You can only build muscle if your body is in the correct anabolic balance to allow growth to take place. Intensive exercise is clearly an important part of the muscle building process but achieving the maximum muscle mass depends on putting the building blocks in place. This is achieved through sound nutritional practices so you need to be aware of the following anabolic enhancing principles:

1. Protein is the basic raw material needed to build muscle. Protein supplies the amino acids that the body uses to repair and build muscle following intensive exercise. Aim to consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from food like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and whey. Spread the load over at least six meals to derive the optimum benefit and avoid overloading the liver.
2. Carbohydrates are needed to energize the muscle building process. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which pushes the amino acids into muscle cells to begin the process of repair. The body uses carbohydrates as a source of energy – consume too little and the body will steal protein that would otherwise be used for repairing and building muscle. Aim to consume 1.5 to 2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight each day from foods like potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables and whole wheat bread.
3. Boost your calories. Unless your main aim is to reduce fat you need a positive caloric balance if you want to build muscle. Make sure that your daily calorie intake is 10% higher than your energy expenditure for daily maintenance and that the calories are acquired from a diet characterized by a ratio of 50% carbohydrates, 40% proteins and 10% fat.
4. Get plenty of rest both in terms of adequate rest days between training sessions and sufficient sleep. Your muscles won’t grow if you don’t build adequate recovery time into your training program. Similarly, you can only optimize your body’s levels of testosterone and growth hormone if you spend enough time sleeping.
5. Consume quality supplements to support a sound nutritious diet. For most people it should be enough to add whey protein, creatine and l-glutamine to your daily diet.
6. Don’t overdo the aerobic exercise. Your aim is to increase muscle mass therefore you don’t want to burn excessive calories that could be utilized for bulking up.
7. Drink plenty of water. Failure to drink sufficient quantities of water will lead to dehydration and adversely affect your muscle mass. Don’t forget that muscle is 70% water so a generous intake will maintain muscle volume and help growth.

Your body builds muscle naturally in response to your physical activity. This doesn’t happen overnight. But you’ll be well on your way to “bulking up” if you are consistent towards workouts.

First of all you have to decide on the exercises to be done each day. Some exercises focus on a specific muscle while other exercises are helpful for several muscles workout at one time. The important thing is to make sure each muscle can rest for at least a full day before exercising it again. So, you should do a full-body weight training routine, every other day (with cardio exercise in between) or you can alternate different muscle groups like arms exercise on one day, legs on another day, upper back and chest on next day and so on.

Body muscles grow during rest. If you don’t give your muscle adequate time to recover, you’ll directly interfere with the muscle building process. When you lift weight, you put stress on the muscle to an extent that it breaks down at the cellular level which results in increased protein synthesis and produces thicker muscle fibers. This process begins 2 – 3 hours after the workout and lasts up to 24 hours. If you put stress on the muscle before this process is complete then you break down the muscle fibers before they’ve had a chance to rebuild and hence it can have undesirable effects.

You should learn how to do exercise properly (the extension of movement, correct stance and proper posture, etc) as this will not only reduce the effectiveness of the movement, but also increase the risk of injury. So, try to begin the exercise with light weights. Practice will improve your form. For muscle building process, you need to stress the muscles, so till the final rep of your final set, your muscle should be exhausted. You can add one or more reps if you are in good form. If stress on muscles is less then you need to add on some weight.

For effective muscle building you need to give your body the proper building blocks. Don not eat too much of junk food. You can have supplements which can give you energy and aid in muscle recovery and repair, but, they should be taken in conjunction with a consistently followed exercise regimen and a proper diet. You should increase the amount of complex carbohydrates and proteins in your diet like egg, low fat yogurt, and whole grain carbohydrates like oats and whole-wheat bread. Try to avoid sugary and processed foods as they interfere with the glucose levels and immune system. You should drink a lot of energy drinks, water and juices during exercise to avoid water retention from the body. Protein drinks can also be taken after workouts to repair and rebuild lean muscle tissues.

For better results you should change your workout schedule every 3 – 4 weeks to avoid your body from adapting to stress. This can be done by increasing weight and changing exercises.