5 Tips for Bulking Success
It’s fall, and that means that most people will be starting up their bulking cycles– I know I will be soon. Why fall, though, and why bulk at all? Well, to start, physique competitions take place in the spring, summer, and early fall, so you use fall and winter to bulk, and spring to cut down.
Great, but why bulk?
Bulking is an opportunity to add muscle mass, which is what will provide your body with muscle tone when you lose body fat. Also, you can bulk if you want to increase strength and body mass, which have many benefits, including increased metabolic rate, and increased performance. It’s not just for men, either– Both men and women can benefit from a bulking cycle, whether short or long. It’s very easy to make mistakes while bulking, though, and here are some helpful tips to help keep you on track!
Tip #1: Keep your calories in check.
It’s very easy to say, “I’m bulking” while you scarf down pizzas and milkshakes. However, many organizations recommend an increase of just 200 to 300 calories above maintenance requirements per day to bulk. Bodybuilding lore says 500 calories above maintenance so you gain a pound per week. Either way, bulking is not an excuse to eat whatever you want– It’s almost a guarantee that you will gain fat while bulking, but eating an excessive amount of calories will increase the amount of body fat you accumulate, which will make your cutting cycle more difficult. Aim to eat between 200 and 500 calories above maintenance, and stick to it! If one day you end up going crazy, that’s fine– It’s just a day. Try not to make a habit of it, though, or you may be angry about it down the road. . .
Tip #2: Focus on compound movements.
Work efficiently in the gym. The big compound movements are fantastic for mass building, and they’re also good at training multiple muscles at once– Why do triceps press, pectoral flyes, and dumbbell front raise, when you can just do the bench press? If you spend all of your time doing isolation work, you run the risk of your training sessions stretching out way too long, which could lead to muscle catabolism, which is the exact opposite of what you want during a bulking cycle.
Tip #3: Adjust your calories as you go.
Remember that as you gain muscle, your caloric needs will increase. Be sure to weigh yourself regularly, measure body fat regularly, and adjust your calorie and macro nutrients accordingly. This is especially important if you only eat moderately above maintenance, instead of the 500 or more calories above.
Tip #4: Keep a workout journal.
While increasing the resistance / load isn’t the only way to increase muscle mass, it is an important factor. Keep a workout journal as you exercise so that you can track how many reps at what resistance you’re doing. If you repped out last time you did Squats at 185 lbs., it’s time to add weight. Without a workout journal, it’s very easy to not know how much weight you did last time. You can also use this to keep track of how you felt during certain exercises, different settings you used on selectorized machines, and much more. While we’re at it. . .
Tip #5: Don’t go to the gym to “workout.” Go to “train.”
What’s the difference between working out and training? If you workout, you spend just as much time chatting as you do lifting. If you workout, you saunter around doing whatever exercise you think feels like a good idea. If you workout, you may or may not warmup. If you workout, you do 3 sets of 10 on everything.
If you train, you’re going to go into the gym with a plan. You will warm up, and will have clear goals. You will monitor your rest periods, know what weight you should be lifting, and and will track your progress. You will know how many sets you plan on doing, what rep scheme you should be doing, and will train to failure (or near to it) rather than reach an arbitrary number and call it a day. You will remain focused.
Training is effective. Working out is a chore.
