Most people who've been on a muscle building program for any length of time will realise how important it is to make good progress with muscle gains in order to keep motivated and of course, to look and feel great.

However, many muscle building programs can be completely inappropriate to an individual's needs. The result of this can be anything from little or no muscle gains or even injury through over training.

I have read and reviewed many muscle building programs over the past 10 years, so if you are wondering what to look out for when choosing one then here are my top 5 things to look out for:

How Long Should Your Workouts be?

Muscle building programs aimed at gaining lean muscle mass will not have you training for hours in the gym. Your workout routines should last no more than 45 mins, but should be intense and push your strength to the limit.

Variety of Workouts

Keep your workout program varied and this will help to keep your muscles growing by stimulating them in different ways. Therefore re-structure your gym workouts every 8 - 12 weeks. If you don't change routines your body will become used to the same exercises and muscle growth will slow or even stop.

Rest is Part of Your Muscle Program

You need plenty of rest to help your muscles grow and to help your body recover from your workouts. Every good muscle building program must include rest days and you should always take a week off at the end of your 8-12 weeks program.

Use Strict Form when Working Out

Exercise with proper form. It is very important that you don't just stack on the weights and throw them around! Proper form and execution of exercises is vital to your muscle building success and to prevent injury. Look out for muscle programs that show you how to perform exercises correctly.

Diet - The Most Essential Part!

Diet is the single most important factor that you must get right. If you are eating correctly but not working out to your full potential then you can still expect to make some reasonable muscle gains. Any muscle building diet must be personalized to your size and weight. The best muscle building programs will provide you with a great selection of diet plans that include meals for all calorie levels (e.g. 2000 to 6000 calories a day). The best meal plans even cater for vegetarians.

So that's 5 very simple but very important tips to get you on the right track to muscle building success. Make sure you find answer to all these points when you are looking at muscle building programs.