I’m gonna start this post off with a bit of a sweeping statement that might catch a couple of you off guard – and that is that bulking up fast is actually really simple and really easy. Those of us out there that are hardgainers might feel like some of us have it easy or that that doesn’t apply to them – but you’d be wrong.
As a hardgainer myself I too struggled with bulking up and found it difficult to put on the sort of weight that I wanted to and quickly when I was training. But with a little bit of knowledge under my belt and a whole lot of hard work – I managed to bulk from 135lbs to 185lbs in the space of only a year. So how did I do it?
Train and train hard
There’s no real way around this one. If you want to put on some good, high quality size, you’re going to have to train and train hard. Following a strength or hypertrophy program that utilizes weekly progression and monthly phases is ideal for bulking and weight gain.
I personally adopted a push, pull, legs (PPL) routine that involves 6 days on and 1 day off per week. With an emphasis on chest, shoulders and triceps on the first day, back and biceps on the second and finally legs on the last day before resting and doing it all again.
This is the most optimal training strategy for building muscle and plays to the frequency and volume of training to make the most of the extra food that you’re pumping into your body. It’s not easy, but if you’re serious about bulking hard – it’s a great place to get into.
Eat and eat hard
Eating was always my biggest problem when it came to putting on weight and I didn’t even realize until I started tracking what I ate in a single day and realized that what I was doing was actually really unhealthy. To my surprise, when I tracked what I was eating in a single day, the calories only totaled around the 2,000 kcal mark, nowhere near enough to be packing on the quality muscle that I so badly wanted.
Using apps like myfitnesspal can set you up with specific goals and daily targets for your food and calorie intake. I gradually upped my intake from 2,000 kcal to 3,500+ kcal at the peak of the bulk. It’s a lot of food but it’s worth it in the end.
If you’re struggling to pack on the pounds and eat the required amount of food, it might be in your best interest to target the higher calorie foods such as cereal, pasta and ice-cream. The easier it is to eat and eat a lot of something – the easier it is to put on weight. It may come with a little bit of fat gain, but that’s forgivable when you see the results when it’s time to shred for summer.
