Training -

As a beginner, you are going to want to stick to basic, compound, free weight movements. These will be the most beneficial to your overall muscular development and strength. I know a popular goal is "I want bigger arms, can't I just do bicep curls every day?" As a beginner, compound movements such as rows or chinups will do FAR more for your biceps and overall frame than curls. Curls are an isolation movement that are more beneficial to an advanced bodybuilder.

Another big mistake is people trying to develop their own routines. They are often poorly made and can/will result in muscular imbalances. There are many popular beginner routines, and the two that I always recommend are two that I have personally used: Rippetoe's and Westside for Skinny Bastards:

Rippetoe's - This is based on Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strengt. It is a basic, three day a week workout, and the format looks like this:
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans OR Pendlay Rows (Penlay Rows are recommended for a beginner)

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

If this seems appealing to you, you can find an extremely detailed write-up of it here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

Westside for Skinny Bastards - Another great routine, it can be found in this self-explanatory article here: http://defrancostraining.com/articles/articles.htm

Diet -

Diet is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of adding mass. Without a caloric surplus, you will not gain size. Don't be afraid of eating, you'd be surprised how difficult it can be to eat an adequate amount to grow. Aim for about 500 calories above your maintenance level (which can be calculated here - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 ). Also try for a lot of protein, ideally as much as you can. At the very least try to eat about 1-1.5g per pound of your bodyweight. Here's a short list of some good foods to eat:
-chicken
-tuna
-red meat
-peanut butter
-brown rice
-nuts (I like almonds)
-whole wheat bread
-whole wheat pasta
-turkey
-cottage cheese
-milk.

Also, this doesn't really pertain to diet but I figure I'll throw it in this section, but another important part of muscle growth is REST. Not a single ounce of muscle is built in the gym; quite the contrary, actually. Try to get at the very LEAST 8 hours of sleep each night. Try to eat some slow digesting protein (such as cottage cheese) before bed, and some protein immediately upon waking.

Supplements -
Supplements can be very useful, but they DO NOT REPLACE solid training and diet, they supplement them, hence the name... supplements. As a beginner, try to keep things simple.
- a multivitamin
- whey protein
- fish oil

After you have some solid training experience under your belt, if you want you can add:
- creatine. (what exactly is creatine? In short, it's an amino acid that helps ATP production. For a long, detailed, complete answer, refer to this: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=100831 )


Summary: eat, sleep, and train heavy.

Again, bump, because the information here is accurate and should be read.

awesome thanks a lot from one of those skinny bastards.