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Muscles Not Growing And Fat Not Burning Despite Working Out And Proper Diet
GK has a question for us: I have started body building 2 months ago. But still i dont feel like my muscle is growing or burning fat. I do diet by eating protein food in time. I do gym as per my 3 days workout plan. Recently i started taking whey protein 2 times a day 25 gram each. Please suggest any reason why this happens after even doing right gym and food at right time.
Hi GK,
Thanks for your question. To put it in another way, you are saying that you have been working out for two months but you don't see the results you are after. That is, your muscle is not growing and you are not burning fat. There can be several reasons why you are not achieving the results you want.
1) Proper workout techniques. - Assuming that your goal is to build up lean muscle mass, you should always aim to leave heavier weights, with less rep. (e.g. 8 to 10 is enough). You can know your starting point by lifting weights for 8 reps. If your muscles tire after 8 reps, that is the amount of weight you should lift. After 3 sets, your muscles should start to fail - i.e. you can't maintain proper form any more. For maximum results, focus on major muscle groups such as your chest and thigh. Exercises such as push ups, chest press and squats will help you grow lean muscle mass quickly and at the same time, burn more fat. Try it out and you will find yourself running out of breath very quickly!
2) Proper nutrition. - Whey protein shakes can help build lean muscle mass. But note that whey protein is mainly used as a dietary supplement. If you have the time to prepare your own meals and measure the protein you are consuming, you can actually do without whey protein and still gain muscle. Unfortunately, this is hard to achieve because most people just don't have the time. And it's hard to prepare meals with 25 grams protein with low carbs and sugars.
The amount of protein you should be taking should be at around 1 gram per pound of body weight. A whey shake simply gives you 25 grams per serving. If you take 2 shakes a day, you get 50 grams of protein. That is not enough. You should focus on getting the balance protein from your meals.
Also, if your aim is to burn fat (I'm assuming that you have lots of fat reserves to burn), then avoid simple carbs, foods high in saturated fat, and sugars. I'm sure you can think of a list of foods to avoid that fall into these categories.
Example - white rice, fatty meat, deep fried food, soft drinks, fast foods, etc.
Instead, drink plenty of plain water, eat lean meat that are either steamed or boiled. And most importantly, DO NOT overeat. Since you are trying to burn fat, overeating can cause your body to store the excess as fat, and this can slow down your progress.
I know this is hard to do and for many, it can be an form of pain and suffering. How is it so? Imagine not being to eat your favorite oily and sweet foods! On top of that, you have to restrain yourself and not let yourself eat too much. And that is when you are working out and burning up your fat reserves and your body is really CRYING out for more food.
But GK, I can assure you, that pain and suffering is only temporary. If you are doing everything right, the first 4 weeks, you will start to feel better. After 8 weeks, it gets a lot easier. After 12 weeks, you are a transformed person! And that is when it gets a whole lot easier. That is when you can actually eat more (but not THAT more) of the foods that you like. This article on whether fat is an enemy or friend explains why.
3) And finally, make sure you lead a relatively stress free lifestyle and get proper rest!
Oh, and when it comes to burning fat, you don't need to spend a lot of time. Circuit training has been proven to be most effective when it comes to burning fat...like what this guy in the video is doing.
This is a good video because the intensity if just nice - not too extreme and very do-able.
Hope you find the info useful.
Take care!
