Want to learn how to build lean muscle? Building lean muscle is a crucial element to health and fitness.  Lean muscle helps to speed up metabolism which makes it easier to burn a greater number of calories and store less fat, while at the same time, lean muscle also provides you with the ability to do more exercises which will help you continue to get healthier.

Building lean muscles requires the proper combination of both diet and exercise, since one won’t be beneficial without the other

Diet
When attempting to build lean muscles the biggest mistake that you could make is to dramatically cut back on what you are eating.  To build muscle, as your body requires energy.  Energy which you get from your diet.  Cutting back will cause your body to start consuming the lean muscle that you already have and will slow your metabolism to a crawl and make it harder to lose weight.

To build lean muscles, your diet should follow a specific set of guidelines.  The foods you eat will help you shape and build your body in the correct way.  You need to increase the amount of calories you intake slowly and always remember that your body needs at least a couple hundred extra calories to build muscle.  So, if you should be consuming 1500 a day you should add an extra 300 to 500 calories per day in order to reach your goal.

Your diet should also include muscle building foods.  Meaning that building lean muscle requires a healthy source of lean protein.  Keeping in mind that your diet should be no more than 20% protein and that the protein should always come from low-fat sources.  Fish and poultry are good sources of low fat protein which you need when building lean muscle.

It is important to remember that you can get all the protein you need from your diet, and all protein bars and shakes will do is overload your body with protein.

Avoiding simple sugars is key and eating a diet that never exceeds 70% carbohydrates.  Theses carbohydrates should be complex like those found in whole wheat items, vegetables and other sources that are high in fiber.

Healthy fats like olive oil and omega 3 fatty acids should compose the final 10-15% of your diet.

Maintaining a healthy diet and keeping theses facts in mind are the first step to properly building lean muscle.

Exercise
Proper diet is the first step, but it isn’t the only step when attempting to build lean muscles.  A proper workout routine is another important step.  People often assume that the best way to add muscle is through weight lifting, but this isn’t true.  Aerobic exercise which will improve the function of your heart in lungs should be combined with some weight training.

During the weight training, if you want to build lean muscle mass, it is important to avoid exercises that isolate one area, such as the biceps of pectorals.  What you need to do instead is focus on activities that require the use of multiple joints.  Chin ups, squats and bench presses are a few examples of common training exercises.

When attempting to build lean muscles remember not to push yourself too hard, and know your limits.  Pushing yourself too hard could lead to an injury that could set back your efforts.  Aim for about 20 repetitions of each exercises a couple of times a week so that your body has the opportunity to heal afterwards.  Without healing time the risk of injury is greatly increased.

Changing up the amount of reps as well as the speed with which you do the reps will also help you build lean muscles.  As you get comfortable with your program, and as you begin to add muscle, make sure that you increase the weight, because a muscle will not grow unless you force it to grow which you can do by lifting heavier weight over time.

If you’re looking for supplements to aide in your efforts to build lean muscle mass, look for supplements designed to boost metabolism and avoid those meant to pack increase your protein intake.