Alternate picking not getting faster

1. How fast should alternate picking be?
2. Why is alternate picking so hard?
3. Is alternate picking difficult?

How fast should alternate picking be?

Start at 60-90 BPM, and just remember: 'down-up, down-up'. Don't veer from these picking directions. Move onto 90-120 BPM. Now, the middle tempos are important.

Why is alternate picking so hard?

Because in the first case, during motion, your pick stays “outside” the E and B strings, while in the second exercise the pick remains “inside”, trapped between the E and B strings. This is, in a nutshell, the main difficulty with alternate picking.

Is alternate picking difficult?

Alternate picking is an easy concept to grasp, but much harder to put into proper use. The idea behind alternate picking is to alternate picking directions with each sounded note. This means that after every down stroke of the pick, there is an up stroke as well.