This article can help you to create a targeted plan for building muscle. These areas can range from changing your diet to varying your workouts. Once you know more about which means are most effective, you can make rapid progress towards your goals.

If you want to build muscle, you need to eat meat on a regular basis. Consume enough meat to amount to one gram of protein per pound of body weight. The extra protein you consume will be stored and used to build muscle, giving you the results you are trying to achieve.

Put all of the “big three” in each routine you perform. These are large muscle group exercises like dead lifts, squats and presses. These exercises simultaneously increase both muscle mass and strength. Every bodybuilding workout should include some combination of these three exercises.

If you are trying to build muscles, remember that carbohydrates are important! Carbs provide you with energy that you will need for your workout. By not consuming enough carbohydrates, your body is going to use protein for energy. Having enough carbs will help your body function better and help get you through your workouts.

Continually change your exercise routine. Make sure you are always challenging yourself to do new things and that you’re challenging your body as well. Engage in different exercises each time you workout to ensure you work different groups each time. Having a new workout to look forward to each time you go to the gym makes it more likely that you will stick with your bodybuilding program.

Cardio Workout

Don’t try to bulk up when doing extensive cardio training or preparing for a marathon. While a good cardio workout is key to staying fit, trying to build muscle while doing a lot of cardio is counterproductive. An intensive cardio workout essentially cancels out your attempts to build muscle. Make sure to use strength training the most when building muscle.

Your diet is especially important on your lifting days. Approximately 60 minutes prior to exercising, consume calories. That doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want, but that you need to eat a bit more on training days.

Many people make the mistake of increasing their protein consumption as soon as they begin a muscle development regimen. Starting too soon will increase your caloric intake as well, leading to fat deposits. Your body will be able to increase muscle growth best when you gradually increase your protein intake by several hundred calories several days apart.

When deciding which muscles to work, aim to work out opposing muscle groups within one workout. Combine chest and back exercises or quad and hamstring ones, for example. This method allows one muscle to recover while the other is in action. The result is increasing your workout intensity by limiting the time you need to spend at the gym.

Drink water before, during and after a workout. Failing to maintain proper hydration leaves you susceptible to injury. Further, staying hydrated will help you gain muscle and keep your muscles solid.

Set limits, but don’t end a workout until you’ve used every resource. When you plan your routine, you want the final set to take you to exhaustion. Using this strategy might mean you need to do fewer reps as you become fatigued.

Try plyometric exercises. This is a good way to work on your fast-twitch fibers and develop your mass quicker. Plyometrics are considered ballistic moves in that they require a certain amount of acceleration. For example, when you do plyometric push-ups, let your hands come off the floor, propelling your body upward.

Keep an eye on your calorie consumption when trying to build good muscle. There are both good and bad caloric intakes, so watch which ones you eat to make sure they can help you build muscle. A bad diet will only have you growing fatter instead of more muscular.

Be mindful of the different types of exercises you try, as some are not helpful to extra weight. For instance, split squats, dips and neck work will damage your joints if you add too much weight. Instead, use heavier weights primarily for exercises such as rows, presses, deadlifts and squats.

You must think smart when you are going to do squats. Choose a point on the back that is centered between the traps and lower the bar there. This places more demand upon your glutes, hamstrings, and hips, which can help you squat more weight than you originally could.

It is very important that you begin your workout by stretching. Your muscles should be warmed up prior to exercise, in order to avoid injury. Stretching after exercise can help, too, by relaxing your muscles while the start to recover from the workout. Massages help to relax and also encourage muscles to grow more quickly.

There are many different ways that you can improve your efforts to build muscle. This article contains some excellent information to help you reach your goals. Feel free to try out the tips that look most productive to you. Try to mix them up to see what works best.