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The Question: The season of cutting is quickly coming to a close. Now our focus turns to bulking and building more quality muscle mass and strength. The question now is how do we do that without gaining to much fat. What is the best workout during a bulking phase of training? Be as descriptive as possible. List sets, reps, etc. What type of diet would you follow during this type of training? Be specific. What supplementation plan would you follow? Bonus Question: Have you ever followed a plan that was exclusively tailored to bulking? What are the positives to this type of training? What are the negatives to this type of training? Show off your knowledge to the world! The Winners:
2nd place - $50 in store credit. To use your credit, e-mail Will @ will@bodybuilding.com for more info.
The time for taking our shirts off and strutting around the beach is over. For some of us, it's a happy ending to the starvation diet we know as "cutting". Summer is gone and it's time to start bulking again for winter. Many things come to mind when you hear the term Bulk: new diet, a new supplement plan, new workout routines, etc. Today, we are here to talk about all of these!
While bulking, a strength routine is a must. More strength = more size. Therefore, the best workout routine while bulking is undoubtedly a 5x5 routine. A 5x5 routine is the one of the most reputable strength routines there is. But, as anyone who has researched a 5x5 program knows, there are several versions of this routine. The 5x5 program that I have made the best gains off of was written by Madcow. It is known as Madcow's write up of the 5x5. Myself, as well as many others, believe that it is the best write up of this program. I made huge gains in strength, as well as size from this routine and many other have stated the same. This program requires three workouts per week and there must be at least a day between workouts. The program focuses mainly on compound movements such as squats, bench, rows, deadlifts, dips, etc. Below is a brief overview of the program.
Compounds: Assistance:
Compounds:
Compounds:
You should hit your current 5 rep max at week 4 of this routine. The routine calls for adding 5 pounds per week to each compound exercise. If you fail to get all 5 reps just repeat the same week over again next week. Further details on this routine can be found here.
  Click Image To Enlarge. You Should Reach Your 5 Rep Max At Week 4.
As we all know, diet is a huge part of any bodybuilder's life. On a bulk, the only thing a bodybuilder should be worried about is getting down as many calories as possible. Below I will include a meal plan that adds up to about 3080 calories, 258 grams of protein, 90 grams of fat, and 303 grams of carbs.
This diet plan should provide plenty of calories, fats, carbs, and protein to gain some serious weight. Sticking to a good diet is the key to success in our sport. With a diet like this your weight and gains should skyrocket.
 Click Image To Enlarge. A Good Diet Is Key In Our Sport.
Supplementation is an important part of bodybuilding. There are some essential supplements, some supplements that speed up the recovery process, and some supplements that can provide that extra boost every bodybuilder needs at one time or another.
Multivitamin: Every bodybuilder needs a good multivitamin. My current multivitamin requires me to take 2 dosages (one in the morning and one before bed). I can honestly say that I notice a different in my daily function when I forget to take my morning multivitamin.
EFA's: Essential fatty acids are a key part of bodybuilding. Good sources of these are fish oil and flax oil. Both of these are very affordable and any bodybuilder can benefit from these. If one chooses to use fish oil as a form of EFA's, I'd recommend getting those with an orange or lemon flavoring. Some peoples' stomachs don't react well with fish oil and nobody wants to have a fish taste in their mouth all day. With the orange/lemon flavor, when one burps, he/she won't be tasting fish, but rather a pleasant orange/lemon delight.
Whey Protein: Whey protein can help speed up the recovery process. I take whey protein in the morning, after my workout, and before bed. With whey protein, no bodybuilder should ever have trouble getting enough protein in their diet.
Dextrose: Dextrose is a great source of carbs. I put dextrose in my post workout shake. It helps replenish your body with much needed carbohydrates.
Creatine: Great muscle build and speeds up recovery.
NO Product: Helps recovery by allowing more blood to flow to the muscles. People also love the pumps they get while on NO.
ZMA: Natural test booster/promotes sleep. I get really deep sleeps if I take ZMA before bed.
Energy Supplement: These are really great on those days you just don't feel like working out. Anyone who works out in the morning can really benefit from these. Great energy supplements I've tried:
Serious Muscle Builder: 
There are a few supplements that promise great gains in only a few months. One proven one is X-factor. People have been experiencing great gains in weight and strength while using X-factor. Side affects of X-factor include acne, headaches, and dry/cracked skin. E-bol and Halodrol-liquigels are products that just came out on the market but promise great gains.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Supplementation Is An Important Part Of Bodybuilding.
Yes, while bulking I followed a 5x5 routine with no real diet or supplementation plan. The gains were great. I followed this plan for 15 weeks and I made enormous gains in strength and weight. At week 6 in my routine I already added 15 pounds to my bench and 20 pounds to my squats, deadlifts, and rows. In total I added 30 pounds to my 5 rep max bench, 40 pounds to my squat and rows, and 35 pounds to my deadlifts. I also increased 15 pounds in bodyweight. I noticed a difference in sports performance also. I went from being the fast little guy on my hockey team, to the fast little guy who no one could knock off the puck. I couldn't find any negative aspects of this program. It really pushes you to the limit and it is not for wimps. On this program, only the strong survive.
Anyone can benefit from this bulking plan! If you follow the routine, the diet, and you supplement properly, you can expect to see huge gains in size, strength, and weight. Athletes involved in football, hockey, lacrosse, or any other contact sport can definitely benefit from this program. I made huge gains off this program and I'm sure that you can too.
Happy lifting and best regards,
What would be the best way to put on a maximum amount of muscle? Well, it would obviously vary from person to person as everyone is at a different stage. A beginner may benefit more from a program like Starting Strength, which focuses entirely on taking absolutely 100% of the "newb gains" you will experience. But here, I'm going to assume you've already done that. You're an intermediate. This means you have fairly good lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, row, etc.) already. And you already have a solid foundation of strength.
 Click Image To Enlarge. A Solid Foundation Of Strength. This is important. Why? Because you body does not grow from the muscles getting "pumped" then breaking down and building back up. Well actually that's partially accurate. But the reason your body wants to gain muscle in the first place is a result of the CNS, or central nervous system, getting stronger, and being able to move more weight. That forces the body to add muscle, assuming you eat enough to support that.
Ok, now that we have established where you are, I'd like to restate it one more time because I feel it's that important. If you are a beginner, and do not have decent lifts, do not follow an intermediate program. It will not hurt anything, but you would experience much faster gains following a program that allows you to increase more frequently. The program I am going to show you is the basic intermediate 5x5 program.
Now, when I say 5x5, I don't mean 5 full sets of 5. I am referring to 4 sets working up to one max set of 5. It would look something like this:
In the original 5x5 program written by Bill Starr, he would have his clients focus on the squat, bench press, and power clean only. He would set it up and have a heavy, light, and medium day each week. Unfortunately a program like that is very bland and although would work, I know for a fact 99% of you reading wouldn't do I due to it's tastelessness. However, a user named 'madcow2' (big thanks to him by the way for all he contributes) has a modified version of this program. And although it's still doing to be very basic compared to the routines you're probably used to that the muscle magazines publish where you're doing 100 exercises per body part, it is still much more effective. It's all about progression. Isolation exercises are there only to assist you in increasing on the big lifts. They do not induce a great deal of overall hypertrophy (muscle growth). Well here is the program. Remember what I said about ramping the weights up earlier. You might need to reread that chart.
The max sets on this day should be 5 pounds greater than the max sets on Monday. Unless you failed at last Monday's attempt.
Ok Friday is where it gets tricky. Just read what I'm saying carefully.
Ok, not too hard now is it? Shouldn't be. Just reread it if you don't understand. It's actually quite simple. You're going to be increasing every week on these lifts if you eat enough. Which leads me to the next part.
Again, like I said in my last article, diet is pretty self-explanatory. You have to have a caloric excess to gain weight. Whether that weight will be muscle or fat depends on what you eat. For the record, Mark Rippetoe has his high school clients drink a gallon of whole milk a day on top of their normal meals.
Ok so the point is, don't be afraid of food. Get 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Eat a lot of oats and brown rice for carbs. Peanut butter for fats. Don't over think this. Just eat a lot of food and you'll grow. No need to count calories.
Don't over think this either. With all the ads published in all the muscle mags, you may feel like you need the latest greatest supplement to grow. You don't. Take some cheapo whey post workout. Whey is whey. There's no "more digestible" types.
Creatine is also acceptable post workout. Multivitamins are said to be beneficial. And EFA's won't hurt anything either. If you are constantly on the go and sometimes miss a meal, weight gainer shakes are fine.
This question does not make sense. You either follow a program to gain muscle, or you don't. There's nothing in-between. You don't follow a program tailored 85% to bulking and 15% to cutting. So "this" type of training is how you would train if you want to gain muscle. Don't get me wrong. The intermediate 5x5 isn't the only way to gain a lot of muscle. It just gets ridiculous when people start splitting up their body into body parts and doing certain parts on certain days. You see it in the muscle magazines because the pros encourage this type of training. Regrettably pros take a ton of steroids and have a sh!t load of mass on them to start with. Therefore a program that they follow is the last thing you want to follow. Remember, as long as you are progressing consistently, there are no "negatives" to this type of training. Other than perhaps lifting this heavy constantly may increase the risk of you using bad form and injuring yourself. Be very careful. And use flawless form on every rep.
Don't be overwhelmed by the pro routines because of the big guy standing next to it flexing his biceps in the magazine you're reading. Compounds are the way to go in terms of mass. They may not be the funnest thing in the world and may not give you that pump everyone loves. But they will make you grow. As Dave Tate says, "Compare a set of calf raises to a set of bent-over rows. Which one is the p*ssy going to choose?" Well I hope you've learned at least something from this article. There is a boatload of information that can be found here if you're interesting in learning more from madcow2 on his version of the intermediate 5x5. Best regards!!
*core work: exercises present to help strengthen the core to prevent injuries and help through lifts. Include, ab work {crunches etc...}, and lower back work {hypers, supermans etc..} Because you are doing the core work 3x a week there shouldn't be more than 6 sets.
80% of your bulking goals comes from your diet, and only 20% comes from the training. Your diet should consist of 4000 calories or more depending on your weight, so in essence, 20 calories per pound of bodyweight. The ratio of calories in all your meals should be 30 % Protein, 40-50% Carbohydrates (depending on your current BF %), and 20-30% Fats.
 Click Image To Enlarge. 80% Of Bulking Comes From Your Diet. With protein, you need around 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight, and only 30% of it should come from Protein Powder, the rest should come from solid meals. With fats, you need to take in good fats such as EFA's. And finally with the carbohydrates - Make sure the carbs you are getting are good complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, potatoes, rice, whole wheat bread etc...
For optimal results, your diet has to be broken down into 6-7 meals a day, with your absolute largest meal being your fist meal.
For bulking the most basic and essential supplements you need are:
Those 4 are a definite must in a bulking plan, you really do not need to get real fancy with the supplements you are taking. Keep in mind they are supplements, and they mean just that, something to help supplement your training and nutrition. Therefore if your diet and training is dead on, you don't really need to get into all the fancy supps.
 Click Image To Enlarge. You Don't Need To Get Real Fancy With Your Supplements. Some other supplements I would get into if you are really keen and interested in supplements (and also have the money) are:
Yes, back in the day I always went through a stage of bulking, and later a stage of cutting.
The positives of actually going through a pure bulking stage are great. First, you can eat a lot of food, which may not sound like a super positive, but once you get late into cutting you'll know what I mean. Secondly, when you are pure bulking, you experience a much greater amount of muscle-mass gain vs. going on a clean bulk.
Although the positives do outweigh the negatives, there is a big negative in going through a pure bulk. The major negative of pure bulking is the stage of 'fatness' you will experience. Yes, if you are bulking correctly, you will become quite beefy, and because you will be carrying muscle mass under this beef, the non-bodybuilders will most likely consider you 'fat'. This experience might me emotionally and psychologically damaging and/or awkward, especially with the feeling you get carrying that extra bit of fat. But remember this: Once you are done with your bulk, and through your cut, and you look like a Greek sculpture, no fool will be poking jokes at you, but rather looking up to you and worshipping your physique!
 Click Image To Enlarge. No Fool Will Be Poking Jokes At You.
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Monday:
The
human central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
These lie in the midline of the body and are protected by the skull and
vertebrae respectively.
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