What is the perfect bulking plan | How to bulk up fast ?
Summary
In order to bulk up fast you need to consider the following:
- Around 2 grams of protein for each kilogram of your target bodyweight
- Overall balanced diet. Meaning, healthy fat, fruits & vegetables are also necessary.
- Macro nutrients distribution 40% 40% 20%. Read More.
- Weak and undeveloped muscles should be trained more often than other muscles.
- Set a progressive workout plan using numbers and benchmarks.
- Lift heavy, but in the same time avoid Injuries.
- Cardio once a week.
- Relax, Rest and Sleep.
Bulking| Nutrition, Carbs, Protein & Meal Plan for Bulking
Carbohydrates | What to eat ?
For faster muscle gains, carbohydrates are as important as proteins. But why? Carbohydrates triggers insulin which is crucial for absorbing nutrients into cells. There are two categories of carbohydrates, slow carbs and fast carbs. You need to get the majority of your carbs from the slow ones like bulgur, oats and barley. Other slow carbs like broccoli, tomatoes are good source for fiber which is needed for digestion health. Fast absorbed carbs like bananas and dates can be used near to the time of exercise for better performance.
How much protein i need to bulk | Best way to get your daily protein needs :
Although it is recommended to hit 2 grams of protein for each kilogram of your target bodyweight for perfect bulking plan, it is completely possible to still build muscles with less amount of protein. So if you are struggling with achieving such amount (which can be 160 grams of protein daily), do not give up. Assuming your target bodyweight is 80 kilograms, you should still be able to build muscles with around 110 grams of protein, which is the amount of 1.4 grams of protein per kilograms of target bodyweight. On the other hand, in order to reach high protein remember to include some high protein grains like barley and oats. Although these foods are primarily considered as carbs source, they actually have 10% of protein.
Best meal plan for bulking:
Whether you choose 5-6 meals or 2-3 meals a day, it is important to know that consistency is the key. Since building muscles is a slow process and needs patience, the best way to achieve it is to create a consistent routine. This routine may not be comfortable, but at least applicable for the long term. What I mean by consistency is to choose food and meal plans that are based on availability and accessibility, not on what you need to eat in the morning or evening, etc.. For example, If your lifestyle does not allow you to have eggs in the morning, then it is completely fine to eat something else as long as it is healthy, and have some protein in it.
The accessibility of meals you choose plays a significant importance because you need to maintain your plan for months and may be years depending on your target muscle mass. In other words, keep the majority of your meals readily available in fridge or at least easy to prepare so you do not worry about what to eat every day.
Bulking & over eating | Side effects | How to avoid over eating ?
I am not here to argue whether over eating is necessary or not for bulking, but I need to mention that over eating for long time can cause health issues. Your health should be over any other fitness goal. However, if you want to continue bulking, consider fasting as a break from over eating from time to time. Fasting 1-2 days a week or 6-8 a month is perfect for limiting the side effects of over eating. Furthermore, fasting is proven to boost your testosterone and growth hormone more than any other supplement. HGH and testosterone are anabolic hormones that build muscles and burn fat. Combining bulking nutrition plan with fasting is perfect way for healthy bulking.
Best Workout Plan for Bulking | Optimized Training for Bulking
Why do I need to plan my workouts
Planning your workouts will enable you to track how many times you are hitting certain muscle group. On the other hand, it can avoid you injuries, because you will be able to balance the effort over muscle groups instead of focusing on some and ignoring the others.
How do I plan my workout | Lagging muscles
Your workouts should always consider weak muscles as priority. Weak muscles are not necessarily lagged in development. Weakness in certain muscles like the abdomen, lower back, or shoulder is a primary reason for injuries. Once you identifies your weakness, design a program that includes 2-3 isolation exercises for the weak muscle group and do it 2-3 times every week. Check below example for developing weak shoulders:
Mon | (2-3 isolation exercises for shoulders) followed by chest workout
Tue | Back workout
Wed | (2-3 isolation exercises for shoulders) followed by shoulders workout
Thr | Legs workout
Fri | (2-3 isolation exercises for shoulders) followed by arms workout
Sat | Core workout, HIIT and Cardio
Sun | OFF
Type of exercises needed for bulking
In general, heavy sets with low repetitions (5-10 reps) are best for compound exercises like bench press, pull ups and squats. Isolation exercises needs to have higher rep range (12-18). You need both type of exercises in order to activate more muscle fibers and eventually trigger the release of lactic acid which is a key factor for muscle building.
Workout program for bulking
How do i structure bulking workouts? Although majority of workout programs are structured to start with compound lifts then the isolation exercises, it is actually beneficial in some cases to start with one isolation exercise before doing compound lifts. A perfect example is doing chest flies (3x15) before doing bench press. Doing chest flies will activate the chest muscle prior to bench press, and this will make you feel the resistance targeting your pectoris muscles more than your triceps or front shoulders.
While previous tip is good at the beginning of a workout, consider finishing your workout with supersets or drop sets exercises. For example: If you are struggling to activate you shoulder muscles especially the side and front deltoids, you can use super sets can combine one isolation exercise (3x15) like lateral raises (standing position) with one compound exercise (3x12) like behind the neck press (seated position). On the other hand, drop sets have two advantages, first it can save you some time in case you do not have much time to spend in the gym, second it increases muscular endurance for certain muscle group. Doing super sets and drop sets from time to time is very effective in terms of hypertrophy as well as performance.
How heavy should I lift for bulking ?
How much weight should I lift ? In general, you need to lift weights that are heavy enough to make you lift not more than 10-15 repetitions. Also, you need to use heavy lifts with very low repetition range (3-5 reps) every while to track your progress. The maximum weight you can lift for 3-5 reps will represent a benchmark for your improvement. Both low and high rep range are important for progressive resistance training. Consider using both types alternatively to avoid injuries.