There may be no single proper way of building muscle by weightlifting, or a specific routine guaranteed to build muscle mass. However, there are certain principles you should follow to build muscle. You have to use heavy weights; your workouts have to be intense and infrequent; and you must get plenty of rest and nutrition to allow your body to recover from the trauma of your intense workouts and to repair and build muscle tissue.
Warm Up
Warm muscles work more efficiently and are less likely to get injured. Do some light cardiovascular work on a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine for five to 10 minutes, followed by some stretching exercises. Do a light warm-up set of 10 to 15 repetitions for the initial exercise of each muscle group. For example, for your chest, do a light set with light weights on the bench press before your working sets. Do not do any warm-up sets for your remaining chest exercises.
Proper Technique
Use proper technique for your lifts. Lift and lower the weights in a controlled fashion. Avoid the temptation to use momentum by lifting too fast or bouncing the barbell off your chest while doing the bench press. Controlled lifts ensure the work is done by your muscles, and they receive the stimulation that will force them to adapt and grow. Go through the full range of motion of an exercise. For example, while doing squats, drop into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor before driving upward.
Compound Exercises
To build muscle, you should do compound exercises on the major muscle groups. According to Gain-weight-muscle-fast.com, compound exercises allow you to stimulate the most muscle fibers in the shortest amount of time. Compound exercises include the bench press to target the chest; overhead press to target the shoulders; heavy rows or lat-pulldowns to target the upper back; dead lifts to target the lower back, quadriceps, hips and trapezius; and squats to target the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.
Workout Features
Work out three times per week if you do whole body routines, or four times per week for a split routine. For example, do chest, shoulders and triceps on one day, legs, back and biceps on the next day.
Use heavy weights that allow you to maintain proper technique for six to 12 repetitions. Natural bodybuilder and fitness author Tom Venuto says a rep range of six to 12 causes metabolic and cellular adaptations that cause muscular hypertrophy, or muscle growth. Do no more than three working sets per exercise, and keep your routine intense, with no more than two minutes of rest between sets
Overtraining
If you spend hours at the gym doing multiple sets and further compound matters by not getting enough rest before going back for another marathon workout, your muscle gains will be minimal. According to Muscletech, overtraining may even lead to catabolism, or muscle breakdown. To build muscle by weightlifting, do not work out for more than one hour. Keep your routine short and intense, and ensure you get enough rest and plenty of nutritious food before you return to the gym.
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