Recently I got into bodybuilding so I went out and got portein and creatine supplements and a weight set. What I need to know is when and how much of the supplements I should take, how much I should work out, A good work out routine, and how I can gain weight with lean muscles not fat?

1. I don't think you need supplements. I think you should just eat healthy - mix of lean meat, vegetables and fruits. Body building requires a lot of energy.

   The biggest thing to avoid is working out too much. 3 heavy days a week is good. You can do light aerobic for the other 3, plus 1 day off. Muscle mass is created on your days off when your body is recovering from your workout.

   You'll want to do short sets, 8-12 reps, with heavy weights. About 1 set to start out with, progressing up to 2-3 sets. Free weights are better than machines, but you must have a spotter with free weights unless you use dumbbells. You also want to avoid straining yourself, especially in the beginning. If there's pain in your muscles after the workout, you went too far. That's bad. Skip a few weight training workouts until you're back to normal.

   You also want to rotate the body parts you work on. Being built on top with tooth-pick legs is definately not a good look. Some people hate working on the legs, but you should strive to work on every muscle. For example, work on lower body on Mondays, upper body on Wednesdays, mixed on Fridays.

   One last thing. Building muscle takes time. You won't get it naturally in 3 months. It can take 12 months to see a noticeable difference.

Tags: body building pic, body building magazine, body building gallery