BulkingBulking is the process of gaining muscle mass while training. Now that you have been working out for awhile you have come to the point where you must decide if you want to take your nutrition to the next level in order to continue to grow. During the first couple of years of working out intensely, you will find that you are able to gain strength and muscle mass all at the same time relatively easily. After your body has adjusted to this type of training, you will need to change your diet in order to continue to enjoy this type of progress. Before we go on, I would like to point out that it definitely is possible to continue to grow stronger and more muscular by adhering to a smart diet of 5-6 small clean meals per day, however you will simply progress at a much slower pace than if the following principles are applied. Before attempting to gain mass, you should determine your body type. There are three main types:
In order to continue to grow bigger, you will need to begin to eat more. This process is known as bulking. Adding mass is based on simple mathematics, whereby if you consume more calories than your body burns, you will gain weight. Everybody has a certain amount of calories which their body requires at rest in order to maintain their current weight, known as their basal metabolic rate (BMR). To give you a rough estimate of this amount, try multiplying your bodyweight by 15. So for example, a 185 pound man will require approximately 2,775 calories in order to maintain his current weight. When working out intensely and following a sensible diet, you can add mass by gradually increasing your daily caloric intake. A good system to follow is to add 200 calories to your daily consumption per week. When deciding to begin a bulking phase, you should plan to follow this program for about 12-16 weeks. Your goal should be to add 1 or 2 pounds, at most, per week. Adding any more weight than this per week will result in excessive fat gain. Let's face it: it simply is not possible to go through a hardcore muscle-gaining program like this without gaining any fat. To really build muscle, your body requires a surplus of calories, and when you consume more calories than your body’s BMR, you will inevitably gain some fat along with the muscle. This is why it becomes even more important to follow a strict, healthy diet when in a bulking phase. Gaining muscle becomes easy when you consider the process mathematically. It is a certainty that if you are training intensely and consuming enough healthy foods to support muscle growth, you will see impressive results. It is sometimes easy to get caught up eating as much food as possible during such a time, neglecting to distinguish among healthy foods and unhealthy ones. But by, eating proper, healthy foods as outlined here, you will minimize the fat you gain while bulking. In order to consume all of the nutrients and calories that you will require to add size to your frame, you should space out your food intake among 6-8 small meals per day. After completing a bulking phase, you will want to perform an 8 week "cutting" phase in which you shed the extra fat you have gained while retaining your muscle mass. To learn more about losing weight through a cutting phase,
please see the article on weight loss found here.
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