You Aren't Increasing The Intensity
Intensity is what everyone needs. If you don't have intensity when you're working out/lifting, then it'll be hard to cause muscle damage. Muscle damage essentially means that you're going to build muscle. Intensity comes in many forms; time under tension, focusing on eccentric/concentric movements, static holds, more reps, heavier weight, drop sets, super sets, pyramid sets, and so forth.
Essentially, intensity means bringing more power, more tension, and more intensity into your workouts.
If you're going easy, hardly pushing yourself, and not progressing in weights - you simply won't grow. You aren't causing enough "muscle damage" so you won't grow.
Muscle growth comes from: Muscle Damage -> Nutrition -> Sleep. Sleep allows the body to repair itself, and to develop new tissue aka new muscle.
You Aren't Recovering Enough
Overtraining is real. If you're overtraining, you're doing the opposite of bodybuilding. Overtraining essentially means that you aren't allowing your body to recover from the workout session you went about. You cannot train any [same] muscle group every day, or 3/4x a week, or for hours on end. Once you've caused enough damage to your muscles - you need to let them rest & recover. Recovery happens when your body is sleeping.
Sleeping allows the body to repair & create new tissue aka muscle for itself. So, if you're constantly training the same muscle, or training for hours on end, you're simply overtraining. Also, being underfed is also a sign of poor recovery. Nutrition affects how well you recover. So if you're underfed, for one, you won't grow or create new muscle, and for two, you simply won't recover properly or efficiently.
You need deep-quality sleep on the daily basis. Sleep replenishes hormones, testosterone, and repairs any damages.
You don't need to work out for ~3/4/5 hours for one muscle group. That is overkill. You need around ~30mins-1 hour of exercising to promote muscle building. Along with proper recovery and nutrition, that is the recipe for bodybuilding.
You Aren't Consistent/Dedicated/Committed
Consistency is definitely needed for bodybuilding. You need to constantly work out, cause stimulation, and damage, eat properly, eat enough, get enough good quality sleep daily, and address any issues if you have any. If you aren't consistent, then progress won't happen. For people whom are wanting to become bigger, you need to seriously focus on the objective. Eat->Workout->Eat->Rest/Recovery/Sleep->Repeat.
You don't have to work out, especially the same muscles, every day as I mentioned. You'll end up overtrained, and have poor progress when it comes to muscle building. You need to cause enough damage, let the body recover, eat, sleep, and repeat. So realistically, you can work out ~4/5x a week. Maybe 1/2 muscle groups per day. Depending on your style. Whatever works for you.
Anyways, to continue progressing in bodybuilding you need to go beyond what you've been doing before. You need to increase the intensity. Increase the threshold. Eat more - a calorie surplus is needed to grow fresh new muscle.
You need to stay consistent with your eating habits because if not, you'll become catabolic, which means that you'll end up losing muscle due to not feeding it; therefore, you need to stay consistent with eating, especially consuming protein, around every ~2/3 hours. Don't excessively eat though.
You need a [Routine]. This will keep you on track -to stay consistent, motivated & progressing with your goals.
You Aren't Having Enough Protein
Protein is vital. It is what helps the body repair the damages you cause inside the gym/when working out. If you don't consume enough protein throughout the day, it'll be hard time for you to recover properly, and efficiently. You won't grow new muscle properly. So yes, protein is key for bodybuilding. Carbs and fats are also important, but when it comes to repairing the body, protein is needed. Lifting weights causes muscle tears - damages - so the body needs protein in order to start the process of repairing the damages.
You can consume protein shakes/powder if you need to get in more protein, or use protein shakes as a way to help with your daily intake.
When it comes to bodybuilding, you should aim for .8 -> 1Gram of protein per lb. Typically, if you're a healthy person whom focuses on proper nutrition, and consumes plenty of meats - I highly doubt you're deficient in protein. More likely, you're in a surplus when it comes to protein, which isn't all that bad. Better than being deficient.
You Aren't Eating Enough
If you're the same size, not growing, and not seeing any new muscle gains - most likely you're underfed. As I mentioned before, you need to be in a calorie surplus in order to grow fresh new muscle. But you need to have good quality workouts, proper recovery, and enough food to start growing. If you're underfed, you simply won't grow. So, track your calories. Use a calorie tracking app (online/on apple/android), to track your calorie intake (food/beverages), and from this, you can dictate whether to eat more or less - eat healthier or whatnot. It'll give you data regarding your food/beverage, calorie & nutrition intake. From this, you can alter your diet and nutrition habits if needed.
Good quality nutrition is better than eating junk food all the time. If you're constantly eating/feeding the body with junk foods, you won't grow efficiently. Junk food doesn't contain the proper, vital & essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals like whole foods or healthy foods do. Foods like whole foods, vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds, berries, healthy sources of fats, proteins, and carbs, avoiding processed junk foods, high sugary content foods, high sodium content foods, and anything that is processed/modified/engineered in any way - you should try to refrain from as much as possible. So fast foods, microwavable foods, canned foods, etc.
You're wanting to properly nourish the body with the right foods. When you do so - recovery will be better; performance will be heightened/improved; mental clarity & mindset will be improved; and much more.
Try not to avoid or neglect any nutrition group such as avoiding carbs; like going about the Keto diet, Avoiding fats, or utilizing some type of poor dieting choice.
The body will love & thank you once you start eating healthier, and focusing on healthy habits.
You Aren't Drinking Enough Water
Water is so important, people have literally no clue. We, humans, are mostly made up of water.
Water plays a crucial function in encouraging muscle gain because it delivers the materials required for constructing protein and glycogen structures, the body's main sources of energy. Not only does it allow better freedom of movement, but also helps you build muscles good enough for flexing them.
So, if you're dehydrated, your performance will go down. If you're dehydrated, it'll be hard to transport nutrients that you've consumed. If you're deficient, you simply won't grow the way you're wanting.
Being dehydrated for a bodybuilder is dangerous since they sweat (lose fluids) and put great stress on their joints through intense workouts.
Since muscles are controlled by nerves, without the proper water and electrolyte balance, muscle strength and control will also be impaired.
It is essential that you stay hydrated if you want to build muscle and experience optimal performance in the gym.
COMMON CAUSES OF WATER LOSS
- Caffeine/alcohol consumption (diuretics)
- Increased Stress
- Hot environments; increased sweating
- Increased physical activity (water loss from sweating)
- OTHER REASONS TO INCREASE WATER INTAKE
- Dieting
- Large food intake (common to bodybuilders)
- Increasing intake of vitamins, and minerals. Increased sodium consumption; water intake may help the body excrete sodium and excess water.
You Aren't Controlling Your Stress (Cortisol) Levels!
The present study demonstrates that acute daily psychological stress is associated with muscle atrophy. Decreases in lean muscle mass may contribute to two adverse muscle-associated health outcomes of chronic stress in humans.
Stress can hold off fitness gains. Research has shown stress can decrease your VO2 max, thus negatively affecting how well your body can utilize oxygen during exercise.
You Aren't Utilizing Compound Movements
Compound movements are seen as the key to strength development. They're moves that can make your workout go from good to great. Compound movements can be described are ones that use multiple muscle groups and joints simultaneously. Compound movements are designed to help achieve lean muscle mass and burn calories.
Compound exercises produce strength, power, and muscle gains. They increase testosterone and growth hormone, which are responsible for building muscle and burning fat.
Use compound movements, such as squats, rows, and chest presses. These use multiple muscle groups and stimulate testosterone release more than isolation movements. Lift heavy weights that fatigue you in less than 12 reps and perform at least three sets.
You Aren't Using Proper FORM!
Proper form when doing anything physical is important, but it is especially important when working out or training. Not only can proper form lower your risk of injury but it also allows you to move efficiently, increase your performance, and enables you to have a full range of motion.
Why is it important to use the proper techniques in doing the exercises?
Without the proper technique, your results won't be as good as they could be. Having improper form can have negative effects on your body and leave you further away from your fitness goal. The effects of improper technique and form can include: Injury.
You Aren't Using Effective Supplements
Supplements can be very ideal & beneficial for many people. For example, using protein powder is ideal & beneficial for those who want quick protein intake, or needing more protein to fulfill their protein needs, or simply get in more calories. Another great supplement to use is creatine. Creatine supplies more energy, which makes your workouts more effective, and overall creatine promotes strength and muscle building.
And other supplements like Testosterone boosters to give a boost in recovery & muscle building can be a potential use. They'll optimize & regulate hormones & testosterone if you're experiencing low levels of them. Overall it's important to have healthy levels of testosterone & hormones.
Supplementing your vitamin/minerals are great for those who are on a strict diet and/or have no access to clean-nutritious foods.