When you first decide to begin a weight gaining program, the first things that you think about are probably the workout routines, the supplements, and your nutrition plan. However, before you get too involved in the details of gaining weight and building lean muscle mass, you should take some time to identify your motivation and set some goals for yourself. Obviously, you're going to need a lot of knowledge to succeed in this new endeavor, and that knowledge will focus around what to eat, what supplements to take, and what kind of workout program you should follow. Despite the need for such knowledge, you may be setting yourself up for failure if you don't stop and think about what it is you're trying to achieve. That's because lack of knowledge is only one cause of failure in weight gain and in every kind of new endeavor. A major cause of failure is the lack of planning and unclear motivation.

Before you race off to the gym or fill your pantry with high calorie foods and protein drinks, you need to ask yourself what exactly it is you are trying to accomplish. Do you know exactly how many pounds you would like to gain? Perhaps you should ask your doctor how much weight you can gain and how quickly you can do so without harming your health. Based on this advice, you can then set a timetable for achieving your goal. Divide your goal into more manageable pieces and tackle them one by one. Remember the old adage - inch by inch.

Knowing what you want to accomplish before you start your weight gain program is very important for your success. You can visualize what you will look like at the end of your program and how long it'll take to get there. Proper motivation is the other key to success. There always comes a time in your journey when you begin to doubt your plans, and this is when your initial soul searching will help you get through these tough times. Goal setting is an important part of the equation, but understanding your motivation will make it easier to achieve your goals.

When this happens, you must return to the original reason that you wanted to gain muscle. Did you want to look more attractive? Do you want to be more physically fit so you could participate in sports? This is where you have to decide for yourself what exactly your motivation is. By the way, intrinsic motivation is far superior to extrinsic motivation. What does this mean? It means that the goal has to be your own, and you must know exactly why you want to accomplish it. It will be much more difficult to achieve your goal if it was not really your desire to begin with. If you keep these things in mind, you are well on your way to muscle gain success.