Bodybuilding is a sport that requires knowledge. To be able to build muscles quickly and efficiently, you need to read up on the recommendations and mistakes written by experienced bodybuilders. Before you start reading, you will need to understand the basic terms that are commonly used by these bodybuilders before you understand what is going on.

-Repetitions

Repetitions are a series of movements for any exercise. Example, one pull up would be considered one repetition.

-Sets

Sets are a series of repetitions. There is no standard repetition to a set. For example, 10 pull ups can be considered a set. Similarly, 10 pull ups can be considered as two sets. The difference between the two is that there is no rest between the 10 pull ups for the first case.

The number of repetitions you perform for a set or the number of sets you perform for a workout would depend on your goals for the workout. To gain strength and muscle mass, you should do less repetitions per set with heavier weights. For muscle defination and endurance, you should do more repetitions per set of exercise with lighter weights.

-Intensity levels

For bodybuilding, intensity levels depend on the number of repetitions, sets and rest times. High intensity workouts mean lifting of heavier weights for lower repetitions (strength and mass gain). Low intensity workouts are for gaining defination and muscle endurance. To gain muscle mass, you will have to perform high intensity workouts.

-Failure

Lifting till failure is one of the common seen mistakes in the gym. This refers to training till your muscles are sore and totally out of strength. Training till failure should be done only once in a week for advanced bodybuilders or individuals who only hit the gym once in a week. For those training more than twice in a week, do not train to failure as it will result in overtraining, which is counterproductive for muscle growth. Also, you should have a spotter with you if you intend to train till failure as you will be struggling for your last rep. A spotter will prevent you from injuring yourself in case you fail to complete the repetition.

-Warming up

Warming up for weightlifting and for aerobic training is different to an extent. Although stretching will still be required, you will need to perform two sets of warm up lifting before you start your exercise. For warm up, do two sets of light weights. Try 10-15 repetitions per set.

-Progressive training

Progressive training refers to increasing the intensity for your training, to prevent your body from adapting to your usual workouts. Our bodies can adapt to weightlifting. The weights that seemed heavy two weeks ago would be lifted effortlessly today. Hence, there is a need to increase the repetitions, sets or the number of exercises you perform per muscle group.