How long should be a bulking phase?

[anrikero]

Hello!

How long should be a bulking phase?

I would like to know what you people think about it. I have read that a good one is about 1 year. But experiences are worthy than articles read on the web


Diego.

[Juggarnaut]

I think a bulking phase should be no more then a couple of months - the a few weeks of lighter exersice to give the body a chance to rest and recover

I am in to my 6th week of one and will be doing a coupple more weeks beofre taking a break - but tell you what - the gains have been awsome - benched 315 the other day for 4 times so it must be doing someting right with it.

also I have notice my pumps are much deeper and muscle look fuller afterward

I got my routine out of Reps - I really like that mag. it was in the Summer issue if you wanna check it out .

Take care

Jugg.

[arpeejay]

Until you are gigantically huge, of course! Just make sure you take pix all along the way!

xoxo

richard

[inflated]

Originally Posted by arpeejay

Until you are gigantically huge, of course! Just make sure you take pix all along the way!

xoxo

richard

Unless you are planning on competing bulking can be a continuous process-that way you are focusing on a fairly lean bulk up and cutting down is not an issue.

[ChunkJGZX]

Originally Posted by inflated

Unless you are planning on competing bulking can be a continuous process-that way you are focusing on a fairly lean bulk up and cutting down is not an issue.

That's good to read! That was pretty much my attitude about it (I have some extra fat on my body but I don't want to stop adding muscle to get rid of it).

I was actually wondering this the other day, though--I was going to switch up my supplement stack and I wondered if the body ever needs a significant break from "bulking."

[cccatl]

Originally Posted by anrikero

Hello!

How long should be a bulking phase?

One year is too long for most people.

The short answer maybe a few months at most.

The longer answer is:

1) Until you overtrain - then you need to take a break
2) Until you plateau - then you need to start the periodization cycle again.

The even longer answer is:
The two points in the longer answer section are true, but there are many ways to avoid overtraining and plateauing, e.g. diet, changing exercises, rep ranges, intensity, sets, roids, etc.

Even after you've maxed out all those things, most people still need to end bulking phases after a few months.

Personally, for me, I bulk for approximately 2 months. During that time, I'm getting the diet right, continuously increasing poundages, making sure I'm getting sore. After about 2 months, I've about had it. I'm cranky and on the verge of overtraining.

Then I back off and do active rest for about 2 weeks (I'm active, but not lifting). Then, start the periodization again, i.e. back off on the poundages, work on endurance for about 2-4 weeks. Then I start a bulking phase again.

[inflated]

It is possible to be on what seems like a constant bulking period that lasts more than a year. If you keep the gains lean and do a modified bulk you can bulk a lot more and for a longer period. Eat lean, fairly high protein, healthy food and your gains can be leaner and can continue for an extended time. Bulking doesn't necessarily need to mean eating junk, a lean diet will help you to stay leaner while bulking. Of course it is necessary to switch up the gym routine often enough to avoid overtraining and injury.

[polomuscle]

there isn't just one answer to the question. the main thing is to use periodization to maximize the science and minimize overtraining. you can do short hypertrophy cycles, or longer ones. it really depends on your goals (size? power?).... read "Serious Strength Training" by Dr. Bompa and follow one of the many different programs. also, experiment, and see what works for you...two months of bulking? 3 months? are you resting enough? and like CCCATL said, are you changing variables?

[dallasmsl]

One of the common mistakes of people who are in their "Bulking phase" is that they eliminate any form of cardio because they want to use their calories to build muscle. This is a wrong approach. Continue to keep your heart healthy and continue to burn the fat...just feed the muscle more with more protein!
Good luck.

[FRNKPBDY]

During the bulking phase, the goal is to put on as much lean mass as possible. In order to do this one must eat vast amounts of calories per day. A good rule of thumb is to multiply your weight by 20 to find the number of calories you need to be taking in, to be gaining mass.

For example, someone who weighs 160lbs would probably need to take in about 3200 calories per day to gain mass at a decent rate.

Another thing needed to gain muscle rapidly is to have a good balance of the three macronutrients in your diet. A bodybuilder's diet should consist of roughly 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. Eating enough carbs and fats is usually not a problem and a good way to make sure you are getting enough protein is to take in one gram of protein, per pound of body weight.

Another thing you need to gain muscle, and stay healthy is good hydration. You must stay well hydrated to create a good environment for your muscle cells to grow. A good way to make sure you are taking in enough water is your urine should be clear or a very pail yellow.

Also, you shouldn't be going to the bathroom every 5 minutes, if this is the case then your drinking to much water and putting unnecessary strain on your kidneys.

Supplements For Bulking

Supplements are not necessary, but are very helpful and can help you to make gains much more quickly. Some supplements that are safe for almost anyone to take and only offer minimal side effects that I would recommend to almost any bodybuilder include multivitamins, protein, and creatine.

Multivitamins

Multivitamins are a good supplement because they help your body receive many of the essential nutrients needed for muscle growth. Though multivitamins may not cause you to gain huge amounts of muscle, they will help promote a good environment for muscle growth. Also, there are minimal side effects.

Protein

Protein is a good supplement to take because it ensures that you are receiving enough protein in your diet. This is important because protein is what your body uses to create cell growth. Protein has almost no side effects what so ever and is safe for practically anyone.

Creatine

Creatine is a good supplement to take because it can help to overcome a plateau and can cause a quick boost in strength and around 10lbs of lean mass. Creatine does not have any side effects as long as you make sure to stay well hydrated while taking it.

I hope this helps.

FP

[musclegrowthdm]

I've heard 1.4 x your body weight in grams of protein.

Also, if I'm getting that much protein.. I need to control the carbs or I get the super gut. that's my issue.

[falseyedee]

anrikero, any news? how are you progressing? hope you're well.

[BIGJOEY]

if your a competive bodybuilder its a process.for myself a bulk is usually 3-4 months followed by a 6 week cut to see what has improved. then a rebulk.
supplement i use are as follows
bulking
protein powder, waxy maize
bcaa chromium picolate
eaa vit e
creatine vit d
glutamine vit b complex
milk thistle saw palmetto
cranberry

curring i drop the creatine and addin a detox-colon cleanse.

also i drop certain carbs and increase cardio and add in cla


hopw this helps

[xythan_shadow]

You do a 3-4 month cycle? While I'm nowhere near a bodybuilder, the guy that I talk to at the gym every day and is competiting tends to bulk up until 3 months out of the show.

So, I guess my comment is, it probably depends on person to person.

[inflated]

If you are competing then a bulk must be followed by a cut, however if you are simply in it to put on muscular size then that is a different story. If your aim is to be as big as and muscular as possible then you can be on an endless bulk. Eating clean is necessary as is intense training that is consistently adjusted to keep from getting stale. Consistent gains can be had over the years with a constant bulking period that is evenly paced in regards to growth and diet.

[FuzzyKB]

There is no single set rule that works for everybody. Some in training these days actually disagree with the bulking /cutting cycles, but personally from what I have seen they work.

Some indidviduals profit more by deliberately adding body fat and then using the glycogen boost to burn it off and up their poundages. This is the case with my 21 year old nephew. He then burns off the fat and what is left behind is more muscle each time.

The main thing to remember is that bulking cycles can be hard on your body because of the circulatory changes that they necessitate.

The main rule I would follow would be to limit the number of bulking cycles to at most twice per year and one is better. If you are a hard gainer then two is probably mandatory.

My nephew is in bulking right now and will probably end somewhere about 210-220 for this round. He will then cut off the fat and drop back down to about 180-185. This is amazing considering he is 5'5" tall. Last year the bulking ended at 195 and he dropped back down to 170.

There is no one single right or wrong system. It is what works for you that counts/

[Harlee]

Just finished my latest bulking cycle on May 1, 2009. It started back in September 2008. I grew alot. That's the long bulk cycle i've ever done. I'm trying to stay competitive in size with a buddy who's 320+. This bulk cycle I put on more bf than I planned. But took it off in less than four months.

[cccatl]

What do you do for cutting? I bulk pretty easily. But, I'm bad a cutting. What do you do for cutting? Is it just a matter of eating less and doing more cardio? Or is there more to it than that?

[FuzzyKB]

Originally Posted by Michael92Gales

Heard that dieting after bulking is harmful for health, is it so?

The problem is the use of the word "dieting". A "cutting" cycle where the bf is greatly reduced is not really in the same league as when a person who is considerably overweight cuts the calories.

A bodybuilder is an athlete who is constantly in training. When one goes from a bulking cycle to a cutting cycle they do cut caloric intake, but it is more an elimination of certain kinds of fats and an increase in good carbs than what is done to reduce obesity. The exercise goes from lifting at maximum poundages to a reduction with reps doubled or tripled, in addition the quantity of cardio is slowly ramped up with the cardio activities best suited for what an individual can tolerate. For some it is running or jogging, for others it is a bicycle, and for others it may be other things.

Some years ago I had a good friend who suffered from extreme obesity. In his adult lifetime his low weight was about 225lbs. He was 6'6" tall and for him this was his absolute low. The problem is that he loved food and his weight repeatedly ballooned to between 450 and 500 pounds. He would get the "you're gonna die sucker" speech and then over a period of a year he would get back down below the 300 pound mark only to put it back on. In about 2007 after his retirement he moved to Northern California where he died at about age 64. He was a great and a brilliant man, but, I would suspect that his numerous extreme gains and losses were at minimum a contributing factor to his early demise. Remember he was extremely obese and his gaining cycles were periods where he gained enough to constitute a second large person not at all resembling what a bodybuilder does.

As a general rule a single bulking cycle for a given bodybuilder will max out between 30 and 60 pounds depending on the over all size of the individual. This is very different again than the rises and falls of a morbidly obese individual.

When it comes to an actual diet as we would associate with obesity, you are absolutely right in that major diets with extreme weight loss are not good especially if the person puts it right back on. These individuals doing the harm are however not in any stretch of the imagination athletes and may have questionable health on many levels.

[masood]

Originally Posted by Juggarnaut

I think a bulking phase should be no more then a couple of months - the a few weeks of lighter exersice to give the body a chance to rest and recover

I am in to my 6th week of one and will be doing a coupple more weeks beofre taking a break - but tell you what - the gains have been awsome - benched 315 the other day for 4 times so it must be doing someting right with it.

also I have notice my pumps are much deeper and muscle look fuller afterward

I got my routine out of Reps - I really like that mag. it was in the Summer issue if you wanna check it out .

Take care

Jugg.

bro can you show me you program and neutrution . i have just started one week ago and would like to know some advice. thanks

[THE BODYBUILDING GIANT]

i dont call it bulking phase i call it offseason size. i would make sure my bulk/offseason phase puts on good quality muslce not fat and water. so monitor and keep looking at your body in the mirror but put quality muscle not just mass and fat

[inflated]

Originally Posted by nathan

i dont call it bulking phase i call it offseason size. i would make sure my bulk/offseason phase puts on good quality muslce not fat and water. so monitor and keep looking at your body in the mirror but put quality muscle not just mass and fat

Exactly, when gaining offseason size it is important to monitor bodyfat percentage and to eat healthy, putting on muscle mass doesn't mean eating garbage.