8 Reasons Why Your _ _ _ _ Is Small

by Matt Weik

Unfortunately, you might not be blessed with the biggest body parts. In fact, you could have an area that is well, smaller than average. And that’s fine. Don’t worry, you can fix it! I have a list of reasons why you’re small and how you can get bigger. The first thing you need to do is understand that you have a problem, and that to feel fulfilled and like a man, you need to take action. Failure to do so will leave the ladies wanting more and you know what happens with a wandering eye. But, don’t worry. I’m going to explain how you can get bigger and rock hard.

I’m not sure what you were expecting when you clicked on this article, but it has nothing to do with your manhood – but if that’s small, well, I can’t help you in that department. This article is a fill in the blank as to why certain muscle groups on your physique are small. There can be several reasons, and because of this, we are going to take a look under the hood and help you get the answers you need to add more quality mass to your frame.

Why is your (fill in the blank) is small?

No Intensity

You get out of your workouts what you put into them. If you’re lifting light, not squeezing the muscle hard, not minimizing rest periods, and not in the gym to completely destroy the weights… there’s your answer why you’re complaining that something is small. You should damn near be dragging yourself out of the gym and feel soreness in the days following (DOMS). Stop lollygagging around in the gym, stop talking to all the spicy senoritas, and start hammering the weight. That chick you’re eyeing up from across the gym, she sees your lagging body parts. Fix them. Fast.

Neglecting Body Parts

Speaking of lagging body parts… if you are neglecting body parts, do you really need to wonder why it’s falling behind the rest of your body? Do you skip leg day? Do you neglect calves? Do you have huge upper arms, but toothpick forearms? Focus on them. If you are neglecting body parts and not truly stimulating the muscle fibers, how do you expect those muscle fibers to grow bigger and stronger? They won’t! Get in the gym, focus on your weaknesses and build up those muscle groups that you have been neglecting.

Lack of Strength

While it is possible to put on some size using lighter weights, you’re missing out on massive growth potential by not lifting heavier. If you’re doing sets of 20-25, you’re not maximizing your gains. Keep the weight heavy, yet controllable, and push for 8-12 reps. Feel free to completely change it up and toss in some pure strength workouts where you are working in the 4-8 rep range to build upon your strength. Improving your strength allows you to constantly be overloading the muscles. When you use the same weight every single workout, it’s no different than you getting out of bed in the morning, it’s just a ritual at that point that doesn’t take much thought or effort – your body isn’t going to be forced to change if you aren’t willing to challenge it. Go load more weight on the bar and move it!

Not Feeling Each Contraction

If you aren’t feeling the contraction with each rep, you aren’t truly working the muscle and more than likely, you are introducing another muscle group to help complete the movement. Generally, this is caused by using a weight that is too heavy. If you are moving the weight, yet not feeling it in the muscle group you are trying to work, check your ego and lower the weight. Sure, it’s impressive moving a ton of weight, but the only thing that builds is your ego, which no one cares about. So, if you are in the business of building muscles, lower the weight, control the weight, and feel the contraction. In the industry, we like to call this the “mind-muscle connection.” Give it a try and feel the difference it makes by focusing on feeling the muscle work throughout the whole range of motion.

Not Eating Enough Calories

I don’t think it should come as any surprise that if you aren’t taking in enough calories, you aren’t going to see gains. You need to be in a caloric surplus in order to put on muscle. Anything less than your maintenance and you will be losing weight. I’m not saying to force feed yourself, but know your macros and calories. Log them if you must, and use something like MyFitnessPal (you can download it for free on your smartphone). Increase your protein intake and strive for around one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Don’t cut yourself short by not feeding your muscles and giving them the nutrients they need to grow and repair.

Failing to Get Enough Sleep

Our society is suffering from FOMA (fear of missing out). We watch stupid television shows that add no value to our lives just because everyone around the office is talking about them. Who cares about Bachelor in Paradise or The Kardashians? Want to talk about a waste of time? You’ll never get that time back that you wasted. Set an alarm if you must so you go to bed at the same time each night as well as in the morning to wake up. Strive for 7-9 hours of quality sleep. That’s doesn’t mean laying in bed watching television, reading a book, or creeping around social media reading profiles of people you never speak to or even know. Head to bed, make sure the room is quiet and dark, and get some restful sleep. Lack of sleep does not allow your muscles enough time to rest and recover properly.

Lack of Exercise Variety

If you are bored with your workouts, so are your muscles. Not changing up your workouts and going through the same motions every week will train your muscles to get used to such a stimulus. You need to change it up! If you are hitting chest using barbells, change it up to dumbbells. If you are using dumbbells for biceps, try using the cable machine. Add in some new movements every couple of weeks to keep things fresh and exciting. Don’t lull your muscle growth to sleep by feeding it the same assortment of exercises each workout. Variety is the spice of life (and new muscle growth).

Lack of Commitment

I shouldn’t even need to cover this one, but if you aren’t committed to putting in the time – you aren’t dedicated – and you simply aren’t going to see the results. You need to make building muscle a priority and ensure you are taking the necessary steps to put yourself in a position to win. Not going to the gym, not eating enough food, not getting enough sleep, not putting everything into your workouts… all of these things will set you up to lose. If you want to build muscle, you’re going to need to work. Nothing works unless you do. And if you aren’t willing to be 100% committed to doing whatever it takes (within reason) to add quality size to your lagging body parts, then don’t complain that you have imbalances or small muscle groups. Take it on the chin and fold if that’s the case. But if you aren’t a quitter (and I don’t think you are), then double down and give it everything you’ve got to force your muscles to grow.