Weight lifting can be lots of fun when you do it right. You can enjoy the workout and the results from all that hard work. The first step in this process is finding out and planning a workout and diet that will work for you, and this article will help you to do that.

You want to eat enough to gain a pound a week. Research ways to bump up your calories, and if after about two weeks you have not gained any weight, then consider muscle building supplements.

You have to make sure that you always warm up properly before starting any exercise. As muscles gain strength, they are under additional stress, and will thus be more vulnerable to injuries. Warming up prior to exerting them is a key factor in avoiding injury. Before you do any serious lifting, lightly exercise for five to ten minutes, followed by a few light or intermediate sets of your regular exercises.

Don’t try to build muscle while doing extensive cardio training or preparing for a marathon. Cardio is helpful to keep in shape, but a lot of it could impede your attempts to bulk up through muscle building. If building up muscle is your focus, stick with resistance training.

Carbs are necessary for building muscle. When training consistently, you should have between two to three grams of carbohydrates for every pound of your body weight.

Compound exercises will help you obtain the best possible muscle mass. These are exercises that use several different muscle groups to perform a single lift exercise. For instance, bench pressing helps you develop your shoulders, tricep and chest muscles all at once.

After exercising it is vital to stretch, stretch to help your muscles recover better. Someone who is under forty should stretch at least 30 seconds. People over that age of 40 should hold stretches for a minimum of 60 seconds. This way you’ll be less likely to become injured as you have worked your exercises.

Create illusions that your body is larger than it is. You can focus on your upper chest and back, shoulders and upper back.

Eat tons of protein when trying to add muscle. Protein is essential for building muscle, so not eating enough of it may actually lead to your losing muscle, making your efforts in bulking up useless. You might need about 1 gram of protein per day depending on your body each day.

Hydration has a vital component in muscle building. If you’re not staying hydrated, then there is a high chance that you will injure yourself or your muscles. Hydration is also facilitates the increase and maintenance of muscle mass.

Muscle Groups

Some people have problems increasing all of their muscle groups are harder to bulk up than others. Use a fill sets to target the problem muscle groups.A fill set is 25-30 reps of 25 to 30 repetitions should be performed on the targeted muscle groups about three days prior to the last workout.

Try eating protein before and after you exercise. A good idea is to consume 15 grams a half hour before your workout and 15 grams after you are done. This is equivalent to about the same as one or two cups of milk.

To build muscle, you must keep an eye on your calorie input. A bad diet will only have you fat – not muscular.

Carefully choose the exercises that you concentrate on since some are risky with excess weight. You can put yourself in jeopardy of getting a serious injury during split squats, dips and split squats which can involve dangerous joint positions.

It is important to eat well when attempting to build up your muscle. Your body requires certain nutrients in order to be able to properly rebuild muscle fibers.

Protein Needs

To meet your daily protein needs, try to eat at least 20 grams of protein at each meal. Spreading protein out helps you in achieving your protein needs. For instance, if you will need 180 grams in protein each day, eat six meals a day and have 30 grams at each meal.

You need to always stretch before you start working out. This will help to prevent injury by warming up the muscles before they are asked to lift a heavy loads.

A fantastic way to build motivation when working out in the gym is to workout with your friends. This energy boost will translate into more muscle mass.

Always start your routine with a few warm-up exercises. This helps avoid the kind of muscle injuries that would put you from doing workouts for weeks.

It feels great to be healthy, and building lean muscle is an important part of that. When combined with cardiovascular workouts, weight training can help you to achieve the body that you desire. Do workouts that incorporate both types of exercise on a regular basis and you’ll notice results very quickly.