It’s true that hard work pays off… but working hard without using your brain will result in wasted effort and a nice flat plateau for you to sit on. This is the reason many people ask the question “why…”, “why am I not dropping weight even though I’m hitting the gym 5 days a week?”, “why is my bench press at the same level it was at a year ago?”… why why why. Well today I have 6 reasons that just might explain why you are seeing no progress, and what to do about it.

1. You’re playing it too safe

You’re a coward, a wuss, a puss and aren’t pushing your body to the limits it’s capable of. You lift the same shit day in and day out and worst of all, you do the exact same workout day in and day out. Just because a particular routine worked a few months back does NOT mean it will keep working. Recall that I said everything works at least once. You also gotta push your boundaries, you need to feel the fear… and lift it anyway. Then just as you start to get comfortable with your new routine, BAM! Switch it up again.

Keep your body guessing. Keep your mind challenged and keep your fear buried under a pile of victory. An average gym-goer will spend 144 hours per year inside their chosen club… and that’s IF they are consistent (more on that below). So if you’re not pushing yourself every time you step inside the sanctuary of iron plates, then you’re wasting your damn time. It’s as simple as that.

2. You’re overdoing it

While 144 hours per year sounds like a big number, it only amounts to 3 times per week in one hour sessions. But if you’re over obsessed and going multiple times a day, 7 days a week and you’re NOT a pro bodybuilder, then seriously… get a life. This is a huge problem for people(guys?) who want to gain size and strength; they tear down their bodies too often, and don’t give it ample time to recover.

It’s not just your muscles – your nervous system needs a minimum of 24 hours to recover also. It’s what controls your muscles. So if what controls your muscles is getting banged up day in and day out, you can bet your ass that your progress will stall. You’ll be spinning your wheels in one spot and will go absolutely no where. A good rule of thumb is to take 24 hour breaks in-between your sessions while keeping nutrient intake rock solid. Some might even need to train less than that. Remember, less is more!

3. Your eating habits are garbage

When I’m training someone and their progress isn’t up to snuff, or if they aren’t making improvements at a rate which I think is normal… then 90% of the time I can spot the problem just by looking at their food log. Imagine that, these people are doing what I told them to do in the gym, which means they are doing training programs that are tried and true, but just because they are slacking in the nutrition department, their progress is hampered.

So think about your goals for a second… do you want a ripped six-pack? yes? Then what you eat, better be up to snuff. Are you eating foods that you like, or foods that like you? I’m not saying you have to eat raw broccoli and chicken breasts day in and day out, but you better not be choking down McNuggets and a large Coke every opportunity you get.

4. You don’t know what the f*ck you’re doing

Bosu balance balls, ass machines, groin machines, vibrator pads… you really think you’re getting somewhere by wasting your time on these? If you do, you’re out of your god damn mind. Think about how your body works for a second – it’s one big unit. When you lift a heavy ass box, you aren’t just using your biceps… you are using your legs, lower back, biceps, forearms and every stabilizer muscle in your back that you could think of. I don’t have an EMG machine handy but shit, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that 90% of the muscles in your upper body are being used.

So why the hell would you do isolated one arm bicep curls using a cable machine?! Makes no sense. Your body is meant to move as a unit, therefore you should train it as a unit. Then once you’re strong enough, you can go ahead and work on your weakest link and do some dumbbell curls.

Another problem is technique. I don’t over-criticize or over-analyze technique too much… and those that do haven’t lifted a weight heavy enough to save their life. So why don’t I over-analyze things? Well the reason is simple – there is an inverse relationship between the cleanliness of technique and the amount of resistance you push. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be using light weights to perfect  your technique as much as possible.

I know, I sound like a contradiction… what else is new? But let me elaborate. Take the bench press for example. Too many people run their mouth about how straight your wrist should be, the distance the bar should drop, the position of your feet, the angle of your back arch, if you should back arch, distance from the rack, and on and on. So unnecessary.

Trust me, when you have a bar with double your body weight worth of plates over your fucking face… you really cant be thinking about these little things, which is why your technique should be GREAT with lighter weights, so that when you lift heavy, it will be good-enough. What’s good enough? Basic shit like have your feet firmly planted, don’t lower the bar below a 90 degree bend in the elbow and exhale like a mofo during the press. That’s it!

5. You lack the ability to focus

When you’re in the gym, it’s no time to chit chat with old pals or update your Twitter status. Make sure you’ve got a plan, are tracking your progress and are pushing yourself further and harder than the last time… and the only way to push yourself at a higher level is to have focus. A tunnel vision that is honed in on your task at hand.

6. You are hideously inconsistent

The blue moon shines more often then you hit the gym and I have a better chance of seeing Halley’s comet fly by then of seeing you track your progress. In other words, you are just not consistent enough. Thinking that going to the gym for a week or two is going to get you into the shape you’ve ALWAYS wanted is so insane in the brain, I just don’t know where to being.

And it doesn’t have to be in the gym, it could be the at-home workouts. The fact of the matter is that you need to keep at it. You don’t make a snowman by clumping a bunch of powder every few weeks in the hopes that it will be tall enough… winter will be over by then. You pick a day and start small, but you keep rolling that shit till its the size of a horse’s ass. It might take you a whole day, but the consistent effort will pay off.

Anything spectacular that was accomplished during the existence of the human race has been over a long(er) period of time… so I’m not sure why we have such an instant-gratification attitude towards everything. Things like the Egyptian Pyramids and the Great Wall Of China took decades… centuries even. But it all started with laying down a single brick. Then another one top of the that, then another on top of that until you have something that people admire even after thousands of years.

Now I’m not saying it will take you centuries… but you get the point. There are some people who strike success due to factors such as luck, chance, risky shortcuts or a rare bold move… but these things don’t always deliver. The only known way of achieving success 100% of the time is through consistency. Bar none.

That’s all I got for today. And if you want to check out the latest and greatest research, along with other articles that are worth reading, check out the brand new Social Fitness Site called FitMarker.

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