Weight lifting can be fun when you do it right. If you enjoy the workout, you are much more likely to stick to your program. Read on to learn how to find the exercise routines that work for you so that you can begin building muscle.

Read up on the subject, so that you are performing the right kind of exercises to achieve the muscles you desire. Each set of muscles can be exercised differently, so don’t assume that one size fits all. It is important that you are using a variety of weight training exercises on each of your muscle groups.

You need to take in more calories when trying to grow muscle. You will want to focus on eating enough for you to gain roughly a pound each week. Investigate ways to raise your caloric intake, and if after two weeks you see no change in your weight, consider taking in even more calories.

Eating meat regularly can help build muscle. For every pound that you weigh, you need to consume approximately 1 gram of meat. Doing this allows your body to hold more protein for muscle growth and improves the chances that you get the muscles you want.

The “big three” should form the core of your exercise routine. Those are bench presses, dead lifts and squats. These exercises will not only add bulk, but they’ll also strengthen and condition your body. Use a variety of each exercise each time you workout.

Recognize that the requirements of serious bodybuilding and intense cardiovascular exercise (such as marathon training) are not compatible. Doing cardio is great for overall fitness, though if you do too much, your body will not be able to build a lot of muscles mass with strength training at the same time. Focus on a healthy balance between cardio exercise and weight training.

You must eat carbohydrates, if you wish to build muscle. Your body needs carbs to create energy and allow your muscles to work, as you wish them to. If are taking an aggressive approach to building muscle mass, you should consume between 2,000 and 3,000 milligrams of carbohydrates per pound of your body weight.

Do as many sets and repetitions as you can during your training. Commit to lifting at least fifteen times while resting for about a minute before the next lift. This constant effort keeps your lactic acids pumping, increasing muscle growth. Try to do this as much as you can during each session to get the best results.

Don’t work out for more than sixty minutes. Your body will begin to produce some cortisol, after the first hour of working out. Cortisol has been shown to block testosterone, reducing the results you achieve. Making sure that workouts are less than an hour helps you to get the best results.

It is possible to make yourself look larger than your actual size. You can achieve this by focusing your training efforts on your chest, shoulders and upper back. By doing this, you can cause your waist to appear smaller than it actually is, which can also make you appear to have greater size.

Train opposing muscles when you are in the midst of a workout; try doing the chest and back together, or the hamstrings with quads. This is a good way to let a muscle rest while you focus on another one. This is beneficial because the intensity of your workouts is easily increased with increasing the time you spend building muscles at the gym.

Work on finding your body’s limit, and keep working out until you hit that limit. When completing a set of exercises, keep pushing yourself until you cannot complete another push-up or lift the bar one more time. If necessary, you can use a pyramid system and decrease the number of reps as you fatigue.

Achieving a body that is healthy and strong feels incredible, and increasing your lean muscle is an excellent method of beginning. When you combine cardiovascular exercises with weight training, you can achieve your results in less time than by doing cardio exercises on their own. If you do both kinds of exercises on a regular basis, you’ll quickly see the results you’re looking for.