To bulk or not to bulk ? That’s the question that many young trainees ask themselves and very often switch between extremely strict diets and extremely loose ones.
For bodybuilders that aim to build muscle mass, bulking was the only good way to do it – they would just bulk up, gain muscle and fat simultaneously and then they would start a strict diet to cut the fat (and some muscle as well).
Then the cycle starts all over again. But is it really necessary to gain so much fat in order to build muscle ?
Bodybuilders that carry a good amount of muscle mass know that getting to look like a sumo wrestler and gaining a ton of fat is not needed in order to build muscle.
Some bodybuilders’ weight vary only about 10 lbs during the whole year and they never gain too much fat – take Dexter Jackson or Jay Cutler (when he was competing) for example. Gaining too much weight means only one thing – that you are eating absolutely not needed amounts of calories.
This is why it’s important to eat the right amounts of food, not to mention quality foods, not just when you cut down fat, but during the whole year.
A great way of staying in anabolic state is to rotate your calories. Specifically, to have a high, medium and low calorie days achieved through consuming different amounts of protein, fats and carbs on different days.
Eating for mass – a two week muscle-gaining diet plan
In this article we are going to take a look at a 2-week example muscle gaining plan based on calorie rotation. You can follow this plan throughout your whole off-season period.
Day 1 – day 5 (medium carbohydrate days)
For the first 5 days you are going to eat 2 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. So if you are 180 lbs, you are going to eat 360 grams of carbs and 180 grams of protein.
You don’t need to count the fats at this point, just make sure that you are eating quality protein and complex carbs – beef, chicken, eggs, fish in combination with complex carbs and some diet fibers (veggies). Try to eat these foods baked or boiled.
Count the exact quantities of macros and your body will have just enough materials to repair itself after the intense workouts.
Day 6 – day 10 (high carbohydrate days)
This is the next step. Increase your carbohydrate intake to 3-3.5 grams per lb of body weight and leave the protein to 1 gram/lb of body weight. For the athlete that weights 180 lbs that’s 540 grams of carbs and 180 grams of protein.
That’s about 2160 calories coming from carbs and 720 coming from protein. That’s a total of 2880 calories without counting the fats.
The higher amount of carbs during these 5 days will ensure that your muscles and liver are loaded with glycogen. This means more energy, strength and potential for muscle growth.
Day 11 – day 12 (low carbohydrate days)
This is the step where you make a drastic change. You will decrease the carb intake to 0.5 g/lb (or less) and increase the protein to 2 grams per lb. In numbers this is about 90 grams (or less) of complex carbs (try eating mainly vegetables these days) and about 360 grams of protein for a 180 lb athlete. You will continue to gain muscle, since your glycogen levels are already loaded.
Even though the glycogen reserves will go down during these 2 days, that’s not really a problem as you still have the needed calories to support muscle growth ( increased protein). Instead you will improve insulin sensitivity , which will improve carbs and amino acids storage.
During these two days you can be a bit more liberal with the fat intake, you can eat a bit more fatty pieces of meat, more yolks etc. to compensate for the carbohydrate decrease. The increased intake of fats will also help you balance your hormone levels.
Day 13 – day 14
You have now set your body to store carbs and protein more than it normally does. Your body will super-compensate, as a result of which the levels anabolic hormones like HGH and insulin will rise rapidly.
You can increase both carbs and protein to 3g/lb, 2g/lb respectively, which means you can do some serious eating. Eat good quality meats, fish, whole eggs, whey protein powder, complex carbs as well as green vegetables to help you with protein digestion.
The mechanism is actually very simple: when you carbohydrates intake, the glycogen in the body is depleted, and mechanisms that increase glycogen storage take place. When you start eating carbs again, those same mechanisms are still active for a little while, which means increased glycogen loading – or super-compensation.
When you finish day 14, start the whole plan again and repeat until you get to your desired weight. As you gain weight adjust your macro nutrients according to your body weight.
Try this muscle-gaining diet plan for a few months instead of the classic bulking program and you’ll gain muscle without too much fat.
So after day 14 do I actually go back to day 1 again?
Yes
I’ll try it anyway but if someone has tried this diet please let me know how it was
My friend, if I eat 1 chicken breast its more than 180 gram…that is all the protein that I eat that day?
No Vasile, 180g of chicken breast have about 38-39g of protein.
more around the 25gr of protein per chicken breast
and thatat a gooc sized one. 😊
what about the calorie intake?for example if i’m bulking at 2500 calories, should I eat this same number everyday?
If you are watching the fat deposits and want to gain minimal fat tissue, then you will want to lower the calories on non-training days.
Do I need to cycle my training with this eating plan? Ie certain bodyparts or intensities on certain high or low carb days? Or do I just train as normal regardless of the calorie day?
No, just train like you usually do.
Hi…
Can you please explain to me how to breakdown the total number of carbs and protein into different meals.
my weight is 78kgs (172lbs)
So, my first part of the diet would be:
344lbs- carbs and 172 lbs protein…
How many meals do i break this down to and how many carbs and protein per meal.
I currently visit a nutritionist to draw up my diets but would love to know how to do this on my own.
Joey
Science has proven that It really doesn’t matter how many meals you eat as long as you eat the total needed amount of calories/carbs/protein/fats. However if you are not a big eater it may be easier for you to divide the macros into 4-5 daily meals. Your biggest carb intake should be after the workout (about 100-150g of carbs)
I have a couple of meal plans that would suit your weight. Is there any way to post a pic instead of typing it all out?
Unfortunately no.
If bulking I do less training for example I do upper half one day then lower half the next day . Then have two days recovery as the recovery is were you grow . I try hit 40grams of protein in each meal and have 6 meals per day . This way I found out you gain more . I was 76kg at beginning of year and still bulking now . And I’m now 96kg .
Hi
I’m aprox. 138 lbs. and 5’2″. I’ve recently been going to the gym consistently and noticing muscle mass, but weight still seems the same. How can I bulk up more faster.
Thx in advance
More carbs and protein. Add another 50gr of protein and 50gr of carbs to your daily regime.
Question. You say 180lbs x 2 grs of protein = 360grs of protein. Isn’t that too much?? I weight 80 kgs, and that would be 176lbs. And in Europe everyone know that the normal values goes around 2grs x every kg of body weight.
But it’s not the same 80kgs x 2grs = 160 grs protein VS 176lbs x 2 grs protein = 352 grs protein for the same guy, using kgs VS lbs.
And how can you me multiplying lbs x grs??
What’s the right thing then? Thanks
Hey Dany
Yeah, I know they recommend 2gr/kg but to be honest that’s too low i think. At least from my experience. On the other hand 2gr/lb is the other extreme, if you are an extreme hardgainer. So the best is to follow a moderate intake. Something like 1.1-1.2gr per LB. In your case for your 176lbs you are good with about 200g of protein per day.
So what’s the fat intake throughout please. The carb and protein ratios are highlighted but obviously were restricted by daily calorie intake. How should the daily calories be calculated? How much above maintenance should we set for each part of this programme.?
You can tune the fats so that the daily calories are about 500 over maintenance. On paper that gives you 3500 calories a week or that’s 1lb
If I’m a type 2 diabetic and can’t consume that many carbs is there an alternative method?
Hi Jon
I don’t think you can do it without carbs. You could try to get your calories from protein and fats ( increase the amounts of protein and fat) and for carbs you could try getting your carbs from vegetables (green veggies, potatoes etc.).
Consult your endo/nutritionist if that desperate to gain weight insulin injections are the safest way to go. I’m T1d by the way!
Insulin is not a toy or a supplement and it’s not a thing to be played with. Only a medical professional can prescribe Insulin. The wrong use can cause serious health injuries or even worse.
I’m 27, 180 lbs give or take and 6″2. I’ve always been in good shape but have never been able to put on noticeable weight. If i’m being honest, I won’t stick to a meal plan or gym routine which is imperative for growth I know. It does not take much at all for me to get back in the swing of things at the gym, I have almost no fat on me and pretty athletic. I’ve noticed that I plateau at 180 and can’t get any higher. I’ve tried consuming ridiculous amount of food during the day but nothing seems to work. What do you suggest I do? I want to put on 10-15 lbs. But I am having a lot of trouble getting anywhere. Thanks,
Food and some more food. There is no way around that. Make sure you eat sufficient amounts of protein, carbs and calories in total. Also make sure you are not burning more calories than you are consuming (hard labor job, too much cardio etc.)
Great article. I’m going to try it.
I’m 200- 6 foot 1. I’m jacked but @ 15-20% body fat. NO veins except calves, forearms.
I was thinking about doing this basically with Pea Protein Powder. Oatmeal, & Veggies.(multi vitamin, BCAA, creatine) NO extra fat added like Olive Oil. Is that faulty?
Will make sure to go far over maintenance calories.
Brian, it depends on what your goal is. At 20% body-fat, I would definitely lower the carbs and not go for bulking.
As far as protein, whey, caseing, beef and egg protein are far better than pea protein.