3 Things Every Beginner Gets Wrong About Building Muscle (And How to Fix Them)

I've been training people for 13+ years. I've seen thousands of beginners walk through the door ready to transform their bodies. And I've watched most of them make the exact same three mistakes.

These aren't small errors. These are the mistakes that keep you spinning your wheels for months—or even years—without seeing real progress.

The good news? They're all fixable. Once you understand what you're doing wrong, you can course-correct fast.

Let's break it down.

Mistake #1: You're Not Eating Enough to Build Muscle

This is the biggest one. Hands down.

You hit the gym hard. You're sore. You're lifting heavy. But the scale isn't moving. Your muscles aren't growing. What gives?

You're not eating enough.

Building muscle requires a caloric surplus. That means you need to eat MORE than your body burns in a day. Not a crazy amount—but more than maintenance.

Most beginners underestimate how much they're eating. They think they're in a surplus, but they're actually eating at maintenance—or worse, in a deficit.

How to Fix It:

• Track your calories for one week. Use an app like MyFitnessPal. Be honest. Log everything.
• Aim for a 200-300 calorie surplus. If you burn 2,500 calories a day, eat 2,700-2,800.
• Hit your protein target. 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Every. Single. Day.
• Be patient. You should gain 0.5-1 lb per week. If you're not, add 200 more calories and reassess.

Building muscle isn't about perfect meal timing or magical supplements. It's about eating enough food consistently.

Mistake #2: You're Not Following a Real Program

Walk into any gym and watch beginners train. They're doing random exercises. A little chest here. Some biceps there. Maybe some abs if they feel like it.

No structure. No progression. No plan.

That's not training. That's just showing up.

If you want to build muscle, you need progressive overload. That means you need to track your workouts and consistently add weight, reps, or volume over time.

You can't do that without a program.

How to Fix It:

• Pick a proven beginner program. Full-body 3x per week or upper/lower 4x per week. Stick with it for 12 weeks minimum.
• Track every workout. Write down the weight, sets, and reps. Every. Single. Time.
• Focus on compound movements. Squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, rows. These build the most muscle.
• Progress slowly. Add 5 lbs to lower body lifts, 2.5 lbs to upper body lifts each week. Small wins compound.

Stop treating the gym like a playground. Treat it like work. Show up with a plan. Execute. Progress.

Mistake #3: You're Not Recovering Properly

Here's what most beginners don't understand: You don't build muscle in the gym. You build it while you recover.

Training breaks your muscles down. Recovery builds them back up—stronger and bigger than before. But only if you give your body what it needs.

That means sleep. That means rest days. That means not destroying yourself with cardio and HIIT every single day.

How to Fix It:

• Sleep 7-9 hours per night. Non-negotiable. This is where growth hormone does its work.
• Take rest days seriously. If you're lifting 4x per week, you need 3 rest days. Don't fill them with intense cardio.
• Manage stress. Chronic stress kills muscle growth. Find ways to decompress—prayer, walks, whatever works.
• Eat enough on rest days. Your muscles are recovering. They need fuel. Don't slash calories just because you didn't lift.

Recovery isn't lazy. Recovery is strategic. Your body doesn't care how hard you train if you don't give it time to adapt.

The Bottom Line

Building muscle isn't complicated. But it requires discipline in three areas:

• Eating enough food to fuel growth
• Following a structured program with progressive overload
• Recovering properly so your body can adapt

Get these three things right, and you'll see progress. Get them wrong, and you'll spin your wheels for years wondering why nothing's changing.

The choice is yours.

CJ Critney is a personal trainer and owner of FYTS Fitness in Westlake Village, California, with 13+ years of experience transforming clients through science-backed training and faith-driven discipline.