There are many ways to build muscles. Men's Fitness magazine suggests eating about a gram of protein for every pound of body weight daily, eating five or six small meals that are high in protein and carbohydrates every day, and avoiding stress as a few ways to help the muscle building process. However, doing muscle building exercises must be an integral part of your routine if you want results.
Barbell Curl
An exercise that BodyBuilding.com recommends for building biceps is the barbell curl. To do this exercise correctly, stand up straight. Hold a barbell with your hands at your side, shoulder-width apart. Keep your elbows close to your body and your palms facing forward. Keeping your upper arms still, and curl the weights forward. As you do this, breathe out and contract your biceps. Make sure that only your forearms are moving. Curl the barbell until it is at shoulder level and your biceps are contracted fully. Hold this position for a second. Squeeze your biceps. As you breathe in, slowly return the bar to your starting position.
Bicycle Kick
An exercise that works your abdominal muscles is the bicycle kick. Laying flat on your back, bend your knees at a 90 degree angle. Your shins should be parallel with the ceiling. Put both hands on the back of your head. Pretend you are pedaling a bicycle with your legs. As you pump your legs, rotate your torso toward the knee that is closest to your chin. Full Fitness cautions against moving your elbow toward your knee. Only move your armpit for maximum effect.
Deep Knee Bends
BodyBuilding.com recommends doing deep knee bends to help build your hips, thighs and glutes. Stand in front of something that you can use to brace yourself on such as a counter or a table. Keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the counter or table for support. Keep your head facing forward and bend your knees slowly until your rear end is almost touching the floor. Concentrating on your leg muscles, slowly stand up. As you are returning to the standing position, keep your heels flat on the ground.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
You can use dumbbells in this exercise that builds your shoulder muscles. Stand with your back straight and your arms down at your sides. Keep your arms slightly in front of your body and your feet shoulder-width apart. With a dumbbell in each hand and your palms facing down, slowly raise your arms to the sides. Stop them when they get to shoulder level. Slowly lower the weights back to your starting position. Full Fitness reminds weight lifters to keep your elbows bent as you lift the weights and return them to your sides.
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