---
title: '6 Muscle Building Lessons I Learned Too Late (dont waste time..)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=l9aW9icjUF0'
video_id: 'l9aW9icjUF0'
date: 2026-08-01
duration_sec: 548
---

# 6 Muscle Building Lessons I Learned Too Late (dont waste time..)

> Source: [6 Muscle Building Lessons I Learned Too Late (dont waste time..)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=l9aW9icjUF0)

## Summary

In this video, the creator shares six hard-won muscle building lessons from years of gym experience, from fixing stubborn body parts and avoiding overtraining to dropping one-rep maxes and keeping training simple. He emphasizes consistency, enjoyment, and sustainable routines over quick fixes and secret methods.

### Key Points

- **Stubborn body parts aren't about genetics alone** [00:14] — The creator initially blamed bad genetics for his biceps not growing, but later realized that knowing how to train them properly can overcome perceived genetic limitations.
- **Three pillars for growing a lagging body part** [01:04] — The strategy boils down to: (1) choose the most basic exercise variation, (2) train that body part first in your workout, and (3) ensure consistent progression on that exercise.
- **Return to basic exercises** [01:16] — For biceps, that meant the barbell curl. Basic exercises help fix foundational mistakes, like rebuilding a house on solid foundations instead of paper straws.
- **Train the lagging body part first** [02:20] — Prioritizing a stubborn body part by doing it first in the session allows you to hit it with maximum physical and mental focus, even if it looks unconventional.
- **Progressive overload is essential** [02:59] — Aim to beat last session by at least one rep on the chosen exercise. Basic movements allow clear measurement of progress, unlike random 'goofy' exercises.
- **Motivation doesn't matter—enjoyment does** [03:12] — Over-motivation often leads to unsustainable routines and quitting. Lasting results come from genuinely enjoying your training, not chasing secret exercises.
- **Stop overtraining** [04:38] — Going to the gym 6–7 times a week for 2 hours is counterproductive, especially for beginners. Muscle is built during rest; beginners should train at most 4 times per week.
- **Skip one-rep maxes** [05:57] — Unless you're a powerlifter, 1RMs don't help you get bigger and increase injury risk. Higher-rep sets build skill and size through repeated practice.
- **Train legs at least once a week** [07:20] — Even minimal leg training compounds over time. Training legs once a week yields huge annual gains and prevents the 'Johnny Bravo' look.
- **Keep it simple and sustainable** [08:25] — Chasing perfection or a scientifically optimized routine isn't necessary. A manageable, enjoyable routine guarantees lifelong gains.

### Conclusion

The core message is that simple, sustainable, and enjoyable training — built on basic exercises, consistent progression, and adequate recovery — beats overcomplicated or overhyped methods. Apply these lessons to avoid wasting years of gym effort.

## Transcript

gym, there is a lot of things I learned and that I also regret. That's why today biggest learning lessons so that you don't have to waste years doing something stupid just as I had to. The first thing I want to talk about is
something that really cost me a lot of time before I was able to realize it. And that is understanding how to actually grow certain body parts. When I was still relatively new to the gym, I was absolutely certain that I just had
terrible genetics for some body parts and there was nothing that I could do just couldn't grow no matter what I tried was biceps. So, I just came to the conclusion that I have probably just lost the genetic lottery. But once I
started to discover more information about training, this all changed. Yeah, you can have worse genetics for certain body parts, but if you know how to go about it, you can always make it so much better. The problem is that in a
to find solution to your problem anywhere because that's something that is not really being talked about online. So, it might take you a couple of years before you are able to figure it out by yourself. So, to save you those couple
of years, here is where I learned about growing that one body part that just seems to suck. It boils down to three main things. First is your exercise selection. You need to come back to the most basic variation of the exercise
that exists for that body part. If you go back to my biceps example, that meant the barbell curl. The reason why it's important to go back to basics is body part that you just can't seem to grow, you probably made some
foundational mistakes along the way. So, it's like if you built a house, but the foundations were made from paper straws. That's why you need to go back and replace that with solid basics. The second thing is placing high priority on
that body part that you are trying to grow, which means always doing it early serious about it, you should always do it first in the workout, even if it might look quote unquote stupid. I know that going ahead and doing calf raises
as the first exercise of the workout, for example, might seem insane. But you isn't some kind of corporate meeting where everything has to follow some preset norms and rules. You need to do what puts you in the best position to
achieve your goal. And even if it seems super unconventional, that's fine. After all, you are working out to be muscular. You don't have to care about how it looks to others because you will be the one who will get the last laugh. Putting
grow as the first exercise of the workout will allow you to focus on it way more than before. And I mean that both physically and mentally. Training a body part completely fresh is just an incredible feeling. And the last thing
that completes this trifecta of growth is that you make sure that you are actually progressing on that exercise. That is also why we need to focus on the basic exercises because they are the best at clearly measuring progress
doing at the end of the workout when you do some goofy exercise. You are not counting your reps and you are using the same exact weight over and over. You need to switch away from this. Remember, your goal is to get better by at least
one rep from last time. It might not be possible every workout, but that's what you should aim for. The next thing is probably something that a lot of you can it, you have probably still not done anything to resolve it. It's how
motivation actually doesn't matter if you absolutely hate what you are doing. And I had to learn that the hard way. A lot of people when they finally decide to go to the gym are insanely over motivated to instantly change their
whole life around. But this motivation is actually what makes most people quit. Because when you are over motivated, you want everything right here and right now. So the first thing you do is make your whole regime completely
unsustainable. And as the motivation fades, you have no desire to continue doing what you set out to do when you are so insanely overmotivated. It's only after you get some training under your belt, you realize that being motivated
doesn't matter. You have to truly enjoy what you are doing. Otherwise, you will quit every single time. And I really wish I learned this sooner because I fully believed that I wasn't having success because I wasn't in on some
secret exercise or secret method. So I kept doing some goofy stuff that I absolutely hated. That's one of the main reasons why I tried to really promote the basic exercises and getting your foundation set up in a way that will
make you succeed in the future because the basics is what everything is built on. So once you learn them, you are then free to explore whatever exercise you want to do and that you like. And that is ultimately what will make you keep
coming back to the gym and give you that gym physique that you always wanted. Next up is something a lot of you might still be guilty of, and I was too, so I don't blame you. But it's time to finally fix it. The thing I'm thinking
about is going to the gym six or even seven times a week for like 2 hours each day. That is just completely mental. Especially if you are a beginner, you need to realize that you build muscle when you are resting. So stop trying to
completely annihilate yourself from the face of the earth. It's just not necessary. If you are more experienced and you want to work out six times per week, that's completely fine. But even then, those workouts should be around
like an hour or so. Because if you are working out like 14 hours a week, I have absolutely no clue what you are doing in there. I was guilty of the typical beginner mistake of going to the gym six times per week and being there 2 hours
or more each time. And not only that, it wasted a lot of time in the day, but it also didn't give me any results. Now that I look back at what I was doing, it you are a beginner, you don't need to go to the gym more than four times per
week. It's just not necessary. It's all about trimming away the fat and only keeping the exercises in your routine that truly make a difference at the end beginner bundle where you go to the gym four times per week and you only focus
on the absolute essentials. No fluff, no BS, only what is truly important. You guide, which are made to teach you everything you need to know in the most learn more about it, click the first link in description. Next up, we have
one of the stupidest things possible that just doesn't really contribute to your gym progress in any sensible way, and that is doing one rep maxes. When I was starting out in the gym, I usually went there with my friend and we would
very frequently do one rep maxes on the deadlift and the bench press because that's what we saw on the internet and we thought that's what you simply had to do. Granted, it was like 2013 and we were young and stupid and trying to find
some sensible information on the internet at that time was pretty The point is unless you are a powerlifter or you are chasing some very there is no point in doing one rep maxes. Not only that, this will not
really contribute to you getting bigger, but there is also a big chance of you getting injured, especially if you are a beginner. The reason why this is really because repetition is the mother of wisdom or whatever that saying is, and
actually doing the exercise over and over. And if you did three sets of one rep versus three sets of 10 reps, which one of these methods would help you learn the exercise faster? What do you think? Yeah, it's pretty obvious. In the
to get bigger, one rep maxes don't really matter at all. All that matters to you if you want to get big is that you are consistently progressing in main focus. And it also should have been my focus back when I was a dum dum. Now,
we have to be honest with ourselves for a second. I'm sure that there is a large skipping leg days and you are rocking that Johnny Bravo build, but you need to realize that you don't even need to train your legs super hard like a maniac
train them at least a little bit. And after years and years of working out, it will be enough to not make you look like a chicken. When I first started working out, I also really wasn't a fan of training legs because it's difficult and
people don't really like doing difficult stuff. But it's thousand times better to just train your legs once per week than to completely skip them because it's a compounding effect. Even if you train your legs only once per week, imagine
that spread out over a year. That's a ton of gains that your legs can get and you have to train them just once per week. That's something that everyone should be able to do. And when I say legs, I also mean calves. Here the
compounding effect is truly important because there is a big chance that as you get more and more into the physique building lifestyle, you will realize good look and then trying to catch them up later might be a pretty tall task.
Lastly, I want to talk about one thing very important to me because it was exactly what made me successful in the gym. You need to realize that there is no need to chase perfection. All you need to do is keep things simple. Your
scientifically optimized. That doesn't matter. Your routine just needs to be manageable. Once you reach that point where your entire routine is simple, sustainable, and enjoyable, you basically guarantee yourself a lifetime
of gains. Thanks for watching. I hope you learned something. Don't forget to the description. Good luck in the gym, and I will see you next time. If you like this video, then you will for sure like this one, too.
like this one, too. [music]