Good Nutrition

If you want to build up good solid muscle mass, you need to give your body the right fuel. The trick is to eat plenty, but not too much! If you eat too much then you’ll only get fat, and you don’t want that!

To work out the number of calories you should eat each day, multiply your lean body weight by 19. For example, if you weighed 220 pounds and had 10% body fat, you could calculate it as 220-10% (198) x 19 = 3,762 calories.

Also, you need to ensure you are eating a lot of good quality protein sources, for example meat, fish, eggs, etc. In addition to this, you must eat lots of decent quality complex carbohydrates, such as oats, whole grain bread. Also, make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Stay away from sugar and refined carbohydrates like white bread and cakes.

Weight Training

With weight lifting exercises, the most effective exercises are Compound Exercises. These are the best way to exercise your muscles because they use multiple muscles at the same time, thereby maximizing your time spent working out.

A good example of a compound exercise is the bench press, as the movements involved make use of the shoulder muscles, chest muscles, and also the triceps.

Resting As Hard As You Train

Although training hard is important, so is resting. I can’t emphasise enough just how important it is. A good basic rule to go by is to have 4 to 5 days rest for each body part between workouts.

It’s actually much easier to build muscle mass than most people realize, and even skinny people could build muscle mass quickly and easily if only they knew the right way to do it. Don’t be one of the many people who never achieve their optimum body shape. Visit Muscle Building Books to discover how you can build muscle mass the quick and easy way.

To Begin Strength Training…

You should always begin by warming up. This must include 5-10 minutes of light cardio exercise, or alternatively do lighter versions of each of the workout movements with lower weights.

Things to keep in mind:

- Do 1 to 2 exercises per muscle group.
- Start with 15-16 repetitions.
- Always rest for at least 1 day between workout sessions.

Which Exercises To Do

Below is a list of exercises, arranged by muscle group:

- Back: seated row machine, back extensions, lat pulldowns
- Chest: bench press, chest press machine, pushups, pec deck machine
- Bicep Muscles: bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls
- Shoulders: overhead press, lateral raise, front raise
- Lower Body Area: Squats, lunges, leg press machines, deadlifts, calf raises
- Abdominals: crunches, reverse crunches, oblique twists, pelvic tilts
- Triceps: tricep extensions, dips, kickbacks

Sets, Reps & Weights

The weights you use and the amount of reps you do all depends on what the end result is that you want from your exercise routine:
- Lose Fat, Build Muscle – Use the maximum weight that enables you to do only 10-12 reps for 1 to 3 sets. Rest for 30-60 seconds between sets, and take 2-3 days off between workout sessions.
- Build Muscle Mass – Use the heaviest weight that enables you to do only 4 to 8 reps for 3 or more sets. Rest for 1-2- minutes between sets, and take 2-3 days off between workout sessions.
- Muscular Endurance & General Health – Use the maximum weight that enables you to do 12-16 repetitions for 1-3 sets. Rest for 2-30 seconds between sets, and take at least 1 day off between your workout sessions.

It’s actually much easier to gain muscles than most people realize, and even skinny people can build muscles fast and easily if only they knew how. Don’t be one of the many people who never get their optimum body shape. Visit Muscle Building Books to find out how you can gain muscles the quick and easy way.