How to Gain Muscle Mass and Weight

Gaining muscle mass isn't mentioned nearly as much in the media as losing weight is. However, for a large number of people, especially guys, gaining muscle is more important than losing fat. In fact, even for those who are overweight, gaining muscle mass is much more important than losing
the fat, not only for their health, but also for their long-term goals. But how does one go about building muscle and increasing their weight?

There are two primary things that you need to control:
1. Your nutrition.
2. Exercise.
Lack of either of the two will result in failure to gain muscle, especially nutrition.

First, let's dispel some of the common myths about exercise, shall we?

1 : The longer your workout, the better.
2 : If you don't sweat, you don't lose any fat. Sweat is the proof of "melting" fat.
3 : The greater the frequency of your workout, the more muscle mass you'll gain.
4 : It's better to target individual muscles such as biceps and calves.

So what's the truth?

1. You do not gain muscle mass when you exercise! You gain mass when you rest from a workout! That's why resting between strenuous workouts is so important. Don't work out more than 3 days in a week. A sample workout you may try would be - Mon, Wed, Fri. This gives your body a day's rest between all the workouts and a two day rest before you start the cycle again.

2. It's not the frequency, or the length of your workout, but the intensity of your workout that helps you gain muscle mass. It doesn't benefit you much if you do 50 reps and 15 sets of bench press, but it benefits you a whole lot more if you use weights with which you can do no more than 3 sets with 3-7 reps. This will help you gain a lot more muscle mass as long as you remember to take rest. In fact, if you work out for more than 47 minutes in one go, you risk hurting your growth and over-training.

What is the best bodybuilding supplement?

When you look at any bodybuilding or fitness magazine you see dozens of ads for supplements that all promise to give you huge gains in muscle and a reduction in bodyfat. Very few people can afford to take them all. And if you did you would spend all day popping pills and forcing down powders, drinks, etc… However, one supplement that you should consider taking is Glutamine.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. It constitutes more than 50% of the amino acids found in muscle cells. Glutamine is a "non-essential" amino acid. Now that term can be a bit confusing. "Non-essential" simply means that you don't have to get your glutamine from outside sources. It is so important to bodily functions that the body actually produces glutamine.

But your body can only produce a certain amount of glutamine. When you put stress on your body (i.e. exercise) the demand for glutamine increases and very often the body can't produce enough. Our bodies use a lot of glutamine every single day. It is required to maintain the proper function of your immune system, brain, kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, etc… This places a very high demand on your body's resources.

The brain, organs, immune system, etc. receive high priority for glutamine. Any glutamine that is not used for the essential bodily functions is used to help build and repair muscle tissue. If you don't provide extra glutamine you could easily deplete your body's resources before your muscles receive all the glutamine that they need.

Building muscle is not the body's top priority. If the body needs extra glutamine for the essential bodily functions it will break down muscle tissue to get the extra glutamine. This is something that we want to prevent from happening.

This is where supplementation comes in. Studies have shown that supplementing glutamine can prevent muscle wasting, it produces and potent anti-catabolic effect. So what is the best way to supplement glutamine? Consuming an additional 10 grams of glutamine along with a high protein diet should do the trick for most bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts.

I recommend using pure glutamine powder (which is available in most supplement stores) and take 5 grams of glutamine 2 times per day (i.e. after a workout and before bed). It is best to take a couple of small servings of glutamine throughout the day because the body can only utilize a small amount of glutamine at one time. You can mix glutamine with either a glass of water, juice, protein drink, etc.

When I started supplementing with glutamine I noticed the results within a week of taking it. I felt better physically and I had more energy in the gym. I also noticed a reduction in muscle soreness and fatigue. I highly recommend that you give it a try.