Muscle building doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be intimidating, for sure, but don’t get overwhelmed. Any professional body builder started from somewhere and worked their way up. You can do it too! Today we’ll cover some critical things to know about building muscle to ensure your success.

Advice on muscle building is so widespread that sorting accurate information from outdated misinformation can be frustrating as heck.

If you are just starting out and want to know how to build muscle, this article is for you. The following sections will cover some of the basics.

Before you get started, don’t be intimidated. Discouragement is the enemy of progress.

So let’s get down to business.

Here are 3 rules for muscle building that you need to know.

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1. Have a Plan

This first step starts before you even pull into the driveway of the gym or get out your dumbbells.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Why am I working out? What is my end goal?

Define your goal. “I want to lose extra body fat/beer belly and build a strong, defined body” Or, “Working out makes me feel great and helps my mental health.”

While it isn’t absolutely necessary, writing down your muscle building goals can help with the visualization to action process.

• Do I have a workout plan?

This is THE MOST important step of all to any muscle building routine.

Many people walk into a gym and their workout routine goes something like this.

First, they do a little cardio.

Then, they meander from weight machine to weight machine, not really counting the reps or paying TOO much attention to the intensity.

Another way to think of the importance of having a plan is to call it “The Focus Step” of fitness.

Develop or copy a routine and focus on accomplishing it, no distractions or carelessness. This goes back to the goal part as well.

We will cover in more detail below how to build a good workout plan and routine.

2. Develop a Solid Routine

Now that you know you need plan, here are some examples of basic routines and how to rotate them.

Know Your Muscles

First of all, know your basic muscle groups or body areas you want to work out to maximize muscle building efforts.

For example: chest, back, abs, shoulders, legs, biceps, and triceps.

No need to get fancier than that with the muscle terms until you are more established into your workout routine.

If you are a beginner and your plan is to do a muscle building workout 4 days a week, rotate your muscle groups.

Day 1: Chest, Back, Shoulders,

Day 2: Triceps, Biceps, Legs

Day 3: Abs, Chest, Biceps, Triceps

Day 4: Legs, Back, Shoulders

You can come up with any variation of this, just make sure you aren’t working the same part over and over day in and day out.

How Many Reps Should I Do?

For starters, 6-10 reps for heavy weights, and 8-12 reps for lighter weights.

As you get more advanced, vary it up with lighter reps with shorter rest periods between reps or heavy reps with longer rest periods.

This brings us to the next point!

Know Your Rest Periods

There are several different rest length periods between muscle building reps.

Each time span has a specific application to your fitness goals.

The optimum rest times are as follows:

• 3-5 minute rest

Utilize the 3-5 minute rest between heavy lifting rep sets to build strength quickly.

Your body has something amazing called the ATP-PC system. This stands for Adenosine Triphosphate Phosphocreatine system.

Instead of using oxygen, the ATP system utilizes phosphagens for quick and intense energy bursts.

There’s a catch, however.

Phosophagen stores take at least 3 minutes to “reload”, kind of like when you get knocked down in a video game.

This rest time is important because it gives your body time to recuperate and maximize its strength for the next set of reps.

• 1-2 minute rest

Use this for moderate to heavy weight training to really bulk.

This is what fitness experts call “hypertrophy training”.

Basically, with hypertrophy training you are using both your ATP and glucose system to stimulate blood flow to muscles.

This also leads to increased lactate production and the tearing down and building of new fibers.

In other words: bigger muscles.

• 45 seconds to 1.5 minutes rest

Use this rest period with lighter weights and faster repetitions and don’t be afraid to push to the point of fatigue.

Building resistance to fatigue is vital to maximize the results of ATP and hypertrophy.

3. Recovery is Key

Recovery can be broken down into 2 equally important sections: sleep and nutrition.

If you neglect these two, the results of any muscle building routines at the gym will be poor and lackluster.

Sleep

Even the most divided can agree that sleep is important for muscle building.

Why is this exactly?

During sleep, our bodies tear down and repair muscle tissue and regulate hormone production.

Repeated lack of sleep means that the body is never able to fully repair muscle tissue and maximize the muscle building process.

Unsurprisingly, the studies that we do have back this up.

Lack of sleep leads to decreased performance.

Nutrition

If you eat like garbage, expect your results to be garbage.

Here is a quick break down of the macros you may need and the best sources:

Fats: Quality fats are the building blocks of all the different hormones.

Coconut oil, grass-fed butter, avocados, olive oil, and wild-caught salmon are your best friends.

Protein: You need plenty of it but not copious amounts.

Those training for muscle gains will need more than the RDA, typically about .8 to 1 gram/pound of bodyweight.

Eggs, pastured and grass-fed meats, beans, fish, whey, casein, and dairy products are your go-tos.

Carbohydrates: Think oatmeal, bananas, other fruits, raw honey, sprouted flours, beans, and legumes.

Remember that no amount of reading is going to get you fit.

It rests on you and your decision what you do with this information.

Find what motivates you, music, workout buddy, whatever it is, and go for it!

Now It’s Your Turn

Do you currently have a muscle building plan? What have been your biggest challenges with muscle building?

<=To learn how to build MORE MUSCLE with LESS PROTEIN, download our FREE ebook. =>