Though only 1.5% of US adults are considered underweight, there are instances when people need more muscle mass. Sometimes, bulking up is the best thing for a person. Maybe you want to have a more muscular physique. Or perhaps, you feel the need to have more muscles to perform in your chosen sport or your daily activities.
Unfortunately, a lot of people gain weight the wrong way. Gaining weight from body fat is not the right way to bulk up. Increasing your body fat percentage will most likely just limit your mobility. So what’s the right way to bulk up? The right way to bulk is by having a higher muscle percentage as you lower your body fats. By doing so, it takes around 4-6 months to do it the right way.
Lift Weights
One thing that you should remember is that your muscles will only hypertrophy if you challenge it enough. Some experts suggest that you don’t need to lift super heavy weights as long as you can train to failure. But of course, there is going to be a ceiling to how much your muscle can grow using a particular weight.
Though you can make things challenging such as focusing on the isometric part of every rep, you will have to accept the fact that you will need to find a way to make the workout harder for the body to hypertrophy. Whether it is adding resistance bands or using heavier weights, the bottom line is to progressively work towards your body’s capacity to be able to bulk up properly.
Focus on Large Muscle Groups
You also need to focus on large muscle groups whenever you are trying to bulk up. Compare your biceps and your quads for example. The quads are larger than your biceps. It can also add more weight once it atrophies.
Concentrating your workouts on large muscle groups can significantly boost your testosterone hormone. Testosterone is responsible for protein synthesis and even prevents muscle catabolism.
Count Your Calories and Macros
As for your diet, you need to know how many calories are needed to gain weight. On top of that, you have to make sure that you also count your macros. Carbohydrates are needed by the body for energy. However, muscles need protein to grow.
How much protein is needed to build muscles? According to experts, adults need 0.75 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. However, this is only good for maintaining the body’s muscle mass. As a rule of thumb, you want to take more than just 1 gram of protein per pound of your target bodyweight.
Do you need a nutritionist for this? There are apps that can help you develop your meal plan and ensure that you can track your calories and macros.
Track Your Activities
Apart from counting your food, you will also need to track the activities that you do. Do you love to walk or run regularly? Though these are activities that can help you build cardio, these are things that can prevent the body from gaining weight. Not only do you burn fats, but you are also unconsciously burning protein that is supposed to be used by your muscles. This is why you need to track your activities too. You will have an idea if you are eating enough to be able to gain muscle mass. The bottom line is to be on a caloric surplus.
Carbohydrates Before Working Out
There are many diets nowadays like keto diet that forego carbohydrates. However, consuming carbohydrates before working out can help prevent muscle catabolism. Carbohydrates become the readily available energy source for your workouts instead of protein that should be used by your muscles to gain weight.
Eat High-Protein Meals After Working Out
Post-workout meals can also fast track your goal to gain muscle mass. Right after working out, it is a good idea to eat high-protein meals that can help the muscles recover and prevent catabolism. However, you also have to be particular about your protein source. You want low-caloric and high-protein options.
There’s a study to support that whey protein supplements can help in muscle anabolism. Whey supplements have a rich amino acid profile and are known for rapid absorption. But do you necessarily need to invest in whey protein and other supplements to bulk up? Not really. You just need to be particular about the variety of protein sources that you eat.
Proper Rest and Recovery
A lot of people forget about having proper rest and recovery. If you cut back on sleep, it is possible to decrease the amount of testosterone in your system. A study suggests that 1 week of sleep deprivation can cut back as much as 10% to 15% of testosterone levels among young healthy men.
Also, you want to give your muscles at least one full day of recovery. This is the reason why bodybuilders tend to rotate the muscle groups that they target every day.
Final Thoughts
Gaining weight the right way is a combination of the right diet and having the right workout. The good news is that can do it naturally even without the help of supplements. And also, it is easier for most people to bulk up than to cut weight. What do you think of these tips?