while your body is resting it is repairing and rebuilding itself. If you're not getting enough sleep you may be missing out on some serious growth opportunities.

Reason 3: You're over training! Rest is just as important as the workout itself. I read somewhere that what you do in the gym doesn't make you stronger, its what you do outside the gym. Your workout breaks down your muscles, its up to what you do outside the gym to rebuild them. Rest days are very important. It is also a good idea to take as many rest days as you normally would work days every 4-6 weeks. So, if I've been training hard for 5 weeks and I normally workout 6 times per week, than I should take 6 days off so that I can FULLY recover and get rid of ALL the lactic acid in my system.


How important is it to alter the workout if you have stopped growing but still train the same?

It is absolutely CLUTCH!!! Many people, including myself for a while, never stop to realize that the reason they have stopped growing is because the are training the same. In order to make gains you need to be constantly pushing yourself to have a higher level of fitness. Usually our bodies are not static. We are either getting in better shape or getting in worse shape. Which one are you? If you've read everything above, than perhaps you will understand the importance of changing up your workouts and shocking your muscles. There is a difference between producing a higher level of fitness and becoming more productive at a particular workout.

[steveironpump]

Training to get big is something that everyone can do, yet very few people know how to actually go about it the efficient way. A common pitfall that many run into is called a "plateau" or a "rut". Essentially what happens is that the body adjusts to the workout routine that a person is doing and it refuses to build extra muscle mass. Most people get frustrated by this and they wonder why their body won't respond. If this is you, then here are some simple effective strategies to apply to your workout routine that will get you past that nagging plateau and back into building muscle:

1) Learn the Difference between Overload and Fatigue

The most common mistake that people make while trying to build lean muscle mass is they don't know the difference between fatigue and overload. Overload can best be described as placing more stress on a muscle than it can handle. The net effect of overloading a muscle is an anabolic (muscle-building) response from the body. Optimum overload occurs within the 4-6 rep range with roughly 6-9 heavy sets per muscle. Most people end up doing workouts that consist of high repetitions, which then results in fatigue of the muscle. The problem with fatiguing a muscle is that it is simply doing just that, making it tired. Fatiguing a muscle also results in unwanted lactic acid concentration in the bloodstream, which impairs proper nutrient transport and thus, it hurts muscle growth.

The whole idea behind overload is that the body needs a REASON to grow. Doing high repetition exercises doesn't give the body a good enough reason to grow. It is not to say that someone couldn't build muscle mass by doing higher repetitions because that would be false. However, the main concept we are after here is the most effective way to build muscle mass and avoid a plateau. Therefore, the 4-6 rep range is your best bet.

2) Train Every Body Part Only Once a Week

It is important to only train each body part once a week when overloading the muscles. This is critical because the body will need that full week to recover completely. This week of rest will allow the muscle to grow much more effectively, since muscle growth occurs after leaving the gym. Lifting weights only prepares the muscle for growth. The actual growing occurs in that time period between workouts.

3) Vary the Routine

Another very critical component to avoiding a plateau in muscle growth is in relation to the set up of a workout routine. Essentially, the fundamentals of a good workout program should not change. However, the weekly layout should change every 4-8 weeks. For instance, let's say your workout routine looks something like this:

Monday: Chest and Triceps
Tuesday: Back and Lats
Wednesday: Legs and Calves
Thursday: Shoulders and Traps
Friday: Abs, Biceps and Forearms

Let's say is has been 6 weeks and it's time to change it up. Changing it up would look something like this:

Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Shoulders and Triceps
Wednesday: Back, Lats, and Abs
Thursday: Biceps and Forearms
Friday: Chest

Besides changing up what body parts get worked on what days, it is also important to change up the specific workouts that are being done for each body part. For instance, if you are doing a chest workout that consists of bench press, incline bench press, and cable flys. Change it up. For the next training cycle, your chest workout could start off with an incline dumbbell press. You could then transfer to a dumbbell bench press and then finish off with weighted dips.

By changing up the specific lifts that you perform, you are hitting the muscles with a different stimulus that they are not used to. This will keep your body slightly off balance so that it can't adjust to the workout routine. When the body can't adjust, it can only respond by building more muscle mass.

4) Weak Point Training

Weak point training takes a certain degree of self-assessment. The idea is identify the body part that is the most underdeveloped. For instance, if your triceps are preventing you from overloading your chest because they do the bulk of the work during any chest workout, then do triceps on Monday. Pick the most effective exercises and focus all of your attention on that Monday workout. In the case of the triceps, the most effective workouts to include would be lying triceps extensions (Lying Close-Grip Barbell Triceps Extension Behind Head), triceps pushdowns, and dumbbell kickbacks (Standing Bent-Over One-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extension).

This concept will play a major role in getting past a plateau especially with a workout routine that involves mostly compound movements.

5) Up the Intensity

Intensity is probably the most important factor to effective weight training. Bringing a high level of intensity to the gym is a must for anyone serious about building muscle. Just think about it. The whole concept of weight training is to push the body past its limits. If you walk into the gym with a lazy, sauntering attitude, then how can you expect to take your body to that next level? Your body simply won?t respond.

Now imagine that you walk into the gym with a demeanor that borderlines insanity. I?m not talking about getting just a little pumped up. I?m talking about taking your mind to such a state that people will literally think you?re insane. If you have no idea what this involves, then go to youtube.com and watch ?Branch Warren Unchained? and you?ll know what I?m talking about. Upping the intensity will cause the adrenal glands to release extra adrenaline into the bloodstream. This extra adrenaline will be the difference between performing a set with the same old weight and performing a set with an extra 10 lbs tacked on the bar. Intensity will always be the defining factor of someone who is serious about building muscle.

6) Week of Rest

It is very important to take some time off and rest while weight training to build mass. After countless workout sessions, the body eventually gets just plain tired. Taking a week off will allow the body to recover completely. During this week off, the body will actually be in a highly anabolic state and noticeable mass gains usually take place. A week of rest should be taken at least once every 2-3 months to allow the body to completely recover in between periods of training. Noticeable strength gains also accompany taking a week off.

7) Intense Cardio

Cardiovascular exercise can help the body pack on muscle more efficiently if it is done correctly. Proper cardio will speed up the body?s metabolism of food and will increase the amount of blood in the body. More blood flowing through the body results in more nutrients being processed and allocated for muscle tissue repair and growth

It is a well known fact that cardio anywhere near a weight training session will be highly detrimental to muscle growth. It is also known that cardiovascular activity exceeding 20 minutes is generally detrimental as well. Therefore, a good bar to shoot for is 15 minutes of high intensity cardio that occurs long after a weight training session. For instance, if your weight training session is in the morning, then do cardio at night or vice versa. It is important to note too that ?high intensity? means that you should be breathing very heavily during the session and it should take a little while for you catch your breath afterwards.

8) Check your Form

One factor that may not seem like a big deal is in relation to the actual performance of an exercise. Improper form can take the overload off of the intended muscle groups, which results in those groups not developing properly. Strict form is not necessary, but it is important to make sure that the intended muscle groups are being overloaded. If you are unsure, then have someone watch you and give you feedback to make sure that you performing the movement properly. Most cell phones also have video capability so you could have someone record you performing an exercise as well in order to check your form.

Personally, I can usually tell the next day whether I performed certain exercises correctly because the muscles will either be really sore or they won?t seem to hurt at all. If they don?t hurt at all, then I will analyze my workout to see what needs to change. Usually, this means a minor reassessment of form or a simple substitution of a good exercise for a bad one that is hard to perform correctly.

Conclusion
The most common reasons why people generally stop seeing results in the gym are very simple and usually consistent. The main reason is probably because there is very little variance in their workout routine. The body adapts and within a month or two, they stop seeing results. This is why it is critical to outline the fundamentals of a workout program and then make adjustments to the routine so that the body can?t quite adjust to what you decide to throw at it.

Another common issue that many people seem to have is that they don?t train with enough resistance or with enough intensity. Personally, I don?t see how one can expect to build muscle without lifting heavy weight at a high level of intensity. It completely neglects the truth about how the body works. If you can take anything from all of this, then remember one thing: the body needs a REASON to grow. Heavy weight and a high level of intensity are really the only way to achieve astronomical muscle growth.

Obviously, proper rest and recovery are absolutely critical for success when trying to pack on muscle. The body doesn?t grow in the gym. Rather, it grows during the other 23 hours outside of the gym. This only happens as a result of good solid nutrition and a lot of sleep. Everything outlined above will work extremely well but will only work if rest and recovery are made just as much of a priority as the actual workout itself.

Having your results compromised is very irritating, but I can guarantee you that if you manipulate your workout to fit the guidelines above, then hitting plateaus will be a thing of the past. I have personally witnessed individuals gaining as much as 30-40 lbs of lean mass in a year or less by simply following the same basic idea that I have outlined above. There is nothing to lose. Ditch the plateaus and move on to new muscle growth!

[steveironpump]

Sorry, some of my quotation marks as well as apostrophe's turned into question marks. It won't let me edit though........

[steveironpump]

Training to get big is something that everyone can do, yet very few people know how to actually go about it the efficient way. A common pitfall that many run into is called a "plateau" or a "rut". Essentially what happens is that the body adjusts to the workout routine that a person is doing and it refuses to build extra muscle mass. Most people get frustrated by this and they wonder why their body won't respond. If this is you, then here are some simple effective strategies to apply to your workout routine that will get you past that nagging plateau and back into building muscle:

1) Learn the Difference between Overload and Fatigue

The most common mistake that people make while trying to build lean muscle mass is they don't know the difference between fatigue and overload. Overload can best be described as placing more stress on a muscle than it can handle. The net effect of overloading a muscle is an anabolic (muscle-building) response from the body. Optimum overload occurs within the 4-6 rep range with roughly 6-9 heavy sets per muscle. Most people end up doing workouts that consist of high repetitions, which then results in fatigue of the muscle. The problem with fatiguing a muscle is that it is simply doing just that, making it tired. Fatiguing a muscle also results in unwanted lactic acid concentration in the bloodstream, which impairs proper nutrient transport and thus, it hurts muscle growth.

The whole idea behind overload is that the body needs a REASON to grow. Doing high repetition exercises doesn't give the body a good enough reason to grow. It is not to say that someone couldn't build muscle mass by doing higher repetitions because that would be false. However, the main concept we are after here is the most effective way to build muscle mass and avoid a plateau. Therefore, the 4-6 rep range is your best bet.

2) Train Every Body Part Only Once a Week

It is important to only train each body part once a week when overloading the muscles. This is critical because the body will need that full week to recover completely. This week of rest will allow the muscle to grow much more effectively, since muscle growth occurs after leaving the gym. Lifting weights only prepares the muscle for growth. The actual growing occurs in that time period between workouts.

3) Vary the Routine

Another very critical component to avoiding a plateau in muscle growth is in relation to the set up of a workout routine. Essentially, the fundamentals of a good workout program should not change. However, the weekly layout should change every 4-8 weeks. For instance, let's say your workout routine looks something like this:

Monday: Chest and Triceps
Tuesday: Back and Lats
Wednesday: Legs and Calves
Thursday: Shoulders and Traps
Friday: Abs, Biceps and Forearms

Let's say is has been 6 weeks and it's time to change it up. Changing it up would look something like this:

Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Shoulders and Triceps
Wednesday: Back, Lats, and Abs
Thursday: Biceps and Forearms
Friday: Chest

Besides changing up what body parts get worked on what days, it is also important to change up the specific workouts that are being done for each body part. For instance, if you are doing a chest workout that consists of bench press, incline bench press, and cable flys. Change it up. For the next training cycle, your chest workout could start off with an incline dumbbell press. You could then transfer to a dumbbell bench press and then finish off with weighted dips.

By changing up the specific lifts that you perform, you are hitting the muscles with a different stimulus that they are not used to. This will keep your body slightly off balance so that it can't adjust to the workout routine. When the body can't adjust, it can only respond by building more muscle mass.

4) Weak Point Training

Weak point training takes a certain degree of self-assessment. The idea is identify the body part that is the most underdeveloped. For instance, if your triceps are preventing you from overloading your chest because they do the bulk of the work during any chest workout, then do triceps on Monday. Pick the most effective exercises and focus all of your attention on that Monday workout. In the case of the triceps, the most effective workouts to include would be lying triceps extensions (Lying Close-Grip Barbell Triceps Extension Behind Head), triceps pushdowns, and dumbbell kickbacks (Standing Bent-Over One-Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extension).

This concept will play a major role in getting past a plateau especially with a workout routine that involves mostly compound movements.

5) Up the Intensity

Intensity is probably the most important factor to effective weight training. Bringing a high level of intensity to the gym is a must for anyone serious about building muscle. Just think about it. The whole concept of weight training is to push the body past its limits. If you walk into the gym with a lazy, sauntering attitude, then how can you expect to take your body to that next level? Your body simply won't respond.

Now imagine that you walk into the gym with a demeanor that borderlines insanity. I'm not talking about getting just a little pumped up. I'm talking about taking your mind to such a state that people will literally think you're insane. If you have no idea what this involves, then go to youtube.com and watch "Branch Warren Unchained" and you'll know what I'm talking about. Upping the intensity will cause the adrenal glands to release extra adrenaline into the bloodstream. This extra adrenaline will be the difference between performing a set with the same old weight and performing a set with an extra 10 lbs tacked on the bar. Intensity will always be the defining factor of someone who is serious about building muscle.

6) Week of Rest

It is very important to take some time off and rest while weight training to build mass. After countless workout sessions, the body eventually gets just plain tired. Taking a week off will allow the body to recover completely. During this week off, the body will actually be in a highly anabolic state and noticeable mass gains usually take place. A week of rest should be taken at least once every 2-3 months to allow the body to completely recover in between periods of training. Noticeable strength gains also accompany taking a week off.

7) Intense Cardio

Cardiovascular exercise can help the body pack on muscle more efficiently if it is done correctly. Proper cardio will speed up the body's metabolism of food and will increase the amount of blood in the body. More blood flowing through the body results in more nutrients being processed and allocated for muscle tissue repair and growth

It is a well known fact that cardio anywhere near a weight training session will be highly detrimental to muscle growth. It is also known that cardiovascular activity exceeding 20 minutes is generally detrimental as well. Therefore, a good bar to shoot for is 15 minutes of high intensity cardio that occurs long after a weight training session. For instance, if your weight training session is in the morning, then do cardio at night or vice versa. It is important to note too that "high intensity" means that you should be breathing very heavily during the session and it should take a little while for you catch your breath afterwards.

8) Check your Form

One factor that may not seem like a big deal is in relation to the actual performance of an exercise. Improper form can take the overload off of the intended muscle groups, which results in those groups not developing properly. Strict form is not necessary, but it is important to make sure that the intended muscle groups are being overloaded. If you are unsure, then have someone watch you and give you feedback to make sure that you performing the movement properly. Most cell phones also have video capability so you could have someone record you performing an exercise as well in order to check your form.

Personally, I can usually tell the next day whether I performed certain exercises correctly because the muscles will either be really sore or they won't seem to hurt at all. If they don't hurt at all, then I will analyze my workout to see what needs to change. Usually, this means a minor reassessment of form or a simple substitution of a good exercise for a bad one that is hard to perform correctly.

Conclusion

The most common reasons why people generally stop seeing results in the gym are very simple and usually consistent. The main reason is probably because there is very little variance in their workout routine. The body adapts and within a month or two, they stop seeing results. This is why it is critical to outline the fundamentals of a workout program and then make adjustments to the routine so that the body can't quite adjust to what you decide to throw at it.

Another common issue that many people seem to have is that they don't train with enough resistance or with enough intensity. Personally, I don't see how one can expect to build muscle without lifting heavy weight at a high level of intensity. It completely neglects the truth about how the body works. If you can take anything from all of this, then remember one thing: the body needs a REASON to grow. Heavy weight and a high level of intensity are really the only way to achieve astronomical muscle growth.

Obviously, proper rest and recovery are absolutely critical for success when trying to pack on muscle. The body doesn't grow in the gym. Rather, it grows during the other 23 hours outside of the gym. This only happens as a result of good solid nutrition and a lot of sleep. Everything outlined above will work extremely well but will only work if rest and recovery are made just as much of a priority as the actual workout itself.

Having your results compromised is very irritating, but I can guarantee you that if you manipulate your workout to fit the guidelines above, then hitting plateaus will be a thing of the past. I have personally witnessed individuals gaining as much as 30-40 lbs of lean mass in a year or less by simply following the same basic idea that I have outlined above. There is nothing to lose. Ditch the plateaus and move on to new muscle growth!

[greensquats]

How Should One Alter Workout If They Are Not Growing?
?If you are frequently hitting the gym and not making progress, you need to step back and make some changes.?

INTRO:

It?s a scenario I see all too often. Someone who wants to achieve a body of steel, and yet can?t seem to add half an inch of muscle to their frame, and consistently tosses around with the same amount of weight, day in, day out. They become frustrated, most give up, others shout, scream, yell, etc, ?What the ---- am I doing wrong!?? Some will blame their misfortune on genetics,
others will take the route of even lamer excuses, such as ?Oh, well it must be because I bought bad oats last week,? or something like ?My doctor said that I should really watch my toenail, and I would hate to injure it on an exercise like squats.? Exaggeration these are not... seriously. So guess what folks? Either you suck it up, or get the heck out of the gym. Bodybuilding ain?t a sport for pansies. Everything starts with the workout... everything. I don?t care how well organized and how strict your diet is, it won?t produce squat unless coupled with an intense workout routine. Now obviously, being lazy isn?t the case for some people. A handful of people truly and simply are just not knowledgeable in the ways of bodybuilding and execute numerous mistakes each and every time they set foot in the gym. If either of these people are you, I?m here to help you cure yourselves.

How should one alter their workout routine if they are not growing?

How should you alter your workout routine if you aren?t growing? Well, it really all boils down to my acronym: DEDICATION. Here?s what each letter stands for.

D ? The first D stands for desire. When you step into that gym, you have to want to grow muscle more than you?ve ever wanted anything. You need to come with a fire lit under your ass, and when it gets a little painful, you just need to pretend your life is on the line. What are you going to do? Give up? Hell no! You have to want that last rep more than life itself. Grind, push, finish what you started! Don?t give up! Have a desire to finish and grow muscle.

E ? The E stands for expand. If you?re not growing, you should expand your exercise arsenal. Add in some new exercises your muscles have never seen before to attack and destroy your body parts in synergy with ones you already have. For instance, already have barbell curls for your biceps? Good, now add in some alternating dumbbell curls, throw in some hammer curls, and heck, add some preacher curls while you?re at it. All of these will target the same general area and work with the barbell curls you?re already performing to rip up your muscle fibers for some exponential growth!

D ? The second D stands for determination. Are you going to walk into that gym with a yellow smile painted on your face? I think not, at least you?d better not. Walk in there with your game face on, tense and tighten up those face muscles. Get mean! Be determined to lift some grueling, heavy freaking weight. Don?t chat on the phone while you?re at it, this is some serious business! Start pretending someone?s holding your head under water and the only way to escape ice cold grip of death is to pull some iron. Now what the heck are you going to do!? You HAVE to get determined to lift some weights.

I ? The first I stands for intensity. Chances are, if you aren?t growing, you?re workout isn?t intense enough. I don?t care how much your muscles burn afterwards, or how big the pump is, you think that?ll build bundles of muscle? Heck no! I want your muscles to literally scream at you! You should be sweating like a big and be taking heaving breaths while you wiggle on the floor. Heck, ?I? should in fact stand for insanity, because that?s how you need to train if you are really and truly serious about packing on some dense, hard muscle. Go read these articles until you understand what I mean, and then let?s talk.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak5.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak8.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak13.htm

C ? The C stands for Create. Create a goal sheet, both containing long and short term goals, and work to achieve them. Create a plan of attack. Don?t just walk into the gym, slap on some weight, hit some random exercise, call it a day, go home, and expect to grow. Print out a sheet of your exercise routine for the next month, and hit the gym hard. Create a log. Logging your workouts will encourage you to break last session?s peak and push you to make great gains. Create a reason why the heck you?re doing all of this in the first place, make sure you understand it, and bust your butt in the gym until you have to create a new reason. Strive to create that new body.

A ? The A stands for attitude. You want to come determined, but at the same time don?t be a cocky son-of-a-(blank). Let your actions do the talking, not that fat whole near the bottom of your ugly face. Don?t walk in the gym cussing up a storm and flinging the weights around. What does this have to do with not growing? Because dang it, you?re usually so worried about your ego and being a tough-guy with this kind of an attitude that you aren?t even doing anything right! So please, come with a respectable attitude.

T ? The T stands for technique. Don?t just fling the weights around. Use proper technique, and if you don?t know what that is, research right here on bodybuilding.com. They have a great exercise database with pictures and videos to show you how to perform each and ever repetition to perfection. Another quick tip is to squeeze your targeted muscle all the way up and down. Pretend like you are driving a destructive lawn mower within your muscle and you need to really tear up the fibers within. Just squeeze the heck out of them so that a 20 pound dumbbell feels like 1,000 pounds. Remember, your goal is not to see how much weight you can life, but to build muscle. Plus, even if it is your goal to lift a lot of weight (power-lifters) you too will become stronger by performing proper technique.

I ? The second I stands for isolation. If you aren?t growing the desired muscles, make sure you are actually working the correct muscles you want to grow. For if you isolate the muscles you really need work on and attempt to use those as much as possible during a certain exercise, chances are you are stimulating them for growth more than if you just let a bunch of other muscle groups lend a hand.

O ? The O stands for overtraining, which is something you want to avoid for the most part. Now, this is not to encourage you to use this as an excuse as to why not to work-out by any means, but rather a precaution that must be taken IN THE INSTANCE that you are working out 8 hours a day 7 days a week, or something of the likes. Even worse would be if you train the same muscle group each time. People you NEED rest to grow. Train intensely while you?re at the gym, don?t stay longer than you have to, though.

N ? The last and final letter, N, stands for nutrition. What does this have to do with the workout? Simple. Make sure you include proper intra and post workout nutrition in your routine if you expect to grow. Your muscles are getting torn, now they need nutrients to prepare, and during/after an intense workout is the best time to give them to them, for they will soak them up like a sponge.

DEDICATION ? And then of course, who could forget the acronym: dedication. Slow and steady wins the race. Be consistent. Stay with it, don?t give up. Continue your research. And of course, have a will to grow.

What are some reasons why people will stop seeing progress for a period of time?

People will stop seeing progress for a period of time for many reasons, most frequent of which is the instance of plateau. Plateaus themselves are most often caused by a lack of variation in the routine. For instance, if you continually perform the exact same schedule (back/biceps day one, shoulders/legs day 2, etc.) with the exact same exercises day in and day out, your body will gradually become used to the tolls and will stop growing and increasing in strength for a period. Ways to solve and prevent this from happening is simply by switching up your exercise. You can do this through letter E of the DEDICATION acronym, which explains to expand your exercise arsenal.

Another reason why some people will reach plateaus and in essence will stop seeing progress is because they are not training intensely enough, which brings us back to letter I of the DEDICATION acronym. Remember, you have to bust your butt each and every time you are in the gym, and not just in the beginning if you are expecting continual growth.

The third most common reason people will stop seeing progress is from overtraining, which can be understood through letter O. Again, this is not meant to be an excuse, but rather a precaution for you more avid and exited gym-goers.

Really, all of the letters from my acronym can be tied with plateaus, however the three I?ve just outlined seem to be the most common.

How important is it to alter the workout if you have stopped growing but still train the same?

It is not just important to alter your workout if you have stopped growing, it is crucial. I don?t see how continuing with the same routine can even be an option. It?s like going to a dry well, I mean at some point you have to say ?Hey! I?m freaking parched as heck, but that well isn?t providing any water. I?m going to find another well.? Another example is banging your head against a wall constantly. Here, at some point it has to hurt enough to where you quit and do something else. Well, the same applies to workouts. If the workout has stopped producing results, simply switch it up and alter it to something that does!

Hope this has helped folks, that?s all for now.
Eat hard, rest hard, train hard. ? greensquats