I have been researching the most efficient ways to gaining muscle mass over the past few weeks. I think that I have collected some information that will help my with my goals.

My ultimate goal is to get to 200 pounds at 12 percent bodyfat. I want to ensure that good muscle mass is gained at the same time. I am willing to take the time (likely 2 years) to achieve this goal, even if that means I will not be "ripped up" for a while. I think that going on a lean-down process too soon will interrupt any gains and hinder the muscle-gain goals. I do believe that once I get to 200 and lean down to lean healthy muscular (195 pounds at 10 percent bodyfat) physique, I'll likely (and happily) maintain that level for an extended period.

Now, how to best achieve these goals? Information in the exercise area is confusing, prone to personal training biases (powerlifting, competitive physique competitor, sports athlete), and subject to constant change just for the sake of change. Some people progress regardless because their bodies respond to exercise however constructed. (I wish I were one of those people.)

Since I have been going back and forth in a frustrating search for a workout plan that would produce muscle-gain without a lot of fat gain, I think I have settled on some broad principles.

Progressive overload. I recently stumbled on this as I started to calculate the exercise volume (or "work"--weight x sets x reps. There are three ways to increase the work of the exercise: increase the load, the reps, or the sets. The load progression is the easiest, but as the upper limit of the load is approached for a certain exercise, the focus of the exercise can become lost. I think as the weight cannot be supported by the muscle being worked, the mind senses a threat of injury and converts from using the target muscle to move the weight to using any muscle group to move the weight by any means necessary. With the latter response, the effect of the workout is lost. I would like to avoid that as much as possible.

Progression with reps and sets (holding weight constant) are other ways of progressing without causing the body to revert to survival mode. The tendons and ligaments also get time to strengthen without load increases they may not be able to handle.

Finally, I will stick with a workout long enough to actually see results. Changing the variables gradually provides loads of opportunity for progression, if given time to work. The workout I am following is good; I'll likely stick with it until I wring out all possible areas of progression from it before moving on (if at all).

Nutrition. Still working on this. What I eat supports the work done in the gym, but may not totally contribute to muscle growth because the other functions of the body outside of the muscles are also supported by the same food intake. But I have detected that there are three bases of diets: high protein, high carb, and balanced. The high-protein diet is the one I've seen most prescribed for bodybuilding purposes, but it is not the only method.

Exercises. I will make the most use of the basic compound moves because they are easy to load and train the muscle groups as a unit rather than as individual parts. I presume that isolation work will have a role once I get the muscle mass overall to have the luxury to worry about a particular muscle group.

I have been passive about making adjustments to exercises. But I have learned from recent experience and experimentation that I will have to make the exercise work for me and my body proportions (like moving the bench for a press). I may not recognize it 100 percent of the time, but I will make an effort to be aware and apply some creativity when needed.