This past couple of weeks I’ve been getting a few emails about weight gain supplements. There are a lot of weight gain products on the market and some of the readers of this blog are confused about what weight gain products they should be using.

I’m a true ectomorph, 6′2″, very slim build, thin frame, long stringy muscles. I am no stranger to weight gain products. My body type requires a lot of calories to grow. When I started weight training I was 126 pounds, now I am 205. Weight gain shakes have been a staple in my diet for the past 3 years.

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Compound exercises are movements that use more than one joint. Examples are bench press, squat, deadlift etc. Isolation exercises only use one joint in the movement. Examples are bicep curl, leg extension and dumbbell lateral raise.

Compound exercises are responsible for the majority of any muscle growth and strength increases when training with weights. These movements allow you to move the most weight, stress the body more, and recruit the most muscle fibers to do the work. In short, if you’re not doing enough compounds you’re limiting your potential.

I’ve made a list below of the compound exercises that make up the bread n’ butter or muscle growth, exercises everyone should be doing for muscle growth and increasing strength.

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Today I thought I’d talk a bit about motivation and goal setting. Lack of motivation is the reason why 99% of people do not achieve their muscle and fitness goals. Some people are naturally motivated, driven towards reaching goals whether it be in fitness or otherwise, but most of us aren’t.

One of the keys to reaching your goals successfully is goal setting. Most of have an ultimate goal, but usually that goals is a long way off. If you just focus on that goal you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here’s some tips on how I set goals to stay motivated.

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I am a firm believer that when it comes to training, diet and supplements that everyone is different. What works for your friends, professional bodybuilders or athletes might not necessarily work for you. This is especially true when it comes to some supplements. I get emails all the time asking me what supplements I use, and asking for advice on what supplements to take.

There are some “staples” that I recommend to everyone. Whey protein, creatine, glutamine and dextrose. In my opinion anyone who’s serious about getting bigger and stronger should be using these. But there are loads of other products on the market…nitric oxide, creatine ethyl ester, testosterone boosters, amino acids, fat burners etc. So how do you know if these will work for you? You test.

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If you’re serious about weight training and building muscle, chances are at some point you’re going to suffer from tendonitis pain. Tendonitis is a dangerous condition, what starts off as a small annoying pain in your tendons can quickly develop into a permanent problem that needs to be treated with steroidal injections or even surgery.

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Weight training and building muscle is all about intensity. Unlike other disciplines that require hours of training in order to progress, weight training requires increased intensity and short training sessions. There are many ways you can increase the intensity of your sessions…drop sets, supersets, short/long rest times, forced reps etc. But what most lifters do not focus on is mental intensity. Your mental state before and during your workouts is crucial to having a good session.

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When I first started training I was clueless. I didn’t know anyone that worked out, I didn’t have the cash for personal training sessions and the only information I had access to was in bodybuilding magazines. Now days new lifters have the internet. The internet is the best resource for bodybuilding and weight training information. Not only can you read expert articles for free, you can interact with experienced trainers on forums.

That being said, there’s no reason why beginner lifters should make the same mistakes I did. The information is there, all you have to do is a little searching. So today I’m going to list 5 common mistakes newbies make and why they’re mistakes. Enjoy!

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Building muscle works like this…in the gym you break down your muscles with intense, heavy lifting. This training creates millions of tiny tears in the muscle. The inflammation caused, combined with extra blood in the muscle, is the reason why your muscles looked “pumped” when you train. Out of the gym you feed your muscles the right fuel enabling them to repair and grow more tissue to adapt to the requirements of your training.

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How essential is whey protein for building muscle mass? That’s the question I’m going to be looking at today. I have been involved in many debates about exactly how essential supplements are for people trying to pack on some muscle, so here’s what I think about just how essential whey protein is to the average guy looking to pack on some pounds:

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Today I’m go to go through the basics of constructing a bodybuilding diet. Many new lifters I talk to are completely confused about how much food they should be eating to build muscle without gaining too much fat. I’m going to take the confusion out of creatine a diet right now by showing you how simple it is!

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