Have you asked yourself the question, how to gain weight? By now you are probably aware that protein provides the foundation for building muscle. But don’t think for a second that consuming protein on its own will help you gain weight in the form of lean muscle mass. There is only so much protein your body will use and you need a weight training program in place to gain significant size.
For beginners getting started with weight training it's important that they stick with the basic multi-joint compound exercises like the bench press, dumbbell press, barbell curls, dumbbell curls, squats, deadlifts, and calf raises. Try to aim for 3 to 4 exercises for the larger muscle groups and 2 to 3 exercises for the smaller muscle groups. Try aiming for +/- 4 sets for every exercise. Don't overdo it!
Don't waist too much time on non-working sets. If you want to get the most out of your weight training sessions you will want to utilize warming up and stretching. This is often overlooked which is a mistake because it provides a number of benefits. It gets your muscles and mind ready for the working sets and prevents injury. If you have to take time off weight training because of an injury, it will significantly impact the muscle building progress you were making.
Warm up with some light aerobic exercise for about 5 minutes. You don’t want this to be a workout in itself. Then do some stretches after warming up. After you've warmed up properly, don't waist your time and energy at taking light weights at the beginning of the next exercise for the same body part. Save your strength for the working sets.
Don't stick too long with the same weight when you can easily do more than 12 to 15 reps. Focus on progression and try to increase the weight if you are comfortable. An important component of solid weight training programs is the progressive overload principle. If you are not stressing your muscles sufficiently you will not see any gains, so always be looking to train harder if you are capable of doing so.
When you've been training for a while, you'll learn how many reps and sets work best for you. Try to stay above 6 and below 10 reps for maximum muscle growth.
Make sure you always train with correct form. Do not cheat until you’re near failure. Then for an extra 2 or 3 reps you can loosen up your style a bit. If you cheat too much, it means the weight is too heavy. Using sloppy form increases the risk of getting injured. And injuries are the last thing you want.
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