The most controversial decision in bodybuilding…
… AND, if you are looking in the mirror and wanting to make adjustments to your body – you are bodybuilding.
Maybe not to the extent of the athletes that land magazine covers and step on stage… But if you want to lose weight, cut off body fat, add lean muscle tissue or be more toned and you look to manipulate your body using supplements, nutrition and exercise – Yeap, that’s definitely bodybuilding.
So, the most controversial decision in bodybuilding
The TWO biggest decisions people are CONSTANTLY discussing in the gym.
Are you adding lean mass?
OR,
Are you cutting down?
Male or female, it doesn’t matter.
Women may need to complete a bulking phase to add lean sexy muscle just the same as lads do.
I personally have coached some very very slim girls who were under weight and wanted to pack on lean healthy muscle to their frame to create thicker thighs, a bigger ass and more upper body shape.
People in the gym typically fit in to one of those two categories. Bulking up OR cutting down.
I’ve written this post in the hope it’ll clear a few things up and help you decide which one to focus on.
You MUST decide one or the other.
You CANNOT do well at achieving both at the same time – unless you cheat and use pro hormones, fat burners or steroids!
I mean, you could gain a little bit of lean muscle when cutting – the same as you could lose a little bit of body fat while trying to add lean muscle.
But ultimately, my advice is, you’ve GOT to choose one or the other.
If you try and achieve both at the same time the results will be real slow and it’ll take an age to transform your body.
Here’s why…
To lose fat and cut down and get lean and toned – it requires you to eat less food and burn more calories. Be in what we call – a calorie deficit.
Then, to add lean mass it requires you to eat more calories than what you burn day to day. Be in what we call – a calorie surplus.
The goals oppose each other, in terms of requirements to achieve them.
When choosing to add mass it’s very hard to be exact and pinpoint exactly how many calories you should consume per day to add ¼ ½ to 1lb of LEAN muscle, each week – without FAT!
It’s almost impossible to figure that out to add lean muscle without any fat accumulation.
So you have to slightly over estimate.
You can’t under estimate or else you’ll not get very good results and muscle gain will be very very slow – if any at all.
So you have to slightly over estimate your calories and try to control the excess calories with extra cardio.
Basically what I’m saying is – it’s inevitable that when bulking up, there’s going to be some accumulation of fat as well!
Because of that alone – it’s very common for people to start that phase of their training NOW. In September, when the weather starts to get a little colder.
The slow cooker comes out and proper hot cooked meals become more popular containing naturally more carbs and fats.
When you’re gonna’ be wearing bigger clothes. Coats, jackets and sweatshirts rather than t shirts and vests.
When it maybe doesn’t matter so much about being as lean and having abs.
When it doesn’t matter as much being a little soft and smooth rather than cut and shredded with hard dry muscle.
Now, I’m not talking about getting proper chubby while bulking. But you’ll likely lose some definition with the small accumulation of fat gained.
So, if you’re up for switching things up?
This post is to help those who are up for adding 20, 30, 40lb of head turning mass this “bulking season” (Autumn/Winter). Here’s some things for you to consider:
#1) Calories – Figure out how many you need to start off with. The aim is to get weighed every 7 days and to gain ¼ of a lb up to 2lb every time. If you gain more than that – unless you’re on the gear, using pro hormones or test boosters, then, any more than 2lb gain per week will be too much fat gain.
If you didn’t even gain ¼ lb that week – you need to add 500kcals to your daily intake.
Keep adding 500kcals to your daily intake for every week that you didn’t gain ¼ to ½ lb!
There’s a very high chance that some people need to be on 4000kcals per day to gain half a pound a week. It all depends on your daily activity level, how active you are at work and how fast your metabolism is.
#2) – Macros – Once you’ve figured out the calories you need to split them down in to your macros – that’s protein carbs and fats.
Use that to figure out how many grams per day of each you’ll need to eat. From the total amount of calories you’ve figured – shoot for 30% of which is protein, 45% carbs and 25% is fats.
#3) Supplements – The essentials! I’m not gonna’ explain each one in depth in this post. That’s detail for another day! Just trust me, and use them. They’re on my ‘essentials’ list for good reason. Multivitamins. Zinc & Magnesium caps. High quality protein powder, hydrolysate/isolate – do not buy cheap shit, but on the other hand, some of the expensive stuff isn’t great just coz it’s expensive. Finally, ‘creapure’ creatine monohydrate.
#4) Training Plan – Whilst the main part of your progress is in staying focused and consistently eating the right stuff with the right amounts, at the right times – You’ve also gotta’ be consistent in the gym every week too.
Figure out a body part split training routine that works for YOU – and STICK TO IT!
3 day full body, 3 day push pull legs, 4 day split body parts or push/pull or upper body/lower body, 5 6 or 7 day body part hard core body part per day splits.
I could probably advise which one you should do. But this post is in general for a wide range of people.
Weigh up the pros and cons and choose one. Alternatively, ask me and I’ll help you.
Just get your training plan in place and FOLLOW IT! It needs to have 6 month worth of progression and it needs to be at the right level for YOU! Not your mate who has different genetics, different work and family commitments etc.
So, I’m aware this post is getting a little long.
I’m going to leave you with those 4 things for today.
Organise your calories and macros split.
Start putting together the ultimate custom training plan – or ask me for help.
Get your supplements ordered – or put in some extra shifts over the next week so you can afford £100 to order them.
I’m gonna’ call this article PART 1.
In part 2 I’ll cover more about:
- How to make your body produce the same hormones naturally which the big guys are injecting into their ass with 3 inch needles. Put simply, growth hormone, testosterone and insulin and the natural hormones you NEED to regulate naturally if you are build 20 or 30lb of lean muscle over the next 6 month. You regulate and manipulate them tactically by planning your diet, training and supplements effectively.
- Pre / Post Workout Nutrition! Getting your nutrients right so that you are going into your workout with optimal energy and focus is paramount. And then, finishing your workout and providing your body with the correct nutrients it needs to kick start the muscle growth process.
- Recovery & Sleep – You don’t grow in the gym. You grow when you sleep, recover, rest and repair. But your recovery strategy is almost more important than the actual training if you wanna’ pack on slabs of muscle.
- Hydration – The body needs to remain optimally hydrated. We’ll touch on that.
- Meal Frequency & Timing – Ensuring you have the correct balance of nutrients throughout the day is mega important. I’ll teach you how to do it right.
- Stress Levels – At times of stress and unhappiness the body produces a hormone which we need to LIMIT. When this hormone is present it DESTROYS muscle and STORES fat! The opposite of what we want. It’s nicknamed the “bodybuilder’s nightmare”. I’ll teach you how to control it.
To receive notification about part 2 when I’ve written and posted it, along with other ongoing helpful tips and advice for how to pack on up to 40lb of fat free mass this Autumn/Winter… sign up to my new newsletter.
If not, check back for part 2 soon.
Post any questions in the comments.
Talk soon,
Si
