This is for all of the hardgainers who can’t seem to achieve the muscle mass they so much desire to have. Not getting the results that you were looking for from your workouts? Do you keep telling yourself that I workout hard only to achieve results that are little or next to almost nothing? Are you feeling like a lifeless mannequin whose muscles aren’t growing at all? Have you reached a plateau in your training? To be honest, I don’t know if you’ve ever asked these questions but if you have, then you need to take a good look at yourself and realize that your workout routine needs to be restructured.

First of all you’ve got to realize that building muscle mass is not an overnight process (I’ve said this before a numerous amount of times for those who needed to hear it and I’ll continue to say it). In order to build maximum muscle mass it takes time, dedication and commitment to achieve this goal and if you don’t utilize any of those factors, then you’re just wasting your time and everything you did prior up until now was all for nothing. Consider your workout routine to be an important part of your life by treating it as a necessity.

As far as time spent in the gym, some will tell you to workout for an hour, others will tell you an hour and a half to two hours while the rest confuse you with a time factor of thirty to forty minutes. In order to cut the confusion from the opinion of others, just remember this, it’s not about the amount of time you stay in the gym but rather what you put into that workout while you are there. Don’t waste your time talking to others about what you did last night or the other day (Save all that for when the workout is over). Whatever muscle group you plan to work on that day, focus on hitting those areas hard and if you’ve got a partner with you make sure that he or she is just as motivated as you are. As far as dedication and commitment, making health and fitness a daily part of your lifestyle and sticking with it will eventually show positive physical results which will lead to mentally motivating you to stay committed to your routine at the gym or fitness center you attend.

Another important factor to consider is that a successful workout not only depends on proper training but the right amount of nutrition. You have to remember that all the physical activity and work that you do in the gym is only part of the formula that allows your muscles to grow. Nutrition and the proper amount of rest is the other part of that formula. You need to consume calories in order for your muscles to grow and you have to consume more calories than you burn. It will be totally impossible for your muscles to grow if you don’t do this. As far as consuming calories, you should be at least consuming 18 to 20 times your bodyweight in calories. An example of this is if you weigh 140 pounds you should at least be consuming 20 times your bodyweight (140lbs. x 20 = 2800). Consuming 2800 calories for a 140 pound individual combined with weight lifting (free weights or exercise machines) will most definitely build muscle mass for that individual if done on a daily basis.

Try not to hit all the body parts in one day of training. Focus on training the chest and triceps on one day and the shoulders and biceps on another day. Then train the back and legs on the following day. Give yourself a day or two of rest to allow your muscles to grow. The advantage of training individual muscle groups is that while you’re training one or two particular muscles on one day it allows the other muscle groups to rest and recover from that previous day of training them. It’s also important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water especially on days when you’re training hard. Staying hydrated keeps the body replenished and gives it energy along with helping the heart to pump blood through the blood vessels to the muscles (This is what gives the muscles that pumped look). If you follow these suggestions, you could be on your way to achieving enormous muscle mass.