The Truth About Bulking
Can you build muscle without bulking? Is bulking/cutting phase a really good idea?
Bulking involves intake of huge amounts of food and hence calories to gain size and muscle whereas cutting involves intense cardio and clean eating in order to get rid of the fat and have a ripped body.
It’s true that to gain size you need to eat. You can’t build muscle if you are not supplying your body with sufficient calories and nutrients; in fact the chances are that you may end up losing some muscle.
So, if you aren’t consuming enough it is likely that your muscle growth campaign wouldn’t kick start, but that doesn’t mean the more you eat the more muscle you will grow. Eating in excess will only make you fatter.
Your body has a limited capacity to build muscle in the given amount of time. This capacity is different for every individual and depends upon your genetics, muscle fiber make up, the testosterone levels and other complex things. In the best possible circumstances, that is proper diet, training, supplementation and recovery, you can add upto 2 pounds of muscle in a month. But, with muscle, your water and glycogen storing capacity also increases, which means if you are gaining more than 3 pounds a month, the excess is definitely fat.
There are some issues related to the bulking/cutting phase –
•Limiting the amount of time you spend gaining muscle
If you bulk for 6 months and cut for 3, you are just gaining muscle for 6 months. It is virtually impossible to gain muscle while you are trying to get lean. In fact, you could end up losing muscle.
• Weight fluctuations are not good for your body
The drastic weight fluctuations that you go through during bulking/cutting takes a toll on your body. It could trigger certain medical problems which are generally related to obesity.
• Followed by professional bodybuilders
Competitive bodybuilders who follow this approach take performance enhancing drugs. Anabolic substances such as steroids, Human Growth hormone, insulin etc can aid the body in building muscles which it can’t produce on its own. Also, steroids prevent the fall of muscle mass while dieting.
Similarly, there are certain substances which accelerate the fat loss process.
If your only aim for working out is to look good and gain some muscle then I would advice not to follow the bulking/cutting advice like all others at your gym. Like training, the key to increasing lean muscle mass is steady progression.
Do not use the traditional “Bulking” phase as an excuse to eat all the kind of crap you want. Be consistent in your eating habits and gain muscle while keeping the fat to the minimum.
