Building muscle might be something you aren’t familiar with, or you might already be an expert. Whatever your level of familiarity with muscle building, you can always learn more information and better methods of getting the body you want to see in the mirror. Keep reading for effective tips on building muscle.


Try to consume some carbohydrates and proteins prior to going to sleep. The calories that you obtain will cause your body to reduce the rate at which it breaks down proteins while you are sleeping. Eating a small portion of cheese and a fruit is a great way to do this. You should also eat something soon after you wake up.

Train at least three times per week. You need at least three training sessions every week if you want to see significant muscle growth. If you are really new at weight training, this can be reduced to two at the start; however, you should increase the number of sessions per week as soon as you are able. If you already have some experience with strength training, you can add more sessions as well.

If you would like to build more muscle mass, try to do less repetitions of heaver weights. You will need to increase your weight gradually and strive to lift the heaviest that you possibly can for a minimum of five repetitions. When you can life for five repetitions, it is time to increase weights.

If you have been weight training for a period of time and want to see results a bit more quickly, work on your large groups of muscles, such as those in your legs, back and chest. Some great exercises for those groups are deadlifts, squats, bench presses, dips and military presses.

When following a lifting routine, try to always workout your abs last. When you train your abs before a large body part, you can decrease your strength and increase your chances of getting injured. This is why you should do your ab workout after your main workout, or you could simply make it a separate workout during a different time.

If you cannot get to the gym for some reason, do not skip your workout altogether. You can simply do chin-ups, pushups and dips in your home. Even with all of the fancy equipment at the gym, they still remain the best forms of upper body building that you can do.

Make sure to get an ample amount of sleep each night. Your muscles need time to repair themselves after you strain them during weight lifting sessions. If you do not allow the muscles to rest enough, it can lessen the results that you see from your weight lifting efforts dramatically.

In order to effectively build muscle, eating often is required. However, if you have a busy life, it can be difficult to find time to eat. Meal replacements are a great way to fulfill the need to eat if you do not have the time to prepare real meals. They provide a sufficient amount of protein and nutrients, and can also help you avoid eating unhealthy fast food alternatives.

Make time to workout at least three times weekly. If you are just starting out, you should limit yourself to three times, but as your muscles become more conditioned, you should try to get to the gym more often than that. As you become more experienced, you can increase your workouts to be more than once daily, several times a week.

Try varying your grips. Once you become experienced in working out, your muscles will start to resist any growth on exercises that are familiar to them. Different grips can help to make these familiar exercises different, which can cause additional muscle growth. Examples of exercise where you can change the grip are barbell rows, barbell curls, pull-ups, and bench presses. Try using wide grips, close hand grips, reverse grips, and even mixed grips that include having one hand up and one hand down.

Make sure you are eating enough food to support new muscle growth. Many people struggle with not eating enough to support the kind of growth they are trying to achieve. If you are trying to lose weight and build muscle at the same time, make sure you are eating protein rich foods to help with muscle growth.

On the days after your workouts, it’s best to rest and eat a lot of carbohydrates. This helps your body to build muscle and recover from expending energy during the workout. That way, you’ll see the biggest muscle growth possible from the workout you did. Pasta, peanut butter sandwiches, and similar foods are great for this.

Use the tips in this article to bolster your bodybuilding efforts. You can always learn more about the proper ways to build muscle, but the advice here is effective, tried and true. Apply the tips to your daily life, and you will soon realize that your muscle building efforts work more easily.