By Ryan Caligiuri

This is a very basic approach, but is absolutely critical that a solid foundation is available to ensure we can move on to more advanced ways to build muscle. I've seen far too many people want to build solid muscle and do either a few of these or none.

There are thousands of supplements on the market that claim to give solid mass in record time, but from experience working with thousands of people I know this isn't always the case. What happens with these people is that they feel like they can't do it without a supplement (health food stores love people like this) and if they can't do it with supplements they often times turn to steroids. Unfortunately, I am not speaking out of my rump, but from experience working with "testo-heads" of all ages.

Why is that people feel that they can't gain size without the use of supplements or steroids? I can guarantee definite size gains by following a simple plan and an even simpler eating plan. It IS possible to achieve great results, you just have to be smart and disciplined...and if you don't want to be either than get the heck out of the gym because you're wasting time and depending on what you're taking you could be destroying your organs as well.

1. Casein Protein

Casein protein is a great way to heal your muscles and ensure the body has a steady supply of protein for a little while. Using casein protein powder is a good way to do this, protein like Muscle Milk is a good option if you like the shakes. I prefer the real thing...FOOD! Go with cottage cheese. Have a good 1/2 cup of cottage cheese before you go to be to ensure your body has something to burn while you sleep.

2. Big Breakfast

There's a reason it's called break-fast. You are taking a break from your fast over night. Think about it. If you don't put anything into your system for 6-8 hours that's a long time to be without food, especially if you're trying to build mass! Have some egg whites, oatmeal and a piece of fruit. Start the day full!

3. Low Reps Heavy Weight

This is a fairly easy thing to do. Who doesn't want to lift less and gain more! I don't think I need to go into too much detail. Really strain your muscles and stick to low reps around 4-6.

4. Lots of Water

If you're trying to put on solid mass, chances are you're eating alot of protein. You need to help your kidneys out by drinking plenty of water. If you're not, there's no telling what the condition of your kidneys will be in by the time you're 50-60 years old. One of my friends is a nutrionist and I asked her about this and was doing studies on rats and it showed those with a high protein in their diets and low fluid intake showed significant damage on their kidneys and in some cases they stopped working and had to put the rats down to avoid any pain. Very serious, so be sure to take in your water. Everyone has an opinion on water, some say drink when you're thirsty, others say it's too late if you're thirsty, some say drink 8 cups others say that's too much. What I've found that works well is I fill up a 1 litre jug of water and keep it with me everywhere I go. In meetings, to the gym, in the car, at home, etc. If it's there and I want a drink, I drink. I don't force it I just do it. At the end of the day I find I drink 2-3 bottles. Just make sure you have steady access to water.

5. Sleep

You're not going to grow if you don't sleep. Get between 6-8 hours of sleep in every night to ensure you're giving your body enough time to heal the damaged muscles and recharge the immune system. Don't assume that because you're young or that you nap during the day you can forgo this rule. Everyone needs to rest but especially those that are trying to build muscle.

Follow these 5 simple strategies and you will find yourself in a better position to get started on more advanced techniques to building mass.

As a marketing and communications expert Ryan was hired by the number one Small and Medium Employer in Canada1 and the third Best Workplace in Canada2, right behind Google! His methods are efficient and have worked in both the corporate world as well as the health and fitness industry. Advanced marketing is all about psychology and understanding what makes people do what they do. This understanding has led him to understand why people fail so often...but the answer is not obvious.

For the past 7 years Ryan has been coaching thousands of people on achieving their health related goals. In the process of helping his clients he experienced countless setbacks following workout routines and diets like Atkins, South Beach and Body For Life. After too many unsuccessful attempts he needed to find the gap in the health and fitness industry that was causing this consistent failure. Once he began learning advanced marketing strategies the connection was natural and has made a significant impact on his clients with little effort.

As an accomplished investor Ryan also teaches the importance of investing in the market and RESPs when he can.

Outside of marketing and health, Ryan is a passionate martial artist who has competed in a variety of competitions ranging from point tournaments to full contact bare knuckle Kyokushin competitions. He received his black belt in Shotokan Karate from one of the arts late founding fathers Hidetaka Nishiyama.

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Stop Being Skinny - Build Muscle With These Principles
By Shannon Clark

If you're currently skinny, build muscle mass is something you will want to focus on to completely change how you look to others. Often those who are not using the right techniques will fail with their programs and will find it takes months if not years to get the results they are looking for.

Fortunately, if you can approach your training with special techniques, you can get results in half the time.

Here are the main things you need to know to beat skinny, build muscle!

Change Your Workouts Often

One of the key factors to realizing success with your muscle building workout program is to chance your workouts up frequently.

If you are going to the gym and doing the same workout over and over again you're going to find that eventually progress comes to a stop. It's the constant changing of the workout over time that places a brand new stimulus on the muscles, causing them to respond and get stronger.

There are many things you can change with your workout if you want to beat skinny, build muscle such as the number of sets you're doing, the particular exercises you execute, as well as how much rest you use between sets.

Utilize Various Grips

The second thing to think about as you go about your training program is the grips you are using. Keep in mind there are underhand grips, overhand grips, wide grip, narrow grip, and so on. Altering this within your workout is one of the best ways to change things around and keep the muscles growing.

The simple act of moving from a regular grip to an underhand grip with a row will move the focus from predominately being on the back to a focus where more stress is placed on the biceps.

Eat One Hundred Grams Of Carbs Post-Workout

Finally, the last thing you must make sure you do in order to stop being skinny, build muscle quickly is to eat properly. If you don't supply your body with enough total calories to build new muscle tissue, you aren't going to get results.

The best time to supply these additional calories is immediately after the post-workout period since this is when they are most able to suck those calories up and use them for re-storage of muscle glycogen.

Therefore, don't hold back immediately after a workout. Aim to eat at least 100 grams of carbohydrates at this point (which translates to 400 calories worth) to maximize your muscle building results.

So keep these points in mind. You definitely can get the results you're looking for if you follow the correct training principles.

For more information and quick tricks to help you gain weight, please check out this article on skinny guy muscle building.

Please visit my website for more information on nutrition, workouts, and muscle building.

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