Bodybuilding is split into pretty much three main categories, nutrition, training and supplements. They fit together like this, in my personal opinion: 60% Nutrition, 20% Training and 20% Supplements. I'm going to lay out my set of key guidelines to follow in the same order.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the single most important part of bodybuilding. If your diet is not balanced and varied, then you will not grow, and you can lose muscle. In order to grow you must have a good balance of nutrients. The main muscle building nutrients are protein, carbohydrates and certain fats. Protein is the building block of muscle tissue, so you must eat it in the masses, being careful not to eat too much, as it will pass through you and can damage your kidneys. Next, you must also have a good balance of both simple and complex carbohydrates, as well as fiber. I don't have to worry about fats too much with my metabolism, but you're going to want to keep as low as possible on the saturated fats, but the unsaturated fats are the ones that will help you build muscle.
From here on things get pretty complicated, but I will try my best to explain this as simply as possible. When trying to gain weight you must consume more calories then you burn throughout the course of your day. I'm going to lay out my basic guidelines for massive weight gain here:
Calories - your body weight in pounds multiplied by 40
Protein - your body weight in pounds multiplied by 1.5
Carbohydrates - I don't worry about these too much in a bulking phase, just eat simple carbs before you workout so you have energy, then eat both with a lot of protein after your workout.
Fat - like I said before I don't have to worry about this with my metabolism, just try to eat as little saturated fat as possible.
Sleep - try to get at least 9 hours of sleep a night, remember you grow when you sleep, not when you're in the weight room.
Training
As for training, I have developed a very good program which will work for anyone, no matter how long you've been bodybuilding. It's a simple program, and it will add pounds on you. My program was derived from the "Positions of Flexion" concept, which uses three lifts for each body part: a compound synergistic movement, followed by a stretching movement, immediately followed by an isolation movement. For example, the biceps routine would look like this: 3 sets of barbell curls, 3 sets of incline curls and 3 sets of concentration curls. As you can see, this is probably one of the least complicated, effective programs around. Here's what it looks like:
The Split
Monday - Chest, Triceps
Tuesday - Quadriceps, Calves
Wednesday - Back, Biceps
Thursday - Hamstrings, Calves
Friday - Deltoids, Trapezius, Latissimus Dorsi
The Routines
Monday
Bench Press - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Chest Flyes - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Butterflies (Pec Decks) - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Dips - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Push-downs - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Tuesday
Squats - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Leg Extensions - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Leg Press - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Standing Calve Raises - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Leg Press Calve Raises - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Seated Calve Raises - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Wednesday
Deadlifts - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Close Grip Pull-downs - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Seated Rows - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Hyperextensions - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Barbell Curl - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Incline Curl - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Concentration Curl - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Thursday
Squat - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Leg Curl - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Lunges - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Standing Calve Raises - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Leg Press Calve Raises - 3 sets @ 12, 10, 8
Seated Calf Raises - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Friday
Military Press - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Side Lateral Raises - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Front Lateral Raises - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Dumbbell Shrugs - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Barbell Rows - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Pull-downs - 3 sets @ 10, 8, 6
Wide-Grip Chin-ups - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
Pull-overs - 3 sets @ 8, 6, 4
In order to keep it fresh and not let your body adapt to it, every four weeks you should alternate the workout like this: First Four Weeks - Do the routine written above Second Four Weeks - Do negatives on the compound movements Third Four Weeks - Do the routine written above in reverse order Fourth Four Weeks - Switch to this routine, keeping movements, sets and reps the same:
- Monday - Chest, Calves
- Tuesday - Quadriceps, Biceps
- Wednesday - Back, Calves
- Thursday - Hamstrings, Triceps
- Friday - Cardiovascular, Abdominals
- First Week - Flat
- Second Week - Incline
- Third Week - Decline
- Fourth Week - Flat
- Repeat for each set of four weeks
Supplements are an important part of bodybuilding, and can help you increase your gains dramatically. Nearly every bodybuilder, weightlifter and powerlifter uses them, all though, I am not a strong advocate of them. I only use protein powder, homeade weight gain shakes, and protein bars. I do believe with all my heart that supplements are a good way to help you with bodybuilding, but I just figure that they're too expensive for me, and won't help me personally enough to spend my money on. I know they work, I have seen them work in other people, but I just don't think it's worth it for me personally. It's up to you whether or not you want to use them. If you do there are plenty of articles out there to help you get started, and I strongly suggest you do some research on your own before using any of them. A few that I have known to work are protein powders and bars, high calorie shakes, creatine (although it only works for 70% of its consumers), and glutamine. Well, this should get you started, if you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Oh, I also am not a strong advocate of weight gain shakes that you purchase, although they are well made, but if you look at it, a quart of milk has over 2,000 calories, and 64 grams of protein, depending on what kind you use, along with a lot of other nutrients. I find it much easier and cheaper to just go and buy a few quarts of milk and drink one each night before I go to bed.