Building muscle mass requires two variables: the right diet and exercise. Nutrition is important because it's what feeds your muscles and gives you energy for exercising. No matter which workout method you choose, you must consume a well-balanced, nutritious diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy/dairy alternatives and lean protein sources. Bodybuilding.com suggests consuming 1.5 to 2 g of protein per pound of body weight to build muscle.
Full-Body Workouts
One effective approach for building muscle involves a three-day per work workout schedule. This workout regimen requires a day of rest in between each workout, so a Monday/Wednesday/Friday regimen is ideal. With this muscle-building routine, focus on using compound exercises to target each of the major muscle groups. This includes exercises like bench press, squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses and crunches. Each workout should not exceed 60 minutes; do three sets of eight to 10 repetitions for each exercise.
Muscle Isolation
Bodybuilders often use a muscle isolation approach to building muscle. This method involves targeting two or three muscle groups per day spread out over a four or five day per week workout schedule. For instance, workout the chest and back muscles on Monday, the leg muscles on Tuesday, Wednesday is a rest day, exercise the biceps and triceps on Thursday and target the shoulder muscles on Friday. You can exercise the abdominal muscles each workout day as well. Target each muscle with two or three different exercises per workout; do three sets of eight to 10 repetitions for each exercise.
Simple Resistance Training
If you don't have a gym membership or an expensive home gym, you can still build muscle at home for free. The solution is using simple resistance-training exercises three to five days per week. The most effective exercises include push-ups, crunches, squats/squat thrusts, shoulder presses and deadlifts. You can use a heavy, well-balanced object to perform the shoulder presses and deadlifts. Aim for three sets of each exercise and 10 to 20 repetitions per set.
Circuit Training
Circuit training has been around since the 1950s; it's a tried-and-true method for building muscle. The training experts at MuscleandStrength.com state that circuit training can help you build muscle, endurance and lose weight at the same time. The advantage of this training regimen is that it takes as little as 10 minutes, not including warm-up/cool-down, per workout. You can circuit train three days per week with a day of rest in between. Choose between five and 10 different compound exercises; complete them one after the other with no more than 30 seconds rest in between. Aim for a full-body workout.
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