Best Way to Build Muscle

Want to know the best way to build muscle?  I'll give you a few tips:

Commitment:
First and foremost, you have to be completely committed to changing your body.  You don't have to spend five or six days a week in the gym (more on that later).  But you do have to commit to spending enough time there to train the muscles with sufficient intensity to stimulate growth.  

Training:
This is where a lot of people get confused.  A genetically typical, natural trainee (in other words, an average guy/girl who is not using steroids) should not train like a professional bodybuilder--this is not the best way to build muscle for you.   Professional bodybuilders usually "split" their routines into 6 days a week, working one or two muscle groups per workout.  But the rest of us need a different strategy.

A muscle group can usually be trained about twice a week, so it makes sense to design your training with this in mind.   You want to train a muscle enough to stimulate growth, rest, then train it again as soon as possible--this is the best way to build muscle for a natural trainee.  Training with big, compound movements (bench press, squat, deadlift), and going to the gym 3-4 days a week will get the results you are looking for.  This also makes more sense for those of us who don't live in the gym (I never have liked the idea of spending 6 days a week in the gym--I have other stuff to do).

Nutrition/Supplementation:
You'll need to make two dietary adaptations to build muscle: 1. A positive calorie balance (over 16 calories per lb of body weight daily--maybe more) 2. Consume about .75 grams of protein per lb of body weight every day (some recommend much higher levels than this, but I believe you'll do just fine at this level).  Protein shakes can help you reach this goal, but most of your protein should be coming from "real food."  You may also want to try creatine monohydrate and a generic multivitamin, but most of the other supplements out there are a complete waste of money.

I believe buying a well designed training program is a good investment.  I'd recommend Vince Delmonte's No Nonsense Muscle Building if you are interested in a detailed, step-by-step guide for building muscle.