Building and maintaining muscle mass is an important component of a well rounded fitness program. Some people, however, tend to avoid this aspect of fitness because they are afraid that extensive technical knowledge is required to understand how to build muscle, or because they think they will build too much muscle and develop an overly bulky physique. These fears are groundless and unnecessary. It is easy to learn how to build muscle through weightlifting, and it is entirely possible to create a weightlifting program that will allow you to significantly strengthen your muscles without acquiring excessive size. On the other hand, if your goal is to build muscle mass and add some bulk to your physique, that too is entirely possible. It is simply the type of weightlifting program that you adopt that will determine the strength, size, and endurance of your muscles. You just need to understand the theory behind how and why your muscles grow to be able to develop a training program that will allow you to achieve your ideal body type. Regardless of what your end goal is, by building muscle you will improve your overall health, increase your strength, improve your physical appearance, increase your metabolism, reduce your body fat, increase bone density, and improve your coordination, confidence, and athletic ability.