04/04/2022
Bulking Progress.
Starting Weight: 67
Weight Today: 77 Kgs
Duration: 3 months
In the past, I used to promote really a really slow and controlled bulking approach. One that allowed you to stay as lean as possible whilst building muscle mass. I followed this approach myself, eating roughly at maintenance level calories (just enough food to maintain my body weight) or just slightly above that.
The results? I stayed lean during the course of last year, abs and errthaeng, but swear down? I gained like 2kgs of muscle mass. Which is negligible AF. 😭
If you want to maximize the lean muscle mass on your frame, eating in a moderate calorie surplus will get you to your goal the fastest. 200-300 calories above maintenance is an appropriate range for most people.
In addition to that, if you are serious about gaining size, you will have to sacrifice your abs. I made this mistake many a time in the past. Constantly fixating on having abs, eating in a deficit for majority of the year, and as a result, I barely made any progress.
I know this might be tough for some guys to do. However, it is important to understand that eating in a surplus, will result in some body fat being gained over time. Which is a natural part of the process! Provided your surplus isn’t massive & within the ranges I’ve provided, you will make progress just fine without having to worry about flirting with obesity.
The longer you can eat in a surplus for, provided you are training intelligently of course, the more muscle you will build. 6 months should be the bare minimum. Muscle tissue takes a long time to synthesize, so work with your body & give it ample amounts of it!
Other than that, embrace the extra fluff. It’s not that deep. So what if you don’t have abs. Your shirts will fit tighter. You will look considerably bigger in clothes. You will be brutally strong in the gym. And you have a lot of room for flexibility with your diet!
More so, when you eventually cut down and reveal what’s been hibernating beneath the fat, it will be a sight to behold 🙌🏿
Till then, stay chunky, lift heavy, sleep plenty, and the rest will take care of itself in due time 😌