How to get big

It's all about consistency, diet, sleep and exercise. If you've read my recent posts then this is nothing new. Focus on these four areas and you will absolutely gain weight. Let me break them down so you can make sure you are hitting each of these.

Consistency: Work out 3-5 times per week every week! Don't skip workouts unless your body absolutely needs the rest. (If your getting the rest I recommend this shouldn't be an issue.) I suggest you work each body part 1-3 times per week. Some bodybuilders will tell you once per week but some strength trainers will tell you 3 times per week so you need to think about your goals on that one.

Diet: You must be consuming at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Shoot for 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Spread this throughout the day. (You can get this from chicken, eggs, milk, protein shakes, steak, fish, etc.)
Calculate how many calories you burn on an average day then add 1000 calories to that. This will allow you to put on 2lbs a week which is a good pace. Spread it this out and eat every 2-3 hours. (keep in mind the amount of calories you burn each day can vary. If your more active you will burn more calories. As you gain muscle you will burn more calories.) If your not consistent on the calories and the protein then you wont make gains.

Sleep: Get that sleep! You need the rest to recover from your workouts. Aim for 8 hours or more. This is when your muscles will grow.

Exercise: Don't forget to squat. They are very important especially for gaining weight. Stick with compound exercises. Don't worry too much about doing isolation exercises. Your focus should be squats, bench press, shoulder press, bent over rows, dead lifts and pull ups. Use free weights. Don't mess with the machines. Start with a weight that is fairly easy to you then keep adding weight to the bar slowly but continuously. Keep track of the weight you used then add 5lbs to it each time you workout. Not only will you gain size this way but you will also gain strength.

Best Exercise

If I had to tell you one exercise that is better than all the rest it would be squats. Many people don't like to squat. I think this is for several reasons. Lets face it, they are hard to do, they don't seem to work your upper body, women don't go nuts about nice legs, there has been a lot of incorrect info about them hurting your knees or back, etc. I'm sure you can think of a few more reasons why you shouldn't squat.

The truth is though that as long as squats are done correctly they are great! No other exercise will give you the benefits that squats give you. Squatting actually causes your body to produce more testosterone which in turn helps you build more muscle which in turn burns fat. You also use your upper body when you squat much more than most people realize. Not only does is work your core muscles to support the weight but you also work your arms and back. As you increase the weight on your squats your upper body will adapt to help support the extra weight.

Bottom line if your not squatting you need to start. You must follow proper form or you can get injured. I recommend starting off extremely light to work on technique then start adding weight very very slowly, but consistently. Start out by doing 5 sets of 5-6 reps. (after you have done 2 warm up sets) Don't over do it to start with. Remember this is about consistency so you don't want to injure yourself or make yourself so sore that you can't work out for a week.

Check out this video. It shows proper technique for squatting. Safety bars in place, clamps on the bar, straight back, knees stay behind the toes, thighs come down to parallel position, looking straight forward.