1. Keep showing up. That is about 95% of your success. As long as you follow a reasonable plan with a 90% accuracy, you will make improvements.
2. Stop micromanaging. there are no daily or even weekly changes. From 2016 till today I gained 3 lbs of muscle and I am a 6’2″ male. Now convert that over almost 1000 days.
3. Do not dwell on your short comings such as gender, genetics, gyms available but look for solutions. Crappy gym? A few bands for 80 $ will make dumbbell and barbell work better. High muscle insertions? train the muscle 4x a week. On the older side? Good you will not make the some dumb mistakes as most 20 year olds do.
4. Change if you are stagnant. If your workouts are stale, change the gym. If your body is not reacting, take few days off eat high carbs and see what happens.
5. Relax. After all it is just a hobby. To be healthy you do not need an 8 pack..
6. Pick someone you aspire to in terms of physique.
7. Pick exercises that work for you. By that I do not mean that are the most fun ( Homer Simpson voice: curl curl curl) but the ones you can feel in the target muscle. Requires some basic knowledge of anatomy.
8. Training/ dieting is not war. You do not need to go all out all the time. The more mental capacity you can free from the gym, the bigger the gains will be.
9. Strive for progress and consistency. Example: I find that the days between Christmas and New Years are odd, you have no idea what day it is , if you are off or not, what to eat etc. The fridge is full with everything but bodybuilding foods… so I do the best I can without driving myself and everyone else crazy.
See the guy in the attachment? Ski jumping season peaks between December 201th and January 6th, he has to hit his macros 100%. You are not a ski jumper:) .
Happy 2019!
Maik