10 Tips For Bulking Up

You have enjoyed your initial foray into the gym, and you are seeing some good results. But now it's time to see some GREAT results. Are you ready to kick your training and nutrition into overdrive, and start adding some serious mass to your frame? Let's check out ten great tips for bulking up - adding a lot of meat to your bones in a very short period of time!

Eat More.
The first point should be obvious. You should be adding 500 to 1000 calories to your daily intake. The source of these calories is ideally going to be protein (beef, chicken, eggs, whey protein, or cottage cheese) and carbohydrates (rice, beans, whole grain bread, legumes and potatoes). Adding one additional meal is fine, or you can opt for adding an extra 150 calories to each meal of the day. Don't pile on the junk - that works against your goals by making you fat and your energy levels low.

Put The Mirror Away.
Many weightlifters will panic the moment they add two pounds of body fat to their frame, obscuring the amazing abdominals they love to show off at parties. The fact of the matter is that you can't be ripped year round if you want to utilize bulking to add new muscle mass to your body. You must get a little soft so that new muscle can be synthesized. Accept it. You can always diet down quickly and get ripped again - this time with some new muscle to show off!

Ignore The Isolation Movements.
The people who add a ton of muscle to their frame achieve it by moving a ton of iron. Cut yourself off from the cables and machines, and opt for more sets of heavy compound exercises such as bench press, squatting, barbell and dumbbell rows, military pressing, and deadlifts. Curls and skull crushers work great for building arms as well. Go heavy, use free weights, and see results!

Middle Of The Night Snack.
Do you frequently wake up in the middle of the night to urinate? Use that time to throw back 20 grams of whey protein in 8 ounces of water. Or, pop an EZ-Mac in the fridge for a quick carb boost, along with a handful of lunch meat for some protein. You essentially enter a mini-fast each evening when you sleep, depriving your body of food for over 8 hours. You can cut this in half with a middle of the night snack!

Sleep More.
If you're sleeping 6.5 hours a night, there's a good chance you won't be building much new muscle. On the other hand, if you are getting 8.5 hours each night, along with an hour nap each day, then you are in very good shape. Which kind of sleeper are you?

Worry Less.
Very often, the primary limitation in making gains has nothing to do with what we do in the gym or the kitchen. Rather, it is the level of stress that we continually endure each day as a result of our job, relationship, or schooling. Find ways to alleviate this stress and your cortisol (blood hormone for stress) will lessen, resulting in more muscle mass!

Drink More Water.
Our earth, our bodies, and yes, our muscle tissue, is comprised mostly of water. If you aren't drinking enough, then you are going to appear flat most of the time, and have a very tough time adding new muscle to your frame. On the other hand, if you drink a gallon of water each day, you will certainly have the ability to grow new muscle in a fully hydrated environment!

Squats - And Lots Of Them.
If you could only use ONE exercise for building mass to your body, it should be squats. They are the exercise which, when completed with an adequate amount of intensity and heavy weight, will result in blood hormone releases of growth hormone which will facilitate growth all over the body. If you want to gain weight, you must be squatting!

Don't Count Calories - Weigh Your Food.
Stop tinkering around with measuring our grams of protein and carbs. Instead, you should be piling the food onto your plate by the fistful, then coming back for seconds!

Train With A Partner.
We weightlifters are a competitive bunch, there is no doubt about it. Toss two equally matched lifters into the ring and you will quickly discover each of them is now able to lift more weight than before, if only to stay ahead of the other guy! Training with a partner will ensure you make it to the gym on time, but also deliver a nice mix of intensity and safety not seen when training alone. Give it a shot!

Making muscle mass gains with bulking isn't rocket science. Lift more weight, eat more food, sleep more, and grow like a weed! It can be tough seeing the body fat levels creep back up, but in reality you already know how quickly you can get lean. Now it's time to add some muscle through bulking - Are you ready for it?

[Via pmXfit]