Developing Muscle
There are a few laws of developing muscle that you must abide by, assuming of course your goal is to build it! These laws, rules, guidelines or whatever you want to call them apply to both diet and exercise. If you neglect one of them, your efforts of building muscle will be hindered significantly. For the sake of organization, I will split the next sections into two by training (the exercise aspect) and diet.
Training
Resistance training is what it's all about when your goal is to pack on muscle mass. Freeweights are the best method of resistance training, while machine resistance falls in number two. The reason freeweights (dumbbells and barbells) are a better form is because they don't restrict your range of motion along an unnatural path like machines tend to do. Therefore if you train primarily with machines, your stabilizer muscles won't get worked. If you're a woman though and you wish to simply tone, there isn't that much of a significant difference. In order to force your muscles to grow, you have to apply a foreign amount of stress upon them. There are many exercises you can do, and it pays to have a solid workout routine. Hitting the gym around 4 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes will do your body a world of wonders and is all most people need to develop muscle mass.
Dieting
You need to be sure you're consuming enough calories and protein particularly in order to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to rebuild muscle tissue after resistance training. Your diet compliments your workout as your workout breaks down muscle fiber which must be repaired by the aid of nutrition, protein being the main macronutrient. You also need to consume enough carbohydrates to give your body fuel before working out. Consuming adequate amounts of protein post-workout will ensure that you are providing your body with the necessary building blocks.
If you are just beginning or are considering beginning the journey to developing muscle, then be glad to know that there is something called the law of disuse. The law of disuse states that when an inactive person (disuse) begins exercising (resistance training specifically) frequently, their body has no other choice but to change, and change for the better. Within the first year of working out routinely, you will notice great results. However after awhile, when your body adjusts to the amount of stress you place on it, it begins to plateau. At this stage, you must introduce new forms of training. The whole idea is to make the body experience new stimulus.
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