Who should you listen to about weightlifting?

Chances are you've spent some time talking with your friends in the gym. Each person probably has his own advice about weightlifting or muscle building. Even though it can be fun to exchange ideas like this, should you really listen to your buddies when it comes to muscle building?

That has much to do with how knowledgeable your friends are. Some will have much more experience and really know what they're talking about. Others, however, just do whatever they hear through the grapevine and seemed to jump from one technique to another. It's very important to gain some real knowledge in this area and avoid the mistakes that many trainees make in the gym.

For example, many beginners try to spend all of their time in the gym and think this extra effort will pay off big time. If they don't see any muscle gain immediately, they are tempted to increase their workouts even more. They may decide to lift more weights during each session or to increase the frequency and spend more and more time in the gym. They seem to think that the more they work out the better the chances of success. Of course, this line of thinking is definitely flawed because it ignores one of the major components of muscle growth. Always remember that lifting heavy weights breaks down your muscle fibers and causes your body to grow new muscle. The body will respond and build a bigger, stronger muscle, but only if it has had enough rest between workouts. In fact, many bodybuilding experts recommend just two or three hours of training each week! In some cases, you can improve your results by simply working out less and getting more sleep.

So how do you know if the advice you hear is worthwhile or not? Well, one obvious thing to keep in mind is what kind of results the person has experienced. Though it may seem obvious, we often ignore someone's experience and just listen to advice because of friendship. They don't necessarily have the results to prove their knowledge, in which case we should look elsewhere for advice on muscle building. The best thing you can do is find a real mentor who has overcome his skinny genes and gained a large amount of muscle naturally. Your goal should be not to copy everyone else but to achieve the best results you possibly can.