9 Simple Broscience Strategies for Bulking

Without getting fat

Bulking works

But not in the way people tend to conceptualize. The point of a bulk is not to become grossly fat and keep eating. Its to allow your bodyweight and bodyfat to increase, get substantially stronger at that higher weight, and then eventually diet down.

The key is not gaining TOO much weight TOO fast.

If you want to gain muscle, your weight WILL increase. I always make this point because many men have this magical fantasy of gaining 20lbs of muscle mass, but then dont want to gain any real weight because they are concerned with fat gain, and consequently they gain no weight and bullshit themselves about their training.

Gaining muscle means gaining weight

I also must reiterate the point that a successful bulking period is dependent on hitting hard targets for strength. All of your big lifts should go up and you should have clear KPIs. Progressive Overload always applies

There is no point in Bulking for anything less than 6 months

Im assuming almost everyone reading this is natural. You are NOT going to gain substantial muscle in anything in less than 6 months. In fact if you’ve been training for 5+ years, youre not gaining substantial muscle at all without being DIALED IN for a long period of time. Good natural bodybuilders will take 1-2 years off between shows to grow. Youre not smarter and more gifted than them.

This does not mean you get fat for multiple years

Rather what you do is allow your bodyweight to increase to a target Strong weight, and then you stay at that level, and then grow slowly from there.

If I was a to draw it out, there is an initial linear, month by month increase in bodyweight, and then flattish plateau with a very minor elevation for a longer period of time, and then you diet again.

How much weight should you gain though?

The numerical weight depends on your stature, but the composition I have a set limit for

The maximum threshold for bodyfat is 20%.

Read that again.

Do NOT let your bodyfat go higher than 20%.

Ideally it would be a bit less than that.

That 20% mark gives you a wide range to grow. If you start at 10%, and over so many months increase your weight until you reach the mid teens or slightly higher, and then MAINTAIN that weight for a long period of time, you can gain muscle and also “recomp” the weight gain as well.

The 20% is a hard cut-off simply because if you go higher than that, it will take a lot longer to diet, and the longer you diet, the more likely you are to lose muscle mass.

A 0.5–1% body fat reduction per week (2–4% per month) is about the upper limit of fat loss that can be achieved without measurable lean mass loss

And that is the UPPER limit.

If you want to fully preserve muscle tissue, you are looking at 1-2% of fat loss per month.

Imagine being 20% bodyfat. Thats 5-10 months of dieting to get done to 10% bodyfat.

Compare that to being say 16% bodyfat.

Thats 3-6 months to get to 10%, or potentially lower.

Big difference.

Another heuristic to follow is the 12 week Rule

You should never be more than 12 weeks of dieting away from being lean. And I dont mean single digit bodyfat, or even 10%. 11-13% bodyfat is acceptable

But if you get so fat that a 12 week diet would still leave you soft and with MUCH more weight to lose, you are excessively fat and need to get your diet under control. You probably need to cut first before you ever think of bulking.

That said, these are the Practical Strategies for Acieving that Weight Gain

Im going to assume you understand how calories work, you understand the differences between macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein), and you’re not a total beginner that is surprised to learn that meat has protein in it.

1. Eat enough calories. Your daily calorie intake on training days should be 10-20% over your calculated maintenance calories. Over time you might be able to elevate this, but 10% is a good start point. This surplus should come from carbohydrates predominantly.

2. Eat 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. I suggest getting this from whole food sources as much as possible, and making use of protein shakes only as necessary. If you want to go with 1 gram per lb of lean mass, thats fine too.

3. Eat frequently, preferably 4-6 times daily. Do what the Bros do, it works. And it allows you to eat the necessary amount of food. Do NOT go all day without eating and then try to cram calories in at the end.

4. Leaner proteins and higher carbs tend to work best for meals
Consuming fattier sources of meat can fill you up. To avoid this, go with relatively leaner cuts of meat. That doesn’t mean dry chicken breast and super lean ground beef, rather, think chicken thighs, 85/15 ground beef, and white fish cooked in olive oil. A fatty ribeye is great, but not ideal for regular meals. You want balanced macros

5. Consume the same foods daily- This makes it very easy to be consistent and adhere to your diet. There is nothing wrong with eating the same foods every day.

6. WALK as much as possible
This a good insurance policy against fatness and maintains a basic level of fitness.

7. Stay properly hydrated at all times, and be sure to consume electrolytes if necessary
Many people make the mistake of avoiding salt and then getting salt cravings, but the reality is that you NEED salt for your muscles to function properly, sodium ions are what nerve cells need to activate muscles tissue. Don’t hold back on salting your food, and add electrolytes to your water as well if you like.

Also, POTASSIUM. You need more potassium than sodium (about 1000mg more).

Optimal daily intake for sodium is 3-4 grams daily, for potassium 4-5 grams daily

8. Aim for 1lb of weight gain a week in the beginning- No more than that though.This will require you to WEIGH yourself daily, and watch if your weight trends upwards. This is OKAY. Now, when I said 1lb, I mean 1lb overall. So over the course of a month, that’s weighing say 180 at the start, and then weighing 184-186 at the end of the month, give or take a 1-2lbs for natural weight fluctuation

9. Train for Strength KPIS. Your squat, your deadlift, your shoulder press, your RDL, whatever your big compounds are, I want you to take your 6 rep max, and turn that into a 12 rep max over the next year. You will be bigger with more muscle.