Answers (3)
Like anything else, you have to learn the business. First study some books about nutrition so you know how to eat right. then study anatomy so you know where the muscles are, which way they work, and how to control them. Then you have the business of actually exercising. To prevent injuries you should warm a muscle first. That means quick easy motions to raise the temperature. Then exercise it to exhaustion. Then let it rest for about two weeks while you work on other muscles. After that you have toning exercises.
Merely spending time working up a sweat is not good enough.
Thats a very open ended question. The definition of hard can be so many different levels depending on the individual. This is part of the law of individual differences. If your training to gain muscle, unless you are a very experienced lifter that is hitting a different muscle groups, that would be way over training. Hitting a muscle once every 3-7 days is plenty. However, depending on the muscles size and the individuals experience level and whether or not the individual is considered natural is all part of the equation. So many factors, but 3 times daily would likely decrease your muscle size from overtraining and possibly cause multiple negative or possible serious side effects, if heavy resistance is involved.
Two good ways to gain muscle mass, speaking only of workouts, not nutrition or steroids or anything else. 1) work out hard every other day. or 2) you can work out every day with this caveat; You must stop the repetitions the moment you feel your muscle begin to tire. That's when the muscle starts to tear. You can recover from the relatively small strain in one day, but not if you keep pumping iron. Steroid users go further, but that, my friend is not a good idea.