There are plenty of muscle building enthusiasts and personal trainers who share their tips on muscle building online. I’ve rounded up all the good information (because there are plenty of run-of-the-mill ones too from the thousands available online), including some from Muscle Gaining Secrets by Jason Ferruggia. Then I summarized them into this, hopefully, substantially helpful guide on building muscle.

Now, food and nutrition are just as essential as the proper exercise required in muscle building itself. When you’re building muscle, the timing of your food intake and your food selection spells the difference between a so-so progress towards your muscle gaining goals to an astounding one. Taking in carbohydrates before and after each workout would ensure you’ll get the right energy you need to get through your workout, as well as replace the glycogen from muscle that the body uses during exercise.

An hour or 1.5 hours before your workout, make sure you take in whole meals that include fiber and carbohydrates. This allows your system to digest your food right without going into a ruckus when your body starts to work. After your workout, exactly 20 minutes, make sure you pop in a whole grain carbohydrate snack or a fruit like a banana to keep your body in an anabolic state. No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince Delmonte details other food information related to building muscle.

During workout, remember to keep tabs on the progress you’ve made including the weights you’ve progressed to and the reps you’ve done in a journal. Keeping this information will help you in decisions involving changing routines and resistance later on. Remember to keep it varied every 3 to 4 weeks. Not doing so would lead to a stagnant point in your weight training program. This is because your body eventually adjusts to the weight training you subject it too and would put out less muscle gain for the more familiar routines.

Workout patterns and sleep patterns would have to be established too, if you’re serious about gaining muscle. Workout consistently, even if it’s just for 20-30 minutes. Don’t do it every day; you’re body needs to rest to build muscle. Sleep is the best resting phase for your body to gain muscle so make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep a day. The No Nonsense Muscle Building Review and Muscle Gaining Secrets Review includes more tips on muscle building.