So you've been working out for a while, but you haven't seen any results? Or maybe you've never lifted weights before, but you want to get the best results? Do yourself a favor and read the whole article.

Our primary focus will be increasing muscle volume. This means you'll need to do reps of 8~12. Common mistakes include focusing on doing reps of below 4, which focuses on strength training and doing reps above 14, which focuses on endurance. Complete at least 3 sets per exercise. The 4th set can be an extra to give your muscles an extra boost. Work your larger muscles hard, then isolate out the smaller muscles. You won't want a disproportionate body (large arms, no chest is common).

When you tear your muscles, your muscles get bigger during the healing process. Breathe hard. In the end, you should always reach the point where you want to give up. In the end, you must always grind out 1~3 more reps. This is what makes your muscles go past the plateau and actually gain size. Even if you have to take 3 deep breathes between each rep, do it!

If you can lift the weight more than 12 reps, move up a notch. Repeat the process.

Exercising isn't much of a rocket science, and chances are you probably knew that last paragraph. Let's move on to working your core and legs.

If you want to get ripped - wide pecs and lats, boulders for shoulders, and nice cut arms - you also need to work out your core and legs. If you don't, you're limiting yourself.

I don't consider doing crunches and sit ups as a core exercise. Core exercise is more like doing dead lifts and squats. Your core is the foundation of your body's muscles - the stronger you core, the stronger your other muscles become because all your muscles are connected.

Your core exercises - the dead lift and squat - should be compound exercises; isolating your upper body (after the compound ones) will give you that ripped look but compound exercises will give you strength as well as volume and that is what you're striving for. Your core will support all your other muscles for further growth.

Your core and legs limit how strong and big your upper body can get. This is why it is important to work your core and legs - by doing compound exercises, you are allowing your entire body frame to grow bigger, and thus gain more upper body muscle.

Now that we've covered the work out portion of gaining muscle, let's talk about the nutrition portion.

Proper nutrition is the foundation for good health. But we won't be focusing too much on nutrition - so let me briefly list some conclusions:

1. Watch out for eating too much simple carbs like high fructose corn syrup. Too much causes an insulin spike and a subsequent insulin crash that, in a nutshell, promotes fat storage.

3. Your protein supply in your blood stream depletes every 3 hours, so it's important to have a meal - a complex carb and protein - every 3~4 hours.

3. Avoid saturated/trans fats but get your supply of essential fats. I personally like natural peanut butter with Silk's soy milk; they've got the protein and the essential fatty acids.

4. Avoid ice cream; it's got both simple carbs and saturated fats. It's a recipe for becoming fat.

5. Increase your calorie intake by approximately 20% but eat your food in smaller more frequent meals every 3~4 hours.

6. By calorie, make your meal around 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fats.

Here's a brief summary of what we've covered: rep 8~12 for volume gain, use compound core exercises to increase your frame limit, and get your protein and complex carb in smaller more frequent meals.