Winter bulking season is officially upon us! It is an exciting time of the year for all of us hardcore weight lifters as we get to focus on lifting heavy weight, increasing our anabolic hormones and eating like a monster!
The truth about bulking season is that many people take it to the extreme, and they think they can eat everything in sight. Yes – bulking season means that you are consuming a calorie surplus but they should be quality calories.
I have seen many friends and competitive bodybuilders consume way too much junk food during their bulk – and their six-pack abs disappear quick. It is no easy task getting them back for the spring and summer times either. If you screw up your bulk and you don’t make a concerted effort to keep your fat gains at a minimum you will not have that lean and chiseled body during beach season.
Bulking season should be a time where you focus on increasing your strength, lifting heavy weight and gaining the maximum amount of muscle mass. The trick to look your best during your bulk is to make sure you aren’t gaining too much body fat along the way. This article is going to break down three tips on “how to maintain six pack abs while bulking.” This is perfect advice for anyone who has between 8-12 percent body fat currently and is about to take part in a 2-3 month bulking period. The key to looking your best in the spring and summer time is to make sure that your bulk goes well and you can put on lean muscle mass without too much fat gain.
Let’s get into three-weight gain diet tips on how to maintain six pack abs while bulking.
How To Structure Your Calorie Surplus
The main rule of thumb when you are entering a bulk is that you have to consume more calories than you are burning. If you want to gain the maximum amount of muscle mass your body will need added amino acids, protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to repair those damages muscle fibers and turn you into a bulking season monster. The trick is that you want to prevent a glycogen spillover effect, which will be stored as excess body fat.
I have found one of the tricks to a successful bulking period is how I set up my calorie surplus. When I am in the middle of a bulk I will increase my healthy fats and my protein intake more than I increase my carbohydrate intake.
Consuming more lean proteins and healthy fats keeps my body in an anabolic state all day and helps to increase my anabolic hormones. Some of the foods that I eat a lot of on my bulk are guacamole (healthy fats), mixed nuts, grass fed beef, ground bison, rotisserie chicken, olive oil, coconut oil, almond butter, cashew butter and peanut butter. These are all foods that help me put on lean muscle mass and increase my anabolic hormones without the added simple sugars and carbohydrates.
This is not to say that your body doesn’t need complex carbohydrates during your bulk. I eat tons of carbohydrates on my bulk but I try to only increase my regular amount of carbohydrate consumption by 10-15 percent. I also try to avoid simple sugars that will spike my insulin and play havoc with my anabolic hormones.
Remember that if you eat sugar, candy, or any kind of simple sugar before you go to bed it will decrease your body’s ability to secrete Human Growth Hormone, which can be a powerful fat loss and muscle building hormone. Try to consume the majority of your carbohydrates during your bulk from complex and high fiber sources like black beans, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, flaxseed, and whole grains.
Many guys seriously screw up their bulk because they think they can eat a bunch of candy and junk food. This stuff will not hurt you in moderation (once a week), but if you consume it everyday you will not be able to have six pack abs during and after your bulk.
HIIT – Muscle Building And Fat Burning Cardio
The second tip to maintain six pack abs while you are bulking has to do with what kind of cardio you perform. I have found that the best form of cardio for both muscle building and fat loss is high intensity interval training.
This form of cardio has such an incredible fat burning effect because you will be able to create the “after burn” effect – where your body has temporarily increased its metabolism following your workout because it is trying to repair the type 2 muscle fibers (fast twitch.)
The reason that sprinting or high intensity interval training burns more fat than regular cardio is because when you are working your body at 100 percent maximum intensity (weight lifting and HIIT) you are working your fast twitch muscle fibers – which take a lot longer to repair. When you are jogging or swimming you are working your slow twitch muscle fibers – which repair almost immediately following physical activity so you don’t get any of this after burn effect.
Another cool side effect of HIIT is that it has been shown to increase your Human Growth Hormone levels – which is a powerful muscle building and fat loss hormone.
If you want to maintain six pack abs while you are bulking make sure to run sprints 2-3 times per week. The workouts are short and highly effective.
No More Than 1 Pound Per Week
The third tip on how to maintain six pack abs while you are bulking is to weigh yourself once per week at the exact same time(morning preferred) and track yoru progress. This is really important to do during your bulk to make sure you aren’t gaining too much weight too fast.
A good rule of thumb during your bulk is that you should aim to gain at least 1 lb per week. If you are gaining 2-3 lbs per week this means that you are gaining too much body fat – and that you need to cut back your calories.
Regardless of what kind of genetics you have and what kind of workouts you are performing – I can promise you that you can’t gain 2-3 lbs of lean muscle mass per week. One lb of lean muscle mass is a lot for 1 week – so that is why sticking to the rule of 1 lb per week is great for bulking season.
This will ensure that you aren’t gaining too much body fat during your bulk. My rule of thumb if I want to maintain six pack abs during bulking season is that if I’m in a 2-month bulk I don’t want to gain more than 4 lbs of body fat. This ensures that I will be able to get my chiseled abs back very quickly following my bulk – and I can prepare for the spring and summer!
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