Keys to a Successful Bulking Season

By Coach Jamie

Tis’ the season! We’re entering Fall (though the weather as of late may not have received the memo) and that means most experienced lifters and fitness professionals will be synchronizing the coming Holiday season with their yearly bulk. “Bulk” can be a scary word for a lot of people who have been exposed to so many years of health fads that usually involve an impossibly low calorie deficit. I get it, I really do. But what if I told you that taking a break from all the yo-yo dieting might actually be the key to seeing a positive result in the gym and your body composition? When combining a proper hypertrophic fitness routine with a caloric surplus, we give the muscles everything they need to grow. This also gives the body a chance to recover and regulate if you’ve also been in a caloric deficit for an extended period of time. 

While eating more might sound like it’s against your better judgment, I would make the argument that if you’re someone who struggles to see muscle gains in the gym, this could be exactly what you need. Do you constantly work glutes but rarely see the shape/size you’re wanting? Eat more. Do you feel like your shoulders never develop despite all of the presses and lateral raises you do? Eat more. Do you want your Springtime diet efforts to reveal muscle tone? Eat more. You’re eating for growth! We can worry about the extra weight in the Spring after you’ve packed on some muscle and are ready to bring the calories back down. After all, the muscle you have, the more calories you burn. 

Why now? This is the perfect time of year. Foods around this time of year tend to be hearty and a little more indulgent, there are a ton of major holidays coming up that usually revolve around food, and with the cooler weather in the tri-state area it’s generally okay (and sometimes necessary) to put on a few more pounds. Be smart and use this time to build your body for the next Summer season. Spend the next 3-4 months building the body you want to have! Where do we go from here? First, consult with your doctor and please, as always, don’t take anything you see here as medical advice. Then, focus on your food intake:

• Calories

A good bulk involves a caloric surplus. This means eating above your maintenance calories (amount of calories you eat in order to remain the same weight), but not overdoing it. 

How do we determine your calories? One way would be to track the amount of food you typically eat and take note of your current weight/size. After some time, if nothing changes, you can assume you’re eating fairly close to maintenance calories. From here, you can experiment with slowly adding in foods that align with your goals on a week to week basis. This is when we start to reach for more calorically dense foods (potatoes and rice over leafy salads) that can aid in our gain without making us feel like we have to eat forever. Sometimes, this takes a bit of experimenting but can be a fun journey.  

Want to take the guesswork out? Take advantage of the InBody scanner we’ve got at the Hillsborough club. For $20, you’ll get a scan that can give you all the information you might use to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). If you’d like a bit more guidance, set up a nutritional consultation with one of our training staff! For $40, they can break down the results of your InBody scan, give you some recommendations, and help you determine based on your own individual metrics how much/what you should be eating! Interested in a scan? E-mail Jsusino@nextfitclubs.com.

• Macronutrients

There are 3 very important nutrients that we focus on nutritionally to keep the body working optimally:

Protein. You’ve heard it time and time again. There is nothing more nutritionally vital for muscle growth. In an extremely simplified way, when we work hard at the gym, our muscles break down. During the rebuilding process, our bodies use the amino acids from protein to grow the muscle. So how much do we need? That depends! Metabolism can play a pretty key role in this but somewhere between .8g-1.5g of protein per pound of body weight each day. It can be generally good to start with a 1:1 ratio and then adjust as needed. For instance, if you’re weighing in at 150lbs, you should aim for about 150-225g of protein per day. If you tend to be very, very lean consider erring on the higher side of the protein spectrum.

Carbohydrates. Carbs are not the enemy, especially when trying to grow your muscles. They can provide a good source of energy so our bodies don’t have to delve into the amino acids our body could be using for protein synthesis. Digesting carbs leads to a release in insulin, which will eventually stimulate glycogen synthesis. Glycogen, a stored form of glucose, can act as an energy source to fuel you through your lifting session (and life in general) without sacrificing muscle loss (because we have an alternative energy store aside from our protein aminos!) Aim for about 30% of your total diet to be from carbohydrates. Play around with the numbers in terms of your overall calories to see where you feel and perform best!

Fats. While fats have also been on the chopping block when it comes to weight loss, they’re essential for good hormone health! Too little fats can lead to low testosterone, unhealthy hair, skin, and nails. Moderation is key! Stick to healthy fat sources that are high in Omega-3s and try to limit the amount of saturated fats as they can very easily be converted into fat stored in the body. Again, experiment with your fat intake here! 20-30% can be a good starting point (depending on where you’ve set your protein and carb intake to) and you can make small adjustments from there.

• PUT IN THE WORK

Okay, so we have the calories set and are focusing on the proper macronutrient balance. Now what? Go lift some weights. It’s what we’re all here for. This is where the grunt work comes in. You’ve upped those calories for a reason and you’re probably feeling that energy boost. Now we get to spend some serious time in the gym breaking down our muscle to get the growth we want. Find a plan to follow, hire a trainer to push you, or find that workout buddy who you admire and find motivation in them!

• Recovery

It’s not all fun and weights. Our rest days are important. In order for our body to rebuild all of those damaged muscles, we need to find the proper rest on those days inbetween. Prioritize sleep, hydration, and muscle recovery. Grab your foam roller and various mobility tools and practice some soft tissue release. Go get a massage from your favorite local spa. Pop into Coach Monica’s relaxing yoga class when you can! If you’re beating yourself up every day at the gym, you arent giving your muscles the chance to rebuild and come back stronger.

• Supplements

I won’t harp too much about supplementation here but remember that as a member of Next Fit Clubs, you receive a discount off all Thorne supplements (click here)

I will say that if you find you’re having a hard time getting in all of the protein that your body needs to see growth, finding a good protein supplement can be a huge help in squeezing in another 20-40g each day with a quality shake.

While your protein intake might not be an issue, there are other things to consider. Are you doing everything you can to maximize your results? If you’re not currently taking creatine, I would recommend looking into the benefits! Creatine can help aid in the body’s creation of phosphocreatine which helps to replenish ATP stores (adenosine triphosphate.) ATP is responsible for your muscles contracting during exercise. During rest and recovery, our ATP stores get replenished to help with our next big gym day and creatine can be a big help in that recovery!

• Don’t Over Do it!

Yes, when you’re bulking you have a little extra license to enjoy your food a bit more with little restriction. The big thing to keep in mind is to keep your bulk as clean as possible (stay healthy during this time) unless you’re an ectomorph who tends to have trouble putting on weight. Health is still number 1 and we want to make sure all of your vitals stay within healthy ranges (consult your doctor before embarking on any major changes!)

Stay the course! Gaining muscle can be hard in a few different ways. It can be hard if you have a high metabolism and tend to be very lean. One of the most difficult things can be the realization of how much food you actually have to eat in a day to hit your new surplus number. Reaching for nutrient dense foods that are smaller in size but calorically stacked will help you get through some of the tougher days. 

It can also be hard if you have a problem with gaining weight. It’s nearly impossible to embark on this journey without gaining a little bit of excess fat along the way but it’s worth it in the end if you’ve got muscle growth to show! This is something that most people have to be okay with during the journey knowing that they will have a better result in the end after building up some muscle and letting the metabolism recover from being in a deficit. Start slowly by adding calories little by little each week so it’s not a drastic change all at once and don’t get discouraged. 

Prepare to spend some serious time eating (and serious time in the gym!) and try to enjoy every part of the process. Happy Gains Season!