Introduction: This is what I did, after having lifted for a couple of years following Anthony Ellis' routines (check his site) which worked for me (and if you've never lifted before, that's a good all-around program to pick up by the way). Eventually, I needed to do something different as my gains stalled.

This is the basics of what I did - it took me from a bench press of about 170-180 lbs and a bodyweight of about 180 lbs to a bodyweight of nearly 200 lbs and a bench press for reps exceeding 300 pounds. To put it bluntly - I got DAMN BIG. So this is it in its simplest - a very, very simplified starting point to build upon. As you learn, adjust this plan to what works best for you but this will get you started TODAY.

The Ultra-Simple Guide to Gaining Muscle Mass

There are four keys to build quality muscle:

1) Proper Nutrition
2) Tracking Your Progress
3) Getting Enough Rest
4) Proper Workouts

Proper Nutrition

Eat When You Wake Up

When you first wake up, a protein shake using about 20-30g of whey isolate (not a whey concentrate) is a good bet (if you're skinny, add 1-2 tablespoons of some dextrose, i.e. corn sugar - not the same as corn syrup). You need some quality, quick-absorbed food to shut down the overnight fast which is burning off your muscle.

Avoid Bad Food!
Stay away from processed foods -- a tall order for busy people but the more you can follow it, the cleaner your gains will be. And important too is to split your meals up into 5-7 meals per day, with the last 2 meals being primarily "light" with no carbs and just the protein/fat.

What Should You Eat?

Protein: take in 200g of protein a day.

Good Protein: real food sources are best, such as eggs/egg whites, fish (tuna/salmon), chicken breast, lean ground turkey, lean beef, cottage cheese. It's good to add to this (not replace it!) with a decent protein powder - go for isolates, not concentrates.

Bad Protein: when you're adding up the day's food, ignore the protein count from vegetable sources other than soy or quinoa. Lunch meats, hot dogs, hamburgers, pork, bacon, high-fat cheese/milk are garbage. They will mess up your gains.

Carbohydrates: take in 400g of good carbohydrates each day.

Bad Carbs: Avoid processed starches, cereals, bread, sugars, alcohol. They interfere with recovery, growth, energy, health and trigger fat accumulation instead of muscle.

Good Carbs: Your food needs to consist of a LOT of slow-burning carbs: oatmeal, potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta.

Fat: 100g.

Bad Fats: try to avoid stuff labelled as 'fat' in your food - almost all of it is processed and/or saturated; this is the stuff that kills you. 'Essential' fats are very, very important to your well-being but you need the RIGHT kind of fat.

Good Fats: Very important are healthy fats: primarily olive oil, fish oil and borage oil but canola oil is also (barely) okay (and I'm questioning its use at all based on more and more information coming out - keep it as a last resort). You should supplement with about 3 tablespoons a day of one of the above oils (rotating through would be best). Fish oil is nasty tasting (brutal!) so it's okay to use fish oil supplements and take in 2 caps morning and night but you should also use other oils. If you can afford it, the best source is Udo's oil, if not Flax oil is a solid second choice. Take 1 tablespoon in the morning, and 1 again with dinner.

Track Your Progress

Track your progress - if you're not gaining after a week or two, increase your calories by 400 per day in the form of clean carbohydrates (oatmeal is a good and simple choice).

If you're not sure if you're hitting those food targets, a good way to ensure it is to sign up for a free fitday account and track what you eat for the day.

Yes, that means weigh your food. It sucks - tough. Did you way get you big? Okay then...let's carry on...
You can still overeat -- so track waist size.

Coupled with the scale, you can get some info.
1) scale goes down, waist goes up -- very bad. Muscle loss, fat gain!
2) scale goes up, waist goes up -- consider your cals. Gaining muscle and fat.
3) scale goes up, waist goes down -- perfect! Muscle up, fat down.
4) scale goes down, waist goes down -- increase your cals immediately. Add 500 cals of slow-burn carbs and 1 more tablespoon of oil. Losing fat for sure -- maybe muscle.

Better yet - use a fat caliper and track your overall body fat. You can figure out how much Lean Body Mass you have by taking your bodyweight x (100% - bodyfat%). If this number is going up week to week - you're gaining muscle.

While there's no science out there to tell you how much fat to muscle you can gain, my own rule is 1:3 - so I let myself add 1 pound of bodyfat for every 3 pounds of Lean Body Mass I add. That's my measure of a "good" progress.

Proper Rest

No-one grows more muscle while lifting a weight. Moving the weight causes tiny microtears which trigger hormonal changes and set in place a slow-running reaction. The body activates its repair mechanisms in response while you rest and if the nutrition is correct, it rebuilds the muscle aiming to avoid getting microtears the next time you lift the same weight.

If you interrupt that process, you'll not only stop this round of repair, but undo the new work that hasn't been finished. You actually end up with MORE damage - this is known as Overtraining.

That means your workouts MUST include sufficient "time off" or you flat-out will not grow.

Proper Workouts

BIG LIFTS make BIG MUSCLE: deadlifts, squats, incline bench press, dips, flat barbell curls are the keys (and possibly in that order of importance). Forget the "train this muscle, train that muscle". Compound work is best.

If You are Skinny - Cardio is for Fat Control Only!

Cardio should only be followed if you're prone to put on fat or are one of the rare hardgainer guys who just can't add muscle without adding fat. If so, cardio should be at the END of the training session, never the beginning and stretching should be done after the run. It is very easy to overdo cardio and kill off any muscle gains.

After a time, you will adapt and the rule of 'no cardio' can be relaxed - after all, cardio is good for your health and sprinting has been shown to boost muscle production if it's done within limits. I prefer following a regimen of sprints for about 15 minutes every few days or hitting a recumbent bike as hard as I can for 12-15 minutes on days that I don't lift.

If You are NOT Skinny - Cardio is for You!

If you have genetics that want you big - and fat - good news is you can get one heck of a GREAT physique.  Better than I have achieved!  Downside:  food is your curse and constant activity is the only card you can play. 

Most guys who tend to accumulate lots of bodyfat don't have to worry about burning off muscle.  Their body is super good at adding mass.  So for them, START the workout with a good duration run.  If you're too out of shape, walk.

And AVOID THERMOGENICS (Fat Burners) - if you're very overweight, you could easily have another medical condition such as high blood pressure.  Adding intense workouts, diet restrictions and high-power stimulants could push your blood pressure into a very dangerous state! 

Stay Flexible!

Yoga is fantastic for keeping you limber - and a flexible person has protection against injury. So many lifters get back issues and/or knee problems. Don't be one of them! Stay limber, especially with your hamstrings!

Remember - stretches are best at the end of a workout. Don't stretch cold muscles!

Workout Frequency

A safe guideline is not to train the same muscle groups more than twice a week - and even then there is debate based upon body type, strength levels, etc.

Routine

Well, okay - so how about the right exercises? The "right" choice depends upon how long you've been lifting.

1) new lifter:

If you're new to training - read this: this link for a great article by straight_2_iron or check out Anthony Ellis' "skinnyguy" site: www.skinnyguy.net

2) experienced lifter (more than a year, can bench your bodyweight or better):

If you've been training for a while - read this:
Odd/Even training - a new approach to training (using Brute/Volume rotations)

Follow those rules and you will grow!

- Malek256

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