5 Reasons You're Not Seeing Booty Gains

You decided you want to change your body for the better. You started going to the gym and doing all the things you thought you were supposed to do BUT, you're still not seeing any progress. All of your after photos ended up looking the same and before you knew it you ended up having an entire album of before pictures. Does that sound like you? We've all been there. Working hard and still not seeing the results you want is one of the most frustrating feelings ever. Here's 5 common mistakes that may be keeping you from seeing the progress you'd hoped for:

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1. You aren't eating enough.

One of the biggest mistakes I see girls making is dieting too much. You're so inspired to get healthy and in shape that you eat salads for every meal and cut out carbs because that's what you're supposed to do, right? Wrong. If you're looking to grow your glutes and put on muscle then you need to give your body enough energy. It's impossible to grow while you're starving. In my above before and after picture, on the right I am eating so much more than I was on the left. In the left picture I was eating around 1,200 calories a day, which is way too low. Now I am eating around 2,200 calories a day. That's almost double. I didn't start seeing real progress until I started properly fueling my body. I promise you don't need to be scared of food. If you're new to working out I recommend eating around your maintenance calories (taking in the same amount of energy that you burn). Experiment and always do what feels best for your body, but if you're looking for a general estimate I suggest going to http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator.

2. You're not doing compound lifts.

If you're going to the gym and doing a bunch of glute kickbacks and then going home then you're probably not going to see great results. Your workout should be about 80% compound lifts and 20% accessory movements. Isolation exercises can be great, but they shouldn't be the majority of your workout. You should be spending most of your time and energy on squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts. Exercises like glute kickbacks and the abduction machine should be done towards the end of your workout, when you have less energy, to target any specific muscles you may want to work on.

3. You aren't lifting heavy enough.

Your workout should always feel challenging. As your body adapts, you need to continue to push yourself by adding more resistance or more repetitions. This is called progressive overload. For this reason, what is considered heavy enough varies greatly from person to person. For some people squatting 135lbs may not be possible yet, and for others it may not be challenging enough. The important part isn't how many plates you're putting on the barbell, it's how much of a challenge that weight is for you. A good way to measure this is your rate of perceived exhaustion (RPE). Say you're doing a set of 8 squats. If when you get to your last one you don't feel that tired and you think you could probably physically do 10 more, then it is probably a good idea to increase the weight. On the other hand, if when you get to your 8th rep you feel like you could only do maybe 2 or 3 more before you hit failure, then that's probably the right amount of weight for you. The key to continually seeing progress is to continually force your body to adapt.

4. You're not being consistent.

It can be hard to always find time for the gym. Some weeks you may have a lot of school work and other weeks you might just not feel like going. I get that it's hard, but if you're only going when you're motivated (https://bethanyefit.wixsite.com/barbelleswithbeth/home/fuck-motivation) or when you have a big event coming up, then you likely won't see real progress. Working out should not be a seasonal hobby. Everyone wants to look good on the beach, but you won't be able to grow your glutes by that June vacation if you start halfway through May. Summer bodies are made in the winter people. In order to continually get better you have to consistently put in the work.

5. You expect immediate results.

Changing your body takes time. Putting on muscle takes time. My above before and after pictures were taken a little over a year apart. Sometimes you'll feel like you aren't making any progress, and that's okay. I know it can be frustrating. Waiting 6 months or a year can seem like forever, but just remember that the time will pass anyway. You night as well be working on your future self while it does. Learn to fall in love with the process. Instead of focusing on your bodies appearance, appreciate how much stronger you feel. Challenge yourself and feel proud that you can lift a little bit more weight than you could last week. Be patient and one day you'll look back and realize

how much your body has changed.