In this day and age of professional athletes constantly getting caught using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, it can be quite confusing for the average person. Anybody that has a muscular physique gets seen as a drug user. It's gotten to the point where many people believe that you can't build muscle size naturally. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

It can be tough for young weight trainers to see that the majority of professional bodybuilders are doing steroids, HGH, and other various muscle building drugs. A lot of average Joes are even doing these things to build a more muscular physique. However, it's so much better for your health if you try building muscle size naturally. You'll also never have to worry about the massive drop in your testosterone levels from having to quit steroids if you never start taking them in the first place.

One of the biggest keys to building muscle mass naturally is to not overdo it when it comes to weight training. Anytime you see a professional bodybuilding routine in a book or magazine, you have to realize that it's most likely a steriod users routine. These drugs help people recover faster from intense weight training workouts, so the routines in the magazines may include up to 30 sets or more for each muscle group. This is way too much for anybody who wants to succeed at building muscle size naturally. You've probably seen people at the gym who do set after set of every exercise and work out for 2 or more hours per session, yet never get any bigger or stronger. You gain muscle size when the muscles rebuild after being broken down from weight training. You muscles adapt to the resistance put on them. If your body never gets a chance to recover properly because you're doing to many sets and exercises during each workout, you won't gain muscle size or strength.

Along the same lines, if you want to build muscle size naturally you need to take days off of lifting altogether. If you weight train 6 or 7 days a week, you won't be giving your muscles the recovery time they need to grow.

Taking both of these factors into account, to succeed at building muscle size naturally you should do no more than 10 to 12 sets per muscle group. If you train with high intensity during every set, you may even want to do less. Whatever the case, you also don't want your weight training workout to last more than one hour, with 45 minutes or less being even better. If you work hard, you won't need more time.

Weight training 4 times a week should be enough for you to build muscle size naturally. If you follow a 3 way split routine you'll train each muscle once every 5 to 7 days. With a limited amount of sets, this should be enough time for your body to recover and your muscles to grow. Of course everybody's different, so you need to experiment to see what works best for you.

Your diet also plays a role in building muscle size naturally. No matter what your body type is, you'll want to get plenty of protein in your diet. Lean red meat, chicken, fish, and egg whites are all excellent sources of protein. If you don't think you get enough protein from food, you can buy some protein supplements.

Outside of protein powder and maybe creatine, you don't need to go crazy with supplements to build muscle size naturally. Most of the ads for supplements you see in bodybuilding magazines are exaggerated. Save your money for the new wardrobe you'll need after building muscle mass naturally.