Ten years of coaching bodybuilders and the pattern is always the same: people blame their program when the real issue is recovery.

If you're training hard 5-6x a week but not growing, check these before you touch your split:

• Sleep under 7 hours consistently kills protein synthesis. This isn't optional.

• Eating at maintenance while trying to add muscle. You cannot build tissue in a deficit — pick one goal at a time.

• Zero deload weeks. Every 6-8 weeks you need a lighter week or your CNS fatigue caps your strength gains regardless of how clean your program is.

• Tracking sets, not progression. Doing the same weight for the same reps every week isn't training, it's maintenance.

Fix recovery first. The best program in the world doesn't matter if your body can't absorb the stimulus. I coach people 1-on-1 through exactly this — happy to answer questions below.