Age is key
Make sure you've got good-quality meat – something that's traceable and aged for at least 21 days. That means that even if you cook it rare, the blood doesn't seep out.

Warm it up
Get your steak up to room temperature. If it goes from very cold to very hot, it will contract, which will make it tougher.

Get the right pan
You need a good heavy-bottomed pan - it'll keep its heat better, especially if you're cooking more than one steak. The pan I always use is an Anolon.

Use your thumbs
If you cut into the steak to see if it's cooked it'll dry out. A rare steak should feel as springy as the flesh at the base of your thumb. Touching your fingers together lightly gives you the feel of a medium-rare steak, and pressing them together that of a medium.

Oil it up
Most people put oil in a pan rather than on the steak - that changes the chemical composition of the oil. You want to get your pan nice and hot, then oil the meat. The heat will just sear it and keep all the juices and flavour in.

Flip it
You only want to turn your steak once - any more will ruin it. Different cuts take different times depending on how rare you like your steak.

Season last
Don't season the steak before you put the oil on. Some chefs will tell you otherwise, but if you put salt on raw meat it'll draw the juices out of the meat.

If you want a great muscle-boosting steak recipe, try this tofu steak salad. There are loads more muscle-building recipes in the magazine too. Subcribe now and we'll give you five issues for £5.