If you’ve picked up a set of weights in the past you probably have wanted to know the best way to build lean muscle mass. You’ve wanted to know how you can turn the fat you have into lean muscle mass that is ripped and chiseled.

You want to do it without over-training or seriously injuring yourself and in a way so that you can see results in just a few weeks of training.  You first need to train hard—enough so you feel worn out after the training exercise but not so much that you suffer from feeling bad the next day.  You should feel that you’ve learned the best way to build lean muscle mass without getting injured.  An injury can really set you back and can make it difficult for you to continue training.

It starts with a progressive work out.

This is the best way to build lean muscle mass.  Start with lower weights and a good amount of reps so that you can get the work out without killing your muscles.   Gradually increase the amount of weights that you use until you are using remarkably high weights when considering the amount of weight sizes you used in the beginning.  If you are genetically gifted with strong muscles from the beginning, you can start with a higher load than if your muscles are skinny in the beginning.

Even those who have skinny muscles in the beginning will learn the best way to build lean muscle mass by gradually increasing their weights, keeping the number of reps high from the beginning.   Get enough rest every day so that you can rest your muscles between sets and so you won’t over-train yourself.

Let’s see what happens if you over-train in an effort to learn the best way to build lean muscle.  You can suffer from weight loss due to your body chewing up its other muscle tissue and other tissues.  You can have a poor appetite, a higher resting heart rate and a higher than normal blood pressure.  You can sleep poorly at night and can suffer from a high metabolic rate.  You can be fatigued and irritable at the same time.

You can learn how to build lean muscle mass fast and not over-train if you follow some basic principles: Get a lot of protein in your diet so the protein can go to form lean muscle mass from dietary protein.  Work out at least five days a week doing sets of weight lifting and targeting the muscles you want to have be lean and mean.  Finally, you need to reduce the amount of body fat in your body to make your muscles be more defined.  You can do this through lowering the fat in your diet and by working out, losing body fat as you continue your work out process.

If, instead, you over-train, you can negatively impact your testosterone levels, lower your thyroid hormone levels, and increase cortisol levels. The combination of high cortisol levels and low testosterone levels can lead you to actually break down protein and no matter how much you want to learn how to build muscle mass, you’ll be headed in the wrong direction.

Keep your rest and recovery up there so that you get seven hours of sleep per night and can easily do the previous day’s workout without difficulty.  If you gradually progress in your weights you will know how to build muscle mass and will get there in no time.