Bulking Up Fast Without Steroids
If you are looking for a way to get bulking up fast without resorting to anabolic steroids or any other risky or illegal substances, this article is a great place to start..
Before I go any further, I want you to know that I’m not going to take the pulpit and go all ‘preacher’ on people, because people can do whatever they like and take whatever risks they want with their own bodies. But, if you are like me, don’t wish to run the gauntlet with dangerous steroids and still wish to bulk up fast, then this information will be very useful to you.
I will first say that, if you are a complete beginner to bulking; don’t even think about doing steroids. There is absolutely no point to this, and I’m sure, any sensible steroid-user will also agree on this. Why? Simply because in the beginning, the muscle gains will come very thick and very fast, and require no chemical assistance whatsoever. In fact, done properly, you could bulk for maybe 2 years completely naturally and still see worthwhile gains. And anybody saying otherwise is grossly misinforming you.
The key to successful bulking is… commitment. How bad do you want it?
Dave Draper hit it on the head in an article I read on his website where he said many would-be bodybuilders freak out at the first sign of some fat, and instantly start cutting, and because their muscle gains were so meagre, they find they barely make any muscular progress at all over time – yet repeat the same silly procedure every time they see some fat. You’ve got to get over this, and be willing to accept some short-term fat gains, or you won’t go anywhere with bulking. In fact, you aren’t bulking at all!
I can’t deny it, I don’t like fat: it’s unsightly, and it’s a little inconvenient, especially when you have to buy new jeans to fit your ever-expanding waistline. But, it’s a necessary evil, and one I’m perfectly willing to put up with to ‘get the goods.’
Besides… (and I’m not bragging here, ok, maybe just a bit – but it does prove an important point!) I’ve been told I have a ‘real hot body’ by a girl who is pretty damn nice herself, so having a bit of stomach and body fat hasn’t affected nothing for me, and nor will it for you. Fat is only a temporary situation.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand: you, and how to bulk up naturally, and quickly.
Most integral is getting yourself on a good, proven training program. One that is renowned for putting a lot of mass on, and fast. I personally, at this point, recommend Mark Rippetoe’s program, “Starting Strength” – a book which has become my bible, and which is available from Amazon. [At the time of writing, the 5 stars from 86 customer reviews say it all… especially when most products barely have 3-4 reviews!]
Right, I’ll assume you’ve taken my advice and gotten the book? You should – seriously. If you have, then you’ll have the blueprint for the perfect mass building, ‘bulking’ training program, which is only 3 days a week for an hour at a time.
Now you’ll need to think about your diet. As a general rule of thumb, when bulking, you’ll need to be eating around 15 calories per lb of bodyweight, with an additional 500, every day… and possibly an additional 1,000 on a training day.
Now, I can’t tell you definitely how many calories you’ll need; that is for you to find out. Everybody is different. Two people of the same size may require a calorie intake which differs by as much as a few thousand calories to grow. That’s just how it is.
The idea is to eat enough so the tape measurement continues to grow, the callipers register more fat, and also the scales go up. Now, of course you don’t’ want fat, but it’s impossible to muscle on during bulking without putting some fat on also. Even anabolic steroids aren’t that good they’ll let you do that. The idea is to minimize fat gains and strike up a balance between maximum muscle gains and minimum fat gains.
You should aim to get between 1 and 2 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight daily, and sufficient carbs and good fats (such as fish oil). You should aim to build your diet up in such a way that the total calorie intake you require to grow is made up from 40% protein, 40% complex carbs, and 20% good fats. That is a good way to start.
Also, let the scales be your guide, not your God. The scales should be nothing more than a tool to give you a rough idea of the direction in which your muscle size is going. Daily weighing is a bad idea, as daily body weight is bound to fluctuate several lbs depending upon water retention, stomach and bowel contents, etc.
Instead, you should take weekly body measurements, including fat measurements with callipers, and plot them down on a chart so you can see for sure what’s going on.
Strange things can happen to your body without you immediately realising. For instance, although I’m the same weight I was around a month ago, with the same and in some cases bigger measurements, a pair of jeans I have which didn’t fit at all then in the waist, now fit without too much discomfort. So, I’ve obviously lost weight and size on my waist, but, my overall body weight is the same as it was before. A trade off has obviously occurred at some point whereby I lost fat and gained muscle.
I attribute this to several weeks during which I’ve had diet problems, and not been able to eat as much to bulk, so in essence, I’ve maybe inadvertently performed a cut; retaining muscle mass, but losing fat. So yes – the body and scales do strange things; so you’ve got to be aware that all may not be what it seems, and you’ve got to look at the bigger picture, over a longer period of time. You need to keep on top of you diet, monitor your weight gain, fat increases, and track your size with a tape measure.
The final thing you need to be aware of is the importance of rest; and as silly as it sounds, this is where so many fall over. Assuming you are on a sensible and proven program such as Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, then rest days are incorporated through out – and they aren’t just days during which Mark couldn’t think of anything to fill them with… rest days are as important a factor in the program as the training days.
So what should you do on a rest day? Eat, and rest, is the correct answer. Nothing more, nothing less.
I know this may not be what you want to do. You may have other hobbies such as running or swimming or basketball, and life is too short to miss out on the things you love doing. But, that is where you’ve got to make a choice, a sacrifice. Bulking is a short-term deal, designed to give you the body you want; big and powerful. And it has to become the priority in your life. Once you’ve finished bulking and are in the process of cutting and eventually maintaining, that is when you can enjoy other activities and your new, powerful physique.
