1. Build muscle by building strength.
Firstly increasing your strength will enable you to build muscle. Weight or resistance training is the most effective method to build muscle that is big and long lasting. However correct weight lifting techniques must be used otherwise you will be wasting your time and energy and see no results as well as potentially cause injury to yourself. Use slow controlled techniques and feel your muscles working and expanding. Also you need to progressively build up your weight training, commencing with light weights and gradually increase weight and amount of exercise over time.
2. Free weights build muscles bigger.
Resistance training with free weights will give superior results to machine weights. Free weights are flexible and movements are not restricted to one dimensional motion which can result in injury. Many different exercises can be performed with free weights as opposed to limited numbers on machine weights. Free weights work more muscle groups than machine weights. To hold, balance and control the weight without assistance requires the use of additional muscles. More muscles worked means you will build muscle bigger and in more parts of the body.
3. Compound exercises build bigger muscles.
Exercises that work multiple muscles are better that exercises that work a specific muscle. A full body workout will achieve much better results than a program that focuses on just a few muscles. For example just doing multiple bicep curls and tricep extensions will not be effective. To build muscle in multiple parts of the body other exercises need to be incorporated into your program. Exercises such as squats, chin ups, bench press will help you build muscle bigger and in more places.
4. Recovery is very important when you are starting out to build muscle.
If start out trying to do a big workout everyday your muscles will have no time to recover and consequently muscle growth will be minimal. Start with just 2-3 workouts per week and increase that gradually to 4-5. Focus on the intensity and quality of the workout not quantity of time spent in the gym. Stretching prior to, during and post workout is also important for recovery, muscle growth and to prevent injury. It is also important to allow extra time for rest and sleep as this allows growth hormone production. Also drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and it will also assist with muscle recovery. Learning some yoga exercises or attending yoga classes will aid recovery, muscle growth and energize the body.
5. Correct nutrition is essential for building muscle.
Eat plenty of whole foods and minimize the amount of processed or poor quality foods you consume. To build muscle your food intake should consist of whole foods high in protein, carbohydrates, fresh fruit and vegetables and good fats. Protein is required to build muscle the best sources of protein being fresh meat, fish, eggs and milk. For those skinny guys wanting to bulk up carbohydrates will assist with weight gain best sources are rice, pasta, oats and potatoes.
6. Muscle building with supplements.
Muscle building supplements such as whey protein and creatine can also assist you to build muscle. Whey protein has a high absorption rate and Creatine can help you to work longer and harder and assist with recovery. However the muscle building supplement industry is a multi million dollar industry and they like to use long scientific names which are really just sales gimmicks designed to get you to buy. It is difficult to know how effective these products are without going into detailed scientific analysis. However do not buy these supplements thinking you will build loads of extra muscle. The results you achieve will most likely be minimal other factors such as your workout exercises, techniques and food intake are far more important.
