If your muscles aren't growing despite exercising… a sign to eat ‘this’ instead of protein

To increase muscle mass, you must consistently perform strength training. However, if muscle growth is slow despite exercising, you need to check carbohydrates, the amount of rest, and progressive overload.

It is known that protein is the most important nutrient for muscle growth. This is because protein is necessary to resynthesize muscle protein broken down during exercise. However, carbohydrates are just as important as protein. During high-intensity resistance training, our bodies utilize an energy source called glycogen. Glycogen is glucose stored in the liver and muscles and is composed of carbohydrates and water. If glycogen becomes insufficient due to restricted carbohydrate intake, athletic performance declines. Of course, eating less carbohydrates in one meal will not reduce the weight you can handle, but restricting carbohydrates in your diet while simultaneously engaging in muscle training and weight loss can cause muscle growth to stagnate.

Insufficient rest can also slow down muscle growth. Muscles grow as micro-damage to muscle fibers heals. Rest is crucial for this recovery. Typically, it takes 24 to 48 hours for muscle fiber proteins to resynthesize. Stimulating the same muscle group during this period can not only stagnate muscle growth but also lead to muscle rupture. The risk of injury is particularly high for seniors aged 65 and older, whose muscles and tendons have aged. If you experience appropriate muscle soreness after a workout, it is advisable to work out a different muscle group the following day. If you feel no muscle soreness, it indicates that the workout intensity was insufficient, requiring progressive overload.

If muscle growth is slow, you need to check for 'progressive overload,' which involves gradually increasing exercise intensity. Our bodies possess homeostasis, a tendency to maintain their current state. The same applies to the skeletal muscular and nervous systems. Initially, muscles break down and resynthesize in response to strong stimuli, but once they adapt, they stop causing any changes. Ultimately, the way to transform these muscles again is through greater stimulation. The method a beginner should choose is increasing repetitions and weight. If you are doing muscle training but do not feel your muscles growing even after the 8 to 12-week basic fitness period has passed, you should examine whether you are sticking to the same weight and repetitions.