For most of the bodybuilding population, the eventual goal is nothing less than a strong, muscular physique with impressive, razor-sharp definition.
Everyone wants a great body, but for those people who strive for nothing less than an ideal body, they don't just want to be huge: They want to be shredded. In pursuit of this goal, many plunge into their programs headfirst, eager to get started and gain muscle. Bulking up might be the motivation, but everyone is worried about gaining excess body fat at the same time.
If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.
This is simply the nature of the entire process and if you really want to travel a significant way in the "bulking" direction, you have to be willing to accept this.
In order to gain muscle size, you must consume a surplus of calories in order to support protein synthesis. However, there is no way to divert 100% of this caloric surplus towards muscle growth. A certain amount of it will always end up as stored body fat.
You first goal is for the most dramatic gain in the shortest time. To that end it's always better to focus first on muscle gain over a set period of time, followed by another period of time concentrating on losing the unwanted body fat.
You never want to lose body fat during the bulking phase. You simply want to gain as little as possible.
There are three main tips to accomplish this:
1) Use a precise caloric surplus. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.
Generally speaking, the caloric surplus necessary for supporting muscle growth is approximately 15-20% more calories than you'd eat to maintain your current weight. If you're already at that level of consumption, you don't need to go any higher.
2) Watch what you eat. You should be concentrating your diet on lean, high quality proteins, high fiber carbohydrates, and unsaturated, healthy fats.
Rather than aimlessly chowing down on every food item in sight, make sure that you're sticking to lean protein sources, keeping blood sugar levels stable through proper carbohydrate choices, and avoiding high amounts of saturated fats.
3) Implement cardio sessions. There's no need to go overboard here, but implementing 2-3 cardio sessions throughout the week is another way to cut down on fat gains during a bulking cycle.
Keep these sessions no more than 10-20 minutes long, sticking to high intensity/low duration forms, as these kinds of session have the advantage of not causing the same amount of muscle loss as longer duration forms.
Once you're at a size you're happy with and the muscle gain you want, you can focus your attention on losing that body fat. However, you want to keep working to avoid losing the muscle you've just gained. And remember that while bulking up, you're going to gain body fat. There's simply no way around it.
However, just keep in mind that while bulking up, gaining some body fat is inevitable and the trick is simply to minimize it rather than totally avoid it.
Everyone wants a great body, but for those people who strive for nothing less than an ideal body, they don't just want to be huge: They want to be shredded. In pursuit of this goal, many plunge into their programs headfirst, eager to get started and gain muscle. Bulking up might be the motivation, but everyone is worried about gaining excess body fat at the same time.
If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.
This is simply the nature of the entire process and if you really want to travel a significant way in the "bulking" direction, you have to be willing to accept this.
In order to gain muscle size, you must consume a surplus of calories in order to support protein synthesis. However, there is no way to divert 100% of this caloric surplus towards muscle growth. A certain amount of it will always end up as stored body fat.
You first goal is for the most dramatic gain in the shortest time. To that end it's always better to focus first on muscle gain over a set period of time, followed by another period of time concentrating on losing the unwanted body fat.
You never want to lose body fat during the bulking phase. You simply want to gain as little as possible.
There are three main tips to accomplish this:
1) Use a precise caloric surplus. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.
Generally speaking, the caloric surplus necessary for supporting muscle growth is approximately 15-20% more calories than you'd eat to maintain your current weight. If you're already at that level of consumption, you don't need to go any higher.
2) Watch what you eat. You should be concentrating your diet on lean, high quality proteins, high fiber carbohydrates, and unsaturated, healthy fats.
Rather than aimlessly chowing down on every food item in sight, make sure that you're sticking to lean protein sources, keeping blood sugar levels stable through proper carbohydrate choices, and avoiding high amounts of saturated fats.
3) Implement cardio sessions. There's no need to go overboard here, but implementing 2-3 cardio sessions throughout the week is another way to cut down on fat gains during a bulking cycle.
Keep these sessions no more than 10-20 minutes long, sticking to high intensity/low duration forms, as these kinds of session have the advantage of not causing the same amount of muscle loss as longer duration forms.
Once you're at a size you're happy with and the muscle gain you want, you can focus your attention on losing that body fat. However, you want to keep working to avoid losing the muscle you've just gained. And remember that while bulking up, you're going to gain body fat. There's simply no way around it.
However, just keep in mind that while bulking up, gaining some body fat is inevitable and the trick is simply to minimize it rather than totally avoid it.
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