Above all, squatting is the best exercise for building muscle and gaining weight. Many guys hate doing squats. There are several reasons for this. Lets face it, squats can be difficult to do, they aren't an upper body workout, women don't typically care much about your legs, there's a lot of wrong information about them hurting your back or knees, etc. I'm sure you could come up with a few more reasons not to do squats. Having said all that, let me now tell you the reality of squatting. Squats that are done properly are great. They are not bad for your back or knees. Even though squats aren't considered an upper body exercise when you squat you have to use your core muscles, your arms and your back. As you increase the weight of your squats your upper body is forced to adapt to help support the weight. This means that squatting will cause these muscles to grow bigger and stronger. Squatting also causes your body to produce testosterone. This alone helps you build muscle substantially. If you've been trying to build muscle but haven't been squatting then you need to start right away. It's imperative that you use proper form. I suggest you start out very light. Focus first on technique and get those stabilizer muscles used to supporting a little weight. Once your form is perfect slowly add some weight. Continue to add weight consistently. Perform a couple warm up sets first then do 5 sets of 5-6 reps to start with. Make sure that you don't over do it right off the bat. Doing so can lead to injury or could cause you to be so sore that you won't be able to work out for 2 weeks. Proper form is absolutely key especially with an exercise like squats. If you feel knee pain or back pain chances are you are not doing them correctly. Make sure that as you squat your feet are slightly wider than shoulder width. Point your toes out just a little bit. Look straight ahead. Keep your back straight. Squat down to where your thighs are parallel to the floor (you can go a little deeper than this if you desire but go to parallel as a minimum). Keep your knees behind the tips of your toes then push up. Again, start out light. Don't let your ego get in the way. Focus first on technique and on building up the support muscles before you start going heavy. Make sure that you are squatting safely using proper equipment such as a squat cage with safety bars and safety clamps in place. If possible have someone spot you. Whether you're new to bodybuilding or are simply looking for new tips to get you past a plateau GainWeightQuick.com is an excellent resource. It has excellent information on learning how to gain weight by building muscle and strength.

Tags: body building