Gaining muscle mass can be daunting when you are a beginner. You may have no idea how to start. It is not as simple as walking into a gym and workout out. Many beginners assume that they can get big and muscular just by lifting weights. This is why they fail to reach their goals. To build muscle, you need a solid nutrition and workout plan. This guide will help you understand the basics of bodybuilding.
The Diet
To get bigger, you must gain muscle weight. You really can’t expect to have 20 inch arms when you only weight 140 lbs right? Usually, men who sport 20 inch arms weigh around 250+ lbs!
So you obviously want to eat so that you gain weight. A quick and dirty way to figure out your calories is to multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 19. This will give you the amount of calories that you need to gain weight. If you stop gaining weight, just add another 100 calories.
You will want to eat 6 to 7 medium sized meals every day. All of you meals must consist of protein, carbs, and fats.
Healthy protein sources include chicken, lean red meat, and fish. You should get your carbs from brown rice, oatmeal, beans, and whole grains. Fat should come from peanut butter, almonds, dairy, olive oil, and flax oil.
The workout
You will want to workout 5 times a week, each day focusing on one or two muscle groups.
You workout can look like this:
Do a minimum of 3 sets and 8-12 reps for each exercise.
Day 1: Chest (bench press, dumbbell flies)
Day 2: Back (pullups, barbell rows, deadlifts)
Day 3: Shoulders (overhead press, upright row)
Day 4: Legs (squats, leg press, stiff leg deadlifts)
Day 5: Arms (barbell curls, tricep extensions)
Make sure that you record how much weight you lifted and how many reps you got in. You must do this so that you can beat your previous record. You always have to be working harder from workout to workout. If you use the same weight all the time, you will not get bigger.
This split is effective because it allows you to focus on one muscle group and really wear them out. You should keep your workouts under one hour. Training over one hour will cause cortisol build up. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that eats away at your muscles.
Supplements
You will want to supplement with whey protein to ensure that you get enough protein each day. The best time to take whey is immediately after your workout.
You will also want to use a multi vitamin. When you are working out, your body becomes depleted of minerals. So this is why a multi vitamin is useful.
Tracking Your Results
Assuming that you are eating right and lifting more weight over time, you will gain muscle mass on your arms and all over your body. Expect to gain 1 pound or less per week. That means, that in a little as 10 weeks, you have the potential to add 10 pounds of muscle to your frame.
Keep up the hard work in the gym and kitchen, and you will become a much bigger and stronger person.
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