If you're anything at all like most bodybuilders, your ultimate desire is a simple one: To have an impressive, muscular physique with razor-sharp definition and the envy of everyone around you. You want to be huge, and you want to be shredded.
Everyone wants a great body, but for those people who strive for nothing less than an ideal body, they don't just want to be huge: They want to be shredded. In pursuit of this goal, many plunge into their programs headfirst, eager to get started and gain muscle. Bulking up might be the motivation, but everyone is worried about gaining excess body fat at the same time.
If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.
This is just one of the realities of the bodybuilding process. If you're truly committed to bulking up, there's no other way around it: It's a fact you'll have to accept.
In order to gain muscle size, you must consume a surplus of calories in order to support protein synthesis. However, there is no way to divert 100% of this caloric surplus towards muscle growth. A certain amount of it will always end up as stored body fat.
If you want to make dramatic changes to your appearance over the shortest period of time, it is always best to focus on gaining size for a set period of time, followed by focusing on losing body fat for a set period of time.
Considering this information, it's clear that the goal of the bulking phase is to gain muscle size, to build up as much as possible while doing what you can to minimize gaining extra body fat. However, it's important to remember that during the bulking phase, your goal is not to lose body fat, merely to gain as little as possible.
There are three main tips to accomplish this:
1) Use a precise caloric surplus. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.
The generally accepted caloric surplus for supporting muscle growth is 15-20% more calories than is needed to maintain your weight. If you are consuming a caloric amount within this range, there is no need to go any higher.
2) Pay attention to your food choices. The vast majority of your food intake should be coming from lean, high quality proteins, natural/high fiber carbohydrates and healthy/unsaturated fats.
Don't just eat anything and everything; make sure you're concentrating on proteins, especially lean proteins, and keep an eye on your blood sugar. Also, avoid all those saturated fats.
3) Implement cardio sessions. There's no need to go overboard here, but implementing 2-3 cardio sessions throughout the week is another way to cut down on fat gains during a bulking cycle.
Stick to exercises of 10-20 minutes of high intensity, as they have less likelihood of muscle loss compared to the longer forms.
Once you're at a size you're happy with and the muscle gain you want, you can focus your attention on losing that body fat. However, you want to keep working to avoid losing the muscle you've just gained. And remember that while bulking up, you're going to gain body fat. There's simply no way around it.
Simply remember that while bulking up, gaining at least some body fat is unavoidable. With this in mind, the key to keeping body fat down is to minimize the gain rather than trying to avoid it altogether, which is impossible. Focusing first on bulking up and only then on fat loss is the way to gain muscle quickly and effectively.
Everyone wants a great body, but for those people who strive for nothing less than an ideal body, they don't just want to be huge: They want to be shredded. In pursuit of this goal, many plunge into their programs headfirst, eager to get started and gain muscle. Bulking up might be the motivation, but everyone is worried about gaining excess body fat at the same time.
If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.
This is just one of the realities of the bodybuilding process. If you're truly committed to bulking up, there's no other way around it: It's a fact you'll have to accept.
In order to gain muscle size, you must consume a surplus of calories in order to support protein synthesis. However, there is no way to divert 100% of this caloric surplus towards muscle growth. A certain amount of it will always end up as stored body fat.
If you want to make dramatic changes to your appearance over the shortest period of time, it is always best to focus on gaining size for a set period of time, followed by focusing on losing body fat for a set period of time.
Considering this information, it's clear that the goal of the bulking phase is to gain muscle size, to build up as much as possible while doing what you can to minimize gaining extra body fat. However, it's important to remember that during the bulking phase, your goal is not to lose body fat, merely to gain as little as possible.
There are three main tips to accomplish this:
1) Use a precise caloric surplus. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.
The generally accepted caloric surplus for supporting muscle growth is 15-20% more calories than is needed to maintain your weight. If you are consuming a caloric amount within this range, there is no need to go any higher.
2) Pay attention to your food choices. The vast majority of your food intake should be coming from lean, high quality proteins, natural/high fiber carbohydrates and healthy/unsaturated fats.
Don't just eat anything and everything; make sure you're concentrating on proteins, especially lean proteins, and keep an eye on your blood sugar. Also, avoid all those saturated fats.
3) Implement cardio sessions. There's no need to go overboard here, but implementing 2-3 cardio sessions throughout the week is another way to cut down on fat gains during a bulking cycle.
Stick to exercises of 10-20 minutes of high intensity, as they have less likelihood of muscle loss compared to the longer forms.
Once you're at a size you're happy with and the muscle gain you want, you can focus your attention on losing that body fat. However, you want to keep working to avoid losing the muscle you've just gained. And remember that while bulking up, you're going to gain body fat. There's simply no way around it.
Simply remember that while bulking up, gaining at least some body fat is unavoidable. With this in mind, the key to keeping body fat down is to minimize the gain rather than trying to avoid it altogether, which is impossible. Focusing first on bulking up and only then on fat loss is the way to gain muscle quickly and effectively.
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