Simple and common exercises that affect the number of calories you can expect to use for massive muscle building

So, are these the best exercises? Well, that depends on what you want. Do you want mass or definition? Do you want width on thickness? Do you want overall mass? Do you want lower abs? Do you want upper chest?

For the back

Seated cable row
Front chin (pull-up)
Pulldown behind neck
Barbell row
Front pulldown
Narrow grip pulldown/-chin
Chin behind neck

For the chest

Dumbbell flye
Bench press
Incline bench press
Cable crossover
Parallel bar dip
[Cross bench] pullover
Dumbbell press

For the shoulders

Press behind neck
Dumbbell side lateral
Upright row
Cable side lateral (one hand)
Dumbbell press

For the abs

Roman chair sit-up
Bench/Incline leg raise
Crunch
Hanging leg raise
Incline sit-up
Cable crunch

Here is our hand picked list of best muscle building exercises:

Overall mass: Deadlift
Back width (upper lats): Front pull-up (weighted)
Back mass/thickness: Barbell row
Lower lats: Chin (narrow grip) (weighted)
Lat isolation: Stiff arm pulldown
Lower back: Back extension
Overall chest: Bench press
Upper chest: Incline press
Lower chest: Dip (weighted)
Shoulder mass: Press behind neck
Side delts: Dumbbell side lateral
Lower abs: Reverse (incline) crunch
Overall abs: Crunch (weighted)

Decide what vegetables to eat to get the most weight-muscle-gain benefit.

The best way to get your vitamins is from a healthy, balanced diet - which includes several servings of fruits and vegetables each day. You should strive to take in between 5-10 servings per day, and try to eat one serving or more with each meal. You can include berries in your oatmeal or cook vegetables in bulk. Salads, carrots, broccoli and apples are good choices.

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds; some lean meats, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products; and mono and polyunsaturated oils.

It is important to include green vegetables in your diet such as spinach or broccoli to ensure that you receive an adequate amount of vitamins. As well, green leafy vegetables are high in fiber which is essential for removing waste from the body.

Find out which drinks you should stay away from if you want to keep the muscle on your body.

Fruit juice, sodas,sports drinks and sweetened teas may be hurting your health. Drinks with added sugars contribute to increasing weight, which can lead to chronic disease. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, sugary drinks contribute to 36 percent of the calories that you get from added sugars. Sugar drinks do nothing to count toward your nutritional goals. Replacing sugary drinks with water or unsweetened versions can improve your health and your weight.

Sugary drinks do not offer much in the way of nutrition. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, sugar is most often added to drinks in order to increase the taste or even to prolong its shelf life. Many drinks that contain added sugar provide calories but do not provide an essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants or fiber -- they are what's known as empty calories.

Drinking Water to Build Muscle

Not getting enough water will stunt your muscle gains.

Your body is around 70% water; muscle tissue is around 75% water. It should therefore come as no surprise that you need to stay hydrated in order to build muscle.

Improved Effectiveness of Creatine Monohydrate. Supplementing with creatine means you need to stay hydrated. Creatine draws water into the muscle tissue, super-saturating or volumizing the muscle. This means you should compensate for this fact by consuming a little more water than average Joe to see maximum gains.

Discover the most important concepts for weight gain and keeping it on.

Hardgainers typically find it difficult getting enough calories to gain weight and build muscle. The secret to consuming enough calories is to choose calorie dense foods.

Fibrous carbohydrates and vegetables such as lettuce, asparagus, cucumber, and broccoli are very low calorie foods. This is because these vegetables are high in fiber and your body has a hard time absorbing the caloric content of fiber. These types of vegetables also have a high water content.

So now let’s look at some “calorie dense” foods which will help pack on the pounds. Leave the vegetables in the pantry if you want to gain weight, and replace them with simple carbohydrates such as fruits which have a higher calorie density. This is because simple carbs are more concentrated and they contain less fiber. 

Complex carbohydrates (starches) such as whole grains, pasta, cereals, beans, potatoes and rice also have higher calorie densities than fibrous carbs. A typical serving of pasta contains about 800-1000 calories. Pasta and other complex carbs are great foods for gaining weight.

Now that you know what carbs to eat, let’s talk about fat. There is a common misconception that all fats are bad for you and they should be removed from your diet. This is untrue, there are good and bad fats. Fats have a major impact on the calorie content of foods, so they are an important consideration. Just keep in mind that fat should consist of about 15-25% of your total calories. You want to be getting most of you calories from carbohydrates and protein.

In small amounts, unsaturated, “healthy” fats are not only good for you, but they can help you gain weight more quickly. Just one tablespoon of flaxseed oil and two tablespoons of peanut butter would add nearly 500 calories to your daily diet and you’d hardly notice that any extra food was added.

In addition, you can supplement your healthy diet with protein supplements. It is often difficult to eat enough protein each day from normal foods, so supplementing with a  weight gain suplement such as a soy or whey protein shake can help increase overall caloric intake. You want to make sure the weight gain supplement is a good mix of both protein and carbs and doesn’t contain too much sugar.

Healthy fat substitutes that help your muscle development

Healthy fat sources include nuts, egg yolks, flax seed, fatty fish such as salmon, olive and other plant-based oils (but only if not used in cooking). Animal and poultry fats are also ok in moderation.

Avoid processed fats such as found in most salad dressings and sweets. Also avoid cooking methods that use significant amounts of oils at high temperatures. Healthies ways of cooking vegetables, meats and fish are grilling, broiling, steaming, and others that do not require heating of oils.

Cook with olive oil or flax seed. Extra virgin olive oil is a healthy base for sauteing veggies or a simple salad dressing. Flax seed can be used as a fat substitute in baking recipes or mixed in with yogurt or oatmeal. It also is a source of protein, fiber, and even omega-3.

If eating out, consider Mexican food. Avocados provide healthy fats, and are quite filling. Guacamole adds tomatoes to the mix, which also provide lycopene. Red meat and black beans are a good protein option, but avoid white flour chips and tortillas. Dairy products provide many of the essential amino acids for muscle gain, but cheese also adds a significant amount of fat to your diet, so eat in moderation.