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How to Bulk Up

How to bulk up naturally, yet easily. This guide offers a deeper look at natural muscle building. The information contained within will surely bring you to that next level.

Muscle Volume vs. Training Volume

A common misconception is that the more you train, the faster you will gain mass as well as eliminate the question of how to bulk up from your mind. If you are like the many who train each major muscle group (meaning Chest, Biceps, Back, Triceps, Legs, and Shoulders [Deltoids + Trapezius muscles]) two or more times per week, bring it down to only once per week. By training less you're exerting less energy. You'll feel more energetic throughout the day and have extra time to concentrate on other things. Also, your muscles will be getting the proper amounts of rest they need to grow.

Pumps Over Power

If you're wondering how to bulk up, it's important to understand that training to gain muscle mass and training for strength are two very different things. The assumption from most people is that the heavier weights they use, the bigger they'll get. If you also feel stuck on this logic, ask yourself why so many people who are trying to build muscle and who train naturally have shown so little improvement over the years, in terms of actual muscular development. One of your first steps to gaining mass is accepting that you may have to train differently. Use moderately-heavy weights that allow you to feel comfortable and in control while performing a set. Strict form is a vital element to getting swole naturally.

For several reasons, on some days you won't be able to push as much weight as on others. Regarding this issue, it should be mentioned that those who know how to bulk up successfully consciously adapt their training to the way they feel on that particular day. To offer an example, when you're feeling a little tired or stressed out, go a little lighter, and perform the repetitions a little slower & with even stricter form than usual. Listening to your body and reacting accordingly will get you an awesome pump every time. On the other hand, neglecting the way you feel while throwing around excessively heavy weights will most likely leave you with a less-than-average pump, and sometimes even an injury. Remember, you want to work your muscles, not your joints.

Perform Controlled Repetitions

Being focused and in control while working out is crucial to achieving desired results. If you're used to training with extremely heavy weights, you may not know what it is you should be feeling to gain considerable size. For someone in the process of learning how to bulk up, I suggest using about 60-65% of the weight you would normally use (once again, given that maximum poundage was the common theme of your past workouts). I've observed that most trainees struggle with the weights from their first repetition. Although regularly seen in the majority of muscle gyms, someone who's training for mass AND who is natural will most likely never get big pushing insanely heavy weights; You will make gains, but nothing near your potential results.

How to bulk up fast? You have to train hard and smart, not painfully hard. You should stop to re-rack the weights when you have just enough energy to do so. A repetition should never hurt or feel uncomfortable. Once again, you should feel in control throughout the entire set as well as perform every repetition using strict form.

Avoid Rushing

One of the reasons why people remain confused about how to bulk up (even after they feel they've done everything right) is that the WAY they were doing it was a bit off. For example, if you're used to training two muscle groups on any given training day, you should omit one when you are rushed for time. I'd rather you take an extra couple of minutes to get a great pump from one muscle group, then to rush through two muscle groups and feel tired and dissatisfied by the end of the workout. If you don't even have time to properly work out one muscle group, avoid training for that day altogether. Instead, use that time to eat something healthy, rest, or simply catch up on home, work, and/or school chores.

Don't worry about it disrupting your schedule. It is beneficial to occasionally take an extra day off from training every so often. Your desire to train will be greater the following day, and you'll probably get a bigger pump than you otherwise would. Gaining mass is not just about following a strict training schedule. You have to be dynamic, and learn to adjust constantly in order to embrace the challenges that life brings you.

Most people hate interruptions, but interruptions simply can't be avoided. Making weight training your top priority, therefore, may not be a realistic feat (and can in some cases prove to be destructive). Instead, let it be part of your lifestyle in a way that allows you to accept occasional change in circumstances. Personally, I always do my best to train at the same time; But for one reason or another, on some days, I just can't do this. So, I train at a different time, or wait until the day after and resume training at my regular schedule. Everything falls into place when you go with the flow.

Stay On The Path

You should always keep your fantasy goal at the back of your mind, but just as important as having a dream is pursuing that dream. Focus on the path in front of you and stay on it every single day. Don't look too far ahead and don't try to do too much. To accomplish a goal you have to believe in yourself; Conversely, trying to do too much stops a person from believing in him/herself. People give themselves tasks too great to handle, become overwhelmed, and begin to lose faith in their dreams. Keep your daily tasks short and simple so that you can easily & enthusiastically accomplish them. Contrary to what it seems, this is the fastest way to achieve a goal.

Listen To Your Body

Listen to what your body is telling you at all times. Eat when you are hungry, rest when you are tired, and train when you feel like training. The sooner you begin trusting your instincts, the sooner you will enjoy working out, and the sooner you will get to where you want to be. Bodybuilding is about listening to your body. Do it and you will be set aside from the rest.

There is a formula on how to bulk up naturally and it takes into account many factors. The problem is that almost every factor in this formula is constantly changing. On top of all that, when one factor changes it forces the others to change as well. If you try keeping up with that you might get good results, but you'll never approach the vicinity of your potential. So, what's the solution? How do you become your best? LISTEN TO YOUR BODY, LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS, AND ALWAYS DO WHAT FEELS RIGHT! If I could only make one recommendation on the subject of natural muscle-building, it would be this.

The Effects of Stress on Your Body

The stresses of everyday life have a way of negatively affecting your ability to gain mass as well as blocking your intuitive knowledge on how to bulk up. Besides the fact that nervous tension burns an incredible number of calories and slows down the physical healing process... it disrupts your eating, sleeping, and functional habits, further limiting your progress. To overcome this, all I can offer is three very general pieces of advice:

Know what you want
Go after what you want, but be patient in pursuit of it (as it will take time to develop)
Don't seek the approval of others (because you'll never get it) {In any case, only you know what's truly best for you}

Rest

After you've worked out and eaten a healthy, large-size meal, take a fifteen-minute walk. Being on your feet for at least this duration will prevent you from gaining excess fat. Ideally, the brief stint of low-intensity activity will be followed by a 30-minute (or more) rest period. This is one of the strongest forces to helping you gain natural muscle mass.

If everything remains constant in your training, but you start eating a protein-packed meal directly after your workouts, and complete this cycle with 30+ minutes of relaxation... you will build muscle fast and no longer be confused about how to bulk up. Honestly speaking, I believe you'll see a big difference in less than two weeks.

Note: If you will be having a protein shake or meal replacement shake instead of a full meal, you can optionally skip the walk, and proceed directly to the 30-minute rest period. That said, while meal replacement shakes provide enough nutrients to sustain your body & muscles following a workout, protein-only shakes are generally not enough to help with recovery; To compensate, they could be complemented with a banana and some plain yogurt {The walk, in this case, should be re-established}.

Busy Lifestyle

Your body is very good at adapting to an increasingly busy lifestyle; Use this to your advantage. I often tell my clients to rest their body as much as possible, but something I don't emphasize enough is resting their mind. Focusing on something else helps take your mind off of the gym - so that when you do train, it feels fresh and new. A very wise person once told me "A plane that rests on the ground deteriorates faster than a plane flying in the sky". If you're interested in bulking up effectively, don't think you always have to be sleeping or lying down to gain muscle mass. Instead, work on structuring your life in a way that can help bring you closer to your goal. Take courses on a subject you're interested in, get a job you'll enjoy doing, start a business that will inspire you and allow you to have a flexible schedule, etc.