6 Steps to Help You Gain Weight & Build Muscle

While weight loss is one of the biggest industries in the world, with over $30bn spent annually on related products, the weight gain market is also surprisingly large. In fact, over 50,000 people every month go to one of the major search engines and look for ways to gain weight.

For those of you that would like to put on some pounds though instead of shed them, here are six steps to do exactly that.
Use Free Weights
Although Gym's tend to be packed with machines for all different muscle groups, from working out your neck to your thighs, free weights tend to be the best for gaining weight and building muscle. Using free weights means that your body takes the strain of all movements that you make.

It is best that you do what are known as compound exercises such as Squats, Deadlifts, Push Ups and Barbell Curls.

Eat More
Obvious? Yes. Always put into action? No. I'm in the process of 'bulking' (gaining weight) and am a member of a number of forums where the topic is discussed. You will see some people say that they are 'eating loads', only later to find out they skip breakfast and put in two big meals per day.

No matter how much time you spend in the gym, you simply will not grow if you don't provide your body with enough food to do just that. Foods such as chicken, tuna, nuts and peanut butter are great as they are high in protein.

You should also look to eat medium sized meals but on a more regular basis (at least 4 meals per day) as your body can only digest so much of the nutrients you are giving it in one serving.

Workout Till Failure
The general rule for losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat, and the general rule for gaining weight is to eat more calories than you burn. However, if you also want to build muscle then you need to shock your body into growth.

Lots of repetitions at an easy weight is most likely to turn what you have into muscle and essentially tone your body. However, if you want to use your extra caloric intake to grow muscle then you need to lift very heavily for around 4 sets of 8 repetitions per exercise.

You shouldn't be able to do another set when you are finished.

Get Lots of Sleep
This is common knowledge, but something a lot of people tend to miss. Eat big, train hard and sleep well are the three keys to successful weight gaining. If you miss any of these then you are going to get some lackluster results.

Your muscle doesn't grow in the gym but only during resting period, so try to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night to allow your body to react and grow.

Regularly Increase Weight + Food Intake
If you are what is known as a 'hard gainer', then you will constantly have to increase the weights you lift and your food intake to continue growing. If you keep to a certain diet and workout routine, without changing things up, it's likely that you'll very quickly hit a plateau.

Around every 4 weeks is a good time to increase the weights you are lifting and around every 6-8 weeks you should look at your calorie intake. Of course, you should be tracking your results to see when these changes are necessary for your situation; the above figures are simply a guide.

Stick to Your Plan
You aren't going to lose weight overnight if that is your aim, and you're certainly not going to gain weight overnight. It could take months or even years to see some major noticeable differences in your weight gain efforts but don't let the time length put you off. Simply stick to your plan and the results will follow.