There are thousands of products, newsletters, and books out there that promise to show you the secret of how to "gain muscle fast" and they ALL want your money but I'll give you the secret for free - lift weights and eat right! Gaining mass, is really simple but it takes a LOT of work.
What do you need to buy to bulk up and gain muscle?
A $10 used set of dumbbells from a garage sale is perfect, your muscles dont know if they are lifting used rusty old dumbbells or new, expensive, shiny, chrome ones! If you cant find a used set then you can buy a new [amazonsearch]weight set[/amazonsearch] but don't pay more than $1/lb!. If you have lots of money and very little space then consider these adjustable [amazonsearch]powerblocks[/amazonsearch], but they are really expensive (I wish I had them!). Supplements required to bulk up? The billion dollar supplement industry would have you giving them your entire paycheck, do you need to? No!
There is no reason you cant bulk up and gain muscle with good old fashioned nutrition and real food. If you dont have the time for 6 real meals a day then [amazonsearch]optimum nutriton 100% natural whey[/amazonsearch] can be used to get the protein you need without all the fat of a fast food meal.
There is a LOT of bad information out there and people have a very warped view of what are reasonable expectations for putting on muscle thru weightlifting. Lets talk about teens and growth first, during the ages 16-22, teens are growing fast. In this time they are getting taller, adding body mass, and getting stronger all as part of the normal growth process without lifting a single weight. The reason this is important is that many times you hear anecdotes of teens who add 20lbs in one year lifting weights, well the truth is that they would have added 15lbs anyway thru the normal growth process, only the last 5lbs was actually muscle was actually added thru the weightlifting.
So what is a reasonable expectation for how much muscle you can add in a year thru weightlifting? Well if you lift with intensity 5 days a week for an hour a day all year long AND have proper nutrition (more on that later),
you can expect to add 5lbs muscle per year if you are a hard gainer and 10lbs muscle if you are one of the gifted few. Doesn't sound like a lot you can do this year after year and slowly those slowly 5lb gains really add up. Picture yourself a decade later with 50lbs muscle on!
Now lets talk about the dedication required. You cant add muscle by flitting around the gym now and then. Remember I said that you could expect to add 5lbs muscle (10 if you are lucky) if you worked really hard? Well this is the "work really hard part" - it means 5 days a week of intense lifting. Just being IN a gym an hour a day does nothing, chatting your buddies while standing near weights doesn't make your muscles grow - you need intense, focused workout sessions. Check out my section on "Focus" to see what I mean by that.
Believe it or not, lifting weights is the EASY part of gaining muscle, nutrition is the hard part.
The #1 reason bodybuilders have poor results is not because they don't work out hard enough but because their nutrition sucks. It can take up to FIVE days for the muscles to rebuild after a workout and during that time you need a constant intake of protein. Your body can't store protein up so just having a huge steak with dinner will not work if you want to gain muscle, you need to take your protein in 6 small, even doses spread evenly through out the day to insure your recovering muscles always have the amino acids they need to rebuild. Nobody said bodybuilding was easy. If you can't eat 6 real meals a day then protein powder mixed in milk or water can make a quick and inexpensive meal replacement in a pinch, remember though, real meals are always better! Acronyms and lingo used in this FAQ and board:
Reps: Repetitions. The number of times you repeat the movements of an exercise in a set.
Set: The number of reps done consecutively between breaks (1 set of 8 reps; 2 sets of 12 reps each etc.).
Compound: An exercise that trains a whole group of muscles.
Isolation: An exercise that mainly trains one muscle.
DOMS: Short for
Delayed
Onset
Muscle
Soreness, which is the soreness you experience a day or two after working out.
Split: Dividing your workout between muscle groups (back, legs, arms, upper body, lower body etc.)
Resistance training: Training with weights or bodyweight to make your muscles stronger / bigger.
Overtraining: Training too much.
I want muscles (or I want to bulk up), what should I do?Can lifting weights stunt my growth?- No. For an explanation please see here.
What equipment do I need?- In the beginning your body, a place to do pull-ups and whatever you require for cardio (shoes, rope etc.) will suffice. Later you should at least add a pair of dumbbells. Have a look here for a detailed list.
What exercises do I need to do and when?- First of all find out your fitness level: Can you do 30 push-ups with good form (2 seconds up, 2 seconds down) and 7 pull-ups without kicking or swinging?
- If no, and you are under 17, start with this workout.
- If no, and you are older than 17, start out with this plan.
- If yes, and you are under 17, this schedule should work best for you.
- If yes, and you are older than 17, have a look at this plan.
What if I'm more interested in powerlifting?I don't have a pull-up bar (or place) to do pull-ups. How can I replace them?- You can't, because pull-ups are essential for a strong back. You can get a door-mounted pull-up bar and if that is not an option, get creative: A strong branch on a tree, a pipe in the basement or one of those steel structures on playgrounds can all be used for pull-ups. See this article for various alternatives.
But I can't even do a single pull-up!Erm, I can't even really do a push-up!- No worries. This video starts you with knee pushups.
Everybody says a beginner needs to do squats!- Squats are a great exercise, but for a beginner rather easy to do wrong and you can really badly injure yourself. This video explains it.
Can't I just start with the intermediate / advanced workout?- No, because your body has to be conditioned to resistance training first. Have a look at this thread.
So when should I switch to the intermediate / teen workout plan?- Rule of thumb is once you are able to fulfill the above two requirements. Most likely this will take about six months.
I do 50 (100, 500, 1000) dumbbell curls (crunches, lunges etc.) but I'm not getting stronger or bigger!- That's because your muscles need to work against increasing resistance (=weight) to keep growing. This video explains how much weight you should be using.
So, how much progress (or how many lbs of muscle) can I expect to see in a year?- Between 5 and 10 lbs - the latter if you are one of the lucky few. From teenagers you often hear anecdotes about having gained 20 lbs in a year, but 15 of those were most likely part of the normal growth process. Also have a look at this chart and read this.
I am doing all I can, but I'm not getting sore.- Soreness (or DOMS) is just one indicator for a good workout. Please read about DOMS and pain.
How often should I change my routine?- If you are a beginner you can keep doing the beginner program without any changes until you reach those two requirements.
- If you are intermediate every two months is a good rhythm; it gives your body a chance to work with the exercises you do and makes it easier for you to keep track of progress.
Can't I train my chest (legs, arms etc.) every day to get bigger sooner?- No, your muscles grow when they are resting. More on this right here.
How can I tell if I'm overtraining?- There is quite a number of signs and they can be different for different people. Have a look at this video for a thorough explanation.
My left abs (arm, leg, pec etc.) are bigger (smaller, stronger, looks different) than the other!- We all have a stronger (more dominant) side and nobody is really symmetrical, read about symmetry here.
Thanks to Mike and Magnus for contributing to this FAQ.