Bulking for Beginners: Here's how you can increase your muscle mass

Want to start bulking but don't know where to begin? In this article, you'll find a few tips and guidelines for bulking for beginners.

What is bulking?

Bulking… it sounds fun, but what does bulking actually mean? Bulking is the process of deliberately increasing your muscle mass through a combination of strength training and the right nutrition. In the bulking phase, you eat more calories than your body uses daily, allowing your body to create more muscle mass.

In theory, bulking is simple; you need to create a calorie surplus. This means you need to eat more than you need. But for a successful bulk, it’s important to approach this wisely. Eating extra at random can lead to significant fat gain, which is obviously not ideal. After all, during bulking, your goal is to gain mostly muscle mass.

In the world of strength training, bulking is the opposite of cutting (also known as shredding). During cutting, the focus is on reducing your body fat percentage.

When to bulk?

When should you choose to bulk? Most bodybuilders bulk during the winter season. The main reason is that the extra fat gained during bulking can be hidden under a jumper. After cutting, you can show off your muscle mass again in the summer. So, winter is often seen as ‘bulking season,’ but as an athlete, you can start bulking at any time.

There isn’t a fixed time when you must bulk. If you want to build more muscle mass, you can enter a bulking phase. However, we do recommend considering whether bulking is right for you at that moment. Is your body fat percentage already on the higher side? Then it might be better to start with cutting first. If you start bulking with a high body fat percentage, you’ll have to work much harder later to achieve a low fat percentage.

It’s common to start bulking when your body fat percentage is below 14%, as you’ll see your fat percentage increase during the process. If you begin with a higher fat percentage, you’ll gain fat more easily and appear "chubbier" rather than increasing muscle mass. Most bodybuilders bulk until they reach a fat percentage of around 20%, after which it’s time to start cutting again. For women, the average starting point is a maximum of 22%, and they bulk until a fat percentage of 28% before cutting again.

Why bulk for beginners?

You might wonder why bulking is so popular among bodybuilders. Why would you work towards your goal in different phases? Can’t you just eat around your maintenance calories and train regularly? Of course, you can, but working with a bulking and cutting phase is more efficient.

Bulking helps you gain muscle mass, and cutting helps you reduce fat percentage. To increase muscle mass, you need extra calories. The extra calories not only help you grow muscle but also give you the strength and energy to handle the intense training programs. It’s important to consume more calories than you burn. If you consume the same number of calories as you burn, there won’t be any left for building muscle.

If you eat around your maintenance level, you’re likely to stagnate in progress. You won’t get enough nutrition to allow your body to build muscle mass. By properly preparing for bulking, you can strategically increase your muscle mass.

For every bodybuilder, it’s important to combine nutrition, supplements, and training for optimal results. This is also true during bulking. We’ll explain all three categories (nutrition, supplements, and training) related to bulking.

How many calories to eat during bulking?

When figuring out how many calories you need per day to maximise muscle growth, it’s important to first calculate your daily calorie requirements. The best way to do this is by using the Katch-McArdle formula. This formula uses your weight, body fat percentage, and activity level (PAL value) to estimate your caloric expenditure. This is important because the more active you are, the more calories you need.

Let’s say you calculate that you need 3000 calories per day to maintain your current weight. As previously mentioned, bulking is about increasing your muscle mass, and for this, you need extra calories. The amount of extra calories differs from person to person, but on average, it’s wise to increase your calorie intake by 10-20% during the bulking phase. If your normal intake is 3000 calories, you’ll need between 3300 and 3600 kcal during bulking.

Increasing your calorie intake by less than 10% will make it difficult to gain muscle mass, as your additional training will leave too few calories for muscle growth. On the other hand, if you increase your calorie intake by more than 20%, you’ll have too many surplus calories, which will be converted into fat.

During bulking, aim to eat about 10-20% above your energy needs. In practice, this usually comes down to an extra 250-500 calories per day. Don’t exceed a 20% increase, as this will lead to gaining too much fat.

Dividing your meals during the bulk

Now that you know how many calories you need daily during bulking, it’s time to divide these across your meals. It’s not ideal to eat a single meal containing 3000 calories, as your body can’t process that many calories at once, and the excess will be stored as fat. It’s advisable to spread your calorie intake evenly throughout the day. This way, you still consume enough, but your body has time to process the calories, reducing the risk of fat storage.

Aim for around six or seven meals per day. For a total calorie intake of 4000 kcal, this amounts to around 570 calories per meal (or 666 kcal with six meals). There are several free calorie-tracking apps available to help you monitor your intake.

Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats

When bulking for beginners, it’s important to pay attention to the intake of the different macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These nutrients each serve an important function in our bodies. A balanced distribution between these macros is essential for muscle building and maintaining overall health. Let’s quickly recap what these macronutrients mean for our bodies:

Proteins

Proteins are crucial during bulking. They help with muscle recovery and growth, making them particularly important for bodybuilders. Eating proteins doesn’t mean you have to eat chicken or eggs all day. Many foods contain proteins, and there are plenty of delicious recipes for protein-rich dinners or snacks. Proteins provide 4 calories per gram.

How much protein do you need during bulking? This depends on your body weight and the type of sport you do. For strength athletes, the guideline is 1.6 - 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. During the bulking phase, it’s easy to aim for 2 grams per kg. If you weigh 85 kilograms, this equals 170 grams of protein per day.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide the energy our bodies need. When we consume carbohydrates, our bodies can use them immediately as fuel to generate energy. Carbohydrates are essential during bulking, as they give you the energy needed to train hard. Strength training is key to building muscle mass. Carbohydrates also provide 4 calories per gram.

How many carbohydrates should you eat while bulking? This depends on your total calorie needs and how much protein and fat you consume. As a guideline, aim for 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat per kilogram of body weight. The remaining calories should come from carbohydrates.

Fats

Beginner athletes are often afraid of fats, thinking that fats will cause weight gain. But don’t worry, the right fats are important for our bodies. Healthy fats contribute to your immune system, vitamin transport, and hormone regulation.

However, fats provide more calories than proteins and carbohydrates—9 kcal per gram. If you eat a lot of fatty foods, you’ll quickly consume too many calories. Keep this in mind during the bulking phase, as you don’t want your fat percentage to increase too quickly. The guideline for fat intake during bulking is 1 gram per kilogram of body weight.

Example bulk plan for beginners

But how do you apply this in practice? In this example bulk plan for beginners, we assume a total calorie requirement of 3300 kcal for a weight of 85 kilograms. Following the guidelines mentioned above, this means you need:

• 170 grams of protein (2 grams x 85 kg body weight)
• 85 grams of fat (1 gram x 85 kg body weight)

Protein provides 4 kcal per gram, which in this case amounts to 680 kcal from protein. Fat provides 9 kcal per gram, which amounts to 765 kcal from fats. Subtracting this from the 3300 kcal, you see that you still need 1855 kcal. Dividing this by 4 means you need an additional 463 grams of carbohydrates.

Do you need supplements when bulking?

Supplements can be useful to ensure you get enough nutrients, but they are not necessary. If you eat a healthy and varied diet, you can get all the essential nutrients from regular food. However, many athletes opt for a protein shake because it’s an easy way to meet your daily protein needs. You can read more about whey protein here.

Other popular supplements for bulking include creatine and weight gainers. Creatine is one of the most researched supplements and contributes to an increase in explosive strength, which is very useful when you train a lot and lift heavy weights. A weight gainer contains a lot of calories and can help you reach your daily calorie target, especially on days when you've eaten less.

Bulking Training Plan

Finally, let’s talk about training during bulking for beginners. Bulking is more than just eating a lot of calories—you also need to train. It’s important that your diet aligns well with your training. When you bulk and aim to increase your muscle mass, it’s advisable to focus not only on the size of your muscles but also on strength. The stronger you are, the heavier you can make your training, and the bigger your muscles will become.

In your training plan, you’ll now include much less cardio (which you’ll add back in when cutting) and focus more on weights. This allows for more intensive training, which is why you need the extra calories to avoid losing weight.

For several muscle groups, we’ve already listed some good exercises along with explanations for you:

• Biceps
• Glutes
• Chest muscles
• Abdominal muscles
• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps
• Back muscles
• Shoulders
• Triceps

How to bulk? Like this!

Despite all the tips above, bulking for beginners is always a bit of trial and error. The guidelines above will give you a good start. From there, it’s a matter of experimenting. Experience will eventually teach you how to bulk effectively and later cut efficiently. During bulking, keep a close eye on how many calories you’re consuming and ensure a proper balance between proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Additionally, monitor your body fat percentage. This will help prevent you from going too far and gaining more weight than intended. Use the tips and guidelines from our article on starting to bulk to prepare yourself in the best possible way for gaining more muscle mass!

Conclusion on Bulking

Despite all the tips above, bulking for beginners is always a bit of trial and error. The guidelines will give you a good start, but after that, it’s about experimenting. Experience will eventually teach you how to bulk as effectively as possible and then cut afterwards. Keep a close watch on how many calories you’re consuming and the percentage of those calories coming from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It’s also important to keep track of your body fat percentage to avoid going too far and gaining too much weight.