The bodybuilding supplements debates will never end. The endless arguments over how an effective muscle-building program should be structured will most likely continue until the end of time. Just scour the Internet message boards, flip through any muscle magazine or talk to the sales rep at your local supplement store. No matter who you talk to or what you read, it seems that everyone is an expert these days.

If everyone is an expert, confident in their own ideas and beliefs, how can the average beginner possibly know who to listen to? He or she is instantly confronted with endless questions that seem to have no clear-cut answer.

How many days should I train per week? Wnat bodybuilding supplements should I take? How many sets should I perform for each muscle group? What type of rep range should I be using? What are the most effective exercises for stimulating muscle growth? How long should my workouts last?

These questions go on and on until he or she is eventually led to believe that building muscle is an infinitely complex process involving rocket-science precision and an intimate understanding of human physiology. I mean, that’s what takes to build muscle, right?

Wrong!

Believe me, there are answers to these important questions, and if you are willing to put in the time and effort you will most definitely find them. But that’s not what this article is about.

You see, amidst all of the confusion and endless debating, the majority of lifters end up losing sight of the big picture. Beyond all of the specific workout principles, such as rep range and exercise selection, the bodybuilding supplements, remains one crucial principle, a principle that lies at the very heart of the muscle growth process.

If this principle is not given full attention, or even worse, completely ignored, building muscle becomes next to impossible.

The bottom line is that muscles grow as they adapt to stress. When you go to the gym and lift weights, you create “micro-tears” within the muscle tissue. Your body perceives this as a potential threat to its survival and reacts accordingly by increasing the size and strength of the muscle fibers in order to protect against a possible future “attack”.

Therefore, in order to continually increase the size and strength of the muscles, you must focus on progressing each week by either lifting slightly more weight or performing an extra rep or two. In doing this, your body will continue to adapt and grow to the ever-increasing stress.

Building muscle is all about building strength!

So what is the most powerful muscle-building tool available? It's not the bodybuilding supplements. Quite simply, it is a pen and a piece of paper!

Every time you go to the gym you must write down exactly what you accomplished and then strive to improve upon it the following week.

If you aren’t always getting better, then you’re either staying the same or getting worse. Every week you should have an exact plan of attack ready to be executed. This does not mean I are anti the bodybuilding supplements, in fact I am not, you will need them. You absolutely cannot afford to start throwing weights around aimlessly without a clear-cut goal in mind.

The specifics of building muscle are important to understand and implement, but regardless of what style of training you’re currently using the ultimate deciding factor between success and failure is progression. You can sit around all day obsessing over specific principles, but the bottom line is that if you aren’t getting stronger every week, you absolutely will not be getting any bigger. Examine your training approach closely.

If you haven’t been paying laser-like attention to the amount of weight you’ve been using, the number of reps you’ve been performing, and then striving with every ounce of your energy to improve upon those numbers each week, you are completely ignoring the very foundation of the muscle growth process. If you want to see the best gains in muscle mass and strength that you possibly can, a pen and a piece of paper is the most important tool you could possibly have in your arsenal.

Building muscle is more than just working out, and it is more than just using muscle building supplements. There really is a right way - a scientifically proven way - to build mass muscle. Here are some tips:

Your muscles are 70% water, and water is essential to their growth. Water is used to move the proteins through the muscles. You can do everything else right, but if you aren't getting enough water, your muscles simply won't grow. The rule is to drink one ounce of water for every gram of protein that you eat.

Eat immediately after your workouts. Eat a meal that is high in protein, with low-Glycemic carbs as well. This meal should be eaten within one hour of finishing your workout. After that time, you lose your window of opportunity to help your muscles grow even more. Not only does this help your muscles to grow bigger, faster, it also helps them to heal faster.

Make sure that you are getting enough protein, through food and the bodybuilding supplements. Furthermore, make sure that the protein that you are getting is high quality protein. Without the proper amount of protein, your muscles will not only stop growing, but you will lose muscle as well. You need 1.75 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight, each and every day. Some people consume up to 1 gram per kilogram, just to be on the safe side.

You must constantly feed your muscles. Muscles are always busy - even when you are at rest. They are constantly doing one of two things: they are either building up, or breaking down. If they aren't fed, they are breaking down, and the only way that they build is by outpacing the breakdown process with the build up process. This requires the constant presence of protein. This is why bodybuilders typically eat six meals a day and take the bodybuilding supplements.

Make sure that Your Protein is doing the right thing. If you consume nothing but protein, which is a mistake that some bodybuilders make, you will find that you aren't growing muscle. Instead, the protein is used for other body functions, such as turning into blood sugar for energy. It's important to eat a well balanced diet, even though you will be taking in more protein than what the 'normal' diet consists of. The best way to do this is to include low-glycemic carbs with your protein. This way, the carbs can be used as fuel, and the protein can be used to build muscle.


There is a great deal more to learn about muscle building supplements, but this is a start, and it will get you headed in the right direction to help you reach your bodybuilding goals. Remember that bodybuilding is more than working out, and it is more than using muscle building supplements. It is a combination of many things, and leaving just one element out can severely hinder your bodybuilding efforts.