It's really not difficult to start gaining muscle once you have put a simple no nonsense muscle building plan into action.
Like so many others, when I started out I struggled to put on quality lean muscle mass.
I made the same mistakes that are so common among weight lifters.
By simply avoiding the mistakes of overtraining, inadequate nutrition and lack of rest you can quickly turn things around and really start seeing some results.
Mistake of Overtraining Looking at any of the muscle magazines you probably think that the answer to gaining muscle is to be in the gym for several hours a day six days a week.
Quite a few of these workout plans have you doing split routines whereby you train twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
The advice found in these publications proclaims that the more you train the more muscle you'll gain.
It's this type of mentality that gets most beginners into trouble.
If you're following the routines found in any of the muscle magazines you're probably overtraining unless of course you're one of the few genetically gifted or you're using dangerous chemicals to enhance recovery.
Simply put, overtraining occurs when you train too long, train too frequently or you train before your body has recovered from the prior training session.
In this state the body is unable to fully recuperate and optimal muscle growth does not occur.
Mistake of Inadequate Nutrition Not eating enough quality calories is probably the number one thing that prevents beginners from putting on muscle mass.
Even if you have the perfect workout routine, if you don't consume enough of the right nutrients at the right time you will never see muscle gains.
In order for your muscles to grow they must have quality protein, carbs and fat.
Additionally, these must be combined and consumed in a precise way to maximize muscle growth.
Eating 3,000 calories of burgers and chips is not the same as eating 3,000 calories of lean protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats.
If your goal is to get fat and look out of shape just stick with the burgers and chips.
However, if your goal is to pack on muscle and have a ripped physique you better put together a comprehensive diet based upon your particular caloric needs.
Mistake of Lack of Rest Getting the proper amount of rest serves many purposes but for our discussion here you must understand that your muscles grow when you rest not when you're at the gym.
Getting enough sleep enables your body to recover and get back to the gym and train again.
During quality sleep growth hormone levels rise and the body releases testosterone.
These are both essential ingredients in the muscle building formula.
To rapidly increase lean muscle mass, most people will benefit from somewhere around 8 hours of sleep at night and if possible, taking a twenty minute nap during the day.
The Approach You're Using If you have been having a hard time trying to put on muscle you should take a close look at the approach you've been using.
Does your training schedule allow each body part to fully recover before being trained again? Are you consuming enough protein, carbohydrates and good fats to fuel your body and promote optimal muscle growth? Do you get enough sleep and rest between workouts? By answering these questions and implementing a simple no nonsense muscle building plan you can avoid these common mistakes and quickly put on lean muscle mass and change your physique.