The Top 10 Do's and Don'ts of Bulking
Yaaaaay! Do you know what time of year is creeping right around the corner? 'HALLOWEEN' you scream 'PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE'S you shriek! THE RETURN OF MY SACRED YELLOW SWEATER' you cry! You'd be completely... right.Well in most cases anyway, especially if you're a high school girl living in America lol. But fortunately that isn't where this post is headed.
I am talking about the holy season of BULKING. Oh yeah, it's time to store away those bikini's for the season and get 100% ready to put on lbs. Because believe it or not you WILL have to be putting on some 'weight' if you reeeeally want to see an increase in muscle mass.
I can hear thousands of girls screaming inside already. And yes one of those girls is definitely me.
But have no fear. If bulking season is done correctly, the results will amaze you! You're probably thinking, 'How would I even go about starting to bulk and how can it be done without getting 'fat' or putting on extra lbs where it's not needed?' Well there are various ways to bulk but I'm just going to make it plain black and white for you, so without further ado here are my 10 top DO's and DON'Ts of bulking season:
1. DO increase your caloric intake. Now caloric intake is always different for everyone but you will roughly need to increase your calorie intake by 30% On average a woman is recommended to intake 2000 calories per day. This means that 500 calories extra would be sufficient. Having 6-8 smaller meals rather than 3-4 big meals makes it A LOT easier to consume.
2. DON'T think that you can eat anything in site! Yes you can have cheat meals here and there but if you are doing this all the time just expect to be gaining fat and not muscle (and in the wrong places too!)
3. DO cardio. That's right. Just because you're bulking. it doesn't mean you should slack on your cardio (hands up I do this sometimes and feel like poop when I don't do it) you wont' 'lose' all of your gains by doing this. And if you really are not convinced then just minimize your cardio time. So if you normally do 20 minutes,make it 10. Just don't skip it guys and gals.
4. DON'T worry about weighing yourself. It's inevitable that you are going to be putting on weight throughout the season. But just keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat.
5. DO give your muscles time to recover. If you don't give specific muscle groups time to recover then you will be breaking down tissue that is already broken, leading to injuries. Always allow at least 48-72 hour recovery periods.
6. DON'T do the same as what you did for your last workout. Obviously train the same muscles, even do the same exercise BUT each session you do make sure you add a little weight, or add another rep or even do the exercise a little differently.
7. DO compound movements. Why you ask? Because they engage the most amount of muscles in your body at one time. Squatting for instance activates pretty much activates every muscle in your body (lil secret.. it also helps for building muscle as well as fat loss, win win!)
8. DON'T lift more than you're physically able to. Now I get it, you don't want to look like a 'sissy' with tiny weights when you're in the gym, especially if you're a guy. If you're lifting more than you're able to it's only going to inhibit your performance. Firstly, form will be terrible which will lead to an injury which will then mean you'll have to be taking time away from the gym to recover. In a nutshell you'll just be setting yourself up for disaster. So listen do your gal and do what she says!! Lol
9. DO have a set goal in mind. It doesn't have to be anything major. It could just be a goal of becoming stronger for your job. As long as you have something to work towards it'll help you stay on track
10. DON'T assume most of your macros need to come from protein.The bulk of your macros should actually be coming from fats and carbs. Now I don't mean a meal like McDonald's or a Chinese. I mean healthy fats such as peanut butter or avacado's or nuts and complex carbs which includes, oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato and so on.
Now that you have the basic outlines of bulking go out and get it girl!!.. And guys of course and see where this season takes you!!