BULKING

Why Bulk?

If you want to pack on muscle, there is no way of doing this faster than doing a bulking cycle. You can also do a permanent bulk with short periods of cutting if you like, however this will depend on your genetics what proportion of your time you need to bulk. We bulk because while we have our calories above our Basal Metabolic Rate (how much your body automatically burns) we put on weight, it’s impossible not to. While bulking, we generally keep cardio to a minimum (do it, but don’t overdo it), and focus on having an excess of calories, most of which we’ll be trying to convert into muscle. While bulking you WILL put on fat. It’s a fact, and it’s unavoidable. You can attempt to clean bulk (no junk food) and do it just over your BMR, but your gains will be minimal. A general rule of thumb is to add 500-1000 calories a day to your BMR. So if your BMR is 3000, and you eat 4000 calories a day, you should be able to put on around about 2kg a week. If you’re just starting out, you can easily see 4-5kg in the first week. It’s pure science, if you do it right, and you don’t kid yourself about how much you’re eating, you have to put on size. Anyone who isn’t putting on size needs to re-evaluate what they’re doing, and potentially add even more calories. So you say to yourself, why don’t I just eat 8000 calories a day? I’ll gain like a monster! Well, firstly it’s hard to eat that much, although it is possible with the use of mass-gainer shakes. Secondly, you’ll put on a lot of fat. Yes, you’ll put on more muscle than you would’ve at 5000 calories, but the amount of fat you’re putting on definitely isn’t working towards an aesthetic body.

The Maths


Firstly you need to work out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). You can do this at the following website: BMR  Because you’re doing strenuous exercise, you’ll be burning much more than this. A good guide is to multiply this by 1.7, so if your BMR is 2000 going off this calculator, as a bodybuilder your base calories should actually be 3400. To bulk, you’ll need to add 500-1000 calories per day. I would recommend trying 1000 and keeping track of your bodyfat, if it doesn’t blow out too much you’ll be fine to continue at this level. To check your bodyfat, use a calculator such as BF