The phenomenon of bulking stands for the phase in which the main goal is to gain muscle mass. This is done by consuming more calories during the bulk phase. This often goes hand in hand with heavier intensity of the training sessions in order to optimize the body for muscle growth. Less attention is paid to things like BMI and body fat.
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The goal of bulking
So the idea behind bulking is to gain mass and become larger. This can also be deduced somewhat from the word itself because bulking originates from English and literally translates to “large.” Often a bulking phase is followed by a phase where body fat percentage and BMI become more important. That’s what we call cutting. The ultimate goal of bulking and cutting is to gain as much muscle mass as possible with as little fat as possible.
Starting with bulking
When you want to start bulking, it is important to consider the end goal: you will eventually have to make the extra fat mass disappear. With that in mind, it is not advisable to just eat everything you get on your plate. If you have no short-term ambition to get lean, you can choose to go for a heavy bulk and consume a lot more calories than necessary. If you still want to appear sharp on the beach, a clean bulk is recommended. For both, it depends very much on your own goals and wishes.
Before you start, it’s good to measure your body fat percentage. This way, you can precisely determine how much muscle mass or fat mass you’ve gained during bulking.
When to bulk?
As we described in the opening of this post, the way you bulk depends a lot on your own wishes, body composition, and goals. If you really want to grow in muscle mass and strength, and you don’t want to do dry training in the short term, you could choose to bulk up to around 20% body fat. With this, you are no longer lean and provide your body with enough calories to give it your all in every workout, which should lead to maximum muscle growth. Keep in mind that as your body fat percentage increases, your insulin sensitivity decreases. This insulin sensitivity is important because it determines how many nutrients are stored in the liver, fat cells, and muscle cells.
So when your body fat percentage increases due to a heavy bulk and insulin sensitivity decreases, the nutrients stay in the blood longer and in some cases end up in places where they are stored as fat reserves. For the muscles, it means that nutrients are more difficult to store in the muscle cells. Of course, heavy strength training during the bulking phase helps increase insulin sensitivity, but this effect diminishes when your body fat percentage is higher.
Bulking plan
So bulking should be done consciously and responsibly. How do you approach this? The easiest way is to determine what your daily calorie needs are and go about 300 to 600 calories per day above that. You can calculate your calorie needs here.
Once you know the calorie needs for yourself, you can go about 300 to 600 calories per day above that. This should not consist of chips, cola, and M&M’s, but of food that actually adds value to your muscle cells and muscle growth. Because here too, the more fast carbohydrates (sugars) you consume, the lower your insulin sensitivity becomes, with all the adverse effects on your muscle growth and body fat percentage.
What should you eat when bulking? Foods that can certainly contribute are sources such as: whole grain bread, grains, muesli, rice, oatmeal, pasta, quinoa, sweet potato, bananas, and a weight gainer. These sources of nutrition are slowly absorbed by your body due to a low glycemic index. This indicates the speed at which the blood sugar level rises when you have eaten carbohydrates. Carbohydrates with a low glycemic index are broken down more slowly, resulting in less rapid glucose release into the blood. With carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, glucose is released into the blood much more quickly, causing the body to react by producing a lot of insulin, which in turn leads to an insulin peak. So it is important to get your macros, but not through unhealthy sources of nutrition
Bulking Guidelines
So when bulking, go about 300 to 500 calories above your daily calorie needs. Don’t just get these calories from carbohydrates. Also, go higher in your proteins per kilo of body weight. Since you have the room to take in more calories, make use of it. Aim for around 3 grams of protein per body weight to provide your muscles with enough building materials during the bulking phase. The weight gainer can be a handy supplement for this.
Fats are essential for testosterone production. As with carbohydrates, you should get fats from the right sources of nutrition. So try to avoid saturated fats as much as possible and get your fats from unsaturated fats. Good sources of unsaturated fat for the bulking phase can be: avocado, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, fatty fish, and omega 3 fatty acids in the form of supplements. About 40 percent of your calorie intake may consist of fat.
You then get the remainder of your calories from your carbohydrates. We have described the healthy sources from which you can get these above.
In summary, you get your macronutrients from the following sources of nutrition:
- Proteins (essential proteins) mostly from lean meats such as chicken breast, turkey breast, beef, steak, salmon, mackerel, tuna, beans, nuts, cottage cheese.
- Complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index you get these from grains, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, rice, porridge, sweet potato, muesli, and serve as an energy source
- Unsaturated fats for testosterone production, but also for cell repair and maintenance. You mainly get this from fish, nuts, and supplements.
Bulking and fat increase
Because you increase your intake of food, it is logical that you will gain weight. Many bodybuilders often do not gain muscle but gain weight due to fat gain. There are a number of reasons for this. First, know and measure exactly what your body fat percentage is and adjust with the tips below:
You haven’t trained hard enough If you have gained weight but haven’t made progress in strength and muscle mass, chances are you haven’t trained hard or heavy enough. Be honest with yourself and determine if you have pushed yourself to the maximum during your workouts. Have you done every set until failure? Do you have a spotter who pushes you to your limits and beyond? Or has the gym been a place for social contacts for you?
You have eaten too much There is nothing more pleasant about the idea of bulking that you can eat ‘unlimited’. Many people overdo it and eat more than necessary. Stick to the 300 to 600 additional calories per day and measure your progress. You are an unguided projectile when you bulk for 6 months without measuring your progress in between. A good bulk should lead to a weight gain of 2.5 to 3 kg per month.
Bulking without muscle growth Another possibility is that you do not gain weight and do not achieve muscle growth in the bulking phase. This will manifest itself in a constant weight and a virtually unchanged body fat percentage. In this case, the cause lies in too little or wrong nutrition.
When you bulk, it is important that you consume more calories than you did before, by eating more carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. If you are a hard gainer and have a fast metabolism, you may need to consume even more calories than the 300 – 600 extra per day. In that case, an aggressive bulk might be a solution for you.
Aggressive bulk
The aggressive bulk is for hard gainers, or people with a fast metabolism or for experienced bodybuilders for whom building more muscle mass becomes a bigger challenge. An aggressive bulk is characterized by consuming between 800 and 1,200 extra calories per day. Of course, you should continuously monitor your progress and adjust accordingly.
Supplements during bulking
The above supplements are a very good basis when bulking because the proteins are the building blocks your muscles need. But of course, make sure you take your multivitamins and vitamin C, especially in these cold times. In addition, you naturally take your fish oil, and your proteins. You may also use creatine and/or NO products to train even heavier in the gym.
Conclusion
When bulking, you eat more than your body actually needs and train with heavier intensity. This ensures that your body and muscles receive enough nutrients to grow and prevent muscle breakdown. In addition, through the combination of more calories and heavier training, you become a lot stronger, allowing you to build more muscle tissue. Bulking without eating a lot is not possible and will lead to less effect. Another possibility is that you eat too much, causing you to gain more weight than desired. Take this into account and measure your progress, so that you can cut after the phase and show your gains.
