Proper diet and weight training exercises are the key components to achieving fast and consistent gains in muscle mass. Any lack of results you may be experiencing are due to either improper diet or the wrong set of exercises in the wrong order.

Once you learn these 5 principles, there will be no reason why you can't put on an extra pound of muscle each week.

1. Eat More Protein

Your muscles will grow larger as a result of the amount of protein you store. The thing is, your body is rapidly draining the protein it stores for other uses and this leaves less protein available for building muscle. This is why you have to build and store new protein faster than your body breaks down the old protein.

2. Eat More

Eat about 1 gram of protein per body weight each day. So if you weight 170 pounds you should consume about 170 grams of protein a day. You also have to increase your calorie intake. Consume an extra 500 more calories than you normally would each day. If you don't gain any weight after about 2 weeks then you have to increase your calories by another 500 a day.

3. Bigger Muscle Groups are The Focus

You will see the most muscle gains the fastest if you place the majority of your focus on the largest muscle groups and do the exercises in 2 to 3 sets of about 8 to 12 reps each, with only a short resting period in between each. Common exercises that target mainly the largest muscle groups are of course squats, dips, bench presses and pull ups. This will maximize your weight gain potential.

4. Rest A Day After Each Training

Each workout should be followed by an entire day of rest to allow the muscles to heal, which is when the actual new muscle growth occurs.

5. Carbs After Workout

Feeding your body carbohydrates on the days your body is resting will slow down the rate your body breaks down protein. Add carbohydrates like bananas or peanut butter to your diet.