Want 13-inch arms and a muscle mommy? Use THE ULTIMATE BULKING GUIDE to achieve SUCCESS in the gym. Become STRONGER, more AESTHETIC and PHYSICALLY DOMINANT!
Google the word diet and spend the rest of your day lost in the aether of countless commercialised websites begging for your cash in exchange for their amazing one size fits all fat loss diets.
However, what about muscle-gaining diets? Bulking diets. I want to be massive diet for those of us that are 9 stone soaking wet.
Advice for bulking is extremely limited. Eating 4000 calories isn’t a feat that many have embarked on.
And frankly force feeding yourself four times a day just isn’t as attractive as low-carb, low-fat, high-broccoli diets. In all honesty, it’s neither romantic nor glamorous, but it’s necessary to become stronger, more aesthetic and to achieve your goals in the gym.
THE BULKING EPIDEMIC
However, this lack of information has ultimately led to a bulking epidemic. An ironically large population of even larger, overweight gym lads. Admittedly I was a massive member.
In the space of 6 months, I blew up from 126 lbs to 200 lbs. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME! Consuming over 5000 calories daily.
I became obsessed with the numbers on the scale. Every lb added to the scale was more muscle, strength and another step towards achieving my goal. At my height, I sat around 25% body fat. Which ironically was the only verb in the English dictionary that I could do.
Any normal individual would experience constant incapacitating back pain, unending fatigue and a face that looked like it had been injected with synthol as a sign to stop. However, I had been blinded by the goal of becoming bigger.
A quest that would continue until I found myself on numerous trips to the hospital. As a result of perpetual force-feeding, I could eat no more. In a last emergency bid to save what insides remained, I had unconsciously developed extreme food anxiety. Every spoonful was an internal war of keeping it down. Gagging at the mere thought of food.
Full health has returned, becoming bigger, stronger and fitter than ever as a result of informed and efficient bulking. For that reason, this is not a bulking hit piece. Rather the encouragement of bulking in a healthy and optimal way.
LET’S SEE HOW!
So what is bulking?
Bulking is the process of eating in a caloric surplus. Calories are the measurement of energy. Thus when intaking more energy than is required to exist, it stores the remaining energy as body fat.
This is imperative in gaining muscle as your body is able to use the extra energy in order to repair and create those much wanted 11-inch arms.
In order to be in an efficient caloric surplus that facilitates optimal muscle growth you want to be eating around 150-300 calories above maintenance. As previously mentioned this is the number of calories required for your body to maintain itself.
Click this link here to calculate an estimate of your maintenance.
This should result in a weight gain of around 0.5 lbs to 1lb a week. It’s important to note that a bigger surplus does not equate to more muscle or strength. Just more fat. Which in fact only hurts you. The more fat you gain the sooner the bulk will have to end. Furthermore, it decreases the efficiency with which your body will turn calories into muscle.
A fact that I was not aware of. And therefore despite eating 5000 calories none of it was being used to create muscle, ultimately stagnating my growth. Remember that your body is a machine if you abuse it it’s going to blow up the whole factory and now you can’t create anything.
Who should bulk?
Pretty much anyone who is trying to see some muscle gain in the gym. So long as you’re relatively low in body fat.
Around or below 15%. As this will facilitate a longer more efficient gaining phase. In order to calculate body fat click here.
If you are above 15% body fat then you may want to begin with a fat-loss phase in order to prime your body for a good period of bulking. A guide for this here.
How long should you bulk?
Ideally the longer the better. But we do not live in an ideal world therefore you will want to revise this question every 3 months. Re-evaluate your body fat. There is no need to go above 20% body fat as this will require a longer fat-loss phase and potentially more muscle loss.
Additionally, analyse your appetite. If you are feeling generally fed up with food, try lowering the calories to maintenance for a week or two to reset.
So long as you efficiently manage your bulk you should aim to stay within this phase for the most part of three years in order to create a physique worth revealing at the end of a cutting phase.
As I said for the most part. Throughout these three years, you will need to incorporate mini-cuts. Short periods of caloric deficits to shave off some of the fat gained. In order to do so click here.
This will be a balancing act throughout your bulk, a back-and-forth battle between eating enough to gain weight but not enough to get overly fat. Don’t get too disheartened when you inevitably do lose your abs. They are still there, just out of order for a period of time. Make sure to trust the process.
What should you eat on a bulk?
Here are the basic parameters for your bulking diet.
If you hate maths and want to streamline this process and avoid being a calorie nerd simply download myfitness pal.
It will do the maths for you while also allowing you to log your food while calculating how many calories you have left for the day. This will help stay on track and accurately tell you what you are eating.
If not, get your calculator out.
Add 300 calories to your maintenance calories.
For example 2500 (maintenance) + 300 = 2800 (Bulking Calories).
Then you will want to calculate your protein intake. For optimal muscle growth, it is recommended to eat around 1g of protein per pound of body weight.
This example will use a 170-pound human. And thus will be consuming 170g of protein a day. Equivalent to 680 calories as 1g of protein has a caloric value of 4. (170 x 4=680)
In terms of carbs simply half your bulking calories (2800 ፥ 2 = 1400). Now add that to your protein calories (1400 (carbs) + 680 (protein) = 2080) and fill the remaining calories with fats (2800 – 2080 = 720).
For more information on exact diets click here to see my most optimal diet. Or for those of you that struggle to get the food in, see the ultimate bulking hacks here.
Always remember that these are parameters. Do not become overly obsessed with the numbers. You will not be haunted by the ghost of the calorie past if you do not stick to it. They are simply goalposts for you to aim for.
If you go above or slightly under every once in a while just forget about it. Do not try to remedy it by eating more or less the following day. It will not have any long-term effect.
Heads up. People may clown you for calorie counting and label it as unhealthy or obsessive. It can be. But so long as you consciously remind yourself that you are human and you do in fact have a life you should be fine.
Eat your mothers home cooked meal despite not being able to calculate its calories, it’s not that deep. Continue to enjoy your nights out on the ale and kebabs. Everything is healthy in moderation.
I urge you to consider the long-term goal. A family Chinese may put you off track in the short term, however, in the grand scheme of things it will not impact your progress so long as you stay consistent. If you do not indulge every now and again this may discourage the long-term goal.
Now go get jacked without the consequences and begin your bulking experience the right way. The muscles await you.
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