The worst thing you can do when you start trying to build muscle is imitate what you see in muscle building and muscle magazines. Don’t try to do the things that professional bodybuilders do. You’re just starting out and they’re on a lot of steroids (meaning they can make gains on almost any program, even unhealthy ones).

If you’re an average guy or gal, you should follow a basic, no-nonsense approach to start building muscle fast. And you also need a guideline to follow to make sure you don’t overdo it at first (which ultimately hurts your progress).

With this in mind, read on to find out…

How To Build Muscle: Ten Tips To Help You Build Muscle Fast!

Here we go, the only “sane” guide you’ll ever need:

1. Focus on strength first – More strength will always equal more muscle. Also, it is embarrassing to be very big and not have strength. Furthermore, strength is the basis of all physical ability. If you are an athlete and want more resistance, more speed, more agility, etc. all these physical qualities will improve when you improve your strength.

*Bodyweight training: I recommend starting with bodyweight (BW) training first because you need to master your own bodyweight before attempting to lift more weights in iron form. Practice the basics: push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, pistols, crunches, V-crunches, etc. Move on to more difficult versions of each move when they get easy. Also, BW training is excellent for strengthening tendons.

* Weight Training: Weight training is great for building strength. And you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment. A set of Olympic weightlifting bars is all you need to get started. However, you should always make sure to lift with proper technique. Make sure you start with an empty bar and work your way up from there.

* Kettlebell Training – It’s also a great strength builder. You build strength at odd angles and can do Olympic lifting style movements like snatch, clean and jerk etc. with much less training than with a bar. You can get relatively good at these exercises quickly. And if something goes wrong, there’s less weight to drop on you or the ground.

2. Always use free weights – Avoid weight “machines” like the plague. The exercises that will make you stronger are done with a bar. Compound exercises like the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press will do more for your strength levels and physique than anything else.

Here are some other reasons to lift with only free weights (specifically barbells):

* It’s safer: you’re not performing unnatural assisted movements like with machines. Barbells and free weights build strength in the movements where you need them. It also increases the strength of all your stabilizer muscles simultaneously.

* More efficient: Because you’re using more muscles (more stabilizers) to lift, press, and pull barbells and other free weights, you build more muscle with less effort.

* More Functional: When you lift heavy objects off the ground… over your head and explosively you are doing the same type of activities you do in real life. Which means that the strength you build in the gym will carry over to all areas of your life.

* All in One – You can do every exercise you can think of to get stronger, build muscle, burn fat and get fit with just a barbell and weights. You don’t need a ton of weight training equipment to take up a lot of space (great for a home gym).

* Kettlebells are like an entire gym, in just a couple of little iron balls. You need even less space for kettlebells, making them ideal for the home gym or traveling.

3. Always do compound exercises – you want to build strength and muscle in your whole body, so train it as a unit. The only exception to this is when you discover you have a muscle imbalance and then need to do isolation exercises to strengthen weak muscles and stretch “too tight” muscles (otherwise injury will result). For example:

* For the arms: don’t do triceps kickbacks or a lot of curls; Do push-ups, pull-ups, presses, and snatches.

* For the legs: do not do leg extensions or hamstring curls; do squats, kettlebell pistols, and deadlifts

* For your chest: Don’t do flys and pec deck – do bench press, overhead press and dips, etc.

4. Work your legacy. Lasted. – Squats and deadlifts are full-body exercises. Because of this, they help put muscle all over your body. (In fact, you can put muscle in your chest and arms by working out your legs.) Also, you don’t want to have “chicken legs” with a huge upper body. Give yourself something stable to stand on: strong legs.

You’ll look good once you can squat 1.5 times your bodyweight (won’t take long!) and can deadlift the same (or more likely 2 times).

5. Full-body workouts are the rule. – You need to do full body workouts. It is not necessary to do isolation exercises. Why not get the best bang for your buck? Why not get the most results in the gym for the least amount of time? Here are 7 reasons why full-body workouts are better for building muscle and losing fat.

If you play sports, you’ll be more athletic and perform better if you do full-body exercises. Kettlebells are great total body tools as many of the exercises you do with them like snatches, cleans and presses etc work the entire body.

6. Recover as hard as you exercise – The more you overtrain, the slower your progress will be. Also, the bigger your muscles, the more rest you will need. In fact, you can gain 30 pounds of muscle by exercising for just a TOTAL 4 hours – the key is recovery. Your muscles always grow OUTSIDE the gym, not INSIDE it. This is what you should focus on:

* Break. You don’t grow in the gym: do your three intense workouts in a week and get out there. Rest when you’re out of the gym. Meditation and relaxation are good because they reduce stress and cortisol levels, which helps you build muscle and burn fat. Think quality, not quantity when it comes to how much time you spend in the gym.

* Good sleep. Your body repairs itself when you sleep. Growth hormone and testosterone levels increase during deep sleep. Get 8 hours of good sleep if possible. However, deep sleep is more important than quantity. If you can take a quick 20-minute nap after working out, that’s great.

* Eat enough. Your body needs food to fuel itself and recover. Eat healthy (more on that in a bit).

*Drinking water. I try a gallon a day. Drink at least 2 cups at each meal. You need plain water to stay hydrated, and it’s great for a million other reasons, too.

7. Eat clean. You want muscle weight, not fat weight, right? eat clean. Anything in a box is BAD. Just accept it. Schedule one “cheat day” per week so you don’t go crazy trying to eat clean. Indulge in the foods you’re trying to give up that are bad for you that day, that way you’ll get sick of them and not want to eat them for the rest of the week. Perfection is hard to come by, so try to eat right 80% of the time. You need (in order of importance):

* Protein: Lean beef, chicken, eggs, whey protein and milk…

* Vegetables. broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, etc…

* Fats. Fish Oil, Olive Oil, Real Butter, Nuts, etc…

* Fruit. Bananas, apples, oranges, avocados, etc…

* Carbohydrates. Whole grain and brown, no starches, except after training.

8.Supplement – Some people don’t think you need supplements, I say our food supplies suck for nutrition. What should you take…

* Whey Protein – Helps you get protein (more on that in a bit)…

* Fish Oil: It is the best supplement for absolutely everything related to health.

* Green Superfood/Drink – For the plant-based/green goodness you need

* Multivitamin – to get all your vitamins AND minerals

* Enzyme formula: for faster recovery and better overall health

* Creatine: to quickly build muscle and many other health benefits.

9. Focus on protein. It is said that you need 1 gram per pound of body weight to build muscle. I’ve never been able to do that consistently, and I still build muscle and burn fat, but always focus on protein (not a protein-free meal in my mind). Also, protein has a greater thermic effect than other macronutrients, so it’s also good for fat loss. Here are good sources of protein:

*Red meat. Round ground, steaks, deer, buffalo,…

* Poultry. Chicken breast, whole chicken, turkey, duck,…

* Fish. Tuna, salmon, flooder, etc.

* Whole eggs. (yes, even the yolk). Or make 80/20, 80 percent white, 20 percent yolk

* Dairy products. Milk, cheese, yogurt and whey protein…

10. Never give up – Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get results right away. Stay positive, a positive mental attitude is a must. Focus on the basics, get stronger, take baby steps, and before you know it, you’ll have come a long way. Subscribe to this site and check back often for more tips to help you.