If you were told most men in your local gym, even the ones in fairly good shape, have no idea how to build muscle you would probably think it was utter nonsense. However, due to the widespread number of gimmicks and false advertising on supplements and new products, this is exactly the case. New items are released every day offering quicker, easier, autopilot results...

But if you have taken the time to try these products, you will have noticed a recurring theme - none have actually worked for your body yet.

But if you were to sweep all of the over-hyped gimmicks aside and concentrate on the research driven, scientifically backed data you would notice something quite intriguing. Building a great physique is not as difficult as most people presume it to be.

Today we will be focusing on just one of these fundamental rules - the diet.

Make no mistake about it. If you want to build mass you must structure your diet to suit this goal. Yet this is an error which most fitness enthusiasts fail to correct. Instead, you will often see guys training their heart out in their local gym but completely neglecting their body when it comes to nutrition.

Why does generation after generation continue to make this one mistake?

Usually, it's simple because the word diet conjures up images of starving yourself. After all, you didn't ask how to lose weight, you asked how to get bigger - you asked how to get lean fast...

When you write down what you eat on a daily basis that is classed as your diet. No matter what it looks like or what your individual goals may be, you have a diet. Without a solid eating plan you will waste a significant amount of your hard toil in the gym.

You can do this by taking care of the three major macronutrients:

1) Sort out your protein intake to allow for new muscle growth.

You may already be familiar with whey protein drinks. However, you'll need a lot more protein that this if you plan to build some serious size and strength in the gym. That's why chicken, fish and eggs are vital ingredients to your daily eating habits. 1.5 grams of protein is adequate for each pound of your body weight per day.

2) Get on top of your carbohydrate intake if you want to succeed.

Carbohydrates are the nutrient which we can play with in order to find our optimal consumption. For most guys the problem doesn't lie in getting enough carbs, it lies in getting them from the correct sources.

Porridge, wholewheat pasta, green vegetables and brown rice are all great forms of complex carbohydrates which are packed full of nutrition.

Aim for around 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of your body weight, so a 200 pound man would shoot for around 350 grams per day. Tweak this figure if your body still struggles to add size, and reduce it of you feel you are adding body fat.

3) Sort out your fat intake to find the missing key.

Healthy fats are one of the best ways to increase lean tissue over a short period of time. Most men falsely assume that everything needs to be low fat or fat free, but your body actually uses fats to build more muscle and burn unwanted body fat.

Try eating around half a gram of fat, most of which are healthy fats, per pound of your current overall weight.

Setting the three items above in place will immediately put you on the fast track to gains in size and strength. The research is proven and the science is out there for you to discover on your own if you want to get even more detail. Learning how to build muscle needn't be turned into a gamble when you look to research driven studies and work with the facts.