7 Tips for BULKING SZN

No. 1

Count dem calories

According to an article in bodybuilding.com, a good way to track that you’re getting enough protein is to count your calories. This is obviously old news, but the article says you should be able to multiply your weight in pounds by 15-17 calories to come up with a number for your daily caloric intake. For your protein intake, about 1-2 grams of protein per pound (of body weight) should be in your diet. Then the remaining calories can be divided between fat and carbs. Unfortunately, this process involves a bit of trial and error, as you need to continuously raise/adjust your caloric intake number if you don't see any progress in a few weeks. I don't know about you LBCs, but I do not like counting my calories. Periodt. I think it puts too much pressure on eating, and honestly it’s just kind of stressful. Which is why we’re moving on to the next bulking tip ✨

No. 2

Eat pre & post workout meals

Eating pre & post workout meals on top of your regular 3 meals or 5 meals per day. For pre-workout, I usually go for a snack about 1-2 hours before I hit the gym. They say that you should eat foods that have both carbs and protein. Carbs are what will fuel your body through the workout, while the protein rebuilds and repairs your muscles while you break a sweat. We will post some yummy pre-workout snacks soon, but for now here are some quick&easy basics:

After your workout, make sure to replenish the nutrients you lost. During your sweat routine, your body uses stored energy called glycogen, found in your muscles, to get you through your workout. Post-sweat, reloading on carbs and proteins is a MUST. Your muscles need to be able to rebuild and repair themselves. Try to find time within about an hour of completing your workout to refuel your body. Here are some common post-sweat meals/snacks:

protein smoothies with fruit 🍓🍏🍌🍍 & low-fat milk (I use almond milk 🥛)
low-fat chocolate 🍫 milk
a turkey 🦃 and veggie wrap
low-fat yogurt and berries 🍓

No. 3

Mix up your carbs

Eating a mix of simple and complex carbs can be a game changer. Simple carbs wills take immediate effect, giving you an insulin spike. It’s important to incorporate simple carbs into your post-workout snacks/meals because this will allow your muscles to replenish the quickest. It’s an immediate source of glycogen to get re-synthesis started.

If you’re like me, and constantly hungry every hour, complex carbs will really help you stay full and energized for a longer period of time. Complex carbs like quinoa, lentils, and yams take longer for your body to digest and breakdown. This is 🔑 when trying to fulfill your hunger, and a super important trick if you‘ve got a busy schedule and not a lot of time to eat.

No. 4

Protein on protein on protein

Protein is what going to help you build your muscles and make real gains. If your body isn’t getting enough protein you’re probably not going to be very happy with your bulking results. A good way to incorporate protein on a daily basis is to snack on protein. I personally love snacking on almonds, cashews, pistachios and peanuts throughout the day to keep me from getting real hangry, real fast. Other great sources of protein are lean beef, tuna, turkey, seafood and shrimp, eggs, lentils and beans, and seeds (pumpkin, flax, sunflower). Just because you’re on a fitness journey, doesn’t mean you have to eat boiled chicken and steamed broccoli every day... cause honestly that‘s kind of nasty. Broccoli and Brussel sprouts are also an amazing source of protein btw! ✨

No. 5

Avoid the fatty stuff

Even if you’re trying to gain weight, avoiding fatty foods might be a good call. Fats slow down the release of nutrients into the bloodstream. They also cause more blood to move to your digestive organs to help digest your food. This can leave you feeling sluggish, and nobody wants that. However, incorporating healthy fats into your diet is majorly important and comes with many health benefits. So don’t skimp out on avocados 🥑 and cheese 🧀!

No. 6

Prep yo meals sweetie

Obviously your favourite LBCs are huge fans of meal prepping, and we try to do it as often as we can. I feel like a lot of the time, laziness gets the best of me and I that’s when I start to eat less or eat more junk. With meal prepping you can just pop your meals in the microwave and continue your journey to caloric surplus and bulking!✨

No. 7

Hit the gym

When you workout, you’re essentially creating tears in your muscles and then eating protein to rebuild those tears. So obviously, you can’t make gains without breaking a sweat 💦 It’s recommended that you hit the gym at least 3x per week if you’re a beginner, and 4-5 days per week if you’ve already been working out for about 1 year. Now where does cardio fit in your bulking season?? Usually when you think of bulking, cardio is not in the picture, but in order to maintain good cardiovascular health, you should incorporate a bit of a heart pump into your routine— this actually also helps with your recovery! HIIT is probably the best way to fit cardio into your bulking season workouts. Trust— cardio won’t ruin your bulk as long as you‘re workout regimen is focused around resistance training.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Clearly, you don’t need to follow all or any of these tips. These are just some tips that I am implementing into my fitness journey. Every body is different, and it takes time to get to knows yours. Cheers to sweater weather and bulking season! 💦💪🏼❤️

xo,

Angela