We recommend consuming 6-8 meals a day during your bulk. This will also give your body a constant supply of fuel throughout the day, which means there will be a constant supply of nutrients to feed your muscles and help them grow.
As a naturally skinny guy who's trying to bulk up, you may find that eating every 2-3 hours works better for you. After all, ectomorphs tend to have smaller appetites, smaller stomachs, and higher metabolisms, and bulking up means that you need to eat an abundance of calories.
Eating every 2-3 hours maintains body processes and metabolism remains intact," she says. This kind of eating pattern, she says, can also be beneficial for people on a weight loss plan or those with diabetes.
In order to bulk up and gain lean muscle mass, you need to be in a state of positive nitrogen balance — this is when muscle synthesis (building) is greater than muscle breakdown. To do this, try to eat some protein (about 20 g) every 3-4 hours — key times are with breakfast, post-workout, and before bed.
If you eat 3 meals a day and pay careful attention to the distribution of your daily protein intake and food quality, you can probably stimulate maximum muscle growth.
First, the most effective bulking cycles are generally at least 3-4 months, if not longer. Where this can be difficult for some people is that even if you are incredibly on top of your macronutrients, you will likely also gain some fat while gaining muscle in a bulking cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions. Is 3000 calories enough to bulk? If your maintenance calorie requirements are in the region of 2500 calories per day, then 3000 calories represents a surplus of 500 calories. That's more than enough for most people who want to bulk up and gain muscle.
Most people can have highly effective cutting cycles in 8-12 weeks, but an effective bulking cycle should be 16-26 weeks on the low end and upwards of an entire year on the longer end. You can see some progress after 6-8 weeks, but it will be marginal, and extending your bulk beyond that is highly recommended.
The easiest way to know if you should cut or bulk is to take note of your current body fat percentage. If you are a female with greater than 25% body fat or a male with more than 15% body fat, you should cut. Conversely, if you are a female at or below 20% body fat, or a male at or below 10% body fat, you should bulk.
How long should a bulk and cut last? It depends on how much muscle you want to gain and your current body composition. Folks often bulk anywhere from 1 month to over 6 months to get their desired results. Following up with a cut will typically be shorter, usually 2 to 4 months.
Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day, your metabolism hits its peak, providing you with stronger digestive function, making it the best time to eat your lunch. This meal should be lighter than breakfast and dinner.
A wait of six to eight hours between meals can cause problems in your everyday activities, according to Dr. Khorana, as it can lead to a lack of focus, acidity, irritation (hangry), shakiness, low energy, low blood sugar levels, and eventually, over-eating.
The goal is to eat every 3 to 4 hours in order to keep your blood sugar consistent and for your stomach to optimally digest. Setting this schedule consistently across days can also help curb overeating which can lead to bloating or indigestion.
For general guidance, the average person should add about half a pound of bodyweight a week. So, 2-3 months is often recommended as a reasonable amount of time. Also, bear in mind that you can't control exactly which parts of your body you're going to increase muscle mass at the fastest.
The bottom line is that before you bulk or cut
If you've only been training for a year and want maximum size, then keep bulking for another two years. If you're happy with your muscle size, then start a cut.
You should bulk first if you are skinny fat. A 10% caloric surplus is optimal to build muscle while ensuring you don't put on a lot of excess body fat. Stay in a surplus for a minimum of 4 months and then begin a slow, gradual cut.
The sweet spot for a lean bulk is to gain no more than 0.5-1 pound of body weight each week. For most people this will be split 50/50 between muscle and fat gain. So, basically you will gain 1 pound of fat for each pound of muscle – which is a good ratio.
Gaining lean muscle mass is unlikely to make you slower
For most of us, the small increase in lean muscle mass will be offset by fat loss and a change in body composition. Your total weight is likely to remain relatively constant, but you will gain strength through improved neuromuscular recruitment.
That's why you need to sleep for at least 7 hours a night if you want your muscles to grow properly and quickly. Not getting a lot of sleep decreases the activity of protein synthesis pathways and increases the activity of degradation pathways, which favors muscle loss.
For best muscle growth results a bulking cycle and steroid bulking stack is highly recommended - combine Dianabol with Trenbolone, Deca Durabolin and Sustanon to create a steroid bulking stack. You will experience fast muscle mass gains and a quicker reduction in body fat while on a bulking steroid cycle.
1 kg of muscle may appear to be the size of baseball whilst 1kg of fat will be three times the size and look like a wobbly bowl of Jelly. Muscle is a denser tissue that takes up less room in our bodies than an equal weight of fat.
You are not your gym membership, and you certainly don't need a gym membership to build bulk. In fact, you can build muscle, lose fat and get in the best shape of your life without even walking out the door. For example, the bodyweight staple of press-ups are a great place to start.
A 5000 calorie diet is an unusual one, as it focuses on weight gain rather than weight loss. It is designed for bodybuilders and athletes who need to build muscle mass.