The mistakes that lead to loss of muscle gains

While hitting the gym and working out is a novel idea, in reality, there are several mistakes that one can make which leads to loss of muscle gains.

We’ve often seen cases when people go to the gym and put in the work but their results don’t reflect that reality. Despite working out day in and day out and trying to maximise results, the muscles don’t seem to respond and grow. This can not only lead to feeling like hitting a wall, but also result in a loss of motivation and discouragement.

The reality is that going to the gym regularly isn’t the only thing that someone needs to build to put on muscle and make gains. That is because the process of muscle building, also known as hypertrophy, is complicated and can often be confusing.

Moreover, the process can be different for different individuals. Hypertrophy depends a lot on factors like genetics, type of training, years of training experience, nutrition etc. As such, there is no one recommendation that fits all kind of advice.

However, there are several changes that one can make in their lifestyle or mistakes that one can correct in their training in order to protect those precious muscles gains and more importantly, continue to grow from strength to strength.

Here are five mistakes that often result in loss of muscle gains:

Not eating enough calories

‘To lose weight, reduce your calories!’ We’ve often heard this advice shared in the gym and the amount of calories one should consume typically depends on the body type they are trying to build and achieve. However, it must also be remembered that food is a fuel source for the muscles and not consuming enough calories leads to the body running on empty tank.

If one is cutting excessive calories and is also doing intensive cardio on a regular basis, it will inevitably lead to loss of muscle gains because the body also burns muscle along with burning fat. Moreover, enough calories should be taken in order to fuel intense workout sessions.

Overtraining

While it may seem obvious to train as hard and as frequently in order to build more muscle, it could not be further from the truth. Just like the rest of the body, the muscles also need sufficient rest to recover after constant and intensive sessions. It must be remembered that muscles is built by protein synthesis during the recovery period and not during the workout in the gym.

Moreover, besides loss of muscle mass, overtraining can also lead to poor sleep, low energy, and continuous mood swings.

Not consuming enough protein

Eating and consuming enough protein is the number one step when it comes to bodybuilding and making muscle gains. It is important that one intakes sufficient protein through whole food sources instead of simply relying on protein powders as a quick fix. According to recommendations, one must consume 0.8-1.2g of protein for every kg of bodyweight.

Not prioritizing sleep

Most of the process of protein muscle synthesis occurs when we are in deep sleep and as a result, getting enough sleep is an imperative to grow muscle and maintain those gains. Getting at least eight hours of good quality sleep every night is non-negotiable.

Too much cardio

While cardio sessions take centre stage when it comes to losing fat, the reality is that doing excessive cardio can result in the body burning precious muscle mass instead of fat. Guidelines recommend doing a maximum of 150 minutes of intense aerobic exercises which are necessary for the heart, the cardiovascular system and in maintaining the overall health and fitness of the body.

However, crossing that threshold regularly along with eating not enough calories will inevitably lead to loss of muscle mass.