This is Why You’re Not Gaining Muscle

Progressive Overload, Protein & Body Fat Explained

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3 - 4 minute read time

Building muscle isn’t magic—it’s science. Yet so many people spin their wheels in the gym, frustrated that they’re not seeing results. As a certified personal trainer with a degree in Kinesiology, I see this all the time.

Let me break down exactly why you’re not building muscle, and how you can finally start making gains.

1. You’re Not Training Hard Enough for Muscle Hypertrophy

The key to muscle growth is muscle hypertrophy, which happens through progressive overload with strength and resistance training. If you’re not consistently challenging your muscles, then they have no reason to grow.

How hard should you train?

• You should generally train with 3-4 sets per exercise (I typically program 4).

• Your rep range should be 8-12 reps.

If you can do more than 12 reps with a weight, it’s too light and you need to increase the weight until you can’t go past 12 reps.

The most important part is actually going to failure to know what you’re capable of.
Most people stop when it starts to get uncomfortable, but true failure is when you physically cannot move the weight another inch. You’ll probably surprise yourself with how many reps you really have in the tank.

How to progressive overload in the gym:

• Find your failure point with a given weight.

• Your sets will consist of 2 reps under failure (so if you failed at 12, start at 10 reps).

• Each week, try to add one more rep.

• Once you can do 13+ reps, bump up the weight and repeat.

That’s how real muscle is built—through consistent, strategic overload.

2. You’re Not Eating Enough Protein

Muscle isn’t built just in the gym, it’s also built in the kitchen through protein synthesis, where your body uses protein to repair and grow muscle tissue.

How much protein should you eat?

• Aim for your goal body weight in grams of protein per day.

• At the very least, shoot for 0.7 grams per pound of body weight.

If you’re not giving your body the building blocks it needs, it literally can’t build muscle.

Easy ways to boost protein:

• Whey or plant-based protein shakes

• Lean meats (chicken, turkey, shrimp, salmon)

• No-fat Greek yogurt

• Low-fat cottage cheese

• Eggs & egg whites

See how many calories it takes to get 25g of protein from popular foods. Build muscle and hit your macros smarter.

3. You’re Not Lean Enough to SEE the Muscle You’re Building

You might actually be building muscle right now, but if it’s covered by a layer of body fat, you won’t see it.

Muscle sits under fat. So if your body fat percentage is high, your hard-earned muscle will stay hidden.

How to lean out while building muscle

• Use an app like MyFitnessPal to figure out your caloric needs.

• Eat about 500 calories below maintenance daily to lose roughly 1 lb per week.

• Keep your protein high to maintain muscle while dropping fat.

You do NOT need to “bulk” (aka eat in a massive caloric surplus) to build muscle. You can absolutely build muscle while in a slight deficit by following these steps.

Bro… you’re not ‘bulking,’ you’re just getting fat. Eat your protein, be in a deficit, and you’ll get lean.

The Bottom Line

If you’re stuck, it’s probably because of one (or all) of these:

• You’re not training hard enough to stimulate growth.

• You’re not eating enough protein to repair and build muscle.

• You’re not lean enough to reveal the muscle you have.

Dial these in, stay consistent, and your physique will transform.