Why You're Not Building Muscle As Fast As You Hoped

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a deep dive into the 3 essential pillars for building muscle:

1. Resistance training - The stimulus that signals your body to build muscle.

2. Nutrition - The fuel that provides the raw materials your body needs to actually build muscle.

3. Recovery - The rest time during which your muscles rebuild and grow stronger.

While these form the foundation of any effective muscle-building plan, they’re only part of the equation.

There are other factors that affect how fast you actually build muscle.

Some of them you can control. Others? Not so much.

But the more you understand them, the better you can optimize your approach and set more realistic expectations.

We’ll break down these factors in two parts—those you can’t change, and those you have more control over.

Part 1: Non-Modifiable Factors

These are the cards you’re dealt. The things you can’t change, but that still impact how quickly you build muscle.

1. Genetics

Some people are just genetically wired to gain muscle more easily, while others may have to work a little harder and be more consistent to see the same results.

Things like your muscle fiber type, hormone levels, bone structure, and even limb length can all influence how fast and how noticeably your muscles grow.

2. Gender

Men typically build muscle faster than women due to higher levels of testosterone, a key hormone that promotes muscle growth.

Women can still build a significant muscle mass, but it often happens at a slower pace.

3. Age

Your ability to build muscle peaks in your 20s and 30s. As you age, your body’s ability to build muscle naturally slows down.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t build muscle well into your 40s and 50s. It just takes a little more patience and intentional effort.

Part 2: Modifiable Factors

These are the areas where you actually have control and that make all the difference when it comes to how quickly (or slowly) you build muscle.

1. Exercise selection

The exercises you choose matter more than you might think.

Some movements target specific muscles more effectively than others. Choosing exercises that activate the right muscles can help you build strength and size much faster.

And it’s not just what you do—how you do it matters too.

Using proper form ensures you're fully engaging the target muscle and not “cheating” the movement.

Plus, it helps reduce your risk of injury, especially when you start lifting heavier weights.

This playlist is a good resource for understanding good exercise form.

2. Training frequency

Muscle growth takes time and consistency.

If your workouts are random or you’re only training once a week, results will be very slow.

To see noticeable progress, aim to train each major muscle group at least twice a week while following a structured program.

Stick to the program for at least 6 weeks before making any big changes.

Switching up your workouts every week can stall progress as you’re not giving your body enough time to adapt and grow.

3. Effort (Training intensity)

Muscle only grows when it’s challenged. How much (or little) you challenge yourself during your workouts will determine how fast (or slow) you’ll see results.

If your workouts always feel easy, your body has no reason to change.

To grow muscle faster, you need to apply progressive overload—which means increasing the demand placed on your muscles over time. You can do this by:

• Lifting heavier weights

• Doing more reps or sets

• Reducing rest time between sets

• Slowing down the tempo of your reps

• Pushing each set close to failure (where you can’t do another rep with good form)

However, it’s important to know your limits. Challenging yourself beyond what your body can handle can lead to injury.

4. Recovery time

Muscle growth happens outside the gym.

Therefore, if you’re always training and never recovering, your muscles don’t get the chance to grow.

In fact, too much training without proper rest can lead to overtraining, which can actually slow your progress.

Give each muscle group at least 48 hours to recover before training it again. And don’t underestimate the power of good sleep. That’s when your body does its best repair work.

5. Nutrition

When you’re going through a muscle-building phase, you have to ensure that your diet is also on point.

To build muscle, your body needs two key things:

• Enough total calories to support growth (being in a slight calorie surplus)

• Enough protein to repair and rebuild muscle (aim for around 1.6–2.2g/kg of body weight per day)

Put simply, lifting weights is the signal, but food is the material. Without it, your body has nothing to build with.

Focus on what you can control

At the end of the day, building muscle is a mix of what you can control and what you can’t.

You don’t get to choose your genetics, age, or gender. But you do get to decide how consistently you train, how well you fuel your body, and whether or not you prioritize recovery.

And that’s where your focus should be.

So instead of comparing your journey to someone else’s, zoom in on your own habits:

• Are you training with intention?

• Are you consistently challenging yourself?

• Are you eating enough?

• Are you getting enough protein consistently?

• Are you giving your body enough time to recover?

• Are you getting quality sleep?

If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track. And it’s only a matter of time before the results start showing.

If not, then you (hopefully) now have the tools you need to make the necessary changes.

Control the controllable. The results will follow.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found something valuable :)

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