Below I've listed some of the bodybuilding mistakes that so many beginners and intermediate bodybuilders seem to make and then wonder why they're not progressing or making good muscle gains.
Not Having A Plan - Having no plan is one of the worst, if not the worst approach to bodybuilding success. How are you going to achieve the body you want if you have no plan how to get there? You must have goals and a purpose to your training or you will be like a ship that has set sail with no destination. So decide what you want to achieve in bodybuilding, wether it's just for a better physique, you want to compete or even one day become Mr Olympia.
Make a plan, write down your goals and give yourself a realistic deadline. Make sure the plan is suited to your level of training, it's no good copying Phil Heath's training regime if you've only been training for a couple of months. Copying Phil Heath will probably not work for 95% of bodybuilders. Phil Heath and most of the other pro bodybuilders are on another level and have taken the right steps to get there. Finding a routine that packs on muscle for you is what it's all about and remember what works for someone else might not work for you. There is no one size fits all in bodybuilding. So my advice would be to seek the advice of a professional or someone who has been at the level you are at and get them to help put a strategy together that suits you.
Not Keeping Records - Not keeping records is another one of the biggest bodybuilding mistakes that you can make. If your not keeping records how will you know if your improving or just staying the same? If you have set a deadline and you are not progressing at the rate you should be , it's better to find out sooner rather than later.Wether it's a few notes or a full on training diary with body measurements, body fat % , body weight and training sesssion breakdowns, keeping records is one of the most effective ways to progress and acieve your bodybuilding goals.
My advice would also be to take a photo of yourself about once a month and you should be able to see the changes over a period of 6-12 months. Sometimes it's hard to see changes in your body if your looking in the mirror every day so it's easy to get discouraged.
To keep motivation high seeing photos of yourself a month apart will be easier to see the muscle mass gained, definition, fat loss etc.