People in the gym and people I've trained come to me with questions about how to get bigger and they have their heads chock full of stuff that's just misinformation. There are many correct ways to build muscle, but also many wrong ways. In this article, I'm going to give you the principles that will allow you to build muscle properly and consistently. 1. Progressive Overload Your body is an amazing piece of work and so are your muscles. They will adapt to just about whatever condition you put them in. So you must overload your muscles to build them. They will adapt by getting stronger and bigger. Making gains week after week means you must continue to increase the load on your muscles in various ways. You can do this by adding more reps, decreasing rest, increasing weights, etc. 2. Progressive Variation This doesn't mean "muscle confusion". You build neural pathways to your muscles that allow you to perform a movement more efficiently. The more you do it, the better you get at it. So doing the same exercise week in and week out for the same muscle will increase you ability to do that exercise, but not your growth. What happened was that your body figured out a very efficient way of firing neural signals to your muscles to complete that motion. So efficient in fact, that it doesn't require you to grow anymore. 3. Rest Most people don't sleep enough, or get enough rest and thus they overtrain. When it comes to building muscle, less work is better. Muscle isn't built in the gym. It's built when you sleep and the next day when your body repairs itself through the release of hormones. To build muscle properly, you must get 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. This is for your muscles, nervous system, and hormonal system to recover. 4. Nutrition You need the right amount of carbs, proteins, and right kinds of fats. Your calorie requirements will depend on your weight, level of activity, body fat, and age mainly. So it'll be about different for everyone. Find out how many calories you need a day to build muscle and consume that amount each day by eating the right foods. Implement these strategies for consistent muscle growth in your routine. Learn more about how to build muscle. Stop by Mitch Graves 's site where you can find out all about muscle building programs and how to completely transform your body.