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The deadlift is one of the most popular exercises among people who are serious about strength training. But, like with other exercises, a proper deadlift technique is important to get the most out of your workout routine and avoid injuries. 

You might be wondering how deadlifts change your body. The short answer is deadlift training can be transformational– whether you do a sumo deadlift, a Romanian deadlift, a single leg deadlift, or any other deadlift variations.

In this article, I will outline the key benefits of the deadlift exercise. I’ll also talk about which parts of the body this exercise will help you build muscle. Last but not least, I’ll describe the correct deadlift form so that you don’t injure yourself while performing deadlifts.

 

What Is A Deadlift?

A deadlift is one of the most popular compound exercises because it works several different muscle groups and shows results.

To perform a deadlift:

1. You take a barbell.
2. Add as much weight as you wish.
3. Then lift the barbell from the ground to hip level.

The correct deadlift starting position is to lean forward at the hips, keep your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, and bring your torso parallel to the floor. 

When you lift, your torso comes back in line with your body. More on the ideal deadlift technique below.

You can perform a deadlift using dumbbells, kettlebells, a barbell, or a trap bar.

The two most common deadlift variations are conventional deadlifts and sumo deadlifts. These are done using a barbell, and they recruit the maximum number of muscles.

But whatever style you choose, a deadlift will have a positive effect on your strength training.

Pick any deadlift variation but make sure you lift heavy enough to make the effort meaningful.

 

What Muscles Does Deadlift Work?

As mentioned above, the deadlift is a compound functional exercise. It works on several upper body and lower body muscles, including the following:

• Calves
• Quads
• Hamstrings
• Inner thigh muscles (adductor magnus)
• Gluteus maximus
• Rectus abdominis (abs)
• Lower back, mid back, and upper back
• Spinal erectors
• Latissimus dorsi (lats)
• Trapezius (traps), and
• Levator scapulae (shoulders) 

 As you can see, this great exercise recruits all the major muscle groups in the body. It is a full-body exercise and should be a critical component of your strength training to develop strong core muscles, build muscular strength, and promote weight loss.

 

How Deadlifts Change Your Body

1. Deadlifts Increase Muscle Mass

Deadlifts promote muscle growth because they involve heavyweights and a compound movement that engages many muscle groups.

If you include deadlifts in your fitness program and do them correctly, you’ll gain more lean muscle mass in your legs, back, arms, and shoulders. You will also develop better core strength.

Bigger muscles and core stability will translate into more power and endurance and better sports performance. 

 

2. Deadlifts Improve Muscular Strength

One of the key benefits of deadlifts is that they increase overall strength in the whole body.

Deadlifts are a compound movement, and they use multiple muscle groups. You get more results for your efforts during strength training if you do deadlifts. 

The effects of deadlifts are evidence-based, with several case studies supporting its benefits on strength training.

They help you build more strength in key muscles like the quads, glutes, and abs, develop core strength, improve hip stability and mobility, enhance grip strength, and give your body more definition. 

 

3. Deadlifts Correct Muscle Imbalances

Most of us have muscle imbalances, and consequently, poor posture. For instance, in many people, the quads are the dominant muscles in the legs, and the hamstrings are weak.

This can negatively affect the entire body, including a weak core, underdeveloped glutes, hunched shoulders, and lower back pain.

Deadlifts can correct these muscle imbalances and give you a better posture.

This compound exercise also has a low back pain benefit. It strengthens the muscles involved in spinal support (erector spinae), thus giving you stronger muscles around the lumbar spine and making you less prone to back pain and other back issues. 

 

4. Deadlifts Help You Burn More Calories

Deadlifts engage many large muscle groups in a single compound movement. This means the body has to work harder to perform the movement, causing you to burn more calories and body fat.

The body burns fat during training, but the benefits of deadlifts extend beyond your resistance training session.

Lifting weights and incorporating deadlifts into your training plan speeds up your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - this is the amount of energy you spend at rest. Meaning, you continue burning calories long after your deadlifts work is done. 

 

5. Deadlifts Activate Your Hip Extensors

A deadlift, when done with the proper technique, can train your hip extensors with a single exercise.

The hip extensors include your hamstrings and gluteus maximus. These muscles not only have a functional but also an aesthetic appeal. 

Squats and split squats are the most commonly performed exercises to train these muscles. However, research suggests that deadlifts may actually be superior compared to squats. Check this source for more information.

If you want to build an enviable physique, it’s a good idea to include both squats and deadlifts as part of a well-rounded fitness program.

 

6. Deadlifts Improve Athletic Performance 

One of the benefits of deadlifts is that they help you develop lower body power. This exercise works on the same muscles you use for sporting movements like jumping and sprinting.

By doing traditional deadlifts or variations like a trap bar deadlift, stiff-legged deadlift, or posture deadlifts, you can generate muscle forces that will take your athletic performance to another level. 

 

7. Deadlifts Release Anabolic Hormones

Since deadlifts work on multiple muscle groups, they lead to the release of anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone.

This can have benefits such as increased strength, power, energy, and libido.

 

8. Deadlifts Build Endurance

If you increase your rep max (number of repetitions) and reduce the rest periods between reps while doing a standard deadlift, you can build cardiovascular endurance. 

This may not be possible with the heaviest weight you can lift (and you shouldn’t try it because you’ll risk muscle damage), but you can do it with lighter weights without risking back injury.

 

9. Deadlifts Improve Grip Strength

A deadlift works to help you build a stronger grip because you’re lifting weights during the movement. This carries over into many other exercises that you do during your workouts.

Indeed, the strength of your grip is an indication of your overall health status. It is even used as a marker to identify older adults who are at risk of health issues. 

 

10. Deadlifts Allow You To Lift Heavier Weights Without Risking Injury 

Heavy deadlifts carry a lower risk of injury than other exercises like a leg press. 

This is because this compound exercise does not involve raising the weight overhead. It means that in the event of a failed repetition, you can safely drop a heavier weight without risking injury.

This is in contrast to exercises like a bench press, where you cannot risk going too heavy because a failed rep could crush you.

Therefore, when done correctly, deadlifts can aid muscle growth by allowing you to add heavier weights to your training safely.

There are many benefits of deadlifts, including improving bone mineral density and reducing your risk of fractures. Yet more benefits include the fact that you only need basic gym equipment (a barbell and some plates) to perform this extremely beneficial compound movement.

 

How To Deadlift Properly?

Whether you’re a newbie wanting to build more muscle mass and starting with lighter weights, or you’re a seasoned powerlifter who does heavy deadlifts, you should learn to do it with the proper form. 

A traditional deadlift is dead simple if only you know how.

The problem is that many people who are new to lifting don’t know the correct posture for this exercise. And many weightlifting experts have developed the wrong form early on and stayed with it. 

Not to worry. I’ve got you covered. Here’s a step-by-step guide to performing deadlifts with great form.

There are three main steps to a deadlift:

1. The setup
2. The pull, and
3. The lockout 

 

Deadlift Setup

1. Start in the standing position in front of a barbell with your feet kept hip or shoulder-width apart. Your shins should rest against the bar with a slight bend at the knees.
2. Push your glutes back and hinge forward from your hips, making sure your spine is extended.
3. Grip the bar with an overhand grip. This is an alternate grip in which one hand is palm up and the other palm down. This mixed grip is safer as it prevents the bar from rolling away. 
4. Sink back into your hips and prepare to pull your back down, engaging your lats. This is necessary for stabilizing muscles in the low back. 

 

Deadlift Pull

1. Plant your feet firmly into the ground, straighten your legs, and bring your chest up as you lift the weight. 
2. When standing up, pull your knees back and push your hips forward. 

 

Deadlift Lockout

1. Keep your spine straight, and your shoulders pulled back. Pause momentarily at the top of the movement before lowering the weight.
2. Use your legs to counteract the pull of gravity and slowly push your hips back, ensuring that your spine and chest are lifted. 
3. Drop the weight, reset your hips, and repeat. 

Here's me deadlifting a 195-lb barbell, featuring the Lacey Cut top in Cardinal.

 

Transform Your Body With Deadlifts

Deadlifts are often called the most efficient compound exercises for good reasons. 

Making deadlifts a part of your routine can enhance the efficiency of your workouts and transform your body. Deadlifts can help take major muscle groups in your body to the next level.

You can use deadlifting to fine-tune your body composition with fat loss and achieve the physique of your dreams.

Over the years, I realize that the best strength training programs are a combination of main lifts and accessory exercises.

But what are the best accessory exercises that can maximize your workout? Certified personal trainers swear by a few accessory movements which, if performed correctly, can help you build a powerful and impressive physique.

If you want to get the most bang for your buck out of your strength training program, keep reading. I’m going to describe 10 accessory exercises that will help you achieve your training goal, whether it is to run faster, prepare for football season, lift heavier, correct muscle imbalances, or become the best powerlifter in your gym.

Here’s my in-depth guide on accessory exercises.

What Are Accessory Exercises?

As the name suggests, accessory exercises are “accessories” or complementary to your main lifts. They complete your strength training and help you gain muscle mass in the same muscles that are worked by the primary exercises.

Doing the movement patterns of these accessory exercises along with your main lifts will help you gain strength, shed fat, build muscle, improve range of motion, and gain core stability, shoulder stability, and hip mobility. 

Main lifts, also known as core lifts, big lifts, or primary exercises, are compound movements.

They help you in building muscle and gaining strength.

Examples of main lifts include:

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench presses
• Overhead presses

Here’s the thing... Most people who are training to be powerlifters focus on 3 main lifts in the weight room — the squat, the deadlift, and the bench press.

There is no doubt that these compound movements are the primary focus for lifters.

But to do only these main lifts is not the right approach. To overcome your weak points and improve upon your strengths in primary exercises like deadlifts, you also need to do a range of accessory exercises or secondary movements.

This gives you a more rounded workout and helps you add weight to your main lifts.  

To make true progress in your strength training program, you need to train the same muscle groups that are used in these primary exercises with accessory exercises.

Why Do You Need Accessory Exercises?

Accessory exercises are beneficial for several reasons.

Firstly, they bridge any gaps in muscle development left by a primary exercise. 

Secondly, they add variety to your workouts, thereby strengthening any weak links. 

Thirdly, they strengthen accessory muscles, thereby preventing injuries.

Fourthly, accessory exercises increase training volume and enhance your overall performance.

Here’s a scenario to demonstrate all these benefits.

For instance, let’s say you are doing squats as your main big exercise for the lower body. Now, while squats have many benefits, they are limited in that they work the quads more than the hamstrings.

So, if you do only squats to train your legs, you can end up with muscle imbalances (stronger quads with weaker hamstrings).

Over time, this can undermine your lockout strength and overall performance in the gym.

If you include an accessory exercise like Russian kettlebell swings in your workout, however, you can increase hamstring strength and muscle mass. Therefore, Russian kettlebell swing is considered an effective accessory exercise to squats.

Best Accessory Exercises

1. Pull-Ups

How-To:

1. Grip an overhead bar.
2. Lift your body until your chin is above the bar. 

Muscles Trained: The main muscle groups worked by pull-ups are:

• Latissimus dorsi (the large upper back muscle)
• Trapezius
• Infraspinatus
• thoracic spine muscles

This accessory exercise also strengthens the arm and shoulder muscles and improves grip strength.

How It Helps: Pull-ups are essential to increase the power of your bench presses. This is because pull-ups strengthen back muscles and back muscles help you control the weight when you’re lowering the barbell during wide or close grip bench presses.

2. Side Lunges

How-To:

1. Take a big step to the side.
2. Turn the leading foot so that it is at a 90-degree angle to your standing foot.
3. Twist around so that your chest is facing sideways from the original position.
4. You then lower your body until the knee of your leading leg is bent at about 90 degrees, making sure to keep the trailing leg straight at all times. 

Muscles Trained: Side lunges work your:

• Quads
• Hamstrings
• Inner thigh muscles
• Glutes

How It Helps: Just like hip thrusts, side lunges or lateral lunges help you achieve hip stability and improve leg strength. This is helpful in exercises like leg presses and squats.

3. Reverse Lunges

How-To:

1. Step back with one leg.
2. Bend the back leg so that the back knee is nearly touching the ground and the front knee and thigh are parallel to the ground.

This exercise works on the leg that is planted in front. 

Muscles Trained: Reverse lunges work you:

• Quads
• Hamstrings
• Glutes
• Calves 

How It Helps: Reverse lunges help you develop core stability and strengthen the legs without putting too much stress on the joints. This is useful when you do primary exercises like squats and deadlifts. 

4. Stability Ball Hamstring Curls

How-To:

1. Lay down on the floor with your feet on a stability ball and knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
2. You then lift up your hips off the floor and extend your legs out in front of you
3. Curl your legs back in, pulling your heels towards your buttocks and moving the ball nearer to your body until the soles of your feet are touching the ball. Make sure your hips stay up throughout the entire movement and you squeeze your abs.
4. You finish the exercise by extending your knees and lowering your hips. 

Muscles Trained: Stability ball hamstring curls primarily target the hamstrings, but to a lesser extent also work on the glutes, abs, and lower back muscles.

How It Helps: If you have weak hamstrings, this is one of the accessory exercises that you must add to your workout. It can enhance your squat performance by strengthening the weakest link in your body. 

5. Dead Bugs

How-To:

1. Lie face up on an exercise mat with your arms raised above your torso and your legs in the air with your knees bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
2. You then slowly lower the opposite arm and leg towards the floor in a controlled manner. 
3. After you return to the starting position, you repeat the movement with the opposite arm and leg. 

Muscles Trained: Dead bugs target the:

1. Deeper core muscles
2. Abs
3. Spinal muscles
4. Pelvic floor muscles

How It Helps: By strengthening and stabilizing your core, dead bugs help to improve posture, balance, coordination, and range of motion, which will be beneficial in every main lift you do during strength training.

6. Bent Over Rows

How-To:

1. Lift the bar from the rack.
2. While keeping your back straight, bend forward at the hips with a slight bend at the knees.
3. You then lower the bar towards the floor until your elbows are straight, keeping your back flat as you pull the bar towards your torso.
4. To finish the exercise, you lower the bar slowly to the starting position and repeat.

Start with less weight and build up as you get stronger.

Muscles Trained: The main muscle groups worked by bent over rows are the back muscles, including:

1. Lats
2. Traps
3. Rhomboids

How It Helps: Bent over rows train many different muscles and improve strength in the upper and lower back, hamstrings, glutes, and shoulders, all of which can be sticking points in the big lifts.

These accessory exercises help to improve your performance during upper body primary exercises like bench presses.

7. Kettlebell Swings

How-To:

1. Pick up a kettlebell and move it like a pendulum between the knees, raising the bell to eye level or overhead.

This exercise can be done with either one hand or both hands. 

Muscles Trained: This exercise targets the:

1. Pecs
2. Shoulders
3. Abs
4. Glutes
5. Hamstrings
6. Quadriceps

It can also benefit your grip strength (you can use the kettlebell to do farmer’s walks as well for this purpose).

How It Helps: Kettlebell swings provide a full-body workout that benefits many muscle groups. These accessory exercises are helpful in most of the big lifts, such as a bench press, split squat, and deadlift with heavy weights.

8. Dips

How-To:

1. Sit on the edge of a chair or weight bench.
2. You grip the bench next to your hips with your fingers pointing towards your feet.
3. With your legs extended, feet hip-width apart, and heels touching the ground, you slowly lift your body and slide forward so that your buttocks clear the edge of the bench.
4. Then, you lower yourself until your elbows are bent at an angle of 45-90 degrees.
5. To finish the exercise, you push yourself back up until your arms are straight.

Muscles Trained: This accessory exercise trains the triceps and strengthens the arm and shoulder muscles including the deltoids in the arm, the pecs in the chest, and the rhomboids in the upper back.

How It Helps: Dips can help you lift heavier weights during a bench press and improve athletic performance in sports.

9. Cable Lifts and Chops

How-To:

There are many different ways to perform cable chop and lift accessory exercises.

A cable machine is the best piece of equipment with which to perform chop and lift accessory exercises. This equipment allows you to pull up a cable from a low pulley or pull down a cable from a high pulley.

You do not need heavier weights for this exercise because it involves many muscles. The diagonal movement patterns of the upper body are done in the half kneeling or tall kneeling postures.

Muscles Trained: The chop and lift moves recruit the muscle groups of the core as well as the lower and upper back. 

How It Helps: Cable lifts and chops can help you develop power, build strength, improve stamina, improve stability, correct muscle imbalances, and at the same time strengthen the core and lower back.

Most lifters find these movements help to improve maximum weight during a deadlift. 

They help you add more weight to upper body primary exercises like the bench press, shoulder press, board presses, and row variations.

10. Glute Bridges

How-To:

1. Lie facing up with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. You then slowly lift your hips off the floor until your knees, hips, and shoulders are in a straight line.
3. You squeeze your glutes and draw in your abs to avoid overextending the back.

Muscles Trained: The main muscle worked by glute bridges is the gluteus maximus, the biggest muscle in your butt.

How It Helps: Glute bridges help to tone your glutes and build strength in these muscles, which is beneficial during lower body primary exercises like squats and split squats.

The Takeaway

Only a small handful of people who are into powerlifting understand the immense importance of accessory exercises.

By including them in your own workouts, you can overcome any weakness you might have, build on your strong points, reach your fitness goals faster, and elevate your training program to a new level.

Doing accessory exercises will also help you avoid injuries while lifting by strengthening all the different muscle groups involved in your big lifts.

Plus, performing accessory exercises adds fun and variety to your workouts. Ultimately, accessory exercises will go a long way in making you the bodybuilder and athlete you aspire to become.

Here’s the thing. You could do weight training until a point of exhaustion and follow a diet plan religiously, but unless you do it right and make some changes to your overall lifestyle, you won’t gain muscle mass. 

So, what do you have to do for lean muscle growth? Gaining muscle mass can be tricky, but it is possible. If your goal is muscle building and getting rid of excess fat, you’ll have to fine-tune your diet and learn exactly what type of workouts to do.

Continue reading to find out the many reasons you’re not gaining lean muscle mass and what you can do about them.

I’ll share some tips and tricks to build muscle mass that are simple and easy to incorporate into your daily workout routine and nutrition plan. 

1. You’re training inconsistently.

 

Consistency is key if you want to accomplish your workout goals, whether it is building more muscle or something else.

 

Muscle growth is a slow and steady process - it doesn’t happen overnight. When you exercise inconsistently, your body has a harder time adapting. It is more challenging to form good habits. 

 

Consistent training, on the other hand, helps you increase your stamina. You start exercising with greater efficiency and can achieve the muscle gain that has been eluding you. 

 

The best way to go about it is to set a realistic goal. Planning to hit the gym six days a week may be a tall order. Instead, aim for something like exercising 3-4 days a week and building up from there.

 

As you see results in skeletal muscle tissue growth, you’ll become motivated to be consistent.

 

2. You’re not lifting heavy enough.

 

You probably know that lifting weights is the best way to gain muscle. But did you know that you need muscle hypertrophy for building muscle?

 

In other words, you need muscle tissue growth at a cellular level.

 

The easiest way to accomplish this is by lifting heavy weights with fewer reps because muscle hypertrophy occurs when the skeletal muscle tissue enlarges through resistance training. 

If you find you can easily do 12-15 reps with lighter weights, it’s time to move on to a heavier weight.

Experts recommend doing pyramid training when you lift weights. A pyramid workout means you start weightlifting with a weight you can easily lift for 8 reps, then move on to heavier weights that you cannot lift for more than 6 reps, 4 reps, and so on.

Bottom line is, if you can’t do more than 4 reps, it’s too much weight. If you can easily do more than 10 reps, you should add more weight.

3. You’re not allowing enough recovery between sets.

 

To build muscle, you need to perform multiple sets of resistance training. However, you also need to sit it out for a while and avoid overtraining. This gives time to the muscle fibers to recover.

 

Muscles recover pretty quickly, getting back up to 85% of maximum capacity in under 20 seconds. 

 

For efficient muscle building and an enviable physique, it’s a good idea to allow at least 2-3 minutes between sets. 

 

4. You’re doing too much cardio.

 

If you are eating too little, adding cardio to your workout regimen will mean you are expending more than your calorie intake. This will make gaining muscle mass near impossible.

 

Of course, doing the right type of cardio is essential to build muscle mass and lose body fat, but your priority needs to be resistance training. 

 

Feel free to add in a cardio session once in a while, but don’t do it at the expense of recovery for whatever muscle group you’ve worked on.

 

5. You’re training wrong.

 

Whether you’re working with a personal trainer or going solo, if you are not able to gain muscle, here are some things that could negatively impact your workout.

 

One, you could be lifting heavy and doing too few reps in the gym.

 

Second, there may be a big gap between your workout days.

 

Third, you might not be consuming enough calories.

 

 

Before you move on to lifting heavier weights, make sure you are doing between 3 and 12 reps. Here’s why.

Less than 3 reps will help you gain strength and power but not build muscles. More than 12 reps will increase endurance but limit the growth of muscles.

Ideally, you should aim for around 6 reps during your workouts.

Also, ensure that there are no more than 3 rest days between training. You should be working out 2-4 days per week. If you are not consistent in this, muscle building will occur at a much slower rate.

Lastly, make sure you are eating enough. Err on the side of a small surplus in calories rather than a deficit.

6. You’re not eating enough protein.

 

To stimulate the growth of muscles, you need an adequate amount of protein. Proteins contain amino acids that are the building blocks of muscle cells. Yet, most people don’t eat the amount of protein they need to stay healthy, let alone build muscle.

 

Indeed, protein is one of the most deficient macronutrients in diets across the world. People think they consume enough protein but they’re wrong. 

 

The recommendations for protein intake are 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight for overall health maintenance. However, in athletes and in people who want to build muscle, the body needs 1.3 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

 

You should eat enough and include a variety of proteins into your post-workout nutrition, such as:

 

• Eggs
• Greek yogurt
• Lean meats
• Chia and flax seeds
• Whey protein isolate

 

In general, natural food sources and animal proteins tend to be better choices than supplements like casein protein.

 

7. You’re not eating enough carbohydrates.

 

 

This might sound counterintuitive because fitness experts routinely advise people to cut carbs from their diet. In fact, it’s a sticking point with many fitness gurus. So you might be under the impression that eating healthy means cutting carbohydrates because they prevent you from gaining muscle.

 

However, the truth is that high-intensity weightlifting requires energy, and carbs are the body’s fuel. A low carbohydrate diet can lead to low glycogen levels and impact your athletic performance. 

 

In order to gain muscle and keep energy levels up, make sure you eat enough carbs. They are crucial to gain strength and repair and build muscle cells. You can work with a registered dietitian if you find you’re not making progress. They will help you find the right amount of carbs to consume on a daily basis.

 

 

8. You’re not drinking enough water.

 

When you don’t drink enough water and stay well hydrated, you starve your muscles of a critical nutrient.

 

Water plays a key role in the transport of nutrients that form protein and glycogen for muscle growth. It is also needed by nerves which control muscles.

 

Staying well hydrated should be your first priority when fine-tuning your health.

 

How much water should you drink to gain muscle? A good guideline is 50 mL or 1.7 fl. oz. per kilogram of body weight consumed throughout the day. Or aim for 16 cups or a gallon of water. 

 

Pro tip: A gallon might seem a lot, but if you drink 2 cups with each meal and snack, it should be doable. And try to get your water intake done earlier in the day, so you’re not waking up during the night to pee.

 

Also, keep in mind that alcohol is dehydrating. It also suppresses the central nervous system and immune system. Studies have shown that when you drink alcohol, it interferes with protein synthesis pathways as well. This is all bad news if your goal is muscle building.

 

Skip the drinking sesh with friends and opt for something healthier. If you do have a few drinks, be sure to pay attention to your nutrition to make up for the damage.

 

9. You’re not getting enough sleep.

 

A healthy diet, focusing on one muscle group at a time, and high intensity training are all very well, but if you’re not getting enough shut-eye, you’re going to have trouble increasing muscle size.

 

Getting adequate rest is a critical component of healthy functioning!

 

Sleep is the time when your muscles recover and repair themselves. The levels of human growth hormone are highest when you’re sleeping. Stress hormones are known to break down muscle, and a high stress hormone level (cortisol) is directly linked to lack of sleep.

 

When you are sleep deprived in the long run, it is at the expense of your recovery. This is why it can be impossible to gain muscle if you’re not getting enough rest. 

 

Focus on not only the amount of sleep but also quality sleep.

 

Pro tip: Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet. Stick to a fixed time for going to bed and getting up. If natural methods don’t work, consider taking a supplement like melatonin. 

 

10. You’re gobbling down your food.

 

It may sound silly, but when you eat too fast, you prevent yourself from building lean muscle. 

 

Here’s what happens: When you eat super fast, your body doesn’t get enough time to process hunger cues. As a result, you don’t realize you’re overeating and end up with a calorie surplus. 

 

You probably know that how many calories you eat plays a critical role in muscle building. While enough calories are necessary to build muscles, more calories can be detrimental.

 

TL;DR -- don’t eat to the point of gastrointestinal distress.

 

Slow down, switch off the TV, stop looking at your phone, and truly savor your food. Chances are you will eat less crap and feel fuller sooner.

 

The Takeaway

Dedication and more frequent trips to the gym are not the only things that will help you with lean muscle growth. You need to pay attention to the full range of nutrition and exercise to increase muscle mass and make gains effectively.

Now that you know the common reasons for not building muscle mass, you can fine-tune your workout, diet, and lifestyle to get the results you want.

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