bulking
Wow, never thought I would see a bulking question on this board ...
The best basic advice is to:
EAT BIG, LIFT BIG, SLEEP BIG
So, eat alot (I'll get into how much later) .. lift using an intense program focusing on the big lifts using the most muscle groups (squat, deadlift, bench press). I like to keep it simple and focus workouts around those lifts ... and be sure to get as much sleep as you can. Nap when you can. Cut cardio to 15 mins of moderate intensity work after you do weights.
Day 1 do Squats. Do 5 sets, plus warm ups. I like to keep rep ranges on the lower side so I can handle more weight when I am bulking. This takes advantage of the increased water around your joints since you will be eating carbs again. I go 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, then 2 - 3 reps with maybe a forced rep or two if a spotter is around.
If you have the energy, add in some hack squats and finish off with leg extensions or high stance leg presses. 3 sets of each exercise ... 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps
Use the same sort of set up for Deadlift day. Add in some back work after you are done deadlifting, maybe rows ... pullovers ... pulldowns. Shrugs would go good on this day as a finisher.
On Bench day, use chest and triceps exercises.
If you want to be in the gym another day that week, do isolation work for your biceps.
Now, let's talk about food intake & supplements ....
Adding muscle means you have to be taking in more calories than you need for maintain; you have to be over-eating. Once you establish a caloric surplus, your body can begin adding muscle tissue. Your body will also begin adding fat; it is almost unavoidable, but you can control it. If you have been struggling for some time to add muscle mass without success, than this article is for you.
The first thing you should do is get your body fat measured. For males, if you are under 10 percent body fat than you can readily follow the advice of this article. In fact, you may find you need to eat even more food than what I am suggesting here. If you are over 12 percent body fat, you should consider dieting down to a lower weight. You can expect to gain a few percent of body fat when eating plenty of extra calories to gain muscle - even if you use the proper supplements. Do not worry about this. Though, you really do not want to end up over 16% bodyfat.
I know that some people believe that it is possible to add lean muscle mass without adding “fat”. Well, this belief probably comes from the images we see of professional bodybuilding and fitness athletes who appear perpetually ripped yet, year after year, yet improve their bodies.
The first time you meet many of these athletes outside of the time period immediately before and after the big competitions of the year you will be shocked at how out of shape some of them are. Many of the men are unrecognizable; Lee Priest is a prime example of a bodybuilder whose off-season condition is about 80 pounds more than his competition weight.
Professional bodybuilders are gifted athletes when it comes to adding muscle. They are able to bring their body fat down to low single digit percents when they need to. These athletes divide their year into a “season” (when they compete) and an “off-season” where they focus on adding muscle. In this “off-season” it is not common to see pictures of the athletes nor are you likely to find them sitting down to a modest meal of brown rice and chicken breasts. To achieve their brutal size, they eat and eat and eat.
I am not proposing that you make Burger King your home away from home. The reality is that unless you are willing to add some fat at some point, you will not continue to experience good natural gains in lean muscle mass.
However, with proper supplementation and diet, you can shift the balance of the weight you gain towards muscle and preserve that properly when you diet.
In order to add muscle you need to create an environment that is conducive to adding muscle. You need caloric surplus and plenty of amino acids circulating in your blood. You need to be sure your natural hormone levels are maximized and you need to be sure you are absorbing and processing your nutrients.
You need to eat more.
I recommend at least 20 calories per pound of the weight you are aiming for - within reason of course. Don't say you want to go from 140 to 200 pounds and start eating 4000 calories and then email me saying you got too fat. Of course you did!
Realistically, you can add about 15-20 pounds of weight in about 8 weeks. Not all of this will be muscle . Remember that!
That means you need to increase you daily caloric intake by at least 300-400 calories per day; you may have to go as high as an additional 500-1000 calories per day if you are extremely resistant to muscle growth. These additional calories should come from protein.
Your overall diet should be high in protein (40%) and carbohydrates (25% - 30%) with 30% - 35% percent of your calories coming from a healthy source of fats such as fish oil, olive oil, flax oil, and nuts.
You should try to eat as high quality of calories as possible and stay away from junk food and simple sugars unless you are finding it almost impossible to gain weight.
Extreme hard gainers may have to resort to the occasional milk shake or cheeseburger to get those extra calories in, but be careful not to over-indulge. You are eating for a reason here and you do not have a license to gorge yourself on all the “forbidden” foods in the name of putting on mass. Otherwise you will put on mass, but it will be around your waist and not around your shoulders and chest.
As your weight increases, be sure to increase your daily caloric intake to account for the additional weight you have to maintain.
I recommend you follow this increased calorie diet for between 8-16 weeks. Keep monitoring your body fat through this period and curtail your over-eating when you get over 14% - 16%.
You should also include an amino acid supplement to be sure that you have plenty of circulating resources to support your muscle growth. It is critical you supplement with glutamine, which is one of the most abundant amino acids in muscle tissue. I recommend you take between 10-30 grams of glutamine a day, in dividing dosages of 5 grams.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is another supplement that can help absorb and process the nutrients in your diet, but instead of focusing on protein, alpha lipoic acid (ALA) helps metabolize carbohydrates. ALA increases the sensitivity of your body to insulin, a very potent storage hormone. By controlling and managing your insulin levels, you help prevent “run-off” of any extra calories into your fat cells. By using these supplements, you will be harnessing the full benefit of your diet.
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