Let’s face it, if you’re feeling like crap you will not be very motivated to workout. Without eating enough of the right foods to fuel your training program, fatigue may beat you to the finish line and your muscle gains will come to a quick halt. Worry no more! Here’s the inside scoop on how to eat to beat fatigue and overcome those training plateaus to maximize your muscle building efforts.

Get your confidence back!
The first thing you need to do is re-gain your confidence. Plateaus in training happen to every weight lifter at some point in their lives and it is no reason to give up lifting weights. I know many people who couldn’t get through it and so they gave up. Wrong!

Change your exercise order
The first thing you need to do is change the order that you do your exercises. Many people do the same workout for years at a time and after a while their muscles become bored and stuck. Change the order you do your exercises. Even go so far as to chuck away some exercises for a few weeks and try something new. If you do a split change the muscles that you pair together.

Rocky did this when he had to learn to box with a different leading hand. He had to change the way he worked his muscle by changing the exercise order.

Change your lifting style
If you are one of those dudes at the gym who lifts his weights super fast and with plenty of energy then slow things down. Do every single repetiton as slow as possible. It might mean you only get out four or five but it will give your muscles a new way of training and force them to adapt to something new.

Rocky (in every movie!) kicks up a gear and goes from slow boring training to hard and fast lifting to really boost his muscle development. Maybe we need to do the reverse.

Take a few weeks off
At the end of every year I take off a few weeks from training. I still go for jogs and do some pushups occasionally but I don’t go to the gym and I don’t push my body too hard. This is one of the best secrets there is. Your body will recouperate, revive and you will find you grow and come back to training with more passion and energy than ever before. During my weeks off I eat well and take care of my system. Injuries recover and I feel like a new man. If you are stuck on a plateau maybe you are overtraining and your body can’t keep up anymore.

Rocky overtrained. No doubt about it. If you don’t take a few weeks off every now and then you will burn out. Once a year is plenty.

Clean things up
After a few years of lifting weights you can get into certain bad habits. Leaning back when you do a barbell curl, bouncing the bench press off your chest, etc. All these things lessen the amount of stress you put on the muscles and retard your progress. If you are stuck on a bodybuilding plateau try re-learning all the techniques and make sure you lift cleanly. Really hit those muscles you are targeting well.

Watch Rocky’s boxing style in episode one and compare it with episode three. Everything cleaned up and he became a huge, ripped and skilled fighting machine!

Find different ways of adding resistance
The absolute basic principle of bodybuilding is that you need to gradually increase the work you are doing so that your muscles keep responding and growing. If you are on a plateau it means you have stopped growing. Therefore, find new ways of adding resistance to your exercises so that your muscles are forced to respond.

If you can’t add anymore weight to your bench press try doing pushups as soon as you finish your set; something your muscles aren’t used to. Or, instead of trying to add more weight take weight off each set so that your muscles get more of a “endurance” type workout. Be creative and find new ways to challenge your body. This tip is cash money! Rocky ran stairs, chased chickens and did all sorts of things to develop his skills. Be creative!

Don’t neglect your diet
Proper nutrition and a good weight training program need to be combined if you want to start putting more muscle on your scrawny body. Trying to train intensively when malnourished or feeling fatigued is a recipe for disaster.

Make sure that you are getting adequate calories and protein in the diet for supercompensation to occur. Supercompensation is the period after a training session when the muscles have a higher performance capacity. This is important to progress to lifting heaver weights. Due to your increased activity level it’s a good idea to increase your protein intake.

If you can’t get enough protein from raw foods then protein supplements is a consideration. Just make sure you buy a good quality whey protein. If you are unsure of what whey protein you should get, read supplement reviews online to know what others think of different brands.

Food is fuel for your body
Consuming food during the time that you are most active allows a steady flow of energy to your muscles and, most importantly, to your brain. It doesn’t make sense to bank the majority of your calories until dinner and afterward, when your body requires the energy earlier in the day.

Snack throughout the day. Your breakfast and lunch fuel will only last a few hours, so you need to be snacking during the day to maintain energy levels. I would suggest you avoid sugary snacks, which will give you a burst of energy but not much of anything else.

Replace coffee for more water
Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Keep your caffeine consumption to a moderate amount, no more than about two cups of coffee per day. Water is the most important nutrient that the body needs, so make sure you are drinking enough water.

Conclusion
The bodybuilding plateau is a scary and annoying time for any lifter. With a few minor changes to your training and diet, however, you can get your training and muscle growth back on track. Don’t be afraid to change your old habits to get some new results. Just like Rocky.

Success though a positive mental attitude is paramount for those who are trying to gain weight and muscle. Granted, we can offer specific techniques but it is you who is in the “drivers seat”, who ultimately determines your destiny.

Over the years research has concluded that athletes facing grimacing odds of overcoming severe injuries followed 6 mental patterns that characterize a positive mental attitude. You too can follow those same principles as you involve yourself in reaching your weight gain goals and living a healthy lifestyle.

In order for you to gain weight and pack on lean muscle mass, not only should you be training like an athlete, but also you are required to think like one. Utilize the following 6 principles to acquire weight gain success through a positive mental attitude, apply the principles together with a proven weight gain program and results are sure to come your way.

1. Successful athletes use both motivating directions. They move both towards goals and away from consequences. This way they are able to use their maximum amount of motivation. They know where they are going. For example, an injured high school swimmer wanted to overcome her injury but she also wanted to win a swimming college scholarship. She was motivated and directed. She was moving towards her goal.

You, wanting to eliminate weight gain can apply this principle too with a goal of eliminating weight gain and live a healthy lifestyle. You then can use both motivators, moving away from pain and moving towards a healthy lifestyle.

2. Athletes in rehab were dedicated in regaining full strength and health. Ones attitude was, anything less is unacceptable. Ultimately, success through a positive mental attitude is a key fundamental aspect to weight gain success and regain complete confidence in yourself.

3. Athletes approached rehab one-step at a time. It’s intimidating to think of accomplishing the entire rehab task all at one. If you take it in individual steps you’ll complete it. Each step becomes a new goal. While you’re going through the weight gain program, have that mental goal in front of you and take it one-step at a time.

4. How the athlete in rehab thinks about time. When concerning about daily goals, the successful athlete needs to be in the present. Think about the single activity right now and not get distracted or discouraged by thinking about the future. If you’re engaged in your first day of weight training, think about what you’re currently doing and how to life the weight with proper form.

If you project yourself doubtfully and ask, “Will I ever be the same?” or “Will I succeed?” If your thinking is like this, you may have problems. These types of questions can create a negative orientation. It’s better to ask, “What can I do now to reach my next milestone?”

It’s helpful to think ahead about what are the rewards and benefits of the struggles you are now going through. Success though a positive mental attitude is key.

5. Involvement is a fundamental element towards your success. The more the athlete helps him or herself, the better the recovery. Even if it’s as simple as placing ice on an injury. When you participate you influence what is going on. It makes you more determined and aggressive.

It’s been discovered amongst hospital patients, that the more they participate in their own recovery, the more likely they’ll recover. In terms of eliminating your weight gain, get thoroughly involved. Do all the necessary techniques.

6. How you judge your performance is critical to your overall outcome. This applies to all aspects of life. Far too often comparisons are made between ourselves and the actions of others. We tend to evaluate our progress by making comparisons to other people.

If you come out on top, you’ll feel good but if you come out at or near the bottom you’ll likely feel inadequate. Unfortunately, by the time we all move to adulthood, comparisons between others becomes a habit and is often done so unconsciously.

It’s very important for your successful weight gain progress that you do not fall into this mental trap of comparing. Successful weight gain is done by a self-to-self comparison. Ask yourself, “How far have I progressed since last week? The last month?”

We can all do this by measuring our own progress. That’s what is important, your own progress, therefore, you can look at others progress as inspiration, models of excellence or sources of information, not targets of envy! You can delight in the success of others and truly value your own success.

Summary… You are now an athlete as you face the dilemma of achieving weight gain success and regaining fitness and confidence. Many people have done it, you’re not alone. Success through a positive mental attitude by following the 6 fundamental steps will help you stay on track. Use a proven weight gain program in conjunction with these fundamental steps to accomplish your goal.

Let’s talk about one very important area when it comes to gaining weight, and that is goal setting. If you’ve ever met anyone who was trying to lose weight, you know that the ones who are most successful are the ones who have a set goal in mind. The others typically give up as soon as their motivation runs out, which could be a day or a week or even a couple of months.

The same thing is true when you’re trying to gain weight. What you want to be doing is to start thinking about your long-term goal. Be specific about what you want to achieve for yourself at the end of this journey. Don’t be saying “I want to gain weight until I’m happy with what I see in the mirror” or “I need to put on enough weight to help me bulk up”. None of those statements are going to help you because they are subjective, meaning they are open to interpretation and are changed by perception. You need something concrete; you need a number. And you need to write down that number so you won’t be able to lie to yourself about your goal and so you can remind yourself of what you’re working towards.

Besides setting a long-term goal, you should also set several smaller goals for yourself as well. Motivation experts have found that long-term goals alone just aren’t effective, because the pay off for the the work you are doing now seems so distant. Smaller goals give you quicker senses of accomplishment and keep pushing you forward towards your long-term ambition. Your short-term goals should be just as specific, but you may want to start with a goal such as “I want to gain X amount of pounds this week”, then “I want to gain X amount of pounds this month”, and so on and so forth. Make sure you’re being realistic when you set these goals. Too high or too low expectations won’t help you make progress.

The same type of goals can be set for caloric intake when trying to gain weight. If your daily maintenance level is 2000 calories, then it can be something as specific as “I want to consume 2500 calories per day”. By increasing the calories in small increments, eating more to pack on the pounds won’t feel like such a chore, because your body will get used to eating more. By setting goals like this, you will know how much you need to eat and you can stick to it, and it will enable you to keep a weight gain food log for tracking your daily caloric intake, as it will vary from meal to meal.

Also, remember that each time you meet a goal, you should have a set reward for yourself in mind. In the pursuit for weight gain it is ok to make that reward food related. This could mean having a “cheat meal” once every week, which allows you to enjoy your favorite foods that may not be as healthy, however, in limited quantities, it’s not going to have an effect in reaching your weight gain goals. Just remember, you are required to eat “clean” healthy foods the majority of the time if you expect to see good results.

Those of you who know me personally know that I am not into struggle, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that discipline and effort is required to get what you want. I do believe there is an ease and effortlessness to life and that a more advanced form of motivation exists beyond the “gotta,” “shoulda,” “have-tos” and “need-tos.”

Yet, I also know that hard work, discipline, and effort are what it takes to get what you want out of life. There are no magic wands. But this seeming paradox simply means that when you are able to set up your life to connect with your style and way you want to live, the struggle is taken out of your life.

Some people equate effort with will power, meaning you’ve got to force yourself to do something. And sometimes just giving in and “doing something” will get you out of a rut. But over the long haul, most of us have had little or no success with simply “willing” ourselves to do something. Effort is the willingness to keep trying until you find what works for you. In my case this weight gain program worked for me.

If one thing doesn’t work, try another one, and another one. Don’t give up. Don’t assume you can’t have what you want in your life. What do you want more of? What do you want less of? Step back and take an objective look at your life, or ask a trusted friend or professional to help you do that.

Effort also needs to have a specific target. There’s an old saying, “if you try to chase two rabbits, you will end up losing them both.” But effort doesn’t have to be drudgery. Effort is about making those small choices and decisions every day – baby steps. The key to weight gain success is the willingness to make the effort – disciplined, repeated action in the specific direction you want to go. It’s not the huge effort that makes all the difference; it’s the small efforts that come with each and every decision you make all day every day. Instead of skipping that afternoon snack, make sure you have something to eat and have the protein shake.

Almost everyone I talk to who wants to gain weight says it will take up too tough. And while the investment of time and energy and money to get such a physique is inevitable, the return on the investment is incredible.

Don’t look at people who have a better physique and have great lives and think they are just lucky or more talented than you. Anyone who wants a better body can get there, with the right amount of effort. You can do it too!

There are many details to consider when putting a weight gain food plan together that suits you as an individual. You must take into consideration your lifestyle, time constraints, food preferences, family and social obligations, job and/or profession, and last, but not least, what you want to do. Do you want, or need, to lose fat? Do you need to gain weight in general? Do you have a health concern that requires you not eat indiscriminately?

The first realization you must face is that there is no 30-minute quick fix solution. In the beginning you’ll feel like all you’re thinking about is food and what you’re eating and when you’re going to eat it. This is an annoying, but necessary evil. After a short time, it will become a no-brainer and a very natural part of your life. You will be able to “eyeball” different foods and portions without counting and measuring. Take it one meal at a time, one day at a time. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all work out perfectly immediately, and don’t concern yourself if you slip up and eat something that’s not on your “list.”

Although this site and other health sites such as Healthy Fellow will give you a base from which to start and some ideas and recommendations about what to eat and when to eat it, nothing is set in stone. What works spectacularly well for your friend probably won’t work quite as well for you and vice versa. Further, what works for you in the beginning probably won’t produce equally good results as time passes. If you exercise properly and consistently – and I’m assuming you will because you want a better quality of life – you will have a different body a year from now. You will have more muscle and less fat (assuming you need to lose fat). This means you will need to eat more to keep your system running. Muscle requires more calories to maintain. I’ll bet you didn’t think someone was going to give you permission to eat more!

The main thing is not to become discouraged and give up. Mother Nature does not like drastic change of any kind so you must coax her along. It’s the same idea as getting your recalcitrant dog to go outside in the rain when the vixen would prefer to sleep on the couch in front of a warm fire.