1. Calorie surplus. Ensure that your calorie intake is greater than your calorie burn. If you want to build muscle, you must consume more calories than you burn. A guideline for daily calorie intake is 17-20X your bodyweight in pounds.

2. Eat smart. Eat the right types of calories from the proper food sources. You will be working hard, and your body needs good quality fuel during and between workouts. Focus on high quality protein, high fiber, low glycemic carbohydrates, & healthy, unsaturated fats. These foods should be the majority of your diet, and be spread over the course of about 5-7 small meals daily.

3. Drink plenty of water. A rough guide as to how much is to multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 0.6 to get the number of ounces you need each day. Water can prevent injury, increase strength & performance, supports fat burning, and is required for every process in your body, so make sure you have enough.

4. Keep a detailed record of every workout. Progression is the key to gaining size, and can be achieved in two ways: a) increase the amount of weight used for a specific exercise, or b) increase the number of reps performed with a certain weight for a specific exercise.

5. Train as hard as you safely can. Maximum growth in the minimum time means training to failure--until you can't do any more reps with the proper form.

6. Avoid overtraining. For big muscle groups 5-7 sets; for small ones, 2-4 sets per workout (not per exercise) is enough. Limit your workouts to 1 hour. Train each muscle group directly once a week. You will be training hard, and your muscles need sufficient time to recover and grow bigger and stronger between sessions.

7. Supplement in moderation. Supplements are helpful, but they are not the key to success. All you need is protein of some sort (whey protein, meal replacements, weight gainers and the occasional protein bar), creatine, glutamine, multivitamins, and essential fatty acids. Save your money on the rest.

8. Consistently apply the above. Now you know what to do, just do it!

Do you want to build muscle quickly and have a "ripped, powerful body? Lee Campbell's blog http://mgtruth.blogspot.com has lots more tips, advice and articles.