We all know the feeling of having stubborn muscle groups that don’t look the way we want them to. This is usually because that muscle group isn’t as big or defined as you would like to be, or it’s lacking strength.
After more than a decade of training people, I’ve run into countless variations of the stubborn muscle group. Calves, arms, butts, chests – you name a muscle group, I’ve helped someone who was disappointed with theirs.
I’ve identified 4 major causes of stubborn muscle groups. To be more precise, I’ve identified 4 behaviour categories that cause frustration with these areas of the body. Think of them as the zodiac signs of stubborn body parts. You might find that you identify with several of these, in which case you should work on addressing one at a time.
Let’s get to work on fixing these issues.
The 4 Causes of Stubborn Muscle Groups
1. The Under-Achiever
Description: You train your stubborn muscle group at the end, or close to the end, of your workout. By this time, you’re tired and ready to go home. Even if that’s not the case, you’ve usually spend significant amounts of energy on other exercises by the time you get round to it.
You might also be unclear on your technique, so you make up for it by doing lots of high-rep (burnout) sets. You leave with a bit of a burn/pump, but never really see much change in that area.
Common culprits: calves and glutes.
Solutions:
- Get a refresher on your technique. On each rep, make sure you’re maximising the loaded stretch and getting a good contraction.
- Make sure the exercise is stable and manageable enough that you feel a good “connection” to each rep.
- Do the exercise long enough to get good at it – don’t switch exercises each week.
- Train this muscle group as soon as your main lifts are finished.
2. The Over-Achiever
Brief: You train your stubborn muscle group at the beginning of every workout you do.
You smash this body part into oblivion every time you train it, hoping that if you train hard enough, you’ll force it to develop.
You’ve tried every variation of every exercise for this muscle group, and still don’t see results.
Common culprits: chest, arms, glutes
Solutions:
- Stick with exercises long enough to get good at them – don’t switch exercises each week.
- Reduce your volume and spread it throughout the week. Aim for 10-20 sets per muscle group per week. Don’t do 5 exercises for the same muscle in one day!
- Focus on set quality and finish with 1-2 reps in reserve. If you’re an Over-Achiever you probably won’t like to hear this, but you’re already unhappy with your results. Reducing intensity probably won’t make you more unhappy.
3. The Little Details
Brief: You’re not taking each set to within 1-2 reps of failure. You don’t get 7-9 hours of sleep per night. You’re not eating enough protein. You don’t train consistently enough. Choose all that apply!
These are the little details that often let people down, even when they’re doing everything else right!
Solutions:
- Pick one thing on this list and absolutely nail it for 2 weeks. Then try to maintain this progress whilst moving on to something else on the list.
- Remember that these habits will get you closer to your goal, no matter how boring it seems.
4. The Unfair Expectations
Brief: You’re fixated on getting your stubborn body part to look exactly like your favourite influencer or celebrity. You don’t just want to get a bigger or more defined muscle group; you want it to look exactly like one you’ve seen elsewhere.
You’ve probably been frustrated with this for a long time, and may have even seen progress in that time. You may also be copying the workouts of your favourite celebrity. But no matter what you do, it still just doesn’t look right.
Solution: This is the most complicated issue in this blog, and cannot be easily solved with a couple of bullet points. The problem is that you’re comparing yourself to someone with different genetics, finances, and background circumstances. This puts you at the mercy of things you cannot completely control and can negatively affect your body image. These steps may help:
- Think about the sources that influence your body image. Are these sources incentivised to make you feel badly? For example, do they profit from your desire to change, i.e. diet products, personal trainers, cosmetics, advertisements?
- Consider un-following those people that make you feel negatively about your body. Examine how these people make you feel and decide if that’s something you really need in your life.
- Try to stop yourself if you find that you are comparing yourself to others, although this is easier said than done.
- Remember that your appearance is the least interesting thing about you, and make time to celebrate the things that you like about yourself.
Conclusion
Hopefully, your stubborn body part inspires you to go above and beyond your current training practice using the tips I’ve supplied here. Just make sure you’re setting fair expectations for yourself.
As you can see, solutions can range from exercise technique to programme design. I help experienced gym-goers fine-tune their programme in order to overcome whatever obstacles are stopping them from getting the results they deserve.
If you’re stuck with your training progress and want some free advice, get in touch below.