Why You Won't Gain Muscle Mass

Why you don't gain muscle mass, the most common reason

Many people come to me complaining about how a hard time they are having gaining muscle mass. What amazes me though is how the same problem seem to keep coming over and over again. Many people train a lot, and put a lot of effort at that part. That is good, but thats no help if their body cant profit of it.

So what is the problem? I like to think of it this way. You have a building site with a lot of qualified workers and engineers. But your workers and engineers spend all day looking for the materials they need to build. Now, how much do you think they have managed to build when the day is done if they don't find it? As you probably understand, the building site is your body and the workers is your body after a workout, trying to add muscle mass.

In order to gain muscle mass you need to have a positive calorie balance, which means you have to gain weight. Replacing fat with muscle is theoretically impossible, although it is possible to a certain very limited level in the start. Many people gets into a hard dilemma knowing this. Shall they gain muscle mass(bulk) or get thinner and remove some fat(cut).

Bulk or cut?
This is the hard part. In my opinion you have to be consistent with your goals. You have to decide what you want to do in order to make progress. If you are already overweight I would put my health first, and try cutting. Being overweight is dangerous and is the cause of many dangerous deceases. If you though are relatively slim, fit and healthy you could try bulking. In the end, it's all up to you!

How to get a flat stomach - the truth

First we have to get something straight. I am not writing this blog to lie to you about training and dieting. There is simply no fast and easy #1 exercise to get a flat stomach. After all, it's not even a stomach exercise which will give you a flat stomach.



If your stomach isn't flat, it's because you have to much fat on your stomach. Fat can not be removes and certain places on your body one part at the time (except with surgery). Forget all the special stomach-exercises. It's not working, and never will. But the help is here.

What do you have to do? You have to get rid of a lot of fat. The fat situated on your stomach can be hard to get rid off. The only way to do this is healthier food and more exercise which leads to a calorie deficiency. There is NO WAY around this. Stomach exercises will not make any difference as long as you don`t already have low body fat on your stomach to show off the abs situated below the fat. But to be honest, everyone has abs below that fat.

How to get rid of the fat?
- Eat healthier. More protein, less fat, less carbohydrates. Tip: Try to get a decent amount of protein in each meal, eat salads as carbohydrates, and avoid the fatty sauces and dressings. Fish is ok though.
- Eat smaller and lighter meals
- Exercise more. Combine running and weight training. Running "kills calories", while weight training builds muscles which consume calories.
- Dont comfort yourself with unhealthy food after training. If that's the case, you could rather drop the exercise and not eat the food.
- Remember it's actually easy math:
Calories into your body - Exercise =
Positive -> You put on fat
Neutral -> You stay the way you are
Negative -> You lose fat

Good luck!