If you are trying to build up muscle, then you need to take a few things into consideration. First being your mindset. Without the proper mindset, focus, and goals, you aren't going to achieve what you set out to do in the first place. Proper lifting, a balanced diet, with vitamins and supplements are also a very important aspect to build muscle up. Water is the lifeblood, and is what every human being is created of, so of course you are going to need to intake the proper amounts of water every day.

You have already made up your mind, and decided that you want to put on some quality lean weight, but there is still a few things that could hold you back from your long term goals of being lean and mean. By this, I mean, your mindset. Sure, you can set your goals for yourself, and get up to go to the gym every day. This is excellent, but still isn't want I am talking about.

What I am really saying is, even though you get up to go to the gym, and work out every day religiously, you still have to have focus while you are in the gym. You aren't just there to lift a few sets and get out. You are there for a purpose, and once you enter the doors of your favorite gym, you have to get into this mindset. Each rep must be perfect, all sets must be completed. The outside world has to be purged from your brain.

Now that you have gotten pumped and focused, shutting out the outside world, you are ready to get to business – lifting. I said that you aren't just in the gym to lift a few sets and get out, praying to you will gain weight one day, that is because, when you go to the gym, you have to perfect every repetitions form, and then repeat it, until your sets are complete.

Focus on exactly what your muscle tissues are doing, pushing, and pulling, to get the weight to go where you want it to. Move the weights slowly. This causes the deep tissue to control it, and this is where your strength is built. Just remember to always focus on your form, so that you aren't wasting energy on useless reps.

Face it, nobody has a perfect diet.  Even if you consume the correct ratios of protein to carbs to fats, you will still be lacking in vitamins and nutrients.  The reasons behind this are because most of the food we eat now days is processed.  Natural living organisms die off during this process.  Organisms, vitamins, and minerals that are essential in your body. 

Other people just are unable to produce the vitamin naturally, and are required to take a supplement to make up for the insufficient levels of whatever vitamin they are lacking.  Look at it this way.  1000 years ago, we were still eating wild animals, growing our own food, etc.  This is when food was real.  What you eat now days has been touched, altered, modified, and then resold so many times, that whatever is living in there is very strong.  The sensitive stuff you need has long passed on.

By supplements, I mean extra things that your body normally produces, but by taking in greater quantities of the substance allows your body to further utilize it. Like creatine for example. Your body naturally creates it, but when you get more into your blood stream, your body will benefit from it. Allowing you explosive power, easy to perfect form, and a nice toned look.

Creatine and Whey / Casein protein are the two biggest supplements that I take every day. Make sure that you are drinking plenty of water anyways, but if you start taking creatine, it is essential that you get your daily required amount of water.  Keep these things in mind while you are in the gym trying to build up muscle.