1. Not eating enough calories

In order to gain muscle you need to be eating a decent amount of food. In simple terms you need to eat more calories than you expend with exercise and daily activities. Without the proper nutrition it is very difficult to gain muscle.

As Ronnie Coleman said, “You gotta eat big to get big.”

2. Not eating enough protein

Protein is the building blocks of muscle. Again, if you are not eating enough protein it will be very tough to put on significant muscle. This is an important factor to consider when you are training hard since you break down your muscles during your workouts, you need to repair them with something. Protein helps with recovery and to rebuild your muscles.

3. Not training heavy enough

In order for your muscles to grow you need to constantly challenge them. You need to enable them to become stronger and stronger. This is achieved by pushing past their limits and lifting progressively heavier weights each week.

As Jay Cutler said, “..heavy weights build muscle.”

So be sure to challenge yourself and push past your ‘norm’ each session in the gym. You want to progress and not remain at the same place.

4. Overdoing the cardio

Some people love doing cardio, but beware that doing a lot of cardio can impact your muscle gains. This is due to the fact that you will probably be using up a lot of energy during your cardio sessions and this will use up a lot of your bodies resources in terms of calories for recovery and repair. You can always ensure you are eating enough calories to provide for such activity but that can be difficult. Not to say you shouldn’t do cardio, just keep it short and intense and be aware of it if you are trying to pick up some weight.

5. Insufficient consistency

This is one of the most important and often overlooked factors in doing anything in life. You cannot expect to achieve something if you only work at it when you feel like it or by putting in the effort for a few days and then ignoring it for a while.

You have to, have to, HAVE TO put in the work every day.

It is this constant work over time which delivers results.

6. Setting unrealistic goals

Something which needs to be understood is that building muscle can be a tough process to accomplish. Not because its rocket science, but because it takes time (This is assuming we are not using any enhanced substances.). It’s something which some people have achieved only after years and years of training and living healthily. It takes time, patience and consistency. So you must be prepared to be in it for the long haul and not for a few weeks or days.