For half my life I was skinny. I thought I had a "high metabolism". I would work my ass off at the gym and I could never break my weight plateau.

I finally broke down and got a personal trainer at my gym to see if there was something I was doing wrong. The trainer immediately said "I see you in here working hard all the time. You run too much and you're not eating enough". I combated his accusation immediately saying I eat plenty. He challenged me to keep track of my diet for a week. So I did.

Turns out I was just not eating enough. To my surprise some days I was not breaking 2000 cals. My protien intake wasn't nearly high enough. Couple a low caloric intake with the 5 miles I was running 3 times a week and you get no potential for muscle growth,

I cut out cardio except for 1 a week and I pushed myself to start eating more. I got my diet up to 3000 cals a day. Over the next 6 months I gained 15 lbs of muscle. For the first time in my life I was gaining noticeable weight at the gym.

Now I am eating 4000+ calories daily while on cycle, and I continue to eat 2500-3000 cals a day to maintain the added muscle weight.

My point is, challenge yourself to look at your diet and your workout routine. You can do so much to improve your gains starting there. I listened to everyone that told me to eat before I ever pinned... And it worked!