6 reasons you’re not getting stronger:

1) you’re lifting too often. Yes. I said it. The body gets stronger as it rests. At the height of my strength, I was deadlifting heavy twice per month. That’s it! Assess the frequency of your training and adjust the different areas as necessary. This is more about under recovering vs over training. Many of us forget that every stimulus in your life OUTSIDE the gym affects your training ability. If you’re lifting often and under-recovering, your strength gains will suffer.

2) you’re not resting enough. Similar to number one, your rest between sets likely needs to increase. Many women make the mistake of rushing their sets, thinking that MORE is better. IT’S ?? NOT ?? better is better. Prioritize getting better over anything else. Strength training is actually pretty slow. Thanks to boot camp type classes, we think we have to move from movement to movement with no rest. That can be fine, and that routine *can* have its place- but, not always. And certainly not when you’re trying to get stronger.

3) your form needs work. If you’re heading into the gym with an ego and haven’t yet mastered the basics, you’re setting yourself up for setbacks, injury, and fighting an uphill battle for ever getting stronger. Master the basics and revisit them often.

4) YOURE NOT EATING ENOUGH. Strength requires fuel. And getting stronger while cutting calories is also a great way to get injured and never make any strength gains. Calories are THE FUEL your body needs to train and make progress.

5) you’re not sleeping enough. Want to lift like an athlete? Cool. You’ve got to recover like one, which includes making quality sleep a top priority.

6) you’re not following a program. If you’re a beginner, yes, you’ll get stronger following nothing. As you continue to adapt, it’ll get harder to make any progress without a program. You can’t just squat when you feel like it- I mean, you *could* but you’ll either not squat enough OR you’ll squat too often. When left to our own devices, we typically do what we enjoy AND neglect what we’re bad at. Stick to one program, see it through, stop trying to do more, commit to getting better.