There are several reasons why someone might want to bulk up. People in sports such as football do it so they can have more weight and power on the field, people who are "hard gainers" do it because they are just frustrated with being skinny, and people involved with individual sports like bodybuilding and mixed martial arts do it so they can jump up in weight classes. No matter what your reason is for wanting to bulk up quickly, it can be done by following some key steps.
Step 1
Eat more daily calories. When you are trying to lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit. But when you want to bulk up quickly, you need to create a caloric overload. To do this, add 500 calories to your current daily total. Avoid high fat and processed foods. Keep your calories clean and eat foods like lean meats, low-fat dairy products, beans, fish, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Step 2
Eat several times throughout the day. To fit all the extra calories into your day, eat a meal every two to three hours all day long. This will also give you sustained energy and give your muscles and body a constant supply of nutrients. Ensure each meal is a balance of protein and carbs. An example would be a salad made with greens, raw chopped up vegetables, olive oil dressing, a chicken breast on top and a whole grain roll on the side.
Step 3
Do compound exercises. Compound exercises involve more than one muscle group and they involve more than one joint range of motion. These types of exercises recruit a maximum amount of muscle fibers which can lead to fast muscle gains. Do these types of exercises three days a week on alternating days. Examples are bench presses, shoulder presses, deadlifts, close-grip bench presses and squats.
Step 4
Have a recovery shake after workouts. Post-workout nutrition is vital for proper recovery and to start the rebuilding process. When you get done with weight training, drink a shake with whey protein and a fast absorbing carbohydrate like grape juice or dextrose powder. Whey protein gets digested easily in the stomach and the fast absorbing carbohydrates can help replenish depleted glycogen in your muscle cells faster. This can help promote the healing process.
Step 5
Keep cardio to a minimum. When you want to lose weight, cardiovascular training is a must. But when you are trying to bulk up quickly, this is the last thing you want to do, as it is a major calorie burner. If you do want to perform cardio, keep the intensity low and only do it for 20 minutes at a time, no more than three days a week.
Step 6
Do not deprive yourself of sleep. Sleep is very important to your overall well being. If you are looking to bulk up quickly, you need to get adequate sleep for your muscles to repair themselves and to be energized to work out. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
Tips and Warnings
- When you do your weight lifting routines, do low reps, high sets and take long breaks in between for full recovery. An example would be three to six reps, eight to ten sets and two- to four-minute rest periods in between. Dextrose is a type of sugar that comes from corn and you can put into shakes to speed up the absorption process.
- When you are bulking up, be on guard that you may gain some fat along with muscle.
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