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Or to put it another way - Bulking simplified...
Here is the process I developed over time that worked for me and will probably work for you too. I won't argue with other's opinions on this. This is essentially broscience. But chances are I'm bigger than you so kiss my butt lol
SUPPLEMENTS:
Do not use whey isolate. Find a blend. The best one I have found both label and taste wise is USP Labs Oxyelite Protein. It's a whey casein blend. Post workout or in a pinch, go for it. BUT THIS IS NOT A MEAL EVER!!! It is a supplement.
Creatine Monohydrate - one of the few that actually works. Decades of research showing its effectiveness. 5 grams is not an adequate dose. If you are 200lbs or more, 15 grams is a starting point. Get micronized if you can spare the change. But the regular powder works fine. Mix it in some hot coffee preworkout and chug. Just make sure its fully dissolved to avoid any stomach discomfort.
AAS:
I'm an old soul. Test, Deca, Dbol. Nothing will put more weight on you than that combo. You need to get the diet rolling or a good few months first though as AAS will cloud the action. You will gain weight yes, but once you come off suddenly your weight plummets. Because your diet wasn't it order.
Insulin will help you gain weight for sure. Very quickly. But this is a much more in depth topic that I won't cover here.
CARDIO:
Yeah don't do that. It's bad for you. I read it on pubmed... brah. But if you must don't get on the treadmill or a bike. Go drag something heavy down the street. Or get an old tire and throw it a bunch.
TRAINING:
Lift heavy. Start each training day with heavy compound movements in the 3 to 7 rep range. Then move into assistance stuff with slightly higher reps. Occasionally blow yourself out with a 20 rep or 100 rep set at the end. Stop training 5 to 6 days a week. Limit it to 4 very heavy intense days and rest up. If you think lifting heavy like that won't build muscle please kill yourself. I'm tired of hearing about how you build muscle in the 12 rep range. That's just not accurate.
To end this I'll just show you what a typical day of eating looks like for me on training and non training days
Training days
6 hardboiled eggs
2 waffles or a big bagel or 4 slices of toast with butter
3 slices bacon
7 ounces of steak
1 potato or 1 cup of rice
1 greek yogurt
quick snack - handful of pretzels with some hummus or a turkey sammich
preworkout meal
6 ounces of shiken
2 cups of rice
2 poptarts
1 scoop aminolift
Post workout meal
Sometimes a burrito at chipotle if there is a lot of traffic going home; or,
10 ounces steak
2 cups white rice
big glass of fat free milk (suck it seeker)
Prebed
1/2 quart of ice cream or frozen yogurt and moar fat free milk
Non training days
6 hardboiled eggs
6 ounces of chicken
handfull of pretzels
10oz steak
1 potato or 1 cup rice
greek yogurt before bed
CLIFFS: Stuff your face until it hurts
Here is the process I developed over time that worked for me and will probably work for you too. I won't argue with other's opinions on this. This is essentially broscience. But chances are I'm bigger than you so kiss my butt lol
- Start measuring the quantity of food you are eating. Don't calculate macros. That isn't necessary on a bulk. But you do need to know you are eating 7oz of chicken. Not just what looks like 7oz of chicken. This way you can make an adjustment later on with ease.
- Organize your meals. Prep them in advance. Don't be left unprepared.
- On non training days, your breakfast should be a meal of protein and fat. Fats are 9 calories per gram so its a good way to get in a good amount of cals to start the day. If you use a high quality fat like coconut oil, you'll get some energy too of course.
- On training days, throw in some carbs with breakfast. I like just some toast or a bagel. Sometimes I'll have a couple waffles.
- Eat the damn yolk will ya?
- Stop eating 6 meals per day. That's not necessary and a pain in the ass. Live your life. I eat 4 meals per day and one of them is usually ice cream.
- Every meal needs to have protein. Take your bodyweight and multiply by 1.2 for your protein intake.
- Most meals should have a carb source. I don't care what it is. Keep in mind if you eat sugary crap, you will train like crap. Doesn't mean brown rice every meal. That shit is gross. White rice, bread, pasta, oats, grits. Take your bodyweight and multiply by 2. There is your carb intake.
- Fats are tough. You need them for sure. They can easily throw the balance off in a good bulk though. So don't go crazy. If you are eating a ribeye steak, you really don't need to add fat to the meal. If you're eating chicken breast, add some fats. I don't really care about the source of them after meal 1 though. Just don't use peanut butter for fats. That's just stupid. Nut fats have benefits, but so often I see guys trying to get all their fats from peanut butter. Variety is the spice of life. Mix it up.
- Veggies... NO thanks.
- The tricky part now is the quantity. Above I gave you a STARTING POINT of 1.2 for protein and 2 for carbs. So follow that and if in a week you aren't gaining weight its not because you need steroids. It's because you still aren't eating enough. So dial up the calories. 1.5 for protein and 2.2 for carbs. Bump the fats slightly. Keep bumping bit by bit until you get to a point where you are gaining weight.
- Many people tell you not to get on the scale. Don't listen to that. You need metrics. If you are gaining 5lbs a week or a pound a day that's too fast and is probably more fat on your gut than you'll be happy with. So get on the scale daily. Wake up, take your morning constitution and get on the scale in the buck. Every single day. I look for 2 pounds per week. That seems to be my happy medium.
- You will gain some fat. There is no such thing as a lean bulk. If there was, there would also be a chubby cut because of yin and yang. A lean bulk is a way of saying gaining mass really damn slowly.
- Be patient. Getting large takes years. It took me 6 years to get from that 198 to my current 260. I have been as high as just over 280 and found life to be much too difficult at that point. If you aren't gaining using this advice, don't complain to me. Eat more. Everyone who eats more gains weight. Its a fact of life.
- Cutting and bulking cutting and bulking cutting and bulking... That's just going to slow you down. For beginners, just start bulking and don't stop until you are huge. I ran a bulk for years. I didn't cut until 2 years ago or so for a meet where I wanted to get below 242. The best part about running a bulk for years and training your ass off is after a few years, you're probably ready to run some gear. Which means instead of running a cut, you can recomp instead. Drop fat and keep the weight in the same ballpark? Hell yeah!
- Water intake is important. So yeah drink water. Cause if you don't, you'll die. Just drink it. I don't care if its a gallon or enough to just make you "feel" like you are hydrated. Just drink it. If you're worrying about measuring your water quantity get a therapist. You're clinically neurotic.
SUPPLEMENTS:
Do not use whey isolate. Find a blend. The best one I have found both label and taste wise is USP Labs Oxyelite Protein. It's a whey casein blend. Post workout or in a pinch, go for it. BUT THIS IS NOT A MEAL EVER!!! It is a supplement.
Creatine Monohydrate - one of the few that actually works. Decades of research showing its effectiveness. 5 grams is not an adequate dose. If you are 200lbs or more, 15 grams is a starting point. Get micronized if you can spare the change. But the regular powder works fine. Mix it in some hot coffee preworkout and chug. Just make sure its fully dissolved to avoid any stomach discomfort.
AAS:
I'm an old soul. Test, Deca, Dbol. Nothing will put more weight on you than that combo. You need to get the diet rolling or a good few months first though as AAS will cloud the action. You will gain weight yes, but once you come off suddenly your weight plummets. Because your diet wasn't it order.
Insulin will help you gain weight for sure. Very quickly. But this is a much more in depth topic that I won't cover here.
CARDIO:
Yeah don't do that. It's bad for you. I read it on pubmed... brah. But if you must don't get on the treadmill or a bike. Go drag something heavy down the street. Or get an old tire and throw it a bunch.
TRAINING:
Lift heavy. Start each training day with heavy compound movements in the 3 to 7 rep range. Then move into assistance stuff with slightly higher reps. Occasionally blow yourself out with a 20 rep or 100 rep set at the end. Stop training 5 to 6 days a week. Limit it to 4 very heavy intense days and rest up. If you think lifting heavy like that won't build muscle please kill yourself. I'm tired of hearing about how you build muscle in the 12 rep range. That's just not accurate.
To end this I'll just show you what a typical day of eating looks like for me on training and non training days
Training days
6 hardboiled eggs
2 waffles or a big bagel or 4 slices of toast with butter
3 slices bacon
7 ounces of steak
1 potato or 1 cup of rice
1 greek yogurt
quick snack - handful of pretzels with some hummus or a turkey sammich
preworkout meal
6 ounces of shiken
2 cups of rice
2 poptarts
1 scoop aminolift
Post workout meal
Sometimes a burrito at chipotle if there is a lot of traffic going home; or,
10 ounces steak
2 cups white rice
big glass of fat free milk (suck it seeker)
Prebed
1/2 quart of ice cream or frozen yogurt and moar fat free milk
Non training days
6 hardboiled eggs
6 ounces of chicken
handfull of pretzels
10oz steak
1 potato or 1 cup rice
greek yogurt before bed
CLIFFS: Stuff your face until it hurts
