February 2, 2019

5 Myths Debunked Around Bulking


Here’s a continuation from my Quick Tip around debunking Myths around bulking and the diet that comes along with it!

Myth 1: Bulking Means it’s OK to Eat Junk Food
This myth is probably responsible for all the confusion surrounding Bulking. Bulking is not a license to eat junk food. Of course by eating junk food you will be able to get a massive caloric surplus and build size quickly. However the problem that most people will run into here is that their weight gain is about 80-90% fat and water retention. You will be able to gain much more muscle and much less body fat while bulking by eating healthier foods.

Myth 2: Bulking Means Gaining Lots of Fat
This myth also ties in with the previous myth. When bulking is done properly you are eating pretty much all the same healthy foods that you eat when you are cutting, just more of them. As such you should only be increasing your food quantities as required to see steady changes in your weight. A good goal for most people whilst bulking is gaining about 0.5kg per week. The best way to do this will be to slowly increase your calorie intake by adding in an additional 200-300 daily calories each week.

Myth 3: You Can Only Digest 30g Protein Per Meal
This might actually be the case for some people but there are so many other variables in protein absorption that it would be foolish to use this as a blanket rule for bodybuilders. Some of the variables include quality of the protein source, muscle mass off the individual, how recently you have eaten and your body’s requirement for muscle repair.

Myth 4: Sugar is Bad
There is certainly an element of truth in this myth but as a whole sugar is certainly not bad. Eating sugar regular as a part of each meal in a bulking diet plan is unwise. However eating large amounts of sugar from fruit and supplements before and after training times will be extremely beneficial for muscle gain. Remember sugar spikes your insulin and insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the human body. Insulin will drive sugar and amino acids into your muscle cells turning on protein synthesis and maximising muscle growth.

Myth 5: Eating Fat is Bad
Why is it that so often when people look at a weight gaining supplement they want to see high protein and high carbs but low fats? It’s as if they think that the carbs in the supplement will build clean mass whilst the fats will result in fat storage. This is just simply not the case. Most weight gain supplements use MCT powder as the fat source which is a high quality fat with much lower propensity towards being stored as fat than the carbs themselves. Don’t fear fats if you want to build quality mass.