So there are a few core principles you need to follow if you’re looking to add muscle mass through your weight training program.  You might have heard the phrase;

“Muscle is built in the kitchen, not in the gym”…

…and it’s largely true.  In my estimation, the number one factor holding people back from reaching their desired size and bodyfat percentage is their nutrition.

 Outside of some horrendous mistakes in the weights room that you should avoid, I’d even go so far as to say that you could train pretty much however you like, as long as you were working your whole body with free weights, and you could achieve the body you wanted with enough focus on proper nutrition.

Your Weight Lifting Nutrition Basics

Before we get into the specifics, let’s start with the basics – you don’t grow without eating.  At the most fundamental level, you need to be consuming more calories than you’re expending during the day to consistently add weight.  And enough of that needs to be protein to ensure that the weight you’re adding is actually muscle.

There is a lot more to it, but the basics of good weight lifting nutrition can be roughly summed up like this:

-Eat a caloric surplus.  That is, take in more than you expend.  Unless you meticulously measure your intake, the easiest way to do this is to up your calories periodically, until you start gaining weight.  Add in 200 calories a day, weight a few days, then add in 200 more.  When you start seeing your weight move up a lb or two per week, keep your intake at that level.

-Eat smaller portions, more frequently– 5-6 times per day.  This is optimal for a fast metabolism with a high turnover, which is what you need if you’re going to be adding muscle mass and burning fat tissue.

-Eat protein with every meal – 20-40grams.  Another good rule of thumb is to never be without protein for 3 hours (Aside from when you sleep)

-Stop eating carbs in the evening – ideally before 6pm.  Eat protein and fruit/veg/water for your evening meals aftwards.

-Eat some protein before bed.  It doesn’t have to be much, but if you can get in some slow-digesting protein before bed, that’s ideal.  Cottage cheese, egg whites (say 4 scrambled with a couple of yokes) or casein whey are all great choices.

…And that’s all I have to say on weight lifting nutrition –  but nowhere near all that could be said.  It’s worth doing some of your own research on the topic.

Making the decision to begin weight lifting is an exciting experience. Maybe you walk in the gym and see some huge ripped dudes hauling hefty barbells weighing hundreds of pounds, and it inspires and motivates you. It certain did for me – the first time I stepped into my weights room at college, I remember a surge of exhilaration and thinking “yep… this is for me”.

However, the sheer volume of information and advice for a beginner can be quite overwhelming. Without even browsing the internet or a book store, you could ask five different guys in the weights room for their opinions on the best way to train – and you’d get five different answers. Hell you could probably ask them each how to do the bench press, and you’d get five different replies.

Weight lifting is like business – there’s no one clear method that is superior to all the others. There are many routes to success.

Having said that, there are some basic principles that should be common to every weight lifting program for beginners. Here are the two most important. Beyond these two, you want to design a program based on your goals – get clear on whether you’re aiming for strength and size, what results you want to see in two months time, and consult a personal trainer to put together the specifics.

Here’s the two most important points to keep in mind for weight lifting programs for beginners.

Utilise compound exercises

These are exercises that involve multiple joints and muscles. Think the bench press, squat and deadlift. Compound exercises have been proven in multiple studies to stimulate the most muscle growth and build maximum amounts of raw strength. They also have the best carryover to sporting performance and strength for general fitness.

Don’t Overtrain

The most common mistake made by newbies is overtraining – either training any one muscle group too many times per week, or pushing out too many reps in a set, beyond the point where your muscles are sufficiently fatigued.

Training too frequently will stagnate your gains – you wont grow, and you might even find yourself getting weaker. Depending on your goals – strength or size - train each muscle group 1-2 times per week (for size) or 2-3 times per week (for strength) - no more.

The same applies to how hard you push each set – a good rule of thumb is to keep a couple of reps “in the tank”. If you’re pushing each set to utmost physical exhaustion, you’ll burn out quickly. Don’t believe me? Try it for a few weeks and watch your gains stall out.

These are the two most important principles to keep in mind for a weight lifting program for beginners. Beyond that, a personal trainer should be able to help you put together a solid routine based on compound exercises.

When looking at online weight lifting programs there are a few things you need to consider. Before you part with your hard-earned cash, you need to know that the program you’re looking at is the real deal and delivers the results.

With any training program, you get out what you put in. Its your efforts in the gym and with your diet that reap the rewards – your own consistency is the biggest factor in reaching the level of fitness you’re after. Having said that, not all online weight lifting programs are born equal.

Let’s look at some things you need to take into consideration before you dive in and sign up for an online weight lifting program:

Who runs it? And what qualifies them as an authority?

Is the online weight lifting program some anonymous “system”, with a lot of faceless sales hype? If so, avoid. You should be looking for something provided by someone with a real, proven reputation in the field. I personally put my trust in people like Stuart McRobert who’s coached hundreds of athletes with his strength building techniques, or Vince DelMonte, who walks his talk and has sculpted his body from a scrawny 140lbs to a competition-winning physique. These are the people I’ll listen to, and the people who’s products I’ll be most likely to purchase.

What results are other people getting with it?

The first thing to look for with any information product is the results other people are getting with it. What are people saying in the forums? Check out workout journals and logs at bodybuilding.com, t-nation.com and anabolicminds.com for some large communities with a good number of experienced members. In fact, these places are probably the best resources for finding out if an online weight lifting program is worth purchasing.

What’s the consensus on the forums? Find out if people are actually following the online weight lifting program and getting results with it. Also, lots of testimonials on the sales page is a good sign.

Is there a money-back guarantee?

Any fitness program worth it’s salt comes with a money back guarantee. Look for something with at LEAST an 8 week money back guarantee. If the product is solid, publishers have no qualms putting a long guarantee on their product. Shorter money-back guarantees are usually a sign of a poor product or fly-by-night publisher. Avoid.