Bulking is very important in weight lifting journey because at that period we grow.
For it to happen we need to care about diet and food for energy sources . Our body utilizes energy to perform crucial tasks such as protein synthesis, maintenance of body temperature, cardiac output and muscle function to name the few of unbelievably many.
After we introduce weight lifting or any other activity into our lives, our energy requirements change as well.
What is bulking?
Bulking is a body building term used to describe a period where the goal is to gain muscle.
Typically it lasts from 2 – 6 months.
There are three pillars for muscle gain:
- Lifting weights
- Diet
- Recovery
Bulking provides body with excess calories which are later utilised in rest and recovery phase.
During periods of rest, especially during sleep, body repairs and rebuilds which leads to hypertrophy.
To get excess calories it is mandatory to eat over calorie maintenance (calorie surplus) which you can find using calorie maintenance calculator.
Dirty bulk vs Clean bulk
There are two ways to approach bulking:
- Dirty bulk – Increasing calorie intake as much as possible for fast weight gain
- Clean bulk – Increasing calorie intake gradually
Dirty bulk
Main goal of dirty bulk is consuming as much calories as you can tolerate and no food is off limits.
That is why almost everybody thinks about fast food and deserts when dirty bulk is mentioned, although it’s not what it is about.
You can do dirty bulk even with purely healthy foods, not conveniently, because it is not about food, but huge calorie surplus.
What are pros of dirty bulk?
For starters, there is no need to track calories and macronutrients, since the main goal is to eat as much as you can so both conditions will probably be satisfied.
You will gain weight and for some people this is a huge benefit, read “hard gainers”. Some of it will be stored as fat, but you will certainly gain muscle and strength.
And last but not least, your food will taste great.
What are the cons of dirty bulk?
Given that calories are not tracked, it is easy to overdo and gain a lot of extra fat alongside lean muscle mass.
More fat you gain, longer your cut will be. As if that is not enough, it will be miserable as well since it is hard to suddenly drop all that tasty food and start paying attention to healthy food choices.
Most food choices in dirty bulk consist of processed carbs and saturated fats which can lead to possible negative health effects.
High cholesterol and blood sugar levels can lead to different cardiovascular conditions so check your blood at least once a year.
Although it tastes good, your body could lack essential nutrients if you avoid healthy foods.
Don’t do dirty bulk for a long term and try to get as much of quality food as possible alongside “dirty” stuff.
Clean bulk
Main goal of clean bulk is to establish a small calorie surplus which is sufficient for muscle growth.
Caloric surplus should be not smaller than 300 calories and upper limit varies with each individual.
That’s why weight gain needs to be tracked on a weekly or daily basis and surplus should be adjusted accordingly.
With this approach, we keep fat gain on minimum while still gaining muscle.
With weight gain, calories need to be adjusted as maintenance calories number gradually raises.
What are pros of clean bulk?
Main benefit of clean bulk is limited fat gain alongside muscle growth.
Furthermore, healthy food sources provide high quality micro and macro nutrients which is very important for overall health.
Finally, cut will be very simple. Because you have gradually increased surplus with weight gain, all you have to do is reverse those additions one by one.
What are cons of clean bulk?
This diet could get boring and it will not vary much. Most of your meals will be the same unless you enjoy experimenting with food.
As your weight goes up, you will need to eat more calories to sustain the bulk. Eating becomes progressively harder and harder.
Clean bulk requires dedication and structure and you need to be mentally strong to do it the right way. Challenge yourself and do it righteously and when you do you will become a better person Swole Bro!
The best way to approach bulking is to find a common ground between dirty and clean bulk. There is nothing wrong with fast food, deserts and those kinds of foods, but it should not be the basis of your diet.
Dedicate yourself to get at least 80% of your calories from healthy foods and your bulk will be much more sustainable and enjoyable.
Macros
Macronutrients are nutritive components of food the body needs for energy.
There are 3 types of macronutrients which body breaks down into different basic components:
- Protein -> Amino acids — used to build and repair tissue
- Carbohydrates -> Glucose — primary source of energy
- Fat -> Fatty acids and Glycerol — used for energy or stored in fat cells
Protein and fat are essential for our lives because we cannot survive without needed amino and fatty acids.
Carbs are important source of energy, but not essential for our body functioning.
There are two types of carbohydrates:
- Fast-release carbs (High GI): Release glucose into bloodstream rapidly
- Slow-release carbs (Low GI): Slow release of glucose into bloodstream
Calories
Calorie content of each macronutrient is:
- Fat: 9 calories per gram
- Carbs: 4 calories per gram
- Protein: 4 calories per gram
How much of each?
General rule of thumb for healthy diet is to get 20% of daily calorie intake from healthy fats, 40% from carbs and 40% from protein.
This is best suited for average Joe, but might be hard or even unsustainable for us bodybuilders.
Why?
Let’s take an example, shall we?
Imagine you are in a bulking period and you need to eat 3600 calories to gain a little bit of weight this week (because you will have to raise calories proportionally).
Following 20-40-40 rule you need to eat:
- Fat – 720 calories (80 g)
- Calories – 1440 calories (360 g)
- Protein – 1440 calories (360 g)
This is too much protein Swole bro.. it is so much that you are gonna transition into amino acid, chicken or something.
Easier, better and one could argue healthier way to approach this is to, first, provide our body with enough amino acids to rebuild and grow muscle. For that, you need to get around 1g per pound of body weight. For simplicity we take 1g per pound, but don’t sweat it if you eat a little bit less (0.8 and more).
Remaining amount of calories comes from fat and carbs.
As we already mentioned, fat is an essential for our body functioning, so we need to get at least 20% of calorie intake from fat.
That is second and last limitation and rest of calories comes from carbs.
For person of 180 pounds (3600 cal) it would look like this:
- Fat – 720 calories (80 g)
- Calories – 2160 calories (540 g)
- Protein – 720 calories (180 g)
If you feel better eating more fat, than you can raise it on expanse of carbs and that’s it.
Feel free to experiment, because after all, everybody is different but fulfil two set rules.
Where can i find those macros?
Most foods contain a combination of all macronutrients, but to get the best macronutrients, we need to get them from best of sources.
Sources of carbs are:
- Fast release carbs:
- white rice
- white pasta
- white bread
- bannans
- soda
- sweets
- Slow release carbs:
- brown rice
- brown pasta
- whole-grain bread
- oats
- barley
- buckwheat
Fast release carbs are best before, during or right after workout because of fast digestion. You should not get majority of carbs from these sources.
Slow release carbs are less processed and contain more of high quality macro and micro nutrients, while providing us with constant energy through the day.
Sources of protein are:
- Poultry:
- chicken and turkey
- Eggs
- Red meat:
- beef, lamb, pork etc.
- Sea food:
- tuna, salmon etc.
- Dairy:
- Milk, yogurt, cheese
- Soy products:
- tofu, edamame, tempeh
Not all protein sources are the same, because not all of them contain all of the essential amino acids.
The ones that contain all amino acids are called complete protein and those sources are listed.
Sources of Fat are:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Coconut
- Avocados
- Nuts and seeds:
- walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds etc.
- Fish for omega 3
Most of your fat should be from these sources because those are healthy fats.
There are different kinds of fats we can not avoid, but can keep on minimum.
When we eat out or order delivery we consume most of these fats so keep that in mind.
Meal timing and frequency
I am not believer in timing and frequency of meals. If you can eat required amount of calories with proper amount of protein and fat in one sitting, be my guest.
On the other hand, if you have time and are willing to put effort in preparing six meals a day I am very happy for you.
Personally, I eat three big meals a day and one small meal before sleep when bulking to get around 5000 calories per day.
Find what works best for you and what you can follow long term and get big Swole Bro.
Conclusion
We have learned a lot in this article so let’s summarize it all!
Bulking is a period in a year where the goal is to gain weight and muscle.
We achieve that when we consume more calories than our calorie maintenance requirement.
There are two ways to achieve this effect:
- Dirty bulk – eating as much as possible for huge calorie surplus
- Clean bulk – eating a little over calorie maintenance so our body has enough calories to grow while fat gain is kept at minimum
To get best results, we need to get sufficient amount of macronutrients from food.
Macronutrients are nutritive components our body needs for energy and functioning.
There are 3 macronutrient types:
- Fat
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
Fat and protein are essential for our body functioning and deficiency in those can lead to bad consequences.
I hope you found this helpful Swole Bro and see you next time!
