5 Habits That Are Killing Your Gains – Watch Out For These!

If you haven’t seen any gains, then it’s time for you to look at the things you’re doing daily, both inside and outside the gym. These daily habits of yours are the reason why you aren’t reaching the next level. Why is all the sweat you’ve been pouring out while training isn’t giving you the desired result?

These habits of yours are steering your fitness progress. This shouldn’t be the case. You should be in the driving seat. It should be you who decides what direction you should turn in – Left or Right.

That said, it’s time for you to take back control. Watch out for these 5 habits! They are killing your gains. Change these habits and gains shall be bestowed upon you.

#1 Inconsistent Training Is Killing Your Gains

Though you might have been going to the gym for years, you might not be doing it regularly. Suppose you’re following a six-day push-pull-leg split, but you’re only going like 4 of those six days.

And even on the days when you’re showing up, you just aren’t following the routine. You just go with the flow and don’t even bother to push yourself past the limit because you leave it for the next time. And when that time comes, you either just take the day off from training or once again leave it for the next time.

This inconsistency is stopping you from going to the next level as well as killing your gains. So, start being consistent today, not tomorrow. Consistency + intensity = results.

#2 No Progression Is Killing Your Gains

One of the worst habits of killing your gains is not using a progression of any type. If you’re consistent with your workout routine, introducing some kind of progression would do wonders for you.

Progression means doing better than you did last time. It means increased intensity. Suppose, you lifted 175 lbs (85% of your 1 Rep Max) on Barbell Squats for 6 reps. The time you do squats, you either increase the weight, reps, or sets.

If you want to keep the reps and sets the same, then increase the weight by 5-10 lbs. If you want to keep the weight and reps the same, then increase the reps by 1-2. Or if you want to keep the weight and reps the same, then increase a set or two.

By doing this, you’ll be adding progression of some kind to your training. Using the superset technique or lowering the rest time is a kind of progression.

#3 A Crappy Diet Is Killing Your Gains

No matter how many hours you’re spending at the gym, if you’re not fueling yourself well, then all the work is going down the drain. So to maximize the gains and achieve your desired body, you need to eat good food.

You need to reach your daily calorie intake. You need to stop skipping meals for those juicy burgers, although having them once in a while isn’t going to steal your gains.

So the first thing you need to do is come up with a diet plan or hire someone to make one for you according to your fitness goal. Then comes the hard part. You need to start following it.

You either need to cook the food yourself, but if you’re short on time and can afford to pay extra pennies, then you can just ask some meal prep company to deliver pre-cooked food for you.

They deliver you food weekly or whatever schedule they have running.

#4 Poor Exercise Selection Is Killing Your Gains

Whether your goal is, let it be strength, endurance, or hypertrophy, you need to have the compound lifts included in your workout split.

If you don’t do them and chase after variations because you take your gym bro too seriously when he says one needs to change his exercise selection every six weeks or else he’ll lose the gains, then you’ll never progress.

Doing squats on the Bosu ball using the out-of-the-world variation of barbell curls or push-ups isn’t going to help you achieve your dream body.

First, you need to understand that doing more exercises isn’t necessarily better. Second, you need to come up with a workout plan that suits your routine. Third, you need to focus on the big six compound lifts because they’ll build most of your body.

Then, you need to have some isolation exercises to work on your small muscles effectively. Understand that everyone has a different body. What works for others doesn’t mean it’ll work for you too.

A good workout plan is what works for you and gives you optimal results.

#5 Having No Patience Is Killing Your Gains

If you’re following your training routine, meeting your daily calorie intake, and sleeping for 6-8 hours, then you’ll get results soon enough.

All you need to do is have some patience because progress can’t be rushed. You need to set some realistic goals if you want to achieve something.

If your goal is to gain strength and you expect to see yourself adding 100 lbs to the deadlift bar in just four weeks, then you’ll be nothing but disappointed.

You’ll be able to add 100 lbs to the deadlift bar just not in four weeks. Similarly, if you want to gain 10 lbs of muscle, you can achieve that just not in four weeks.

Also Read: What’s a drop set? Why should you use it?

Therefore, setting goals that can be achieved in a certain amount of time. If you don’t do that, if you don’t have patience, then you’ll end up quitting since you won’t see results in four weeks that are bound to be seen in no less than eight-nine weeks.

So, have patience. Trust the process. Do it and you shall see the gains in no time.

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