Bulking: My 9 learning points while bulking.

Hey guys, I’m glad to be back with another article. This time all about my recent bulking progress over the last few month’s. I have made some great progress during this bulk. Increasing my body weight just over 5kg in about 15 weeks or roughly 3 month’s. I started at a body weigth of 147Ibs back in March and have reached a new body weight of 160.2Ibs. I made the decision to increase my body weight and build more muscle mass to ultimately increase my max strength. Staying at my old body weight, I was not making much or any new progress with strength. On lifts such as the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Building muscle and it’s relationship with strength.

To build more muscle mass, we can all increase the size of our muscle fibers through sacroplasmic hypertrophy. We don’t notice an increase in strength straight away when returning to strength training. Actually we may and most likely won’t be able to lift the same kind of weight we were lifting compared to when we started training for hypertrophy. You could think it’s all been a waste of time. But our body and brain needs time to readjust to heavy strength training again. After a few weeks we should see our performances reach higher levels compared to when we were at a lighter body weight with less muscle mass.

It should be noted that increasing overall body weight will get you stronger but why put on extra body fat just to get a little stronger? If you are a strength athlete such as a powerlifter in a heavier weight class or a strongman it may be of benefit to you. If max strength is your goal. But I for one want to be strong, have some muscle mass and be as lean as I can. So I also look good but perform well. Which I think I lot of people go into bulking with the intention of doing but end up getting sloppy with tracking calories and overshooting the ideal body weight gains per week.

Over the last few month’s I have learned a few things and I want to share them with you today so you too can make bulking progress. Let’s get into them.

1. Increase your body weight gradually while bulking.

Bulking and adding muscle mass requires 3 things.

1. Training with sufficient volume to cause a growth stimulus so our muscles get the message to grow.
2. Making sure to get adequate sleep and rest. So we can train at our hardest and let our muscles and mind heal for the next session. To continue to make progress.
3. Lastly our diet plays an important role in building muscle mass and gym performance.

With training we provide the stimulus. But without the rest afterwards our muscles won’t be able to adapt to the stimulus applied. While bulking we should be eating in a calorie surplus or eating more food than our bodies need to function normally. Our bodies won’t grow muscle out of thin air. We need to provide the nutrients, most importantly protein as well as vitamins and minerals so important bodily functions are carried out as usual and carbohydrates to fuel our training. We will see our worked muscles recover and growth back bigger and stronger.

Nice and easy does it while bulking.

Over the last few weeks I have been increasing my body weight gradually, aiming for 0.7Ibs or 0.5% of my body weight each week. This means I’m gaining mostly muscle mass and minimizing fat gain. Gaining weight over this mark, won’t mean more muscle mass, just added fat which needs to come off later on during a dieting phase. That means less time spend in productive training while bulking and more time in less than ideal training while dieting. We don’t want to spend too long dieting if our goal is to build muscle mass. We have less calories and nutrients present than we normally have while eating under isocaloric conditions. Making it all but impossible to built more muscle mass unless you are detrained, a beginner to lifting or on special sports supplements.

Dieting phases should be used to lose body fat so we can get back to bulking. Or reach lower body fat levels for best performance in sports or appearance in bodybuilding shows. Over the long term, having to do more weeks of extra dieting because of poor calorie control while bulking means a lot of wasted time. Something which can be easily prevented if you only exerted a little control over your cravings and showed some discipline.

2. Increase volume to add muscle mass while bulking.

There is a reason my training has changed while building muscle compared to gaining strength. With strength training I’m lifting at least 85% of my 1RM with 6 repetitions or less. Strength training can cause myofibular hypertrophy where the muscle fibers increase in size as a result. But with muscle building or hypertrophy training I am training anywhere between 5-30 repetitions or 60-80% 1RM. This causes sacroplasmic hypertrophy where the amount of materials inside the muscle are increased. Not the muscle itself.

Strength training just doesn’t send the right signals. The weights are too heavy to continually train at high volumes while trying to increase training volume over the mesocycle. As volume is the main driver of muscle hypertrophy it should be at the forefront of any good hypertrophy focused program. Trying to lift at very high volumes with heavy weight is extremely difficult and you may need a little help from special sports supplements. Like our friends over in the former Soviet Union.

Training volumes while bulking.

The next important point is my MEV or minimum effective volume to grow. These are the amount of sets I must complete each week for each individual muscle to see growth. MEV can be different for everybody and should be assessed at the start of a mesocycle for best progress over the next weeks of training. Training under my MEV, I’ll reach MV or maintenance volume. I won’t see further growth and I will just maintain my current muscle mass. Training at MEV and going beyond up to a point, I will see new muscle mass being grown. Actually on the first week of the mesocycle I start at MEV while every week thereafter I try to increase volume or total sets completed per muscle each week. I work up to what is called my MRV or maximal recoverable volume.

How do I know when to add more volume? If I’m not feeling much of a pump during a session. If I add more sets and my muscles are recovering on time before the next session then by all means add extra volume With extra volume I will see more muscle growth compared to just sticking at MEV volumes. To make sure I am training at MEV during my first week of training, I use a calculator to assess which volumes I should start training at. If I feel like my training volume is enough, I keep it as is, if i feel it’s too high I bring it down and too low I increase by a set or more.

3. Have solid form before adding volume.

This is an important point. Volume along with increasing load and reps will help with growing new muscle. But if your form is not on point, your kind of half spinning your wheels. Let’s say you are performing lat pulldowns, but you fail to properly engage your lats and upper back musculature because of poor technique. Or not being able to feel the muscles being worked because of a poor mind muscle connection. You shift the emphasis onto your biceps. Well congratulations..kind of… Your going to grow bigger biceps….BUT your lats will have a lot to be desired for. So before adding load and volume make sure your technique is outstanding so your providing the stimulus to the right musculature.

Speaking about progressing with your training, it’s not all about load and volume. Volume is the main driver of hypertrophy but if you feel you can’t add sets, weight or reps in a given week, you can improve your technique. Slow down the eccentric portion of the lift, focus on squeezing the muscles more and getting a peak contraction. Once you think you can add volume and load, your technique will already be on point. So we are providing a greater stimulus to the muscles with heavier weight and higher volumes. Keep this up over the next few months and years and you’ll see progress.

4. Improve your mobility to better target muscles.

This is one you may not be aware of until you begin to notice how much more you can feel your muscles working after doing extra mobility work to increase mobility around a joint. I was like “Damn my calf mobility is not great, I can’t feel my quadriceps as much as I’d like.” I felt some pressure on my knees as my knees couldn’t travel as far forward as they could if my ankle mobility was better. At the end of a mesocycle my knees would be quite beat up. After improving my ankle mobility I could squat more upright and push my knees further forward which brings the quadriceps into the exercise that much more. My knees are not as beat up anymore because of greater ankle mobility.

Now your knees will always feel a little bit beat up at the end of a mesocycle if you are training hard. It’s normal and that’s why we have deloads, to give our joints, muscles and minds a break from training. Nowadays I have much bigger quadriceps and much less tension around my knees which are massive pluses.

5. Rest and recovery for improved bulking gains.

I feel this is the forgotten facet of building muscle that most people forget, but can easily creep up and bite you in the ass if your not careful. We train hard, we eat but sometimes we forget to prioritize our sleep and recovery. Maybe you like to go out with the lads late on a Saturday night or your always up to something in your spare time, never giving yourself a rest. Maybe you actually suffer from poor sleep for some reason and can’t get enough sleep to feel fully rested for the next training session. If it’s a problem you have been experiencing for a long time, it’s time to get it fixed and if it’s your own behavior which limits your recovery abilities you need to modify them. That is If you want to see your best gains and stick to the program.

I know it’s common for a lot of people to go out with friends late on the weekend and maybe only get a few hours sleep. Next thing you know, you have work on Monday and oh yeah you still have to train legs after work too. Maybe that session never happens and a pattern begins to occur. After a few months of training you have barely made any leg gains and your frustrated. Well it turns out that we only have so much energy and willpower to get things done. If you have work, you have training goals and you like to go out late on the weekend the last area may end up hindering your progress in the gym. Choose what is must important to you, and do whatever is congruent with that goal.

Sleep more for more gains.

I also notice when I get poor nights sleep, the next day my session is much harder compared to when I have a good nights sleep. The weights feel heavier, I feel more tired and lethargic and I may not have enough energy to hit a pr and beat last weeks numbers. It can feel unmotivating to continually hit the same numbers each week. There are only so many sessions you can just focus on improving technique before you run out of runway. Fix your sleep and notice your training sessions go a lot smoother and you hit pr on pr. I always try to practice good sleep hygiene to allow for better sleep. Yes I try, sometimes I’m not the best at this and sometimes I just don’t get a good nights sleep for whatever other reason. But at least give yourself the opportunity to have a good nights sleep.

Food also comes under recovery. I know from personal experience if I’m feeding my body with good wholesome food. Wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts and keeping well hydrated I feel and perform a LOT better. If I eat junk my gym performances suffer, I FEEL worse, recovery takes longer and I tend to get sick easier. If you gave a dog food low in nutritional value you would notice it begins to move less, maybe it becomes sick, it just moves more poorly and looks worse. Our bodies are the same. Before you move onto the more advanced nutritional practices or worrying about consuming simple carbs, minimal fat and fast absorbing protein after your training session make sure your diet already has an abundance of good, wholesome food so you perform well and recover quicker.

Deload to come back fresher and stronger.

At the tail-end of a mesocycle you should notice your fatigue and stress levels are higher than when you started on week 1. This is normal and means you have been pushing your body in your training sessions. When it comes to your deload or week of rest you should be like “Oh finally I can rest.” This is a week to rest, recover, work on mobility and clear up any niggles you may be dealing with. When I say rest I mean getting 8 hours of good quality sleep each night. Doing activities that are not too strenuous. That we enjoy doing to help bring down fatigue but also to keep our minds away from the gym. After weeks of intense training, you may not want to think about the gym much. That’s ok. Do other things during this time, so when it comes round to your next mesocycle, you will be fresh and ready to hit it with all you’ve got.

During my deload I do some light training in the gym, where I reduce load on some lifts and overall volume to keep my body primed for lifting next week, while speeding up the recovery process and bringing down both mental and bodily fatigue. This deload week I have been working on my ankle mobility and core strength which are weaknesses I have. Working on these I will reduce the chance of injury, making it easier to target muscles and hit new pr’s.

Active rest phases for long term progress.

After 3 mesocycles of training I have built up some fatigue which a simple deload week won’t bring down on it’s own. This is normal. Systemic fatigue has risen and will stay there if I don’t do something to bring it back down. This can be from a combination of training, work and other life stressors. Once I felt this fatigue I decided to take a 2 week active rest phase. I continued to train but at MV. I took a complete break from work and limited other stressors as much as possible. This meant I dropped fatigue , I maintained my muscle mass and strength and I came back into the subsequent mesocycle ready to make new progress.

Don’t underestimate how fatigue can have an effect on our bodies. Don’t be a hero and try to train through fatigue, but find yourself making no new progress. Be really honest with yourself and take an extended break from training if needed. The gym isn’t going anywhere and neither are your gains. Live to fight another day when you are fresh and ready. It should also be said that taking an active rest phase should only really be done once a year. Again it’s being honest with yourself. If you need a rest, you will know when. If you don’t keep training!

More rest not more training!

Now I am one who loves to train and seems to have unlimited energy and enthusiasm for the gym. But when you are actually training hard and maybe training up to 5 or 6 days a week, you will welcome rest days from the gym. In my experience I have found 2 days off between microcycles are more effective than just 1. You give your mind and body a little mini break from the gym so when it comes to that 3rd day you are much more ready to hit the gym hard once again.

6. Stick to a routine.

Going to the gym and exercising should be a sort of routine for you. It’s just something you do. I find when I train at the same time each day and have a plan in place I am much more likely to stick to my training and diet. Now it’s not hard for me to stick to training because I love it, but for others this could be the difference. The same with eating a healthy diet and sleeping enough/ going to bed/waking up at the same time. This should just be who you are as a person. If your prioritizing bulking, you need to find dedicated times to train at and doing all of the other things well to see progress. You have to keep your goals clearly in your mind. Remember the why. You will be impressed with the results after a few months if you stay true to yourself and your goals.

7. You can’t add volume to everything.

This is an important point to remember. Your mind may be willing to do anything and everything, training with endless sets. But the reality is different. It is certainly not more beneficial to perform a certain number of sets compared to a lower amount if your not recovering on time and technique is poor. Especially if you have other commitments outside of work too and can’t spend hours in the gym. Though it should be noted spending hours in the gym should not be the goal, but the amount of quality sets where you are targeting the muscle correctly. When training at MEV your already doing quite a number of weekly sets where adding 1 or 2 sets per muscle group a week is a lot. Especially if you are adding sets to multiple muscle groups.

Choose wisely fellow gym rat.

I have found it quite difficult to continually add sets to each separate muscle group throughout the mesocycle while still training with high intensity and getting quality work in for each muscle. I think it’s a wiser idea, if you are past the beginner stage to pick some muscle groups you want to put an emphasis on growing and add sets to these. Maybe these are weak points which prevent you from lifting heavier weight or if you’re conscious of your physique, underdeveloped muscle groups. If your a beginner your MEV is most likely a lot lower compared to an intermediate lifter so you may be able to add extra sets to all muscle groups.

You need to consider some things, such as how much time your willing to put into the gym. Or how many stressors do you have outside of the gym. The more stressful and busy your life is outside of the gym, the higher your systemic fatigue will be. Meaning you can’t add as many sets each week. You may say “If I add anymore sets to my current workload, I’ll drop.” If the gym is but one facet of your life, you need to balance all areas in your life or you will very quickly become stressed, too fatigued and you won’t even be able to train with solid technique at MEV.

8. Focus on the small things to get the small gains.

The more you progress in your training, focusing on the small things are going to mean you keep making progress. The older your training age the less potential gains you can make as you have already made them. I am an intermediate lifter now, what I could get away with when I was a beginner does not work for me now. Even if you are not an intermediate or advanced lifter you can still benefit from following some practices conductive to continuing to make progress.

1 thing I have noticed while bulking, is the pre workout meal plays an important role in my performance in the subsequent session. What am I focusing on doing? I’m eating a meal anywhere from 1-3 hours from training high in simple carbohydrates with minimal fat and some protein. I eat simple carbohydrates as they absorb into the body and are converted into glucose more quickly than complex carbohydrates. Why? Because there is no fiber which slows down digestion. I eat minimal fat for the same reason. To speed up the rate of absorption. I include some protein to make sure I’m hitting my daily protein requirements and preventing per hour amino acid breakdown. An example meal could be white bread with jam or white rice and soy sauce. So when I go into the workout I feel a lot stronger and ready to train.

When bulking because I have so many calories to play with ( I am currently eating 4550kcal on training days) I usually include an isotonic sports drink. I begin sipping this 30 minutes beforehand to make sure it has been absorbed into my muscles as glucose ready for training. A sports drink is a great way to get some fast acting carbihydrates into your body.

The pre-workout meal matters.

I find when I eat a meal with complex carbohydrates and a higher fat content I’m just “not as ready.” The carbohydrates have not been fully absorbed into my body. This can be the difference between making a PR or not. When your just trying to add 2.5kg or a few repetitions onto your lift each week that little extra energy is what is going to help you reach that target. Now you have beat last week’s numbers and are applying progressive overload. Which s needed over the months and years to grow new muscle tissue.

9. Potential injury while bulking.

It’s easy to think your top of the world and can make seemly unlimited progress while bulking. You feel strong, your lifting weight you’ve never touched before. Your looking bigger and fuller. You recover quicker. But that is the time you should be most careful. Maybe your form worsens as you place greater emphasis on chasing load, reps and sets more so than focusing on good solid technique. Which should be one of the cornerstones of your training.

Actually I noticed during the last mesocycle, my stiff leg deadlift technique had a lot to be desired for. I was not pushing my hips back far enough and putting a good stretch on my hamstrings. Therefore the load was placed more on my lower back compared to my hamstrings and glutes. This meant I was growing some big erectors but the stiff leg deadlift is not for primarily growing the erectors. I was also training with deficit bent over rows which places more strain on your erectors compared to a regular bent over barbell row. Together with poor stiff leg technique, which placed too much strain on my lower back, possibly a weak core I actually had to modify my training during the last week of the mesocycle. I had felt a pop in my lower back.

Prevention is the best cure.

This meant I missed squatting or any axially loaded movements for my hamstrings for that last week. While I worked on resting and rehabbing my back. This was progress lost. A wake up call. Anyone is susceptible to injury. Do all you can to avoid injury. Whether that’s smarter programming like keeping heavy hip hinges and other axially loaded movements a few days apart. So your erectors can recover on time. Or maybe including a back movement where your erectors don’t have to support your body like a seated row. Continue hitting prs instead of taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Now you’ve learned.. go, apply and make gains!

So there you have it guys, a little look into my bulking the past while. Now I know where I can improve, which I am actively working on. So I continue to push the needle forward in the right direction. I hope you got something out of this article. If you did please feel free to share with your family and friends. Spread the love. Let’s keep growing bigger and stronger. Over the next few months, if you end up making some great bulking progress. Then please be sure to read my other article https://www.theavgguysnutritionandexerciseguide.org/nutrition/best-weight-loss-tips/ all about losing weight. So you come back more muscular but also lean.