You're not eating enough – one of the main causes of not being able to build muscle is not eating enough and more importantly, not eating enough of the right food. Everyone bangs on about the importance of protein, but carbs and fats are just as important when it comes to growing muscle.
Although muscle strength and size seem to go together, Dr. Hoffman says they are independent -- some people can gain muscle size but not much strength; others can gain strength but not much size. Some gain both. Others gain neither.
You aren't lifting heavy enough.
In the resistance training context, hypertrophy occurs when skeletal muscle tissue enlarges, because the resistance stimulus increases the size of the muscle's component cells. Achieving hypertrophy puts you in a muscle-building state, but you won't get there by lifting light weights.
You Don't Have Enough Training Volume
Hypertrophy adaptations (I.E. building muscle) are ruled by the principle of volume. The more volume in your training (more sets and reps) the greater the hypertrophy response you will get (up to a point of course).
Muscle can only grow so fast, and a proper bulk takes both time and consistency (the opposite of fast). However, factors like eating more calories than you burn, increasing protein/carb intake, training with more volume, and monitoring your rate of weight gain can maximize your muscle-building during a bulk.
If you're looking to bulk up fast, aim to consume 0.73-0.91 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. You can get this amount of protein from whole food sources, or you can supplement with protein powder to make sure you're meeting your needs.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Yes, it is possible to be strong—and to get stronger—without having enormous muscles.
The amount of muscle you can actually gain and how quickly is determined by many factors including genetics, diet, training, and hormones. And your starting body composition may also be an important factor to consider. In reality, there is only so much food your body can process and turn into muscle mass.
You should only bulk if you want to maximize muscle gain and you don't mind gaining some fat. (Yes, some people can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, but unless you've been weightlifting for less than about six months, you're probably not one of them.)
Most beginners will see noticeable muscle growth within eight weeks, while more experienced lifters will see changes in three to four weeks. Most individuals gain one to two pounds of lean muscle per month with the right strength training and nutrition plan.
Experts recommend consuming 10–20% more calories during bulking than your body needs. Carbs should comprise the largest percentage of your diet, followed by protein and fat.
Creatine makes your muscles look bigger, while actually making them bigger as well. First, creatine causes your muscle cells to store more water which causes your muscles to appear fuller and larger. You may notice the size increase a few days or weeks after starting creatine supplementation.
Whey protein contains all the essential amino acids your body needs. It's particularly rich in leucine, the amino acid that kick-starts the muscle-building process ( 1 ). This makes it a good option for men who want to grow muscle or just maintain what they have.
A calorie surplus of 500 calories is usually a good place to start to promote muscle gains ( 2 ). The majority of the diet is made up of calorie- and nutrient-dense whole foods, such as rice, nuts, nut butters, red meats, salmon, dried fruit, avocados, healthy cereals, whole eggs, and full-fat dairy products.
Bodybuilders spend hours at the gym building large amounts of muscle mass, and they support that with regular feedings—this usually means six meal times a day. Of course, these aren't runs to Burger King. Bodybuilders typically have protein at every meal, some consisting of shakes.
The simple answer: No. Many people (especially females) are afraid that if they lift weights, they will get bulky (gain a lot of muscle mass), which inevitably changes their physique into what they may view as undesirable. Weight training does one thing very reliably: it makes you stronger.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
There are two main training errors people make that keep their biceps from growing. These are overtraining the biceps (often unintentionally) and a lack of variation in training techniques. Adding additional biceps focused workouts and trying multiple biceps exercises doesn't work.