How to Build Muscles

Food
The most important aspect of food in relation to gaining lean muscle is in the timing of food intake. That comes in two parts. Firstly, to have enough energy for your workout, you would want to eat at least 1.5 hours before that workout. No sooner. Digestion is the most energy-consuming thing our bodies do. If we eat just before getting to the gym or starting our workout at home, our body is busy digesting. In order to get energy from the food we eat, it must first be digested. This takes at least 1.5 hours. Carbs are the primary source of energy. I suggest rice and vegetables, or some other grain. Secondly, during exercise, our body uses the glycogen stored in our muscles for energy.

Consume More Calories

Regardless of whether my new clients want to gain or lose weight, I have them first and foremost perform a 3 to 5-day food record. This is a tedious process and will take a few minutes after every meal or at the end of your day, but the information that it will give you will be crucial in meeting your weight gain goals.

The purpose of this is to give you an idea of how many calories, carbohydrate, fat, and protein you consume on average as well as to increase your awareness of the caloric content of different foods you eat. You can then take this information and build upon it.

Protein is important

Increase your protein intake. Your body needs a lot of protein to build new muscle. But since most of the calories for weight gain come from carbohydrates and fats, do not replace them with protein.

Weights are the way to go

Focus on free weight exercises (which do not require machinery) that target your large muscle groups. For example, you need dumbbells, not fancy gym machines. Free weights put the most stress on muscles and stimulate the maximum number of muscle fibers. The best weight training exercises for building muscle mass are free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips. These exercises are best done under supervision, but they don't need machinery.

Train Intensely

You must work each set until you can't do another repetition in good form. There is no point in stopping at a set number of reps (such as 8), if you are capable of doing 12. Your body needs to be challenged or it will not adapt by building new muscle or burning off body fat.

Train Infrequently

Your body needs time to recover from your weight training routine, so that in can adapt and grow. If you train with weights before your body is completely recovered, you won't add new muscle and will eventually over train, a big no no
Carbohydrates
Many beginners or "hardgainers" get carried away with the importance of protein to gain muscle. Your focus should be on consuming complex carbohydrates to fuel your workouts. At least 60% of your total calories should be from carbohydrates.