Most people who go to the gym are completely lost by the science and jargon which often surrounds training and diet. In fact, we lose count of the number of times people ask us how to build muscle on a daily basis. As fitness instructors this is probably our second most popular query behind only how to lose weight and keep it off. We get to see just how many people out there are struggling to get results.

These steps are all tried, tested and proven.

If you have been training consistently but not seeing any results or if you have never picked up a weight in your life but would like to try, the two proven points below will help you get your progress on the right track.

* Sort out your diet

* Supplements are useful but not essential

By laying down the solid foundations of your nutrition and diet you will put yourself ahead of about 90% of the members at your local gym. The sad truth is most people pay no attention to their diet and have no structure to what the do, they just turn up at the gym, do their workout and hope for the best.

Building muscle size and definition isn't just about eating a ton of extra calories per day. Where you get those calories from plays a huge part in how your body will look and what type of size you add. By making a couple of simple changes to your diet you can enhance your results massively.

There are several ways to diet, many of which are proven to work. Today we focus on one of the most popular ways, the 3-5-2 diet. To do this, simply multiply your goal body weight in pounds by 15. So a 180 pound man would require 2700 calories per day in total.

The 3-5-2 system gets it's name because it means 30% protein, 50% carbohydrates and 20% fats. It's good knowing what total calorie target to aim for, but it's even better knowing exactly how many grams of each macro nutrient to look for.

Multiply your 2700 calories by 30% and you will see how many of your daily calories come from protein. In this case it's 810. To work out carbs and fat simply do the same equation with the relevant percentages.

To convert these calories into grams, so you know exactly how much food to eat, take your 810 calories and divide it by four. This tells you that you need 202 grams of protein per day in total. For carbs take your calories and divide by four, and for fats take your calories and divide by nine.

When it comes to bodybuilding supplements there is a massive gulf between manufacturers and customers. Many supplements survive purely on the confusion and doubt surrounding what they actually do. Too many people put far too much importance on their range of supplements but the truth is they need to be viewed as an extra, not as the main event.

While you could easily spend hundreds of pounds or dollars on products each month, you shouldn't look any further than the basics. Add a solid whey protein supplement and a creatine product to your diet, nothing more. There are countless supplements out there which will, of course, all tell you that you 'need' them to get bigger but the truth is it's just marketing talk. Where there's money involved, there is undoubtedly hype.

Now that you are a little more up to speed on the two foundations of how to build muscle you will be able to reap hugely enhanced results in the gym compared to those who fail to sort out the basics before diving in head first. If you are serious about changing your body, now is the time to do it.