Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

The Truth About Bulking
Posted By Scott Bird

Lee PriestChristian Thibaudeau takes a very interesting look at the traditional notion of bulking; asking the simple question :

Is bulking up to gain muscle a good idea?

If you’ve ever wondered whether to bulk-then-cut or simply follow a clean diet with the right amount of each nutrient (all year, that is) then this article is meant for you.
A couple of samples :

You can eat any amount of food you want; you simply can’t change your protein synthesis limit naturally. Eating more food than your body can use to build muscle will simply lead to more body fat being gained.

and

you can’t bully your body into building muscle by force-feeding it. Adding nutrients and calories will have a positive effect on muscle growth until you reach your saturation point. After that, any additional calories will be stored as body fat.

I think the answer is quite clear – a careful, planned, clean diet.

Incidentally, if this has got you thinking about your own diet, you might like to swing by Examine.com. Fantastic site.

Over to you. Drop us a line on Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

 

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Written By Scott Bird
Scott is a long-time fitness enthusiast (Jan 2004!), writer and photographer living in Sydney, Australia. If you share the passion for spending a bit of time under a bar, welcome. Love hearing how everyone else trains. You can connect via X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook and the various networks listed in the sidebar.
Drawing of Scott Andrew Bird performing a deadlift. Artwork by Vince Palko.